The Life of John F. Kennedy

It all started May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts, the day John F. Kennedy was born. Jack as the Kennedy’s called him was born to the parents Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy. Jack may not have been the first born in the family, but he certainly wasn’t the last. He was born as the second child out of nine children in the family, and they all were successful. All eleven of the Kennedy’s lived in a clapboard house in Brookline, a town just outside of Boston. Jack had a lot to live up to though, being the second born and also being named after Rose’s father John F. Fitzgerald, or Honey Fitz as some referred to him as. Honey Fitz was a popular politician and a former mayor of Boston.

Jack wasn’t exactly the healthiest of children as a kid. When he was two and-a-half years old Jack caught the scarlet fever, both a contagious and deadly illness. Although Jack eventually got better, as a result of his history with the scarlet fever he was a very weak, and sickly child. While Jack was spending so much time in bed, from being sick so often, he read books, one after another. Jack had always loved reading history, and he had a passion for writing. He was even the only boy at school to subscribe to the New York Times. On the occasion that Jack wasn’t sick, he tried to live up to his brother Joe Jr. Joe was two years older, meaning he was stronger, faster, and smarter. All of the Kennedy children looked up to Joe, including Jack.

Throughout Jack’s entire life, his mother was never really there for him or his family, she was always in Europe to buy the latest fashions. On the other hand Jack’s father was there all time. When Jack was twelve, his father bought a large summerhouse in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. Ja...

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...take notes on how leaders can be torn between doing the right thing, and keeping their jobs. These notes grew in a book called Profiles in Courage. The book contained eight biographies of senators who risked their own careers in order to remain true to their own beliefs. These were leaders like Daniel Webster, John Quincy Adams, Sam Houston, and Robert A. Taft, who were inspiring to Jack. In 1957, Jacks book won the Pulitzer Prize for biography. While writing the book, Jack began to think about his own ideas and goals, this book was an inspiration for Jack to run for the highest elected office in the country. John F. Kennedy wanted to become the president of the United States.

Works Cited

http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/Media-Gallery/The-Wedding-of-John-and-Jacqueline-Kennedy.aspx

Weber, Jill. Who Was John F. Kennedy? New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 2004. Print.