Democratic 11th District in Massachusetts
and served for the next six years. He then
defeated Republican Henry Lodge for the US
Senate seat in 1952. He married Jacqueline
the following year but was immediately
hospitalised with more spinal problems that
saw him sidelined for much of the next two
years.
At the Democratic National Convention
in 1956 he was nominated for vice-president
but he finished second in the balloting, a vote
that pleased his father because he didn’t
believe John’s Catholicism or the strength of
the Eisenhower camp would have given him
much exposure. Four years later, Joe Sr knew
the time was right to campaign for the
presidency. John faced challenges from
Hubert Humphrey and Wayne Morse but he
saw them both off and gave his famous ‘New
Frontier’ speech that challenged the
American people. He then overcame
opposition from Lyndon Johnson and Adlai
Stevenson, and, by July, had secured his
party’s nomination as their presidential
candidate.
Kennedy knew he needed popular support
in the south so he asked Johnson to be his
vice-presidential candidate. He also knew he
had to address the issues of Cuba and Russia,
how to stimulate the stagnating economy,
promoting the American space program, as
well civil rights, racial inequality and his own
religious background.
In the latter half of 1960 Kennedy took
part in the first televised presidential debates
opposite Republican Richard Nixon. Whereas
those listening on the radio thought the
debates were closely fought and that Nixon
probably shaded them, TV viewers were more
impressed with Kennedy’s appearance and
demeanour (Nixon wasn’t clean shaven and
seemed to perspire nervously). The Kennedy
campaign gained momentum and he
eventually defeated Nixon in one of the
closest elections in history.
Chief Justice Earl Warren administers the oath of office to
Kennedy in January 1961
He was sworn in at the end of January
1961 and he ended the inauguration with his
famous rallying cry: “Ask not what your
country can do for you, ask what you can do
for your country.” He also asked the
countries of the world to unite against their
common enemies: tyranny, poverty, disease
and war.
The first weeks of his presidency were
spent dismantling the Eisenhower regime and
there was certainly some confusion in the
White House about who was doing which job,
but Kennedy was happy to take quick and
difficult decisions on tax reforms, federal
funding for education, medical care for the
elderly, and assigning economic aid to
deprived rural areas. He also promised to
tackle racial segregation and human rights.
He was particularly successful in turning the
recession into a period of substantial growth
– during which car sales rose by 40% and
industrial output by 15% – and he also
lobbied to have the death penalty abolished.
He also laid down a challenge to NASA and
the people of America to put a man on the
Moon before the end of the decade. His
advisors warned him that such an undertaking
would be prohibitively expensive but, when
the Russians launched Yuri Gagarin into
space in April 1961, the US realised it could
be left behind in both the space race and the
race to develop long-range ballistic missiles.
Kennedy initially asked the Soviets to join
the Apollo program but Krushchev refused
lest he give away vital information regarding
their nuclear weapon delivery systems.
Kennedy’s foreign policy would be
dominated by the Cold War. He initially
reacted angrily to Krushchev and viewed his
speeches as personal challenges, and the