3 Questions
What was the name of the failed operation authorized by John F. Kennedy to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro?
Operation Bay of Pigs
What was the name of the book written by John F. Kennedy about U.S. senators who risked their careers for their personal beliefs?
Profiles in Courage
Which of the following statements about John F. Kennedy's military service is true?
He commanded PT boats in Panama and the Pacific theater during World War II.
Study Notes
- John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States from 1961 to 1963.
- He was the youngest person to assume the presidency by election and the youngest president at the end of his tenure.
- Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, with the majority of his foreign policy concerning relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba.
- He was a war hero and earned the Navy and Marine Corps Medal during World War II.
- Kennedy was a Democrat and represented Massachusetts in both houses of the U.S. Congress prior to his presidency.
- He supported the civil rights movement and passed the New Frontier domestic policies.
- Kennedy's administration included high tensions with communist states in the Cold War, and he increased the number of American military advisors in South Vietnam.
- He authorized numerous operations to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro, including the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961.
- Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963, and his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, assumed the presidency upon his death.
- Kennedy ranks highly in polls of U.S. presidents with historians and the general public, and his personal life has also been the focus of considerable sustained interest.
- John F. Kennedy spent ten weeks driving through Europe with a friend in 1937.
- In 1938, he worked at the American embassy in London with his father, who was the U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James's.
- Kennedy toured Europe, the Soviet Union, the Balkans, and the Middle East in 1939, and was in London when Germany invaded Poland.
- He wrote his senior honors thesis at Harvard on British negotiations during the Munich Agreement, which became a bestseller called "Why England Slept".
- Kennedy supported U.S. intervention in World War II, causing a split with his father's isolationist beliefs.
- Kennedy joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1941 and was commissioned an ensign in October of that year.
- He was assigned to the ONI field office in Charleston, South Carolina, and later trained at the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center in Rhode Island.
- Kennedy commanded PT boats in Panama and the Pacific theater, including PT-109, which was rammed and cut in half by a Japanese destroyer in 1943.
- Kennedy and his surviving crew swam to Plum Pudding Island and then to Olasana Island for several days before being rescued.
- After recovering, Kennedy commanded PT-59, which was refitted into a heavily armed gunboat.
- John F. Kennedy served in the Navy during World War II and was promoted to full lieutenant in October 1943.
- Kennedy's PT-59 took part in the rescue of 40-50 marines on November 2, 1943, and he was later relieved of his command due to a back injury.
- Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and the Purple Heart for his service in the war.
- After the war, Kennedy worked briefly as a journalist for Hearst Newspapers and then entered politics.
- He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and served for six years, focusing on international affairs and supporting public housing.
- Kennedy then ran for and won a Senate seat in 1952, with the help of his father's financing and his brother Robert's management of the campaign.
- During his Senate career, Kennedy sponsored bills to help various Massachusetts industries and served on committees investigating crime infiltration of labor unions.
- Kennedy underwent several spinal operations and was often absent from the Senate due to illness.
- In 1956, Kennedy published Profiles in Courage, a book about U.S. senators who risked their careers for their personal beliefs, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
- Kennedy gave the nominating speech for Adlai Stevenson II at the 1956 Democratic National Convention and voted against President Eisenhower's Civil Rights Act of 1957.
- John F. Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts.
- Kennedy was a supporter of civil rights and co-sponsored the Cape Cod National Seashore bill.
- He announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on January 2, 1960.
- Kennedy faced opposition from party leaders, including former president Harry S. Truman, due to his lack of experience.
- Kennedy won the presidential nomination on the first ballot with the support of just enough delegates.
- Kennedy chose Lyndon B. Johnson as his vice presidential nominee, despite opposition from his brother and other liberal supporters.
- Kennedy gave his well-known "New Frontier" speech at the Democratic National Convention.
- Kennedy faced anti-Catholic sentiment during the general election campaign against Republican nominee Richard Nixon.
- Kennedy won the first televised presidential debate against Nixon.
- Kennedy won the 1960 presidential election by a narrow margin.
Think you know everything about John F. Kennedy? Test your knowledge with this quiz! From his presidency and foreign policy to his personal life and military service, this quiz covers all aspects of JFK's life. See how much you really know about one of America's most iconic presidents.
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