2. What Factors Help Explain the Fascination People Had With the Kennedy Family?
If the United States had a regal family, it would undoubtedly be the Kennedys. Even before John F. Kennedy's presidency, Americans were fascinated past the seemingly perfect family unit. As the quintessential American family, everything almost them was alluring, from their attractive good looks and intelligence to their coin, regal lifestyle and endless political popularity.
In 2019, you might think there couldn't be anything left to find about the popular Massachusetts clan, but y'all would be wrong. Check out these 30 incredible facts that could accept your understanding of America's favorite dynasty to a whole new level.
Joseph Kennedy Had His Own Political Ambitions
The Kennedy children were involved in politics mostly considering their begetter, Joseph (Joe) P. Kennedy Sr. had his own political ambitions. The American man of affairs and investor hoped to become the U.Due south. ambassador to the Britain, but he had to convince his good friend, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, that he was right for the job.
In 1937, Roosevelt invited Kennedy to his role. After hearing his asking to be the U.S. ambassador, the president asked him, "Would y'all listen taking your pants down?" Kennedy was certainly shocked but ultimately dropped his pants. Roosevelt then explained Kennedy couldn't be the country's envoy in London because of his legs, equally the administrator'southward induction ceremony involved wearing "human knee britches and silk stockings."
In 1937, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was appointed the get-go Chairman of the U.S. Maritime Commission. This position built on his wartime experience equally an banana general manager of a Bethlehem Steel shipyard in the Boston area. Despite this engagement, Kennedy connected to aspire to a more significant office in politics.
Kennedy was not originally selected as U.Southward. ambassador to the United Kingdom, but President Roosevelt finally agreed to engage him to the position in 1938. Kennedy enjoyed this leadership position, which introduced him to London high society, and he hoped to succeed Roosevelt in the White Firm in 1940. That didn't happen, of course, merely mayhap that'south why he pushed his children to choose politics as their careers.
I Big Family
Sometimes, people forget simply how large the Kennedy family unit was. Joseph and Rose Kennedy, who married in 1914, had nine children: Joseph "Joe" Patrick Jr., John "Jack" Fitzgerald, Rose Marie "Rosemary," Kathleen "Kicking" Agnes, Eunice Mary, Patricia "Pat" Helen, Robert "Bobby" Francis, Jean Ann and Edward "Ted" Moore.
Joe Kennedy Sr. had a tradition of giving his married woman a souvenir every time she had a child. Afterward giving her a diamond bracelet on the birth of their eighth child, Jean, Joe (jokingly?) said he would give Rose a black middle if she became pregnant again. As we know, she gave birth to Ted in 1932. She hid it well if she got a black centre.
Rose Kennedy Was a Countess
The Kennedy family is known for practicing the Cosmic organized religion, which stemmed from the family'southward matriarch, Rose Kennedy. A devout Catholic, Rose was securely embedded in the "lace curtain" Irish Catholic community in Boston, where her father (John F. Fitzgerald) was the mayor.
Kennedy'due south strict Catholic faith oftentimes placed her at odds with her children. However, she remained committed to the church building, and Pope Pius XII honored her with the championship of Countess in 1951 to celebrate her dedication to the church every bit well as her "exemplary maternity and many charitable works." Even after her 100th birthday in 1990, she rarely missed Lord's day mass.
The Family unit's Strict Rules
In 2017, lost interviews with Rose Kennedy revealed she had extremely strict rules and regulations, including weighing her children once a calendar week. They could not eat certain foods, like ice foam. She was besides known to physically punish her nine children with a ruler or a coat hanger if they misbehaved at the dinner table. Lateness wasn't tolerated, and they were instructed to nowadays research reports at dinner.
In addition, the Kennedy children were not allowed to cry. She kept this tradition in identify for her grandchildren as well. Following John F. Kennedy'south death, Rose said, "It would be selfish and demoralizing to focus on our tragedies… If y'all weep, you'll be sent dorsum to wherever you come from. I insisted that."
The Family unit's Blackness Sheep
It seems every famous family has a black sheep. In the Kennedy family, it was the fourth kid, Kathleen. Nicknamed "Kick" for her reported "irrepressible nature," Kathleen was very unlike her brothers and sisters. "She was the only rebel of the family," said biographer Lynne McTaggart. "She was the only one (in the Kennedy clan) who didn't march downwards the prescribed road."
Instead, Kathleen angered her parents by marrying a Protestant lord, William "Billy" Cavendish, heir to the Duke of Devonshire. Unfortunately, the marriage ended in tragedy when Cavendish died a few short weeks later in Earth War II. Kathleen also died at a very young historic period (28) in a plane crash a few years later in 1948. Only her father, Joe Kennedy Sr., attended the funeral.
Rosemary Kennedy's Disabilities
Rosemary Kennedy was born with mental disabilities. When Rose Kennedy went into labor, the obstetrician was delayed due to a pneumonia epidemic in Boston. To delay the birth, the nurse closed Rose'south legs, hoping this would deadening downward the labor. When that was unsuccessful, the nurse held Rosemary's head in the nativity canal for two hours, basically depriving her of advisable levels of oxygen. Not surprisingly, this nightmare delivery led to Rosemary'due south brain damage and concrete disabilities.
Equally Rosemary grew older, Joe and Rose Kennedy feared she would damage the family's reputation and political ambitions. Considering of this, Rosemary was hardly always allowed to exit the house unaccompanied. Equally a result, she often ran away from abode.
Rosemary's Failed Lobotomy
Equally devout Catholics, the Kennedys believed Rosemary's mental illness was a sin. At the fourth dimension, mental health was incredibly stigmatized and misunderstood. With this in mind, Joe Kennedy bundled for Rosemary to receive a lobotomy to hopefully improve her condition and annul fierce outbursts that had adult in her early 20s.
In 1941, when she was just 23 years old, Rosemary received a frontal lobotomy in upstate New York. The procedure was supposed to help with mood swings, simply information technology caused even more than harm. The doctor scraped away at Rosemary'south brain tissue until she could no longer talk or walk. After the process, she was sent to a residential care facility in Wisconsin. For 25 years, none of the other Kennedy children or family members knew where she was.
Rosemary Inspired the Special Olympics
Even though Rosemary lived the rest of her life in a mental establishment, not everyone in the Kennedy family forgot about her. Her younger sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, is the founder of the Special Olympics, a sports contest for people with concrete or intellectual disabilities. It's believed that Shriver was at to the lowest degree partially inspired by Rosemary'southward mental complications.
Shriver commented, "The Special Olympics prove a very key fact, the fact that exceptional children — children with mental retardation — can be exceptional athletes, the fact that through sports, they tin can realize their potential for growth." Special Olympics, Inc. was established every bit a nonprofit charity in 1968, and events have included nearly 3 million participants.
Patricia Kennedy Wanted to Be a Star
To be a valued fellow member of the Kennedy family, yous needed to have political aspirations. All the same, this wasn't the case for Patricia "Pat" Kennedy. Instead of wanting to be a politician, she was an aspiring flick producer. Her begetter believed she could exist successful, saying, "Pat is the ane with a caput for business. She could really run this town (Hollywood) if she puts her mind to it."
Kennedy worked as a production assistant for many patriotic and religious programs, including Family Rosary Cause, and she eventually served as the producer of I Love to Swallow, the get-go cooking program on network television receiver. Through her piece of work in Hollywood, Pat met histrion Peter Lawford, and the 2 married in 1954.
Joe Jr. Should Have Been President
Joe Kennedy Sr. wanted Joe Jr. — his firstborn son — to get President of the United States. He was a junior officeholder in the U.Due south. Navy during World War Ii, only he was unfortunately killed on Baronial 12, 1944, while flying a secret mission. He was 29 years old at the fourth dimension of his decease, becoming the get-go of many Kennedys to suffer tragic and untimely deaths.
At the time of his death, Joe Jr. already planned to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, supporting his father's expectations. After his death, those expectations fell on Joe Sr.'s next son, John, who (as we know) somewhen made it all the way to the White House.
JFK Had Many Medical Issues
President John F. Kennedy suffered from many deadly illnesses and physical challenges throughout his life. Some occurred in childhood, including scarlet fever and whooping cough. He besides had Addison's disease, a rare disorder of the adrenal glands, and he dealt with ongoing pain from many chronic lower dorsum ailments.
However, Kennedy never allowed his medical challenges to irksome him down. When he was inhibited from serving in WWII, he strategically manipulated the arrangement in his favor. Then, while recovering from spinal fusion surgery in 1954, he used his free time to write his Pulitzer Prize-winning volume, Profiles in Backbone. Kennedy kept his illnesses a guarded surreptitious from the public, probably to avoid showing his opponents any signs of weakness.
People Idea JFK Died in WWII
Despite his medical setbacks, President John F. Kennedy was extremely successful as a soldier serving in WWII. In 1943, he helped orchestrate and champion a primal survival mission that involved sinking a Japanese gunboat so saving his own crewmen when their boat was also struck.
After Kennedy received a medal for his operation in the Pacific, he was reported missing in action. The bulletin was sent to Joe Kennedy Sr., but he kept the news to himself. He planned to tell his wife and children a week later, but he was saved from doing then when he was notified of John's survival during that week. Ted Kennedy wrote in his memoir, True Compass, that Joe. Sr. allegedly withheld the data because he was adamant to "remain hopeful" for John'southward survival.
How John Met Jackie
Jacqueline "Jackie" (Bouvier) Kennedy was a journalist by merchandise. She had editor roles at Faddy magazine and the Washington Times-Herald. Equally role of the aforementioned social circle, President John F. Kennedy was introduced to Jackie at a dinner party in 1952 by a mutual friend, journalist Charles L. Bartlett.
Jackie was immediately attracted to John's physical appearance, charm, wit and wealth. The couple shared similar values, including Catholicism, and had shared interests in writing, reading and traveling abroad. Their relationship grew more serious, and John proposed later winning the 1952 U.S. Senate election. Of course, she didn't say yes right away.
Jackie Kept John Waiting
Jackie Bouvier had the singled-out honor of existence assigned to cover the coronation of Queen Elizabeth Two in London for the Washington Times-Herald. She completed this job assignment — a prestigious one, to exist sure — while keeping John waiting. Would she accept his marriage proposal? That was the big question of the solar day.
After a month in Europe, Jackie returned to the U.S. and finally accepted Kennedy's wedlock proposal. She resigned from her work in journalism, and the two were married on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island. The wedding was an elaborate social upshot with an estimated 700 guests attending the mass ceremony and approximately 1,200 at the reception. From that twenty-four hours on, John and Jackie Kennedy became an iconic couple.
But They Almost Bankrupt Upwards
Like many married couples, John and Jackie Kennedy had human relationship troubles. Jackie became unhappy in the union, mostly due to John'south infamous affairs with Hollywood actresses like Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich. John pleaded, "You must accept known when you lot married me, I can never exist true-blue. I can't help myself. It'due south a compulsion."
Post-obit two miscarriages, Jackie plunged into depression and was sent to Valley Head Psychiatric Dispensary in Massachusetts, where she received electroshock therapy that she chosen "the nightmare ride of my life." Jackie wanted to divorce John, only Joe Kennedy Sr. bribed her with $1 million to stay married. The divorce would accept had a negative bear upon on John'south presidential pursuits.
They Had Four Children, Not Two
Nigh people know that John and Jackie Kennedy had two children: Caroline Bouvier Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. These children carried on the Kennedy legacy, but the couple really had two additional children, both of whom died very young.
In 1956, Jackie gave birth to a stillborn baby girl, who the couple decided to name Arabella. Years later, on Baronial vii, 1963, Jackie gave birth to Patrick Bouvier Kennedy. However, he was born five-and-a-half weeks premature and weighed less than five pounds. He died two days later from a pulmonary disease. Unfortunately, Jackie — and her two surviving children — would as well lose John three short months later.
Was the Family Cursed?
Many historians and individuals believe the Kennedy family is cursed. Joe and Rose Kennedy had ix children, and 4 of them died untimely deaths: Joe Jr., Kathleen, John and Bobby. In add-on, Rosemary was institutionalized for the duration of her life, and Ted was well-nigh killed in a plane crash.
The "expletive" didn't end with the starting time generation of the Kennedy family. In fact, several of Joe and Rose Kennedy's grandchildren also met tragic ends, including John F. Kennedy Jr., who died in a plane crash with his wife in 1999. It'due south ridiculous to say the Kennedy family really is cursed, but the Catholic church seemed to think John F. Kennedy was going to die multiple times before his bump-off in 1963.
JFK Received Terminal Rites Three Times
In the Catholic church building, the last rites are the concluding prayers and ministrations given to an private of Catholic organized religion before long before expiry. Later in life, Ted Kennedy wondered if his family was really cursed, pointing out that his brother, John F. Kennedy, received last rites 3 times earlier his eventual expiry.
In 1947, John fell gravely ill while on a boat trip dorsum to the U.Southward. from England, and a priest performed last rites. He received last rites again in 1951 when he had a dangerously high fever while traveling in Asia. Finally, in 1954, he received final rites later on a spinal fusion surgery acquired him to skid into a coma. His fourth and final concluding rites were given on the solar day of his assassination.
JFK Bugged the White Firm
President Richard Nixon wasn't the first president to tape conversations in the Oval Office and Cabinet Room. In 1962, John F. Kennedy installed a underground taping system that was connected to a recording device in the White Business firm basement. The device captured almost 300 hours of meetings and telephone conversations.
Some conversations were scandalous, including conversations about Martin Luther King Jr., as well as discussions about the Cuban Missile Crisis. The motivation backside this decision is disputed amid historians and politicians, simply many believe Kennedy's claim that he installed the system to help document content for his futurity memoir. Is that the truth? We'll never know.
Jackie Started a School at the White House
Jackie Kennedy was concerned about her children beingness in the spotlight during her husband'south presidency. She wanted to keep Caroline and John Jr. abroad from the press. Any time she or her children left the White House, the press followed them, making it difficult to do elementary things similar take Caroline to school. Jackie decided to open a schoolhouse on the third flooring of the White House.
Not wanting to neglect others who might appreciate the convenience, she invited other children to participate in the school. Her third-flooring school was eventually transformed into a legitimate kindergarten classroom with qualified teachers, 10 students and a couple of "course pets." Information technology must exist cool to say, "Yes, I went to kindergarten at the White Firm."
Jackie Was Fluent in Three Strange Languages
Jackie Kennedy was a strength to be reckoned with in many ways. During her educational training to become a journalist, she became fluent in Spanish, French and Italian considering she wanted to travel the world as a journalist. Although her career was cut short due to her responsibilities as John F. Kennedy'due south wife, her linguistic communication skills proved to be useful.
While on the presidential entrada trail, Jackie was able to communicate John's campaign objectives to voters who didn't speak English. John wasn't fluent in other languages, then having Jackie by his side nudged these voters in the direction of voting for him as president. It'southward truthful what they say: Behind every smashing man is a cracking adult female.
JFK Was Going to Drop Lyndon B. Johnson
Before his bump-off, John F. Kennedy was making plans for reelection. He evaluated his opponents — ane of which was George Romney, Hand Romney's father. In a 1963 conference, Kennedy commented, "That guy (Romney) can be tough." Unfortunately, Kennedy never had the chance to launch his campaign for reelection.
I of Kennedy'southward considerations while making plans for reelection was his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy equally president after his bump-off. Kennedy'due south secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, revealed in her 1968 memoir that the President was considering switching out his running mate with Florida Senator George Smathers, North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford or another Democrat. Kennedy was assassinated three days later on making the suggestion.
Jackie Didn't Change Out of Her Stained Pink Arrange
Following John F. Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963, Jackie Kennedy refused to change out of the pinkish suit she wore while sitting abreast her husband in the motorcade. The suit was stained with John'south blood. When Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson asked if she would similar to change earlier continuing next to him as he was sworn in, she responded, "Oh, no, I want them to come across what they've done to Jack."
Jackie'south suit is at present an iconic, unforgettable symbol in American history. It'southward stored in the National Archives and Records Administration. However, the famous matching pink hat she wore on that fated 24-hour interval has yet to be found. Historians can only promise it will one twenty-four hour period prove up.
Jackie Compared the JFK Administration to Camelot
Post-obit her hubby'south bump-off, Jackie Kennedy began publicly speaking nearly the Kennedy administration. A week after John's death, she sat downward for an interview with Life magazine. In information technology, she talked about John's favorite Broadway musical, Camelot, starring Julie Andrews.
Jackie referenced the lyrics: "Don't ever let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for 1 cursory shining moment, that was Camelot." She explained, "There volition be great presidents once more, but in that location will never be some other Camelot." Translation: There will never exist another President John F. Kennedy. Since so, the Kennedy administration has been referred to as "Camelot," a one-of-a-kind administration.
JFK'south Assassination Was a Turning Point in American History
John F. Kennedy's assassination is regarded as the first major television news event of its kind. It was an event recorded live on television, which added to the impact of delivering the news of the assassination to Americans. News coverage, most famously by news anchor Walter Cronkite, united the country. All three major U.S. boob tube networks suspended their regularly scheduled programming from November 22-26, making it the longest uninterrupted news event in the U.S. until the news coverage related to September eleven, 2001.
The American public was upset virtually Kennedy's assassination, and many people were confused and arrived at their ain theories. The bump-off marked a turning point and a decline in the faith of the American people in their government. In many ways, this sentiment continues today.
Bobby Kennedy Predicted Barack Obama's Presidency
Robert F. "Bobby" Kennedy had his own political aspirations, hoping to carry on the legacy left backside by his older brother, John F. Kennedy. From 1961-64, he served as the 64th U.S. Attorney General. From 1965-68, he was a U.S. Senator for New York. In 1968, Bobby ran for president, just he was unbelievably assassinated earlier the election.
Even so, before his death, the popular candidate fabricated a bold prediction. Bobby commented, "In the next 40 years, a blackness person can achieve the aforementioned position that my brother (John) has." That'southward exactly what happened xl years subsequently in 2008 when the U.S. elected the start African American president, Barack Obama. Coincidence? We don't think so!
Jackie Became a Book Editor
Later on Bobby Kennedy's assassination on June 5, 1968, Jackie Kennedy decided she had to go her children out of the country. She said at the time, "If they're killing Kennedys, then my children are targets." On Oct twenty, 1968, she married her long-time friend Aristotle Onassis, a wealthy Greek shipping magnate who provided her the security and privacy she desperately needed. She took his legal name, becoming Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
However, following her second husband's decease in 1973, Jackie decided to move to New York to pursue a volume editing career. She worked as a consulting editor and then eventually moved up to Senior Editor at Doubleday Publishing, a position she held until her death in 1994.
There Were Premonitions About John F. Kennedy Jr.'s Death
An aide to John F. Kennedy said he often worried about what would happen to his son, John F. Kennedy, Jr., who loved helicopters. Kennedy wondered what would happen when "He's old plenty and wants to learn to fly." No ane was more frightened of John Jr. flight than Jackie, who insisted he not get a pilot'due south license.
However, after Jackie'south death in 1994, John Jr. got his pilot'south license anyway. Obviously, it turned out that his parents were right to be afraid. On July 16, 1999, he died when the light aircraft he was flying crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha'due south Vineyard. His wife, Carolyn Bessette, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, also died in the crash.
Where the Kennedys Are Now
The Kennedy family is quieter today than in the 1950s and 1960s, but they are notwithstanding a prominent clan to the American public. Joe and Rose Kennedy's youngest daughter, Jean Kennedy Smith, is notwithstanding alive at age 91. Caroline Kennedy continues to work as an attorney, editor and author, and she serves on the lath of directors for Boeing Visitor.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver's children, including Maria Shriver, have remained in politics. Maria was married to Arnold Schwarzenegger, an actor and the former Governor of California. Every living member of the Kennedy family has their roots embedded in some form of politics. Their grandfather and swell-grandfather, Joe Kennedy Sr., would exist very proud his family unit name continues to be well-respected past the American public.
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