Discussion of Presidents

When John Fitzgerald Kennedy was inaugurated as the country's 35th president, the United States was entangled in a struggle of epic proportions with the Soviet Union. Just three years before Kennedy took office the Soviets had taken the lead in the space race with the launch and orbit of satellite Sputnik. The early years of the Cold War gripped the world with concern as the two superpowers and their respective allies positioned themselves to confront the terror of nuclear holocaust and hopefully to avoid it (Thurston, 25). There is no question that Kennedy inherited a host of international problems when he took office. Indeed his presidency is noted primarily for the many international situations that occurred during his nearly three years in office. Among them were the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Bay of Pigs debacle, and the successful nuclear test ban treaty with the Soviets.

In contrast, Johnson, however, quickly set one of the most aggressive agendas ever proposed by any president. His domestic policy, called the Great Society, is one of the great experiments in modern American liberalism. Less than two months after taking office, Johnson laid out much of what would later become known as his Great Society agenda. He declared an “all-out war on human poverty and unemployment.” The Great Society would come to promote greater federal involvement in aid to the poor, urban renewal, civil rights, education, health-care, safety, and environmental protection. The next few years saw an unprecedented level of congressional activity. Hundreds of bills became law (Bornet, 83).

Kennedy's interest in public life and in serving in government solidified following the end of World War II. He returned from serving in the navy, and his father, Joseph Kennedy, convinced him that it would be honorable to run for the House of Representatives. Kennedy did so and was elected in 1946 and went on to serve three terms in that office. This service was followed by election to the Senate in 1952 (Thurston, 26).

In 1956 he was close to being picked as the vice presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Although he was not selected, Kennedy decided then to seek the nomination for president in 1960. He was nominated for that position in July 1960, and he selected Lyndon B. Johnson as his running mate. On November 8, 1960, Kennedy was elected in a very close race, defeating Richard M. Nixon, President Dwight Eisenhower's vice president. ...