J. F. Kennedy (1961-1963) - Doctrine

J. F. Kennedy (1961-1963) - Doctrine

Introduction

The paper aims to emphasize on the presidency of John F. Kennedy during the period of 1961 - 1963. Kennedy was the youngest (43 years) president in the history of the United States. Many appealed to his determination, intelligence and wit. In the first months in the White House Kennedy called for to move the country back from the scene. But his initiatives in health care for the elderly (the Medicare), federal aid public education, creation of the Ministry of Urban Development and tax reform were blocked conservative bipartisan majority in Congress. Kennedy supporters managed to pass a law to abolish the tax poll in elections at the federal level, to increase the minimum wage of workers in connection with the automation of production and the control of drug trafficking. In addition, Kennedy threatened to apply power, forced steel companies to abandon in 1962 from higher prices for their products (MacGregor, 1961).

Kennedy came to power after winning the 1960 presidential election by a close margin of votes (about 100,000) and because of its better image than the other candidate. In his inaugural speech, he highlighted the dangers of nuclear war and the need to reach an agreement between the superpowers under guidelines of coexistence and mutual respect (Giglio, 1991). That position was one of the first news of young president surprising and innovative image ideas, also advised by a group of intellectuals from Harvard University. Everything seemed new in the U.S. with the arrival of Kennedy. His visibility within and outside the country earned him enormous popularity.

Background

The struggle for civil rights was a key decision-making area of the Kennedys administration. The president's brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, was a very emphatically for a nationwide with definitive end to racial segregation in schools and for the protection of the suffrage of minorities. A serious incident occurred in the fall of 1962, when the trial of the black student James Meredith to enroll at the University of Mississippi, led to racial tensions on campus. To restore peace and order, Kennedy placed the National Guard of Mississippi under federal command who patrolled the campus. Kennedy also sent against the active opposition of Governor George C. Wallace - additional federal law enforcement officials to enforce desegregation at the University of Alabama. Crest of the wave of demonstrations in which blacks and whites now engaged against violence and discrimination (Barnes, 2005).

President Johnson began a committee headed by the chairman of the U.S. Supreme Court, Earl Warren, one to investigate the Kennedy assassination (Giglio, 1991). In its final report, the Warren Report, the Committee came to the conclusion of the individual perpetrator Oswald. On 27 November 1963 gave Johnson his first speech as U.S. president before Congress, said he wanted to continue with the course taken by Kennedy's foreign policy, and called for the rapid adoption of the introduced by Kennedy civil rights and tax laws.

Discussion and Analysis

Kennedy's foreign policy was based on the concept of ...