U.S.

History Research Paper

Who was the most influential American in the history of the United States?
John F. Kennedy

Paola N Ramirez
U.S. History
Mr. Munoz
May 14, 2016

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Throughout American history there have been millions, even billions, of people
that have helped develop the United States to the country that it is today, especially
throughout the 1900s. The United States was changing constantly throughout this

century. The Great Depression, World War II, and the Civil Rights Movement are
just three of the many important historically significant things that happened
during the 1900s in the United States. There are so many people that contributed to
the growth of this country, but the one person that was incredibly influential and
just as much now that they are gone is John F. Kennedy, United States 35th
president. He is recognized by so many people because he did so much to
establish the United States relationship with Latin America and help hispanics get
out of poverty and receive equal rights. Not only did he immensely help the
hispanic community, he was a huge supporter of human rights, meaning he was a
big part of the Civil Rights Movement. Kennedy also addressed social problems
often, he was always aware of the space race and he was not planning to lose.
John F. Kennedys focus on civil rights, the creation of the Peace Corps, and goals
to put the first man on the moon make him worthy of the most influential American
in the United States.
John F Kennedy was born to (father) Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr., a
businessman and politician, and (mother) Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald-Kennedy, a
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philanthropist and socialite. Of Irish descent, the Kennedys lived in Brookline
Massachusetts until 1927, when they all moved to New York. At the age of 19
Kennedy attended Harvard University where he graduated with a Bachelor of

Science cum laude in international affairs. After college days in Harvard, Kennedy
was ready to move to California to attend Stanford University but promptly put his
life on pause. December 7th 1941, pearl harbor was attacked by Japanese troops.
With their country now fully involved in the war, Joe Kennedy quickly jumped to
help, John Kennedy right behind him. Although it was not easy for John Kennedy
to follow in his brothers footsteps. This was because of his weak immune system
and chronic lower back issues he dealt with since he was an adolescent. But with a
lot of exercise connection from his big brother Joe, he was able to join the Naval
Academy. He attended the Naval Reserve Officer Training School at Northwestern
University in Chicago, Illinois and soon after became Lieutenant and was assigned
to the South Pacific as commander of a patrol torpedo boat, the PT-109, his most
famous/memorable events happened on that ship. August 2, 1943, Kennedy
experienced one of the most brutal days he has ever lived. While in the Solomon
Islands, a Japanese destroyer cut PT-109 in half leaving the whole crew for dead.
Luckily, was awake and aware of the situation. He spent the next thirty hours in
the
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water trying to save crew members and spent the next three days sacrificing his life
countless times. This earned him the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his
leadership and courage. In 1963 Kennedy stated, Any man who may be asked in

this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a
good deal of pride and satisfaction. I served in the United States Navy.
After Kennedys life in the war, his real life in politics began. Around New
Years day 1945 his father told him it is your responsibility to go into politics,
Kennedy obliged, he would try to be the first Catholic President. Kennedys
campaign was slick and cool, Nixon was no match for him. In 1960, John F.
Kennedy became the 35th president of the United States of America.
During Kennedys campaign and presidency, many people adored him. A lot of
these people where minorities like African Americans and Latinos, There were
many reasons as to why Latinos loved him, first of all he was Catholic. There has
never been a Catholic president in American history and since the majority of
Hispanics practice the Catholic religion, most Latinos were thrilled. Not only that,
the first lady now happens to speak fluent spanish! Throughout Kennedys
campaign he made many promises to the minorities promising to address
discrimination problems as soon as he became president, and blacks and hispanics
were quick to vote. Author
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of Viva Kennedy: Mexican Americans in Search of Camelot and a Latino-history
professor at Brigham Young University Ignacio Garcia was a huge Kennedy
supporter and spoke many times publically about his alliance with the president.

Garcia said community leaders such as civil rights advocate Hector Garcia of
Corpus Christi worked with the Kennedy campaign to visit barrios in the
Southwest, especially South Texas. There they would spread the word about how
Mexican-Americans voices would be heard by a charismatic politician,
(http://www.dallasnews.com/). Kennedy was so suddenly willing to voice the
unheard proclaims of all these people, and that was exactly what the minorities
needed, I person in higher power to be able to sympathize with them. Africans
were also the main target to racial discrimination and struggled relentlessly for
civil rights around that time. Dr. Martin Luther King was one of the most
influential, if not thee most influential social activist in the world ever. He was
extremely respected throughout the black community, so when he was arrested in
1960 in Georgia during a sit-in and was held on a minor traffic charge and
sentenced to hard labor, many activist panicked. Many of them turned to the
running candidates for help. Kennedy was quick to act and ask for his release, he
also made personal calls to Kings wife and father. With the freedom of their
leader and his father publicly
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stating his union with Kennedy, many people did the same and supported him as
well.

One of the first things Kennedy did as president, was establish the Peace Corps.
I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which
ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived--yet it is the most
important topic on earth: world peace, (http://www.jfklibrary.org/ ) stated
president Kennedy during his address at the 1963 commencement ceremony for
American University held at the John M. Reeves Athletic Center in Washington.
While there he explained his ideas and asked Congress to create the Peace Corps.
The motive of this new organization was to bring together young Americans that
volunteer to help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming,
health care, and construction. Its main goal; achieve world peace and friendship.
Since its creation in 1961, there has been more than 200,000 volunteers. Just some
of the things that the organization focuses on are food security, HIV/AIDS risk
reduction, and Malaria prevention. Throughout the years, the Peace Corps has
helped thousands of people.
While having created the Peace Corps, Kennedy had other ideas involving
science, specifically space. Space exploration was not a big thing back then and the
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thought of a human being on the moon seemed like some bad science fiction film,
and would not be taken seriously. Although at the start of his presidency, Kennedy
and many other political leaders were not very keen of the fact of investing so

much much money on such a program like the National Aeronautics Space
Administration, minds changed on April 12, 1961, when an astronaut from the
Soviet Union,Yuri Gagarin, became the first person to visit space and return safely.
Many Americans were worried that the Soviet Union would advance above the
United States. This is how the Space Race began. Almost two weeks later on
April, 30th, Kennedy made a call to vice president Johnson to see if there are any
programs to help advance NASA in the Space Race. Johnsons replay, one week
later, made it clear that he believed the United States was not doing its best in the
space race. Kennedy decided to make a speech to address the lack of effort. During
Kennedys speech called Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National
Needs, "... I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal,
before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to
the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to
mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will
be so difficult or expensive to accomplish." For months, Kennedy repeatedly tried
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different ways to afford funding for the Apollo mission, but it was difficult to
achieve. After Kennedys assassination, almost six years later, the first man stepped
on the moon.

Some might say, so what if Kennedy sparked the goal to land the first human
on the moon or helped end segregation and discrimination? A lot of people helped
with that. Well, regardless of other peoples help, John F. Kennedy sparked many
different plans and organizations during his short 3 year term and helped many
before that. In his short life time, he experienced the horrors of war and politics,
and with keeping in mind of his horrible health that kept him in pain almost
constantly, he still persevered to do great thing for such a big country. He was the
young age of 46 when he was assassinated, imagine the many more great things he
could have done if his life was not cut short.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was such a character since he was a child, and
continued his charismatic ways up until his death. Today, many people admire him
and aspire to be like our greatest president because of his revolutionary ideas and
strong will. Ask not what you country is going to do for you- ask what you can
do for your country -John F. Kennedy, excerpt from his inaugural address.