John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. The second oldest of 9 children. He was constantly battling with the other children over who was the best child. When it came to most things Joe, Johns's oldest brother, was always the victorious one and thus was their father's favorite. One time when Joe suggested that he and John race on their bicycles, they collided head-on. Joe emerged unscathed while John had to have twenty-eight stitches. (JFK Library) John’s childhood is full of stories like these, where he is second best to his brother.
There was a great deal of pressure placed on the kids from their father Joseph Kennedy. The son of a Catholic saloon owner in Boston, Joseph made his money by playing the stock market which at the time was fairly unregulated. He used tactics that are now considered insider trading and market manipulation. For a man that came from nothing, it was very important for him to maintain his wealth and for his children to carry on his legacy. Most importantly he intended them to be public figures. It was this carrot that JFK’s dad dangled in front of his children to keep them moving forward. He strived for his kids to be public figures as he himself was unable to, being a Catholic.
Throughout John’s childhood, he would battle with illnesses. When John was almost three years old, he developed scarlet fever. His Mom reported that during his childhood he suffered from: "whooping cough, measles, and chickenpox." (Whitehouse.gov) For a boy that was used to being popular and the center of attention, it was a real hit to have to spend so much time out of school recovering. This led him to have to sit back and watch while his brother achieved what he could not.
John spent his early youth in Brooklyn at an all-white protestant school for boys. Dinners in the Kennedy household were more about work than family bonding: the kids were given topics to learn upon and had to present reports on the subjects at dinner. Joe was always shinning in these displays of dominance. In a biography by Evelyn Lincoln, she wrote: “If one of their guests was tardy, Joe would often fly into a rage and administer a tongue-lashing. One such victim, a pal of Jack’s who never returned, later recalled. The other kids, including Jack, sat around the table, heads bowed, apparently frightened to death. (Irish Central)
For his high school, John attended Choate, a boarding school in Connecticut. He played tennis, basketball, football, and golf and also enjoyed reading. (JFK Library) John graduated from Choate and entered Harvard in 1936, where Joe was already a student. Like his brother Joe, John played football. While John was a good student it was noted that he tended to goof around and not always try his hardest. (Britannica) Unfortunately, one day while playing football he ruptured a disc in his spine. John never really recovered from this accident and his back continued to bother him for the rest of his life. John would end up getting the short end of the stick, while his brother would be out there making the family look good. This worry of always being bested by his brother drove John to push himself beyond what he himself believed of himself possible.
Both John and Joe joined the Navy when World War II broke out. John, now Lt. Kennedy, had a crew of twelve men whose mission was to stop Japanese ships from delivering supplies to their soldiers. One night they spotted a Japanese destroyer traveling at full speed towards them. Holding the wheel, Lt. Kennedy tried to swerve out of the way, but to no avail. The much larger Japanese warship rammed into them, splitting the boat in half and killing two of Lt. Kennedy’s men. The others managed to jump off as their boat went up in flames. Lt. Kennedy was slammed hard against the cockpit, once again injuring his weak back. (NPS) He managed to survive the incident and was later awarded a medal of honor for what he had done. Joe Kennedy, on the other hand, joined the navy. On August 12, 1944, he was killed in action while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot. This hit to the family switched all of the pressure to John, who now with a heroic story from WWII and now the oldest of the Kennedys; was to carry the family torch to new political heights. As his father said in a letter to John “all my plans were tied up with young Joe… that has gone smash.” (Shapel) This new pressure from his father lit a fire underneath him while he worked the political circuit on his way to the presidency.
There was a great deal of pressure placed on the kids from their father Joseph Kennedy. The son of a Catholic saloon owner in Boston, Joseph made his money by playing the stock market which at the time was fairly unregulated. He used tactics that are now considered insider trading and market manipulation. For a man that came from nothing, it was very important for him to maintain his wealth and for his children to carry on his legacy. Most importantly he intended them to be public figures. It was this carrot that JFK’s dad dangled in front of his children to keep them moving forward. He strived for his kids to be public figures as he himself was unable to, being a Catholic.
Throughout John’s childhood, he would battle with illnesses. When John was almost three years old, he developed scarlet fever. His Mom reported that during his childhood he suffered from: "whooping cough, measles, and chickenpox." (Whitehouse.gov) For a boy that was used to being popular and the center of attention, it was a real hit to have to spend so much time out of school recovering. This led him to have to sit back and watch while his brother achieved what he could not.
John spent his early youth in Brooklyn at an all-white protestant school for boys. Dinners in the Kennedy household were more about work than family bonding: the kids were given topics to learn upon and had to present reports on the subjects at dinner. Joe was always shinning in these displays of dominance. In a biography by Evelyn Lincoln, she wrote: “If one of their guests was tardy, Joe would often fly into a rage and administer a tongue-lashing. One such victim, a pal of Jack’s who never returned, later recalled. The other kids, including Jack, sat around the table, heads bowed, apparently frightened to death. (Irish Central)
For his high school, John attended Choate, a boarding school in Connecticut. He played tennis, basketball, football, and golf and also enjoyed reading. (JFK Library) John graduated from Choate and entered Harvard in 1936, where Joe was already a student. Like his brother Joe, John played football. While John was a good student it was noted that he tended to goof around and not always try his hardest. (Britannica) Unfortunately, one day while playing football he ruptured a disc in his spine. John never really recovered from this accident and his back continued to bother him for the rest of his life. John would end up getting the short end of the stick, while his brother would be out there making the family look good. This worry of always being bested by his brother drove John to push himself beyond what he himself believed of himself possible.
Both John and Joe joined the Navy when World War II broke out. John, now Lt. Kennedy, had a crew of twelve men whose mission was to stop Japanese ships from delivering supplies to their soldiers. One night they spotted a Japanese destroyer traveling at full speed towards them. Holding the wheel, Lt. Kennedy tried to swerve out of the way, but to no avail. The much larger Japanese warship rammed into them, splitting the boat in half and killing two of Lt. Kennedy’s men. The others managed to jump off as their boat went up in flames. Lt. Kennedy was slammed hard against the cockpit, once again injuring his weak back. (NPS) He managed to survive the incident and was later awarded a medal of honor for what he had done. Joe Kennedy, on the other hand, joined the navy. On August 12, 1944, he was killed in action while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot. This hit to the family switched all of the pressure to John, who now with a heroic story from WWII and now the oldest of the Kennedys; was to carry the family torch to new political heights. As his father said in a letter to John “all my plans were tied up with young Joe… that has gone smash.” (Shapel) This new pressure from his father lit a fire underneath him while he worked the political circuit on his way to the presidency.
Both John and Joe joined the Navy when World War II broke out. Lt. Kennedy had a crew of twelve men whose mission was to stop Japanese ships from delivering supplies to their soldiers. One night they spotted a Japanese destroyer traveling at full speed headed straight at them. Holding the wheel, Lt. Kennedy tried to swerve out of the way, but to no avail. The much larger Japanese warship rammed into them, splitting the boat in half and killing two of Lt. Kennedy’s men. The others managed to jump off as their boat went up in flames. Lt. Kennedy was slammed hard against the cockpit, once again injuring his weak back. He managed to come away from the incident, and was later awarded a medal of honor for what he had done. Joe Kennedy had joined the navy and on his Naval ship on August 12, 1944 he was killed in action while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot. This hit to the family switched all of the pressure to John, who now with a heroic story from WWII and now the oldest of the Kennedys; was to carry the family torch to new political heights.
Works Cited
“JFK Letter on Brother Joe Kennedy Jr's Death: Shapell Manuscript Foundation.” Shapell, www.shapell.org/manuscript/jfk-kennedy-family-joe-death/.
“John F. Kennedy.” The White House, The United States Government, www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/john-f-kennedy/.
“John F. Kennedy: World War II Naval Hero to President (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/articles/kennedyww2.htm.
“Life of John F. Kennedy.” JFK Library, www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy.
Manchester, William. “John F. Kennedy.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 6 Sept. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/John-F-Kennedy.
SparkNotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/biography/jfk/section1/.
Staff, IrishCentral. “Dark Secrets about the Kennedy Family You Didn't Know.” IrishCentral.com, IrishCentral, 8 July 2019, www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/kennedy-family-secrets.
