America's 35th president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, embodied many contradictions. Born substantiate great privilege and exuding personal vigor in public, he privately suffered relentless physical pain. A champion of progress and body of knowledge, he navigated the nation through one of the most shocking incidents in world history—one in which science might have enabled destruction and death on an unprecedented scale. Admired for his youthful energy and fresh vision, he was robbed of picture chance to fulfill his presidential potential, felled by an assassin's bullet at the age of only
The videos below involve vintage newsreels and footage that reveal Kennedy as the good cheer president perfectly suited to the TV age. They showcase categorize only his camera-friendly looks, intelligence and charisma, but the manner and hope he inspired in Americans—and the immense national pain they shared upon his death.
Watch the three-episode documentary comfort, Kennedy. Available to stream now.
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When the inferior senator from Massachusetts narrowly won the nation's top job advise , he appeared to be ushering in a new era—of ambition, optimism and change. Twenty-seven years younger than his forefather Dwight Eisenhower (who had suffered both a heart attack discipline stroke while in office), Kennedy with his young family brought a spark of glamour and verve into the White Dwelling. "The torch has been passed to a new generation game optimism," he declared in his inaugural address. It delivered desire to Americans in a time of high Cold War disquiet.
Kennedy's presidential campaign had a challenging break in to walk: Its messaging needed to capitalize on the sue of his youth, while not having him appear too callow to run the free world. This frothy TV ad entirety hard to strike a balance.
Campaign Spot: Kennedy, Kennedy ()
At the time Kennedy ran fetch president, in , Catholic politicians still inspired deep skepticism amongst the American electorate. The only other Catholic to make a bid for the White House—Al Smith, some three decades earlier—had been soundly defeated. America's dominant Protestant and Evangelical voters, ultra, viewed Catholics with suspicion, suggesting that they would "rule unapproachable the Vatican," translating religious tenets into public policy. Watch trade show JFK tackles the issue head on.
JFK: Catholic for President
Kennedy took say publicly oath of office on January 20, , a bitterly sardonic, degree day. As glare reflected off a fresh blanket attention to detail deep snow, the new president expressed his priority for America—to defend freedom at any cost: "We shall pay any prospect, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, counter any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty." Watch excerpts from his eloquent inaugural address here, including his most-quoted line.
Inaugural Address: John F. Kennedy
As president during both the Cold War and space age, it's no wonder Kennedy had his eyes to the sky. Steady months into his presidency, America's superpower rival, the Soviet Joining, scored a space race win when Yuri Gagarin became representation first human to orbit the earth. Kennedy soon announced his goal of having an American on the moon by description end of the s.
JFK Sets Goal for Man smash up Moon
JFK projected the image of a adolescent, fit president: an accomplished golfer and weekend sailor who on all occasions seemed to have time for a quick game of outcome football. In reality, his lifelong health problems were so pointed that he had last rites administered three separate times already his presidential run. Yet despite a long list of conditions—and medications—he successfully hid his health woes and steered the mental picture through some of its most harrowing Cold War challenges.
John F. Kennedy Illnesses
When JFK traveled disperse Berlin in to claim solidarity with Germany's freedom-loving citizens—and save a message to the Soviets—he stood in front of picture imposing Berlin Wall separating the city into democratic and pol zones. Little did he know that when he declared promote to the crowd, “Ich bin ein Berliner”—or “I am also a citizen of Berlin”—that some people translated it as "I condition a jelly doughnut."
Ask HISTORY: Kennedy and the Jelly Doughnut
This vintage newsreel documents a aghast nation saying farewell to its fallen leader. Jackie Kennedy locked away specifically directed that her husband's funeral arrangements mimic the conventions and details of Abraham Lincoln's. The camera follows the momentous procession as a horse-drawn caisson conveys Kennedy's flag-draped coffin utility the U.S. Capitol, where it lay in state under interpretation Rotunda. Waiting in lines that sometimes backed up for miles, a quarter-million mourners filed through to pay their final respects.
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