Kennedy Anthology Project- Introductory Essay
In his Inaugural Address John F. Kennedy inspired a whole generation to take up the torch of public service and invest their best efforts in each other and their country. That is exactly the purpose of 8th grade Social Studies courses as they engage learners in the study of their nations’ history, geography, government, and national culture. Their course of study will determine which presidential administrations they encounter, and each can be explored as a representation of their times. Studying one president can inform the study of others. In both successful and unsuccessful presidencies there are lessons in leadership for students to apply to their own lives as well as to their future voting decisions. John F. Kennedy consistently rates among the most respected and beloved presidents in American History in surveys of historians, political scientists, and the general public- enough to be held up as a standard for comparing the others. Why? His popularity begins with his idealism, which was challenged by events throughout his presidency. Pragmatism enabled him to lead effectively, but in the end his idealism remained, and was passed along in a legacy of programs that survived his assassination. An exploration of John F. Kennedy through his own words can inspire each new class of 8th graders in their citizenship.
During the transition from his election to his taking office, Kennedy was advised among others by Columbia professor Richard Neustadt whose book, Presidential Power also informed his approach to the presidency. At the end 1961, Neustadt gave JFK a favorable review and credited his popularity to his smart politics. 1 More recently, Princeton’s professor Fred Greenstein has developed 6 criteria for evaluating presidents in his continually updated book, The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to Barack Obama. While he argues that the most important factor for success is emotional intelligence, he gives Kennedy high ratings in Public Persuasion, Organizational Capacity, Vision, and Cognitive Style.2 C-Span surveyed historians in 2000 and 2009 with 10 criteria, and Kennedy received top 10 ratings in Public Persuasion, Crisis Leadership, Economic Management, Vision/Setting an Agenda, and Pursued Equal Justice for All. In overall Performance in the Context of the Times, C-Span rated Kennedy 11th among all presidents.3 Evidence for these ratings may be found in his speeches, public addresses, letters, and remarks.
Kennedy was a student of political leadership. While in the U.S. Senate and recuperating from back surgery he wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning book about the lives of 8 former Senators, Profiles in Courage. These stories would inspire his presidency and help him define his leadership style in office. In the introduction, he defines courage in his opening lines. “This is a book about that most admirable of human virtues- courage. ‘Grace under pressure’, Ernest Hemingway defined it”.4 He contrasts ideals with politics but argues that compromise is needed for national unity. In the Cold War context that he would inherit, he advocated innovation grounded in principles. “Only the strength and progress and peaceful change that come from independent judgement and individual ideas- and even from the unorthodox and the eccentric- can enable us to surpass that foreign ideology that fears free thought more than it fears hydrogen bombs. We shall need compromises in the days ahead, to be sure, but these will be, or should be, compromises of issues, not of principles. We can compromise our political positions, but not ourselves. We can resolve the clash of interests, without conceding our ideals.” 5
The 8 documents chosen for this anthology are presented chronologically. They show Kennedy’s growth as a president and his balancing of practical politics with idealistic principles. Included are his 1961 and 1963 State of the Union Addresses. He addresses Congress, the American People, Peace Corps Volunteers, Chairman Khrushchev, and the United Nations about domestic and foreign policy, and his greatest legacies and challenges: the Peace Corps, the Space Program, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and civil rights- all in the context of the Cold War. A thread of idealism and principle run throughout. The documents relate to each other, and show, over time, a remarkable consistency.
In the final analysis, Kennedy was a successful president because he remained true to his principles as he grew into the office. He remained true to himself. As a result, unlike other presidents in times of trial, he didn’t seem to age over the course of his time in office. As recalled by Arthur Schlesinger, his unofficial historian, “By 1963 it was clear to all who saw him in the White House that Kennedy enjoyed being president… He never complained about the terrible loneliness of the office, or its awesome burdens…”6 In the end, that should inspire our students in their citizenship. Our democracy only asks them to be themselves.
1.Dallek, Robert. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 2003,489.
2. Greenstein, Fred L. "The Qualities That Bear on Presidential Performance." PBS-Frontline. 2004. Accessed August 12, 2015. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice2004/leadership/greenstein.html.
3. "C-Span Survey of Presidential Leadership- Historians Rankings." American Presidents: Life Portraits. 2000. Accessed August 12, 2015. http://www.americanpresidents.org/survey/historians/.
4. Kennedy, John F. Profiles in Courage. Memorial ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1964, 1.
5. Ibid, 17.
6. Dallek, Robert. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 2003,631.
In his Inaugural Address John F. Kennedy inspired a whole generation to take up the torch of public service and invest their best efforts in each other and their country. That is exactly the purpose of 8th grade Social Studies courses as they engage learners in the study of their nations’ history, geography, government, and national culture. Their course of study will determine which presidential administrations they encounter, and each can be explored as a representation of their times. Studying one president can inform the study of others. In both successful and unsuccessful presidencies there are lessons in leadership for students to apply to their own lives as well as to their future voting decisions. John F. Kennedy consistently rates among the most respected and beloved presidents in American History in surveys of historians, political scientists, and the general public- enough to be held up as a standard for comparing the others. Why? His popularity begins with his idealism, which was challenged by events throughout his presidency. Pragmatism enabled him to lead effectively, but in the end his idealism remained, and was passed along in a legacy of programs that survived his assassination. An exploration of John F. Kennedy through his own words can inspire each new class of 8th graders in their citizenship.
During the transition from his election to his taking office, Kennedy was advised among others by Columbia professor Richard Neustadt whose book, Presidential Power also informed his approach to the presidency. At the end 1961, Neustadt gave JFK a favorable review and credited his popularity to his smart politics. 1 More recently, Princeton’s professor Fred Greenstein has developed 6 criteria for evaluating presidents in his continually updated book, The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to Barack Obama. While he argues that the most important factor for success is emotional intelligence, he gives Kennedy high ratings in Public Persuasion, Organizational Capacity, Vision, and Cognitive Style.2 C-Span surveyed historians in 2000 and 2009 with 10 criteria, and Kennedy received top 10 ratings in Public Persuasion, Crisis Leadership, Economic Management, Vision/Setting an Agenda, and Pursued Equal Justice for All. In overall Performance in the Context of the Times, C-Span rated Kennedy 11th among all presidents.3 Evidence for these ratings may be found in his speeches, public addresses, letters, and remarks.
Kennedy was a student of political leadership. While in the U.S. Senate and recuperating from back surgery he wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning book about the lives of 8 former Senators, Profiles in Courage. These stories would inspire his presidency and help him define his leadership style in office. In the introduction, he defines courage in his opening lines. “This is a book about that most admirable of human virtues- courage. ‘Grace under pressure’, Ernest Hemingway defined it”.4 He contrasts ideals with politics but argues that compromise is needed for national unity. In the Cold War context that he would inherit, he advocated innovation grounded in principles. “Only the strength and progress and peaceful change that come from independent judgement and individual ideas- and even from the unorthodox and the eccentric- can enable us to surpass that foreign ideology that fears free thought more than it fears hydrogen bombs. We shall need compromises in the days ahead, to be sure, but these will be, or should be, compromises of issues, not of principles. We can compromise our political positions, but not ourselves. We can resolve the clash of interests, without conceding our ideals.” 5
The 8 documents chosen for this anthology are presented chronologically. They show Kennedy’s growth as a president and his balancing of practical politics with idealistic principles. Included are his 1961 and 1963 State of the Union Addresses. He addresses Congress, the American People, Peace Corps Volunteers, Chairman Khrushchev, and the United Nations about domestic and foreign policy, and his greatest legacies and challenges: the Peace Corps, the Space Program, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and civil rights- all in the context of the Cold War. A thread of idealism and principle run throughout. The documents relate to each other, and show, over time, a remarkable consistency.
In the final analysis, Kennedy was a successful president because he remained true to his principles as he grew into the office. He remained true to himself. As a result, unlike other presidents in times of trial, he didn’t seem to age over the course of his time in office. As recalled by Arthur Schlesinger, his unofficial historian, “By 1963 it was clear to all who saw him in the White House that Kennedy enjoyed being president… He never complained about the terrible loneliness of the office, or its awesome burdens…”6 In the end, that should inspire our students in their citizenship. Our democracy only asks them to be themselves.
1.Dallek, Robert. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 2003,489.
2. Greenstein, Fred L. "The Qualities That Bear on Presidential Performance." PBS-Frontline. 2004. Accessed August 12, 2015. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice2004/leadership/greenstein.html.
3. "C-Span Survey of Presidential Leadership- Historians Rankings." American Presidents: Life Portraits. 2000. Accessed August 12, 2015. http://www.americanpresidents.org/survey/historians/.
4. Kennedy, John F. Profiles in Courage. Memorial ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1964, 1.
5. Ibid, 17.
6. Dallek, Robert. An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 2003,631.