John F. Kennedy

During the afternoon of November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was traveling through Dallas in a hoodless car, conducting a rally of supporters meant to mobilize endorsements for his 1964 reelection campaign. As this took place, Lee Harvey Oswald, an ex-navy soldier who had briefly defected to the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and who despised America's Cold War policies, aimed a gun at the popular president while spying on him from a book depository in the city. After only a few moments, Oswald fired his gun, launching a bullet that pierced Kennedy. Later that day, Kennedy joined Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, and William McKinley in the bleak collection of presidents murdered amidst their work in the White House. Kennedy's vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, had been handed a bloody, gnarled executive branch and the responsibility of cleansing it. Johnson's presidency, though marked by social progress like the end of segregation and forward-thinking economic reforms, was also stained by the Vietnam War, increased crime, and internal divisions. Kennedy's death can also be seen as the death of America's post-WW2 prosperity.

Because of the appalling conditions in which the Kennedy presidency ended and because of how devastating its abrupt termination was, many have made a strange accusation of Kennedy and the historians who analyze him: That Kennedy was an unimpressive chief executive possessing no unique talents (many have even called him a buffoonish or reckless president) who is only viewed in a positive light because of his early separation from existence. Members of this school of historical thought charge historians with being locked in all-encompassing guilt contained within a dark shell of mourning that has enslaved their analysis. They are so overwhelmed with grief for Kennedy, his cabinet, and his family that, according to these critics, they are incapable of seeing the obvious truth, the supposedly clear reality that the Kennedy Administration was incompetent, harmful, and ultimately, nothing special. I wholeheartedly disagree. I consider Kennedy one of the greatest presidents in American history.

For starters, Kennedy had an incredible monetary policy. He was a dedicated New Dealer who fought for the financial protection of American workers. To this end, he raised the minimum wage and advocated for a number of other positive economic reforms under a campaign he labeled the New Frontier. It's true that Kennedy was unable to enact or enforce much of the New Frontier, but he absolutely deserves credit for his efforts. In fact, Johnson's equally-positive financial policies (which were embedded within a campaign he called the Great Society) were largely inspired by Kennedy, as well as FDR. A major reason Johnson was able to pass the Great Society was its similarities to the New Frontier. The nation wanted to honor the popular Kennedy by passing the desired domestic agenda of his vice president. Kennedy also increased funding to NASA, a government agency first founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower. Most historians agree that it was Kennedy's support for NASA that paved the way for the Moon Landings in 1969 and 1970, under Johnson and Richard Nixon.

In all fairness, foreign policy carried many of Kennedy's flaws. In February 1962, Kennedy enacted an embargo of practically all imports and exports against Cuba. Of course, Fidel Castro's pro-Soviet, despotic regime had to be condemned and opposed, but trade embargoes were not the proper course of action. Castro was not a democratic leader. His people had no say in Cuba's political affairs. It makes no sense to seek his destruction through reduced approval, as there was no realistic way of acting upon the disapproval sanctions would create. This is why I only support sanctions when used to retaliate against immoral governments that are also democratic in nature. They were otherwise ineffective. Kennedy also expanded the United States' presence in Vietnam, though he later came to regret this choice. One foreign policy topic where Kennedy receives far too much hate, however, is the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

On April 17, 1961, Cuban refugees who had previously fled the tyrannical Castro regime returned to their home country, where they launched a US-backed rebellion meant to topple the new dictator. The invasion, which took place 2 days after American warplanes painted to look like stolen Cuban aircraft bombed numerous military bases on the lone Soviet ally in the Caribbean, was launched through the Bay of Pigs region, hence the name. The Bay of Pigs was also located near a radio station, which reported the attack to Castro. Outraged, Castro sent troops to crush the revolt, accomplishing this goal with ease. The Bay of Pigs Invasion had failed. Many people criticize Kennedy for this, saying that he caused it to be squashed through ineptitude. For me, it doesn't matter whether the Bay of Pigs Invasion failed or succeeded. It was imperialist and never should have taken place in the first place. However, since Eisenhower initially planned the Bay of Pigs Invasion back in 1960, Eisenhower deserves the criticism, not Kennedy.

Nikita Khrushchev, who took over as the leader of the Soviet Union 6 months after Stalin died in 1953, was horrified by news of the Bay of Pigs Invasion. He cherished Cuba as a geopolitical ally and feared its loss. He also disliked how the US had installed nuclear missiles in Turkey and Italy facing Soviet territory in the years immediately following the launch of the Cold War in 1947. To discourage future encroachments by the US into Cuba and to even out the playing field in regards to American nukes in Europe, Khrushchev commissioned the installment of nuclear weapons in Cuba facing the US. On October 14, 1962, an American plane flying over Cuba took photos of the missiles being placed, sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis, the challenge that best highlighted Kennedy's brilliance, compassion, and strength. Two days later, on October 16, 1962, Kennedy was informed of the photos at a cabinet meeting.

Knowing that he had to take action, Kennedy responded to these revelations by establishing the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, or EXCOMM for short. EXCOMM, founded as an emergency agency to advise Kennedy amidst the Cuban Missile Crisis, literally urged Kennedy to invade Cuba and attack the Soviet missiles head-on. Kennedy wisely discarded these ridiculous proposals, thus sparing the world global catastrophe in the process. Instead, Kennedy took a much more mild, diplomatic approach: He placed a naval blockade around Cuba (not to attack the island, mind you, but to prevent the shipment of additional missiles) and began crafting an ultimatum for Khrushchev. As he implemented these steps, Kennedy explained what was going on to the American public on October 22, 1962. He mentioned the possibility of actual war, creating widespread fear of an imminent apocalypse. People even stored food and clean gas in preparation for true crisis. Kennedy, however, would avert this.

As tensions inflated, a Soviet ship peacefully sailed by Kennedy's blockade, sustaining neither damage from American bullets nor bitterness from any hazardous confrontation. News of this uplifting incident soon reached American shores, producing hope for a diplomatic recovery. Among those excited for a brighter future was Khrushchev himself, who proposed a deal to Kennedy on October 26, 1962: Remove the American nukes from Turkey and, in exchange, Soviet nukes would be removed from Cuba. Kennedy didn't respond to Khrushchev's offer before a second cause of concern emerged: On October 27, 1962, an American plane flying over Cuba was shot down, making nuclear war seem inevitable. Desperate to ensure the survival of human civilization, Khrushchev sent a second, less demanding ultimatum to Khrushchev, merely asking for a pledge that no more offensive attacks would be launched by the US against Cuba. If those terms were fulfilled, Khrushchev would remove the nukes.

Like Khrushchev, Kennedy realized how dangerous the situation had become. On October 28, 1962, Kennedy agreed publicly to Khrushchev's second ultimatum, ending the Cuban Missile Crisis. In private, he also affirmed the conditions of the first ultimatum. In doing this, Kennedy not only saved the globe from agonizing annihilation marred by nuclear death but also preserved Cuban sovereignty from the threats of Western imperialism. Kennedy took other actions to reduce the threats posed by nuclear arsenals. Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, he worked with Soviet officials to install a hotline linking the White House and the Kremlin, allowing Soviet and American leaders to easily communicate amidst dire straits. He also signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which abridged the environmental and ecological impact of nuclear weapons by stipulating that neither the US nor the USSR could test those weapons in the Ocean, Outer Space, or the atmosphere.

The rest of Kennedy's foreign policy did not disappoint! Owing to the fact that the support of Jewish voters helped him win the presidency in 1960, Kennedy worked to improve relations with Israel. He also launched a program to economically and financially support Egypt, sending food shipments that fed about 40% of the Egyptian population! Soon after his initial swearing-in ceremony in 1961, Kennedy established a duo of important diplomatic agencies through two executive orders. The first of these policies set up the Peace Corps. Still in operation today, the Peace Corps hires American citizens to travel abroad and conducted admirable work in the pursuit of increased economic, social, and political stability. The second of these policies set up the Alliance for Progress. In order to obtain the gratitude of Latin American nations and so prevent the expansion of Soviet influence in that region, the Alliance for Progress was founded to help countries like Mexico, St. Kitts and Nevis, Panama, Costa Rica, Bolivia, and Uruguay in their journeys toward the coveted status of developed nation.

Civil rights was another area where Kennedy excelled. On May 4, 1961, a group of 13 civil rights activists - 6 white people, 7 black people - known collectively as "the Freedom Riders" began traveling across various southern states on a bus they had rented in order to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals. Sadly, the Freedom Riders were almost instantly met with hostility and prejudice, often being berated, attacked, and accosted during stops to refuel and sleep. This opposition culminated on Mother's Day 1961 when the bus was violently ambushed in a riot outside Aniston, Alabama. It was hit with bullets, rocks, and even a Molotov cocktail. Obviously, their vehicle was decimated. Kennedy, being a northerner from Massachusetts who despised the Jim Crow system, decided to step in, securing a new bus for the Freedom Riders to continue their protest.

Aside from his brilliant response to the mistreatment of the Freedom Riders, Kennedy pursued a number of policies that benefitted black people and women in the long term. For instance, he signed the Equal Pay Act, which mandates that no employee receive a lower or higher wage simply because of their gender. Kennedy also supported the 24th Amendment. In order to preserve Jim Crow policies, southern states started working to undermine black suffrage. While the 15th Amendment (ratified during Reconstruction in 1870) made sure no one could have their voting rights taken due to their race but states like Florida, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, and other such areas found loopholes: They would require voters to pass purposefully-confusing "literacy tests" in order to cast a ballot, as well as to pay a poll tax (which was far harder for black people, who had been left impoverished by centuries of oppression). From there, they would attach "grandfather clauses" to the bills instituting these policies, allowing anyone whose grandfather would have been allowed to vote before the civil war to avoid poll taxes and literacy tests. The 24th Amendment, which Kennedy endorsed and even congratulated the governors of states that ratified it, banned poll taxes in federal elections.

Furthermore, Kennedy issued an executive order that prohibited segregation in any and all federally-financed public housing. Kennedy also used federal troops to desegregate the University of Mississippi. Most impressively, though, Kennedy helped end Jim Crow laws and segregation as a whole, not exclusively in specific departments of society like bus stops and public housing. On June 11, 1963, Kennedy requested that Congress draft what became known as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 following his, Kennedy's, death. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, upon being signed into law by LBJ, prohibited companies, organizations, programs, and governments operating within the US from separating or denying service to people due to their race. In other words, it ended segregation. It also made sure no one's job application or resume was rejected because of their race and said that federal funds could not be vested within organizations shown to be engaging in racist behavior. All of these wonderful policies, which have unlocked so much liberty and opportunity for Americans of all races, are rooted in Kennedy and Johnson's work.

John F. Kennedy was an amazing president. He raised the minimum wage, helped pave the way for the Moon Landings, diffused the Cuban Missile Crisis, diffused Cold War tensions, improved US-Israeli relations, helped strengthen living conditions in the developing world, and was a huge advocate for civil rights. His assassination, while tragic, depressing, and certainly something that singles out his name in presidential history, is not what defines his ranking, especially not when that ranking is selected by historians. Kennedy was a competent, intelligent man whose leadership helped carve out a better America. Popular sympathy does not undermine that fact.