The Assassination Of President John F. Kennedy - 1112 Words

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy is one of the most memorable days in American history. The Making of Modern America states â€Å"Americans would compare the personal impact of the assassination to Pearl Harbor, and later to the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York† (123). Kennedy’s assassination brought about many conspiracy theories and ultimately begs the question, what if Kennedy had lived? President John F. Kennedy was sworn into office on January 20, 1961. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie, and their children, Caroline and John Jr., were one of the youngest families to move into the White House as well. Kennedy was energetic and charismatic, while Jackie was beautiful and fashionable. Kennedy’s family played a huge†¦show more content†¦Although The New Frontier was largely unsuccessful, Kennedy had an abundance of success in other areas of his presidency. One of Kennedy’s primary focuses was space exploration. During Eisenhower’s presidency, the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik, and then at the beginning of Kennedy’s presidency, the Soviet Union launched the first man to orbit the earth. Kennedy took space exploration on as a challenge and urged Americans to support him by funding the Apollo missions. Kennedy challenged Americans to commit themselves to landing a man on the moon before 1970. â€Å"In February 1962 the United States caught up with the Soviets by sending John Glenn into orbit† (107). Kennedy also committed himself to civil rights. The Making of Modern America argues, â€Å"the sit-ins marked the beginning of Kennedy’s commitment to civil rights. The sit-ins began in the middle of the 1960 presidential campaign, and Kennedy, who was nearly unknown in the black community, saw the Republican Party’s lack of sympathy for black issues as a vulnerability to be exploited. He openly supported the sit-ins...in the election, Kennedy took a solid 68 percent of the black vote† (108). The sit-ins began as a form of peaceful protest when African American students sat at a whites-only counter and refused to leave