Reconsidering JFK

Who was John F. Kennedy? So many people had a view of him, but as you will discover in this opening lecture, JFK excelled at compartmentalizing his life so that few—if anyone—truly knew him. Settle in to investigate the life of this charming, courageous, and multifaceted personality.

In the 1950s, Kennedy was a sickly and relatively obscure senator, but his star quickly rose in the 1956 Democratic convention, when he mounted a spirited campaign to win delegates for the vice presidency. Gain an inside look at the backstabbing, backroom deals of a party that expected the young politician to pay his dues.

After losing the nomination in 1956, JFK understood he had a narrow window to catapult him to the highest office. As you will see here, 1960 was the year, and television was the medium to showcase his strengths to the American public. Survey his campaign against the seasoned politician Richard Nixon.

Handsome and charming, Kennedy was a well-known playboy, which was something of an open secret in Washington during his time in office. While the press of the day considered his peccadillos too lurid for publication, new testimonies and interviews have come to light, shedding a different perspective on the president’s pastimes.

With his inexperienced background and his youthful vigor, JFK brought an intriguing new dynamic to Washington. After setting the stage of the foreign and domestic challenges Kennedy faced when entering office, Professor Shelden reflects on the role of speechwriters and aides in shaping Kennedy’s approach to the job.

JFK entered office optimistic but naïve. Not only did he thread some political challenges, such as the split in the Democratic party between progressive New Englanders and southern segregationists, but he also confronted aggressive Cold Warriors who wanted to incite a war via the Bay of Pigs invasion.

In the wake of the Bay of Pigs, Kennedy asserted his own approach to the Cold War and the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. In an attempt at a political reset, JFK looked to outer space and avowed the United States would send a man to the moon. Here, examine America’s fledgling space program.

Kennedy’s presidency involved one crushing challenge after another. While 1961 was a difficult year, 1962 was among the hardest any American president has faced. See how the president dealt with negotiations at home (against US Steel) and abroad (when the Soviets placed nuclear warheads in Cuba).

The peaceful end to the Cuban Missile Crisis marked a new era for the Cold War, in which all sides understood the threat of nuclear annihilation. Fortunately, President Kennedy was savvy enough to manage the nuclear age—and was able to turn his attention to the civil rights movement. Here, delve into the world of segregation and political activism.

President Kennedy fought the Cold War on multiple fronts. Although we may associate the Vietnam War with the Johnson and Nixon administrations, the seeds of war were planted under JFK. Dive into the world of palace intrigue, grand strategy, domino theory, and an unofficial coup in South Vietnam.

Much has been written about JFK’s assassination, but Professor Shelden takes a different approach to this tragic story. Why was Kennedy in Dallas in November 1963? As you will discover, the world of Texas politics had split—and threatened his reelection bid. Get a front-row seat in the petty political dramas that preceded the shot from Lee Harvey Oswald.

In this final lecture, reflect on the legacy of President Kennedy as a flawed King Arthur in a mythical Camelot. After the shooting, the actions of Lyndon Johnson and Jacqueline Kennedy prepared America for the next chapter of history. The course ends by revisiting the beginning and the question that intrigues us still: Who was John F. Kennedy?