October 16

Blog #113 – Was JFK a good president?

This week, we’ve been analyzing the main question – was JFK a good president? – and looking at his accomplishments and setbacks.  A couple of the classes compared his shortened presidency to other presidents with shortened terms (Harrison, Taylor, Garfield, Harding, Ford).  We also looked at how he compared on presidential rankings (he was ranked as high as #6 and as low as #18 with a composite ranking of #10).  Then we analyzed 9 chapters from the book, 40 Ways to Look at JFK by Gretchen Rubin, and looked at different ways that biographers have portrayed JFK’s strengths (his excellence, high ideals) and his weaknesses (his lies, his health), and in some ways that are still unsettled (his views on Vietnam, Civil Rights, and his treatment of Jackie Kennedy).  I have hoped that with this analysis (along with the Portrait contrasting Kennedy w/ Ike) provides you with a nuanced portait (no pun intended) of the president.  Image result for john f kennedy

There were three areas of contention among biographers:

  1. Civil Rights leader – he saw it as important, as a “moral” cause, but didn’t push hard enough to make true changes.  In essence, he and his brother, Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General, were reacting to provocations that Civil Rights leaders made happen in the Freedom Rides, James Meredith at Ole Miss, and the Birmingham Children’s March.  He also tried to derail the March on Washington in August 1963 for fears of antagonizing Southern lawmakers that he needed on his side to pass New Frontier legislation.
  2. Vietnam – Some historians stated that Kennedy was going to de-escalate or pulled Americans forces out of Vietnam, potentially preventing great loss of life on both American and Vietnamese sides.  He wanted fewer advisors in Vietnam, but was unable to pull them out and never specifically said that we would leave.  Other historians point to the fact that Kennedy increased the number of advisors from 1,000 to 16,000 by his death.  These historians point out his harsh Cold War rhetoric and saw any retreat from confronting communism in Asia as a problem in his reelection.  Kennedy believed that we could stay and win the war.
  3. His attitudes towards women – his treatment of his wife in particular, and his philandering with other women, sound very old-fashioned.  He had no problem with paying women less.  He treated his wife poorly (vacationing while she was eight months pregnant and not returning for the still-born birth of his child).

Here’s what I want you to do:

  1. Argue whether or not you think Kennedy deserves a top 10 ranking as president and explain why.  Use specific pieces of evidence from the biographers’ comparisons and the answers to the questions on the Google Doc.
  2. Do the counter argument with what you just argued in #1.  Use specific pieces of evidence from the biographers’ comparisons and the answers to the questions on the Google Doc.

400 words total.  Due by class on Friday, October 19.  

Wikipedia compilation of presidential rankings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_presidents_of_the_United_States

Latest presidential ranking by Boise State: https://sps.boisestate.edu/politicalscience/files/2018/02/Greatness.pdf

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Posted October 16, 2018 by geoffwickersham in category Blogs

53 thoughts on “Blog #113 – Was JFK a good president?

  1. Roni Blank

    Blog #113 – Was JFK a good president?

    I believe that overall was a good president but didn’t do anything major that deserved him the top 10 ranking as president.

    President Kennedy had many comparably minor achievements:
    President Kennedy succeeded in his space goals. In May 1961, the Kennedy administration sent the first American to space, Alan Shepard. Also, Kennedy will forever be remembered as the U.S. leader who in 1961 gave the country a new goal in the space field: Sending Americans to the moon “before this decade is out.”

    Kennedy took the U.S economy out of recession through his reforms. These were some of the most significant improvements to the economy since the New Deal. Some of his programs included the expansion of aid to children of unemployed workers and an increase in the minimum wage.

    JFK did a very good job of avoiding nuclear war with the Soviets. After discovering the missile sites in Cuba, he negotiated peacefully with the Soviet leader. The United States and the Soviets agreed that the SU would relocate the weapon sites in exchange for a promise from the United States not to invade Cuba.

    Kennedy improved Social Security benefits: He increased the number of people it was available to, increased the monthly retirement benefit, started period of disability, set higher standards for social security for future presidents.

    Kennedy made several good acts that helped maintain peace: He created the Peace Corps by executive order in 1961. The Peace Corps helped to promote world peace with other countries. In 1962, Kennedy created the Alliance for Progress. The goal was to encourage greater economic ties with Latin America.

    JFK promoted the Civil Rights Movement. Kennedy helped free Martin Luther King from prison and started the movement towards the Civil Rights Act of 1964, protecting African Americans against discrimination in voting. Kennedy also helped desegregate schools and other public places.

    Although Kennedy did many important relatively minor things, he also had many setbacks:
    Kennedy was a poor husband: He didn’t care for his wife, Jackie. For example, when his wife was pregnant, he went on a vacation and left his wife behind. Also, he left their honeymoon early because he was bored. He also had affairs with other women.
    Although Kennedy had goals for racial equality, he did not always achieve them. He was mainly all talk but no action about this matter. Some of the promises he didn’t fulfill were the reason many African Americans voted for him, so many felt cheated.

    Kennedy’s health was extremely inferior since he was a child. Kennedy had many health problems as a boy and even had to drop out of two different universities because of his poor health. During his time in office, he was also sick and risked two dangerous operations. Health itself doesn’t condemn people, but Kennedy often lied about his health.

  2. Halle misra

    I believe Kennedy was not in the top 10 of presidents of the United States even though many people talk him up to be a great president. This is because Kennedy didn’t emphasize civil rights, he objectified women, and he lied about his health and his academic record.
    When Kennedy was president he didn’t emphasize civil rights. He cared more about foreign policy and what countries like the Soviet Union thought of America than about what was going on in the United States. An example of this is the freedom riders who were civil rights activities who rode buses into the segregated southern United States to protest unequal civil rights. Kennedy thought of the freedom riders as embarrassing to the United States as he prepared to meet with the Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev. He did not want the Soviets seeing the United States as a country that couldn’t even control its own people. Kennedy did not appreciate how divisive civil rights issues were in the United States.
    Kennedy’s ideological beliefs on women were not correct either. He was a man set in his ways and was okay with paying women less and objectifying them. When his own wife was eight months pregnant, Kennedy left her to go on a sailing trip. His wife ended up losing her baby and he wasn’t around. He was also only there for one out of four of his children’s births. In the White House, his wife and him slept in different bedrooms.
    Kennedy also lied about a number of items including his health and his academic record. He lied about his health issues such that most people didn’t know about the issues except his wife and a few doctors. When he was running for the presidency, he lied about his major back problems, his intestine issues, a urinary tract infection, and much more. It is reported that he would use crutches when the public couldn’t see him and would take too much medicine. Eventually, his doctor told him he was getting addicted to prescription medication. Lastly, he lied about his academic credentials. He said he went to college way longer than he really did and in high school, he missed a lot of school due to health issues. He tried to hide these problems from the public to show that he was fit to be president even though in reality he probably wasn’t. These reasons are just some of the ways Kennedy was not one of the best presidents.
    Although Kennedy should not be ranked in the top 10 of presidents, he was a still good president for many reasons. He tried to make the countries appearance look good so we could win the cold war. He fought in the Cold War well and did what was best for America. His personality looked good to the public and made people calm in crises, and he was a quick thinker. To start off, his appearance made the public like him more. He appealed to the public in speeches through humor and he was overall a good public speaker which made Americans believe in him. He worked hard and tried to fix his flaws like a high pitched voice, that he did not like, so every morning he “barked like a dog” to lower his voice and make it more appealing to the public. This is just one way that showed he really cared about America and what the public thought of him. Another thing he did well was thinking quick. An example would be the Cuban missile crisis. He did what he thought was best for the country and when it looked like the world might go into a nuclear war. He put ships and planes around Cuba as a naval blockade. He got the missiles out of Cuba. This could have easily lead to nuclear war, but his quick thinking saved America. He also calmed American people down by sending a man to the moon. He used quick thinking to help calm Americans. Americans were very worried about nuclear war, but Kennedy used his voice to make people believe in him. Although he did not have his morals straight on civil rights. Appearing well, caring about foreign policy, and quick thinking were just some ways he was a good president.

  3. Sophi Whitman

    I believe that President Kennedy does not deserves a top 10 ranking as president. To begin with, he was more of a reactor than a visionary type of leader when it came to the Civil Rights Movement. He was said to not understand the depth of the movement and the effect it had on America. He and his brother, Robert, responded to the protestors rather than taking charge and solving the segregation issue on their own. He ignored calls from civil rights leaders and focused his attention elsewhere. He was claimed to only do things to look better publically and to avoid national embarrassment, not based on his own views. His sympathy was pushed aside as he delayed new reforms in fear of upsetting Southern Whites. He also tried to shut down the March on Washington in August 1963 with the same fear of losing the support of lawmakers. In his first year, he didn’t do much to solve the segregation affair and on top of that, he was stated to be very hesitant when he did eventually assemble improvements.
    We will never know for sure what Kennedy would have done about the Vietnam War situation. Historians can argue both points of view, one being that he would pull America out of the war. He wanted to prevent thousands of US and Vietnamese deaths from occurring and thought that leaving the fight was the best option. It was believed that Kennedy wanted to keep the troops in the war until he was guaranteed the reelection. He didn’t want to end his first term with the impression that he was going soft on communism. Once he had his second term secured, he would then take America out of the war. This decision was based on making him look good and not solving issues for America. He should have made the decision to help the country and not himself.
    His attitudes toward women top of his uncivil personality. Kennedy was said to have only gotten married to his wife, Jackie, because of his age and to appeal to the public more. Their marriage was filled with fighting and lies. He was accused of having numerous affairs and taking vacations without her. For example, when she was eight months pregnant, he took a trip to Florida and missed the birth of their son. When he finally heard the news, he seemed terribly disappointed about the interruption and the calling to go home. He treated women like property and hired a significantly larger amount of male coworkers.
    All of Kennedy’s negative actions outway the positives as he should not be ranked in the top 10 presidents. He had a rude personality and didn’t take charge as a leader.

    Although Kennedy was not perfect throughout his presidency years, he does deserve a top 10 ranking as president. His actions toward the Civil Rights Movement portrayed a good effect on African Americans. He was claimed to push for immediate desegregation throughout the country. His most famous fight was in the form of a speech where he stated segregation as a moral issue. He announced that major Civil Rights laws would be submitted to Congress to help guarantee equality in all public facilities, to end segregation in education, and to provide the right to vote. He gained the support of many African Americans as they started to believe that he understood what needed to be done to end segregation. He also assisted MLK and his family when segregation was at its worst. Additionally, he still sent the Civil Rights Bill to Congress even though he knew that it would lead to the loss of support of many whites.
    JFK was claimed to have kept the US in the Vietnam War if he was still alive to make that decision. With his dominant sense of leadership and tough personality put into context, keeping America fighting was the best option to him. He believed that our departure would cause the Domino Theory, which would lead to similar actions in other countries. He wanted to continue our fight against communism in Asia and knew backing out would portray America’s weakness worldwide.
    Kennedy’s outlook on women was very helpful in society. He made big changes for our country today in the fact of equal pay. In 1963, he signed the Equal Pay Act, which prohibited discrimination of different sexes in the payment of employees. He supported women and was fairly respectful towards them. His marriage with Jackie was claimed to be spontaneous and loving.
    Kennedy made mistakes, as any leader would, but overall did a great job during his presidency and got the job done. Therefore, he does deserve a top 10 ranking.

  4. Kaitlin Capinjola

    In my opinion, I believe that President John f. Kennedy doesn’t deserve a top ten ranking because of the lack of initiative he took on civil rights, his take on the Vietnam war, and his physical health/attitude towards women. First of all, during his campaign, JFK made a lot of promises about the rights of African Americans. Some of these promises for a better future for African Americans were what compelled them to vote for him. Unfortunately, John did not keep many of his promises. He was “all talk, little action” in regards to civil rights, meaning he talked about his ideas but never followed up on them, letting many African American voters down. John F Kennedy wanted to stay in the Vietnam war and believed we could win, but some historians claim that the only reason he wanted to keep the U.S in the Vietnam War was because he wanted to gain votes, so he stayed through the election. During JFK’s presidency, he lied about his ailments and convinced everyone he was fine. For example, he had Addison’s disease and he lied about the medication he took for it, saying that he no longer was taking the medication. He also lied about dropping out of college because he had to spend two months in the hospital. Kennedy treated his wife and his views on women in an old-fashioned way. He signed a bill for equal pay for women but didn’t necessarily agree that women deserve the same pay as men. In my opinion, Kennedy wasn’t a good husband because he always had women coming to the white house and had multiple affairs. He would flirt with other women in public, as well as right in front of Jackie. On the other hand, some people believe he deserves the top ten ranking and is a good president. Although JFK hid his illnesses from the public, it doesn’t affect him as a president. Going along with the sense that his illnesses don’t affect his presidency, him as a person could be viewed separately as how he handles certain situations as a president. His affairs and treatment of his wife describe him as a person, but not how he is as a president. John Kennedy’s personal life doesn’t affect him as a person, he can be a bad person but still a good president. Although Kennedy did little for civil rights, he would often bring up topics such as inequality, at least bringing to life these issues that African Americans face. Kennedy wanted to stay in the Vietnam War and believed the United States could win, asserting power and showing toughness.

  5. Dilan Daniels

    In terms of Kennedy’s performance as a president, I believe that he should have earned a top ten spot in comparison to other presidents. In the eyes of the public, Kennedy had a great image of himself and despite not being a natural public speaker, he practiced to become a good one. Kennedy also would identify and go to great lengths fix his problems to come off as more appealing to the public. One of Kennedy’s personal flaws was that when he spoke, his voice would be high, and to solve this he barked for 30 consecutive minutes each morning to make his voice deeper when he spoke. Kennedy’s handling of multiple crisis and issues during the Cold War also make him stand out as a president. Although he didn’t take the first blow towards issues dealing with racism, only responding to events civil rights activists prompted, such as when James Meredith enrolled at a segregated university, he did more than most previous presidents of his time to combat problems faced by people of color. The Cuban Missile crisis is a well known event that Kennedy also handled, and handled correctly, as the wrong stance towards the issue could have led to a thermonuclear war. As a president, Kennedy’s sense in politics allows him to take a top ten position against other presidents.
    Kennedy’s actions outside of the realm of politics and public image are questionable however. Specifically towards his wife, Jackie Kennedy, John had a bit of a rough relationship with her sometimes. It seems that he only got married so that he would not appear homosexual, which in the sixties would shatter his political, and personal, life and in turn used Jackie to make himself look better in the eyes of the public. John took a lot of vacations as well and often distanced himself from Jackie as a result. He even took a vacation in 1956 when his spouse was 8 months pregnant, and was overseas from her when the baby that was on the way was miscarried The couple also had separate beds in the White House and John was only ever present for 1 out of 4 of his children’s births. John tended to lie a lot as well about his personal life when it came to his public image and he made false claims about his health, education, achievements. To appear youthful and healthy, John denied claims of his Addison’s disease, which he did have, to appear that he would be in prime shape when he took the presidency. Kennedy’s place of education, which in truth was Harvard University, was also partially falsified as he claimed that he learned for one term under Harold Laski, which he did register, but immediately fell ill and returned home. There is also speculation on if he actually wrote Profiles in Courage himself, or had a ghostwriter do most of the work, because most of the notes that he wrote for the story were never organized and very little of their ideas ever went into the story. He may have been an astonishing president, but as a person, he wasn’t all too good at managing his personal issues and past life before the presidency.

  6. Tucker Budd

    1)I believe that John F Kennedy does deserve the top #10 ranking of U.S Presidents. I believe that he was a good president for many reasons. One being Civil Rights. He saw civil rights as important and a moral. He proposed Exec. Order 11063, which banned segregation in federal funded public housing, which was later enacted after his death by Johnson. He also established the Peace Corps in 1961 which was a voluntary organization of U.S citizens who travel to impoverished countries and provide aid. He also did a lot towards equal pay. He proposed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 which was meant to end the wage gap between men and women. Although he was not successful, it did a lot to improve women’s pay and helped close the gap. He also expanded the Social Security Act , which increased urban development budget by $2 million. As Well as made amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act which raised the minimum wage. He set up Senior Citizens Housing act of 1962 as well, which ended housing segregation. Last but not least he supported the partial nuclear test treaty. It was a treaty in 1963, singed by the U.S.S.R, the U.S. and the U.K, which banned testing of all nuclear weapons above ground.
    2)As Well as there being many reasons why JFK was a good president there are about the same amount for why some see him as a bad president. First of all would be the Bay of Pigs. This invasion against Cuba, was directed by JFK, and led to hundreds of American deaths and thousands captured or injured. The failure of this invasion led to Fidel Castro being more weary leading him to be a better leader. Another thing that JFK did was the intensification of the Vietnam War. As Well as JFK planning a coup against Iraq leader. This was successful until it lead to the Baath party coming to power. This eventually led to the long rule of Saddam Hussein. JFK also seemed very vulnerable. In the Vienna, Austria summit, JFK was humiliated by Khrushchev. Khrushchev went on to say that his country could not be intimidated and that it was a very bad idea for American soldiers to surround the Soviet Union. Later on, Khrushchev went to build the Berlin Wall. This then later turned into the Cuban missile crisis.

  7. Zoe Kissinger

    If we were only looking at John F. Kennedy’s political side and not his personal side, then yes, I would say that he should be one of our top ten ranked presidents. He was able to stir the American people to action with his charm and charisma, and he was seen as a man that displayed America’s best qualities. He seemed to be someone that people could look up to, as many African Americans and women took progressive steps to gain their rights in response to Kennedy’s words and programs (although that may not have been intentional). Speaking of African Americans, JFK was quite popular with them. He saw civil rights as an issue that needed to be taken care of, and was willing to use his popularity to speak out in support of the movement. Unfortunately, he was assassinated before he had the opportunity to make any significant changes during his second term like he had promised. Another thing worth mentioning is that Kennedy was not willing to drop out of the Vietnam War unless he saw a clear victory. He had faith that America could win, but he also knew that the victory would be excellent for him because he would forever be known as the president that won us the war in Vietnam. It goes to show how smart of a politician he really was.

    However smart of a politician Kennedy was, if we look at his personal life choices, we can see that he was not a good role model for the American people. I feel that that is what could make him undeserving of the top ten ranking. He saw women only as sex objects, and he thought it was ridiculous that they wanted equal pay as men. He constantly cheated on his poor wife, Jackie, who he only stayed with because she was popular with the public and being with her made him look good. There was even one occasion where he went on a vacation, leaving behind Jackie, who was eight months pregnant at the time. She, unfortunately, had to grieve for the stillborn birth on her own while her husband was having affairs with a changing cast of women. This kind of behavior is just plain unacceptable, however old-fashioned his ideas may be. How could the American people trust that their president would be loyal to them if he couldn’t even be loyal to his own wife, as the ideal American husband should have been?

  8. Hayden Miller

    John F Kennedy was an important staple of the 1960’s, as he was a figurehead of the US during a time when America was involved in many pivotal moments in society today, such as the first American manned flight to land on the Moon, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Bay of Pigs invasion. Even though each of these moments under Kennedy were important in the timeline of America, I do not believe he deserves to be one of the top ten Presidents in America’s history.
    The first reason JFK is not a top ten President is because of all the lies he told, both while running for President and while in Office. An example of some of the lies Kennedy told were lies about his home life, lies about his health, his academics, and lies about how many copies of a book he sold. Kennedy lied to Americans everywhere, as he sold the fake image of himself being a loving, family man, while in reality he was rarely home. While Kennedy’s wife, Jackie, was 8 months pregnant, he took a vacation to Florida, and returned unwillingly after hearing the news that the baby was stillborn. JFK often lied about his health to the public and hid his many ailments including Addison’s Disease, severe back pain, and Spastic Colitis. While Kennedy was in College he wrote a book called, Why England Slept, which he claimed to have sold over 80,000 copies, but in reality only sold 12,000 copies. Finally, JFK exaggerated his academic credentials to the public, as he claimed to have gone to college for longer periods than he really had, both to hide his illness and to reinforce his intellectual image. All of these lies told or passed along by John F Kennedy structured the opinion that he is not deserving of a high ranking spot out of all the Presidents in America’s history.
    A second reason John F Kennedy should not be a top ten President is for his opinion on Civil Rights at the time of his Presidency. Many of the things Kennedy did for Civil rights in the 60’s were only to enhance his image in the public eye and to gain more supporters. Secondly, In his first two years as President he did little to nothing to help those in need of Civil RIghts. Kennedy also didn’t realize the depths of the Civil Rights issues and he was all together hesitant to initiate the Civil RIghts Bill. How can a President be ranked high up on a list when his competitors have done many other, far more beneficial things to help the downtrodden of America. When someone does little to help a suffering group, they are not helping their country succeed.
    Finally, a third reason John Kennedy was not a good President was the way he treated his family, especially his wife. At one point in his political career, Kennedy stated that he only got married to not appear gay. Kennedy also treated his wife, Jackie as a trophy and a prop, using her to show off and pull her around at different meetings. JFK was also never around, as he was only present at one out of four of his children’s births, and was on vacation while Jackie was eight months pregnant, only returning after their child was born stillborn. A president cannot help the country if he cannot be around for his family. If a President cannot respect his wife, how can he have the decency to help a nation better itself and move forward.
    In retrospect, John F Kennedy helped America become a better nation and did many things to improve everyday life for Americans. For example, Kennedy proposed the Civil Rights Bill, which end segregation in public places and outlaw discrimination in the workplace would eventually go on to be signed into action by Lyndon B Johnson. As well as the proposal of the Civil Rights bill, Kennedy helped the US in times of Crisis when he cooly and calmly steered America safely through the Cuban Missile Crisis. In a time which nuclear war seemed unavoidable, John chose to speak with the communists and tell them to remove their missiles from Cuba, rather than launch missiles and lead an attack, which could have resulted in another world war.
    Despite leading America through a slight phase of uncertainty, John F Kennedy’s cons in his political career most definitely outweigh the pros. Whether it’s his constant lying, his lack of care for Civil Rights, or his disrespect for his wife and family, John F Kennedy does not deserve to be a top ten President.

  9. Liam O'Gorman

    I Think that JFK does not deserve to be ranked as one of the top presidents. Although he was influential in many situations such as the Cuban Missile Crisis he was a compulsive liar, a bad husband, and pursued civil rights movements for popularity. Kennedy lied about a lot of things, such as his bad health which he hid from the public. He was constantly suffering from extreme back pain and struggled with Addison’s disease and had to constantly be taking steroids or painkillers for relief. At one point he was hospitalized nine times in six weeks, and if he became hospitalized as president, that could affect the moral of the population and make people become wary of their president. Another point that he hid from the public was the possible treatment of his wife. People are split on how he treated his wife, but I believe that he treated her terribly. Jackie Kennedy stated that he was never there for her, and one point that was prominent was when he missed the births of three out of his four kids, and one was when he was in Florida and Jackie gave birth to a stillborn boy. People also argue that he married for a political prop because of the way he treated her. Finally he was a bad president because of the way that he dealt with civil rights. It was argued that he did it for popularity, and that could be true since he didn’t do much for civil rights during the first two years of his presidency. Even when he laid the groundwork out for it, he was still hesitant about doing anything too drastic, and Johnson was the one who finally acted quickly for civil rights.
    Despite JFK’s downfalls he was also influential and memorable for many other good things. Kennedy’s personality was famously cheerful and uplifting, and he was a determined and hardworking man. He possesses many qualities that past presidents lacked such as his ability to connect with young people and have and open mind to all sorts of ideas. These qualities are what made his death impact all around the world. In terms of civil rights, Kennedy energized the nation for the changes that were going to be made and he attempted to integrate desegregation into our society as soon as he entered office. John Kennedy was an american icon of change and prosperity but he has done things that could portray him as a bad person.

  10. Hannah Deighan

    As a PRESIDENT I think JFK deserves a top 10 ranking. Even though his term was shorter than most other presidents, with a few exceptions, he still accomplished a lot. He compromised with Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, averting a nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He also contributed to the nuclear ban test treaty which limited the spaces that nuclear weapons could be tested. He established the Peace Corps in 1961 through an executive order, which sent volunteers to countries in need and helped promote world peace. He agreed to the fact that civil rights was a moral problem, which helped the civil rights movement gain support. He signed an executive order that ensured all employees were treated equal no matter which race, creed, color or national origin. Compared to other presidents with shorter terms, Kennedy achieved a lot more, mostly due to the time period he was in office, which required him to make very important decisions. Even though Kennedy was a great president, his personal choices he made were less than satisfactory. First of all, Kennedy lied about a lot. JFK was very ill throughout his life, however he denied it throughout his presidency so he would be seen more positively by the public. He was not really a civil rights activist. He just did it because it was the morale thing to do and he didn’t push hard enough to make big changes. He cared more about foreign policy. He also had a very poor view towards women. He used his wife Jackie as more of an object to make him look good. He said he only married her because he was 37, and if he was in politics without a wife, people would think he was queer. Throughout his marriage, he would go off on vacations with other women, including once when Jackie was 8 months pregnant. He also thought it was ridiculous to pay women the same as men. In conclusion JFK was a great president and made good decisions during his short term, however his actions behind closed doors are questionable. Even though his personal life doesn’t affect his actions as president, we need to ask ourselves if we want somebody with these views representing our country. Somebody that does not see women or people of color equal to everyone else. Somebody who married their wife and lies about their well-being to make himself look good, and who cheats on her while she is pregnant. Do his presidential decisions make up for his poor actions and morales?

  11. Nathalie Morgan

    1. I believe that John F Kennedy was a good president, but not a good person. One of my reasoning’s of why JFK was a good president is he was expected to pull more of our troops out of Vietnam, had he not be assassinated, which would have ended up saving thousands of American and Vietnamese lives, along with helping us to cut down on our military expenses. Another reason why JFK was a good president was how he handled the Cuban missile crisis. The use of blockades and threats of invading Cuba had made the soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev back down and eventually take away the nuclear weapons that they had been storing there. If the Soviets hadn’t backed down, we could have very likely gone into nuclear warfare. The reason I believe that John F Kennedy was a bad person was the way he treated women, most noticeably, his wife. Out of their four children, John was only there for one child’s birth. When Jackie was eight months pregnant, John went on a trip in the Caribbean with his friends and some women. While he was gone, Jackie ended up having a stillborn baby, and when he found out, his words were “I suppose this means the end of the trip.”
    2. John F Kennedy was both a bad president, and a bad person. Some reasons why JFK was a bad president were his views on civil rights, his contribution to the Cuban missile crisis, and the many lies he told the public. The way that JFK dealt with civil rights was problematic, because he didn’t put them at the top of the priorities, but instead underestimated them and focused on foreign policy. John grew up in wealth and privilege, and was never around black people. He refused to take political risks, which included helping the civil right movement. John F Kennedy’s contribution to the Cuban missile crisis was harmful for the most part, one example being his support of the invasion of the bay of pigs, which ended in most combatants from the U.S. dead or captured. Another example is the mess of the small task of knocking out Castro’s air force. The disaster ended in the deaths of civilians after the bomber planes bombed Cuban airports and different areas. The lies that John F Kennedy told the public made him a bad president because if he could hide these things from the U.S’s citizens, what other things could be lying about. Some of his lies included lies about his health, his academic credentials, some suspicion whether or not he really wrote most of his books, with some suspicion pointing to his father helping him write it. The reasons why John F Kennedy was a bad person are listed in the paragraph above.

  12. Evan Willey

    Evan Willey
    10-17-18
    3rd Hour

    JFK does not deserve a top 10 ranking among presidents. He does not deserve the ranking because he was not progressing civil rights he was simply reacting to pressure coming from civil rights leaders in the country. He lied and hid many things about himself from the country. Finally, he was a young and inexperienced leader and this showed in events like the bay of pigs invasion the Vienna conference of 1961.

    Kennedy came to power in a very important time for civil rights. Many think that he was very progressive when it came to civil rights but this is only because of the social unrest occurring in the country at the time. Many of Kennedy’s action during the civil rights movement were directly after important events in the civil rights push. For example, Kennedy and his attorney general integrated interstate travel, this action was pushed by the freedom riders who were beaten while in the south and then arrested on their way to Louisiana. Kennedy was not pushing hard enough for civil rights because he had won election by a very slim margin, he was very reluctant to push civil rights too hard scared that he would lose Southern support. Some think that because of this reason, Kennedy may have never passed the civil rights bill because he didn’t know how to push Congress as hard as Johnson did and Kennedy wouldn’t have wanted to risk angering southern diplomats with the bill.

    Next, Kennedy was a repeated liar. He lied about many important issues that may have damaged his public image. He lied about his appearance as a family man. In truth he wasn’t there enough for his wife Jackie, and had multiple affairs. Kennedy was on vacation and when he heard of his son’s birth responded not with glee and happiness but instead said “I guess we have to come home now.” Other lies from Kennedy include his deteriorating health and lies about his academic credentials. He even lied about the fact that a book he wrote was ghost written. This continuous lying creates distrust between the president and his country and is wrong for a man at this level of power.

    JFK was the youngest president to be elected and in some cases it showed through his actions. In the beginning of his term he seemed very tense, nervous to be seen as too young and too inexperienced. Sadly this was shown in some important events during his term. One example is the bay of pigs invasion. This failed invasion led Fidel Castro to pronounce his alignment with communism and the Soviet Union. Following this event he let the Soviet’s full his country with nuclear weapons and give the US a massive scare of the possibility of nuclear war. Though Kennedy did handle the Cuban missile crisis well, his falters in the bay of pigs invasion led to the event happening in the first place.

    2. Kennedy was a good president for a few reasons. He had good crisis management skills, he embodied high ideals for the nation, and he wanted to pull troops out of Vietnam.

    At some in the most important times in his term, John Kennedy was successfully able to keep our country away from disaster. For example, in the Cuban missile crisis his naval blockade of the island proved successful in keeping our country out of nuclear war. In pressure moments Kennedy was able to make clear and concise decisions on what actions to take for the country’s sake.

    Kennedy was seen as very inspiring and he embodies the American dream. He was often described as hardworking and determined. His inaugural address inspired the country to commit to larger visions. He opened minds to new ideas and he was able to connect with the younger population of the country. All of these skill are important for a leader and make the connection between government and the citizens.

    It is often debated because of his assassination, but it believed that Kennedy was going to pull troops out of Vietnam. If he had done so as president than he would’ve avoided many American casualties. He was very skilled at refusing escalation. As many correspondents of his were pushing for escalation in Vietnam it is likely that he would’ve denied this. In a press conference in October 1963 he announced that he planned to begin the declining of troops.

  13. Jake Chernow

    Although most argue John F. Kennedy the 35th president of the united states deserves a top 10 ranking, JFK’s treatment of his wife, his timid approach to civil rights, and his frequent lies prove otherwise. In August of 1956, Jackie was eight months pregnant with her daughter Arabella. According to Gretchen Rubin, John Kennedy was vacationing on a yacht with an array of different women and his friends. Kennedy wasn’t present for the birth of his still-born baby girl because of this yacht trip. Secondly, in August of 1963, more than 200,000 demonstrators took part in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in the nation’s capital. This march put much pressure on President Kennedy to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill. The march struck fear into JFK and he tried to derail it according to biographers. Lastly, John F. Kennedy frequently lied to the press and his co-workers. Most often, Kennedy lied about his health. Although JFK suffered from chronic back pain while he ran for president in 1959, he exclaimed that he had never felt better and had no pain whatsoever when asked about his health. In conclusion, President John F Kennedy does not deserve a top ten ranking because of his ill-treatment of Jackie, his fear of acting for civil rights, and his frequent lies.
    Although most argue John F. Kennedy doesn’t deserve to be ranked in the top ten of best presidents, JFK’s quick and effective action in times of crisis, his responsibility for the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and his acknowledgment of the major civil rights issue in America prove otherwise. In late October 1962, Americans went to bed thinking they were going to be bombed. When news came in that the Soviets had secretly installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, the Cuban Missile Crisis had officially begun. After a long period of tense negotiations, President Kennedy was able to reach an agreement with Khrushchev. With the fate of America resting on his shoulder, JFK was able to reach an agreement in a time of crisis. Secondly, in 1963, President Kennedy signed into law the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to abolish wage disparity based on sex. The EPA was a major step towards closing the wage gap in women’s pay. Lastly, JFK made the issue of civil rights known by the people in June of 1963 during his civil rights speech. In his speech, JFK called for Americans to recognize civil rights as a moral cause to which all people need to contribute and was “as clear as the American Constitution.” This helped show American People that Civil Rights was a major issue and as President, John expected integration of Blacks and Whites. In conclusion, John F. Kennedy deserves a top ten ranking because of his great decision making in times of chaos, his push for equal pay between both genders, and his acknowledgment of the civil rights issue in America.

  14. Thomas Forberg

    The topic of JFK and his worthiness of a top ten ranking in my head is quite controversial. JFK had his ups and downs before his assassination, there were many controversial topics such as his health and his views on civil rights. I personally believe JFK hid many things from the public because he thought it wouldn’t matter, or was not dependent on how people saw him as a president, similar to FDR who struggled with polio for a majority of his life. FDR’s polio never affected him as a president and his morals, he goes down as one of the greatest presidents of all time. That’s why i don’t think JFK’s attempt to hide his health issues from the public was and issue, i see it only as a distraction from his great works like resolving the cuban missile crisis. An issue i see with kennedy top ten spot is his scandals and poor treatment of women especially his with wife jackie. Through his years in office kennedy was said to have had multiple affairs with many different women, he also didn’t support jackie as the first lady and showed little to no interest in her work. He often treated women unfairly such as paying them less. He was absent for the birth of his own child to stay on vacation, but he still viewed it as a healthy marriage. I feel like certain large scale events such as the cuban missile crisis and his views on civil rights put him in a sort of holy light that cannot be removed by scandals and mistreatment. I also think that his assassination gave him a positive view in an almost sympathetic way. I’m not trying to be rude an assassinations and assassination but when a time to mourn occurs you focus on the good and not the bad therefore all of kennedy’s remarkable and brave seem to shine through. Kennedy was a historical president of the united states and he deserves to be.
    2.)JFK can be seen as a bad president unworthy of a top ten spot, it is definitely arguable. He was a cheater a liar and a manipulator. Those negative actions cannot take away from the amazing historical achievements he has accomplished as a president. He was a role model and american man from a big wealthy family. His personal life never affected his decisions and morals as president. His past or present personal health issues never affected his meetings or his passing of bill. Kennedy was a man that made the hard decisions in america and the people loved him for that. His assassination was tragic and he was remembered as the man he is, an icon, influencer, and leader in america.

  15. Lily Abraam

    Kennedy deserves to be in the top 10 rankings of all the presidents because he created many new opportunities for African Americans, helped us in the Vietnam War, and he had a likable personality.

    Kennedy changes thousands of lives for African American people, he created something that would now be followed for the rest of eternity. Without JFK creating laws like Executive Order 11063 which says, “prohibits discrimination in the sale, leasing, rental, or other disposition of properties and facilities owned or operated by the federal government or provided with federal funds.” Without this law being in place, African Americans would not live in the same neighborhoods as white people. This could have later led to schools being discriminated because of the zones and “white and black neighborhoods.” Kennedy pushed for immediate desegregation as soon as he became president. He also invited African Americans to the White House Sadly, Kennedy died too soon to pass the Civil Rights Act, but the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson passed the bill in honor of him.

    Kennedy was a huge help in the Vietnam War because he increased the number of troops to help Vietnam. During his years as president, Kennedy tripled the amount of American economic and military aid to the South Vietnamese. He also increased the number of U.S. military advisors in Indochina. He refused to withdraw from the increasing conflict in Vietnam because, he said, “to withdraw from that effort would mean a collapse not only of South Vietnam but Southeast Asia. So, we are going to stay there.” This showed that Kennedy wanted to stay in the war and fight and help the South Vietnamese. If Kennedy wasn’t a good president he would have kept all the military aid for ourselves. Kennedy had a persistent need to show strength during the war by supporting the military.

    Kennedy was a good president because of his personality. With Kennedy’s personality, he was able to persuade people to vote his way. For example, Kennedy was liked by many people because he didn’t change his views to please the public, he kept what he thought was right for America. Kennedy also had a very good sense of humor, while watching a speech where the person criticized his views, he just laughed at the video. This is a good quality to have as a president because half the country will disagree with the president’s views. JFK realized that he would not be liked by everyone, so he brushed it off.

    From many views, JFK was not considered to be a top 10 president because of how he didn’t help African Americans to his fullest extent, his tactics in the Vietnam War, and the way he treated his wife. During the Civil Rights movement, JFK only made the changes for African Americans because it made it look better on his part. Also during the first two years of Kennedy’s presidency, he never made any changes for Civil Rights. For the Vietnam War, even though Kennedy increased the aid to South Vietnamese, on October 31, 1963, he said that he desired to reduce the size of troops in Vietnam. Finally, Kennedy had a false portrayal of who he was, he acted like a family man, but in reality, he wasn’t even in town for the birth of his child. When Kennedy’s wife had a miscarriage, he was in Florida at the time, when he got the message he complained about having to come back. He treated her as a prop to make him look better. Kennedy overall treated his wife like she was worthless.

  16. Dominick Stoops

    John F. Kennedy had a very short lived presidency of 2 years, I don’t believe JFK had enough time to get all of his presidential ideas through to the United States. Although he didn’t have enough time to get all of his ideas through he still got his fair share through. But I don’t think he deserves a top 10 ranking out of all of the presidents. Kennedy did great things, but behind the scenes things were darker. JFK was one of the firsts presidents to start advocating for civil rights, though people thought he only did it because he was ‘pressured’ into doing it because of all of the protests. When the March on Washington took place he didn’t want it to go because it is thought that he would lose Southern voters. When it came to the his civil rights promises during his campaign it was really all talk, but no action. This made many Black Americans feel cheated and mistreated. On the surface it looked like JFK had the perfect marriage, a perfect wife, and a perfect family. But in reality he wasn’t all that great to Jackie. He once said that he only got married because he was “37 years old and if I wasn’t married and in policis, people would think I was queer”. This is just a bad statement. It shows that he rushed his marriage because he wanted to seem like the perfect man to take Office. He proposed by telegram, had his Dad pick out Jackie’s engagement ring, and would go vacationing while Jackie was 8 months pregnant and leave her alone. The Vietnam war is a huge topic on why he doesn’t deserve a top ten spot. People think that JFK only kept troops in Vietnam to benefit his presidential campaign. He had already escalated the Vietnam war to where it was at, at that time period, it was too high stakes for him just to back out, but he said after his campaign that he was going to back out. Even though did all of these things on the other hand he did do great things. He proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1966, this bill completely altered society for the good, it flipped the scripts and changed America around for the better. His death was a huge reason why this act got passed, his Vice President Johnson saw through that this act would get passed, JFK’s death persuaded members of the house to pass this bill for a final tribute to him. JFK also put the first American into space, this was a pivotal win for the United States during the Cold War, and it launched space programs to further investigate and understand space. JFK also deflated the Cuban Missile crisis with perfection by perfectly leading a small task force of his close most trusted people in the government to find a way to end the Cuban Missile crisis without starting a devastating nuclear war. The successful disarmament of nuclear weapons also lead to the finding of the Peace Corps which is still around today. This group promotes world peace and friendships within different countries. Although Kennedy did good things I believe his presidency was too short, and over shadowed with the bad things he has done to put him in a top 10 spot. But I do not believe he was a bad president he deserves recognition for his work as president and his sacrifices.

  17. Amelia Margolis

    JFK was not a good president. A president is not only someone who leads our country, but someone who also sets good morals and examples especially for the public. JFK was not setting a good example to America, especially with how he treated his wife. As we read in 40 Ways to Look at JFK, we are reminded of times where he abandoned his wife. When she was 8 months pregnant, he was not there for her but instead on vacation. To me, this is not being a good role model at all. Abandoning someone in a time of need is very disrespectful. If I were alive during that time period that would make me question if he would also abandon America. At one point he also stated he only married his wife to make himself look good. This is giving Americans the idea that they can use women for their own good. These things show he is not a true leader at heart. A president is someone everyone looks up to. A bunch of people could see this and think it’s ok to treat women this way. A president needs to be a leader and set good examples in all ways, even if it doesn’t directly impact our country. Overall he is not a good president because of his morals.
    JFK was a good president. He did many great things to help our country. Our class uncovered these great things he did when researching. One great thing he did was, he got rid of a possible nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, through his negotiations with the leader of the Soviet Union. This was a hard accomplishment, and huge step for America. If he hadn’t negotiated and tried to stop this issue things could have gone completely bad. America could have ended up in a terrible nuclear war, that who even knows how long that would have lasted if JFK had not stopped it. Another thing he did was, recognized civil rights as an issue that needed to be fixed. He jump started the way to rights for African Americans. He is the one who started America’s journey in becoming a freer nation. This was one of the first steps in bringing America to where it is today. These great accomplishments made America a stronger nation. He got us to get through very important things in our history.

  18. Veronica Szuma

    President Kennedy does not deserve a top 10 spot on the list of all presidents. His presidency consisted of many reactions to current issues of his time, but not fulfilling multiple of his campaign promises. An example of this is his reluctance towards taking action with Civil Rights. He didn’t want the March on Washington to occur because he feared losing support from Southern Democrats. He also failed to get the Civil Rights Act rolling until 1963, and yet it still didn’t get passed until President Johnson was in office in 1964. People question whether or not Kennedy would have even been able to get it passed because he did not have as power and leverage in Congress as Johnson did.
    In addition, Kennedy was not honest about multiple things, including his health and love life. He had multiple affairs, including with Marilyn Monroe and a White House intern, which brings to question his integrity. This is an important quality for a president to have because the American people put their lives in the president’s hands. If he isn’t honest about his personal life, there is always the question of what else he may be lying about. He also lied about his serious health conditions, and claimed he stopped taking medication for his serious case of Addison’s disease, which was also a lie. A president in ill health can be dangerous, and the fact the Kennedy lied about and tried to cover up his health again brings into question his integrity.
    Many people recognize the Cuban Missile Crisis as one of Kennedy’s shining moments. He was able to successfully coerce the Soviet Union to remove their missiles from Cuba using a naval blockade. This was an alternative to the first plan, which included dropping bombs on the missile sites. This possibly could have started another World War. He is praised for this because he was able to keep Soviet Union missiles farther away from America after the Crisis. However, this is another reaction of his, as opposed to if he had been more proactive earlier, by not allowing the Cold War tensions to get so high. If he had kept the Cold War as mellow as Eisenhower left it, the Cuban Missile Crisis may never have happened. If Kennedy had focused more on planning for the future, he would have been closer to deserving a top 10 spot on the list of all presidents.

  19. Walter LaMar

    JFK one of America’s favorite President but does he truly deserve to? I say yes JFK does deserve to be called one of America’s greatest Presidents due to his achievements such as the Civil Right Act, the creation of the Peace Corps, and his response to Cuban missile crisis. The Civil Right Act was a bill that got rid of all Jim Crow laws and prohibits any discrimination based on race for African American. The enactment of this bill skyrocketed JFK reputation among African American although it agitated southern democrats. Another accomplishment JFK has done is the establishment of The Peace Corps. The Peace Corps. was made in 1961 its purpose was to help developing third world countries education, farming, health care, and construction. Once the Peace Corps. was created it had 5,000 followers and double the amount next year. The Peace Corps. helped many countries such as abolishing malaria in Africa and responding to the crisis in 1994 when Rwanda was dealing with a mass genocide. Lastly and what may have been a life or death decision for mankind was the matter of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban missile crisis was when the Soviet Union started to bring missiles to Cuba and pointed them at American territory. Obviously, America didn’t like having missiles pointed at them so JFK had to think of a way to get those missiles out his face while not triggering a World War III. The idea he and his cabinet decided on may have saved the world; instead of just a hothead and just nuke Cuba which would start a nuclear war with the Soviets he instead took a passive action and made a blockade to push them out of Cuba.

    On the contrary, some may say JFK wasn’t one of America’s Greatest being that all of his morals weren’t as ideal than some have thought. All of JFK “morales” wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought they were; his treatment towards women, and his reasons for the civil right act. JFK was a popular president because he signed the Civil Right act in 1961, but why did he sign it? Did he think it was a good idea? That it was an actual problem? No JFK did it because he thought it would be an embarrassment if the U.S. couldn’t get their act together Stalin was going to make fun of capitalism and get a devastating blow in America’s pride. Completely contrast from the affectionate person people thought he was. JFK was also a terrible Husband who wasn’t there for Jackie when she needed him the most to go on a vacation. Ditching your wife while she was 9 months is not the kind of Man people would want because if he can’t take care of his wife how can you take care of America.

  20. Gillian Waitzman

    1. If you were to ask me if I thought John F. Kennedy was a good person, I would say no. However, since the question is “Was JFK a good president?”, my answer is yes. I do think Kennedy deserves a top 10 ranking as president. I believe that JFK personified the best America had to offer, as said in Forty Ways to Look at JFK. Kennedy could stir people to action and inspire them. The first biographer stated that Kennedy saw Civil Rights as a moral cause, but did not push hard enough to make true changes. I disagree with that statement because I think if Kennedy was not assassinated in 1963, he would have pushed harder to get the bill passed. Although President Johnson was the one who signed the bill, Kennedy was the one who proposed the law. Although no one knows for sure what Kennedy would have done during the Vietnam War, I believe that he would have pulled us out. As said in the portrait “Eisenhower + Kennedy: Contrasting Presidencies”, Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield and his aide Kenneth O’Donnell, quote Kennedy saying that he couldn’t pull out before the 1964 election because he would be vilified as soft on communism. I think if he had not been assassinated before the election, he would have pulled them out to bring the troops back home. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a dangerous confrontation between the Soviet Union and the Unites States. Kennedy handled it well and even during the tensest moments, found a way through it. Kennedy was seen as a man that for the most part exemplified the qualities that made America great and that is why I think he deserved the top 10 ranking as president.
    2. Although Kennedy did have quality political views, some people may believe that he did not deserve the top 10 ranking as president. Outside of politics, Kennedy was not seen as a star figure to the public. He said that he only got married because if he was not married and was in politics at age 37, he was a queer. Kennedy basically used his wife, Jackie, to make him look good. One story that strikes me and changes my views on Kennedy was when Jackie was 8 months pregnant with their child. Kennedy abandoned her for a Mediterranean trip with other girls. As Kennedy was overseas, the baby was miscarried. Although Kennedy proposed the Civil Rights Act, he was never seen around African Americans. He refused to take political risks which kept the Civil Rights bill from getting passed. Although we will never know, Kennedy may never have pulled us out of the Vietnam War. He did not want America to lose the war by default or forfeit. Kennedy lied about many things such as his back, health problems, academic credentials, and whether or not he wrote his whole book himself or not. These lies make me and others seem to believe that he was not a good role model, which a president should be. Kennedy was a very interesting president that did many good and bad things. He may have deserved the top 10 ranking for president, but not as a person.

  21. Aaliyah Winston

    FK could be described as many things, except as a good president. Kennedy was not a good representative for America nor a good person. In more ways than one, JFK could be seen as a bad husband and a bad president. It is very common to automatically deem him as a “good” president, as well as a “good” person due to his term and life being cut short, however, JFK did many things that tarnish that label. Firstly, Kennedy did not treat his wife well. He often left her to go on vacations with other women, strayed away from her at parties, and was accused of cheating on her multiple times. This is not a person we as Americans should be want to be represented by. Moreover, Kennedy was not a Civil Rights Leader. He cared more about foreign policy than he did with the discrimination in the United States. Kennedy underestimated the force of the Civil Rights Movement and in result, refused to take political risks for it, (including trying to stop the March on Washington from happening). Additionally, many may argue that he made promises for the movement, but couldn’t due to his assassination, but, they must be forgetting that he didn’t call for an advancement until it started to affect the reputation of he and his executive board. JFK is known for his star “legacy” but he is not as good as a president as we make him.

    Depending of which way, you choose to view JFK’s choices, you can say he was a bad president; However, in many ways, Kennedy’s accomplishments over-shadow his setbacks. For example, how he dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Civil Rights Movement. Starting off, the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest to a nuclear holocaust between the United States and the Soviet Union, JFK remained calm and proposed a nuclear test ban treaty. He later formed a small group, called the Executive Committee, (Ex Comm), and ultimately avoided a third world war. This was a part of his “crisis management” that Michael Beschloss mentioned in his Eisenhower and Kennedy Portrait. Lastly, he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Many may say Kennedy didn’t want to sign this bill and was forced to, nevertheless, the law was still signed, regardless of his personal opinion of the movement. This act was a landmark Civil Rights and U.S. labor law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

  22. Sarah Johns

    In recent years president John F. Kennedy has been put in the top ten presidents. I don’t think that Kennedy deserves to be in the top ten but I do believe that he should be close up there. When it came to matters of civil rights he was mostly dormant. Most of the moves that Kennedy made were all to make him look good. During his campaign, Kennedy made many promises to help improve civil rights for African Americans. During his presidency however he failed to meet many of his promises leaving African Americans to feel cheated, they believed that they were not being represented. Before the March on Washington Kennedy tried to prevent it from happening so he didn’t lose votes from southern lawmakers which were very critical to him. Kennedy did propose the civil rights bill to congress in 1963, but it was to avoid future government embarrassment. When Governor Ross Barnett refused to let James Meredith enroll for Ole Miss, Kennedy tried to help by sending U.S. Marshals to escort him. However, he never made a law to desegregate schools. It was only until after the Brown vs. Board of Education that the government said that schools had to be desegregated, but Kennedy had been assassinated by then and there was no timeline set so schools took their time. Kennedy did however often bring up difficult topics that others would be afraid to talk about. He also employed African Americans into the government and military. During the Vietnam war, Kennedy thought of himself over the soldiers fighting in the war. Over the course of his presidency he increased the number of soldiers from 1,000 to 16,000 and believed that we could stay and win the war. He promised to pull them out of Vietnam after the election to appeal to the families that had loved ones in the war, so he could get re-elected. He was thinking of himself above those fighting for our country. Kennedy was also often evaluated in the way that he treated women, especially his wife. He often cheated on her and always had woman coming into the White house. Kennedy often saw his wife as more of a partner, he helped her to live a privileged life and she helped him in his political career because she was an icon. He also opposed equal pay towards woman. Kennedy did show some respect to his wife. After his son died he got her an emerald ring in remembrance of him and they became a lot closer. Though he did not treat women well, I don’t believe that this should be considered when deciding whether he is a good president or not. Though it may have affected his views on few, if any, topics but would not affect his choices on critical decisions. Though President John F. Kennedy did make some decisions that greatly benefited America, most of his decisions were self centered. Therefore, Kennedy should not be in the top ten presidents.

  23. Faith Reeves

    John F. Kennedy does not deserve to be ranked as one of the top ten U.S. presidents. His accomplishments from his time in office do not in any way over look the mistakes he made. I believe that in looking at his presidential acts, you must also look at who he was as a person. It is ingrained in a lot of Americans that the person running this country needs to be a good person at heart. While his personal life may not have had a connection to his decisions in office, it most definitely has a connection to the people’s perception of him, both at the time, and in the future.
    His questionable government decisions had many roots in the Civil Rights Movement. He did commit to being a supporter of the movement and claimed he would desegregate the military and work force. His other goals were along the same lines of desegregation and integration in America. However, in chapter 19 of 40 Ways to Look at JFK by Gretchen Rubin, it talked about the fact that he was an “all talk, no action” type of politician when it came to civil rights. He made so many promises, and appealed to African Americans all over the country; In the election, they actually made up a large percentage of his voters. Once they saw that he hadn’t actually made any headway in the matter, they just felt cheated.
    Another political mistake was in the Vietnam War. He was unable to deescalate the struggle, and ultimately made it worse when he allowed it to carry on. Because of this, tens of thousands of more lives were lost Aside from his political decisions that made him out to not look like the best president, there are the choices that he made in his personal life. He was not a very good husband, and cheated several times on his wife. He also did other things such as leaving their honeymoon early because he was bored, and going on vacation while leaving her at home, during her eighth month of pregnancy.
    There are some people that believe John F. Kennedy was a top ten president. They claim that he made great steps towards equal rights, both racially and for women’s rights. Some also claim that his personal life should not come into play when discussing his success as a president, so his treatment of his wife would not be relevant. Chapter 18 of 40 Ways to Look at JFK by Gretchen Rubin, discussed JFK’s outlook on America. He had high hopes, and positive ideas for the country. He was also able to connect the country to his ideas with help from his youthful personality and brightness in terms of the future of America. Some people also believe that he did make positive changes in the Civil Rights Movement. One of these being simply that he was not afraid to bring up the difficult topics, such as racial inequality in America. Many people of this opinion feel that though JFK did make mistakes, they did not overshadow the positive attributes his presidency had.

  24. Joshua Wallington

    Kennedy deserves to be ranked top 10 among all the presidents. Kennedy did many great presidential things during his short presidency such as his assistance toward the civil rights movement, his treatment of all American citizens with the utmost respect, and his handling of foreign policy. Kennedy showed how invested he was in the civil rights movement by helping its advancement. Kennedy helped get Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. freed from prison and he got the ball rolling with putting the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in place. The act of Civil Rights Act of 1964 protected African Americans against discrimination in voter qualification assessments and discrimination in hotels, motels, and many more public establishments. Kennedy’s involvement in the movement could have seriously jeopardized his chances of reelection but he chose to talk about it anyway. Kennedy also showed great presidential skills by passing laws that helped every American. Kennedy created the executive anti-recessionary acceleration programs. By creating this program Kennedy extended aid to children of unemployed workers, these programs also redeveloped any distressed areas and increased the minimum wage. These programs provided aid to the unemployed and minimum wage workers. Although Kennedy did not come from a family that was familiar with economic hardship, that didn’t blind him for seeing that other Americans needed help. Kennedy also handled foreign policy very well. One example of this is how Kennedy responded to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Instead of Kennedy reacting by using our military to attack the missiles, he tried a diplomatic action and ended up ending the crisis without any violent action possibly saving many lives. Kennedy deserves to be ranked among the best presidents because of his foreign policy, how he respected all Americans, and how he treated the civil rights movement.

    Kennedy was not a good president because he provided no assistance for the betterment of the Civil Rights movement, he treated some American citizens like pawns, and his handling of foreign policy was deeply flawed. Kennedy provided no assistance toward the civil rights movement and actually tried to disrupt it. Kennedy referred to the movement as a moral issue and cared more about his image than the oppressed people. One example of this is March on Washington in August 1963. He tried to derail the march because he feared it would antagonize Southern lawmakers. A good president cares about all Americans, Kennedy did not do this. Kennedy didn’t even care for his wife, he cheated on her with other women and left her alone for the stillborn birth of their baby. He also treated American that were in a war zone as pawns. He was more worried about his reelection chances than the lives of Americans in Vietnam. Kennedy also had horrible relations with foreign countries such as Cuba. The Bay of Pigs invasion is a perfect example of his shortcomings with foreign policy. Kennedy authorized 2,000 armed exiles to land in Cuba. These exiles were supposed to have American air support, but instead, Kennedy rejected the support and let the exiles fight on their own. A good president wouldn’t let people die because he gave up in the middle of his invasions. Kennedy does not deserve to be among the best presidents because he brushed of the civil rights movement, didn’t treat all Americans with respect and had a bad foreign policy that cost many Americans their lives.

  25. mostafa ghanem

    JFK in my eyes was a top ten president. I believe that JFK was a good president, but not a good person.JFK was a very complicated person. He had good traits and bad traits. He was president through some very tough times in America’s history. He had managed international and domestic crisis very well. For example the civil rights issues, JFK was ahead of his time for equality for all. JFK saw the racial inequality as a moral issue. JFK in 1963 proposed the civil rights act that would be passed by Congress in 1964 after his death. JFK also knew that Vietnam was going to be a failure and have a tragic effect on millions. He wanted fewer advisors and troops in Vietnam which would have saved millions of lives. He added more advisors to Vietnam which could mean he is preparing South Vietnam for when the U.S. leaves in the near future. I believe that JFK was not a good person and husband. He was very disloyal to his wife. He cheated on her numerous times. He saw women as just sex objects. He had a very distant relationship with his kids. He was there for only one out four of his kids births. Although JFK was not a good person, JFK was a top ten president because the acts he had made as a president.
    JFK was not a top ten president because as a president you are looked up upon by the country. The president is the supposed to be the best the country produces and JFK was not the best. He was nowhere near the best. He mistreated his wife and kids. He had many affairs with other women. His relationship with his wife was bad. He said he married her because he was 37 and as a politician by 37 he needed to have a wife or he would look bad. He did make some gender equality laws, but he viewed women as sex objects. He had a very old-fashioned take on how he treated women. JFK did not really support the civil rights movement. He did not push for any equality until the civil right movement and Dr. King had become very powerful. Once he realized to make himself look good he started pushing for equality for all. In Vietnam, JFK had said nothing to the public about pulling troops or advisors out Vietnam. He actually increased the number of advisors in Vietnam which means there is still plenty of fighting left. At best JFK was a mediocre president because he did what the public forced him to do and that’s really it. The rest was him not being a good person or leader.

  26. Ethan Lulkin

    Although John F. Kennedy has done many controversial things, John F. Kennedy deserves a top 10 presidential ranking, because he made a leap in the Civil Rights Movement in America, his “New Frontier” ideas, and he was a great crisis manager. As president John F. Kennedy made huge changes for the Civil Rights Movement. He pushed for immediate desegregation and energized the American people for a fairer country. JFK held the march on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his I had a dream speech, and pushed farther into the Civil Rights Movement. Also, he invited many African Americans to the White House. John F. Kennedy’s “New Frontier”, helped the unemployment, gave funds towards the national highway system, passed water pollution control act, raised the minimum wage, and many more acts to help people in poverty. This was similar to one of the greatest presidents of all time, Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Finally, John F. Kennedy was one of the best crisis managers. For example, he dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis very well. When the Russians put nuclear weapons in Cuba, it threatened America. When dealing with this situation he could have started a nuclear war between the Soviets and U.S, but instead he decided to set up a blockade and prevent any fighting between the Soviet’s. The blockade also succeeded in having the Soviets remove their nuclear weapons from Cuba.
    John F. Kennedy was a great president, but he can also be perceived as a president not worthy of a top 10 spot. People may make this argument because of how Kennedy treated the Civil Rights Movement, his tactics in Vietnam, and all the lies he held from the public. John F. Kennedy made some great moves in the Civil Rights Movement, but most of the time he was reacting, instead of initiating. Also, it’s been said that most of the Civil Rights acts that Kennedy passed were to look better politically, one of these being he wanted to cancel the March on Washington because he feared he would lose the Southern Democrats vote. Kennedy is credited for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but many people believe he wouldn’t have had the act passed through congress, like Lyndon Johnson did. One of the most questioned things about John F. Kennedy’s life is what he would do in Vietnam. No one knows the answers, but many historian believe Kennedy would have stayed in, because he increased the number of American advisors from 1,000 to 16,000 before his death. Also, Kennedy wanted to show that he was a tough president, and staying in the war would show the American people. Finally, throughout Kennedy’s life and presidency there were many lies. First, he lied about having many diseases, and excruciating back pain. The back pain was unbearable without medication, and Kennedy was always on painkillers. Second, was the affairs. Kennedy had many affairs on Jackie Kennedy, his wife, and continued to after being found out. Third, he claimed to have wrote a book that sold 30,000 copies, when it only sold 10,000. Along with claiming to sell more copies than he did, the book was ghost written, and Kennedy never admitted it. Finally, his relationship with Jackie Kennedy and his appearance as a family man was a lie. He appeared to being a loving husband, even with the affairs, and spend lots of time with his family, but he often was away and fought with Jackie. He was even on a “vacation” when Jackie was in labor with one of their child’s.
    There were lots of good and bad with John F. Kennedy’s presidency, but I believe the good outweighs the bad, and judging his presidency is different than judging him as a human being.

  27. Monica Inda

    John F. Kennedy, America’s 35th president, is currently ranked as the 10th overall president by Wikipedia. I think that is a severe overstatement of how great JFK actually was. Although some would consider Kennedy as the “picture of excellence” in American society, he should not be regarded as high as he is because he did not believe in equal women’s rights, he only made decisions on civil rights to please the American people, and he was a horrible husband to his wife, Jackie. First, Kennedy’s opinions on women were appalling. He often viewed them merely as sex objects and nothing more. He also went as far as to say that the wage gap was justifiable and it would be ridiculous to pay women the same amount as men. Moreover, John Kennedy did not agree with many of the civil rights acts that he signed. Kennedy only passed the laws to satisfy the growing demand for equal rights between blacks and whites. JFK did not even enforce the African American populations right to vote in the South. Instead, his brother handled that situation. Also, Kennedy critically underestimated the power of the civil rights movement and did not seem to want to take any risks that would affect his political reputation. Finally, JFK should not be ranked 10th on the presidential standings because of how he treated his wife. Kennedy was only present for the birth of one of his four children. He also abandoned his wife to go on vacation while she was eight months pregnant. Additionally, Kennedy liked to hang out with other younger women, even while married to Jackie. He appeared as if he only married her to prove that he was not queer. Although this was Kennedy’s personal life, it should be taken more into account because it exposed how irresponsible he was, even while in office.

    Although John Kennedy made many controversial decisions in his private life, he deserves the presidential ranking he is currently at. As president, JFK lead America through a rough patch known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, pushed for civil rights for blacks, and he tried to improve himself to appeal to the greater masses of the American people. Firstly, Kennedy handled the Cuban Missile Crisis pretty perfectly. He created a small group called the Executive Committee of the National Security Council or ExComm. This group advised that America should bomb the Soviets nuclear weapons plant in Cuba. Kennedy recognized that if we used missiles to destroy the Soviets nukes, we could be diving head first into a nuclear war, and quite possibly World War III. Using this information, Kennedy proceeded against what his advisors suggested and kept the U.S. out of a nuclear war but also eliminated the threat of the Soviets weapons in Cuba. Furthermore, JFK claimed to have seen civil rights as a huge issue. He passed multiple civil rights acts during his presidency and gained respect and admiration from most African American citizens. Kennedy also claimed that he was willing to squander popularity over this significant concern. Finally, Kennedy was willing to adjust himself to appear more likable to the American people. For example, Kennedy saw his high pitched voice as unpopular. In attempted to deepen his voice, Kennedy barked like a dog for 30 minutes every morning. This change gave rise to the fact that Kennedy was willing to adjust certain aspects about himself to appease more of America.

  28. Andrew Inda

    John F Kennedy was and is one of the most interesting Presidents throughout America’s history. He had worked to develop many areas during his presidency, but noticeable flaws seemingly hold him back. In my opinion, Kennedy does deserve the top ten ranking he was assigned. He had made many deserving accomplishments for the benefit of the United States during his short yet determined presidency. Firstly, the involvement by Kennedy during the critical Cuban Missile Crisis was a great achievement for him, as well as America itself. Like said in the portrait, every president most likely would have handled this alarming situation somewhat differently, yet the way Kennedy resolved it seemed most effective. Without his decisive thinking, this event could have expanded into a world-wide issue, possibly affecting more than perceived. President Kennedy also deserved his political ranking due to overcoming severe health issues. These problems, including Colitis and Addisons Disease, started from a young age and further affected him for the rest of his life. As the pain he experienced brought him great discomfort, Kennedy managed to keep pursuing the country over his own life. He learned how to deal with this, including back braces, many painkillers, as well as not alarming the public with his dilemmas. This made Kennedy seem stronger, and more fit to the public as their elected President. Lastly, a tenth place presidential ranking should be given to Kennedy in his involvement in the Vietnam War. With opposition to the communist supporting North Vietnam, containing and ending the communist regime was America’s primary plan overseas. Kennedy substantially increased aid to South Vietnam, while sending many troops in efforts for capitalism. As this unpredicted spread of communism was developing into a global issue, Kennedy knew that preserving American western ways would benefit America as a whole.
    In opposition, many suggest the Kennedy was not such a great president overall. For starters, his involvement in the Bay of Pigs invasion was not his most honorable work. As America tried to invade Cuba, the U.S. army was overwhelmed by the rising influx of communist troops. The Army was immediately forced in retreat, making this a devastating failure Kennedy. Next, Kennedy’s disloyalty to his wife was unacceptable by current standards. He continuously left Jackie to go out with other women. He was only present to experience one of his four children being born. Even worse, he supposedly only married her to prove he was not queer. Even at the time, this was completely disrespectful and not moral of someone to do, and showed how careless he was as a husband. Finally, President Kennedy was not a strong supporter of civil rights. Throughout his career, he was reluctant to pass certain civil rights bills. He refused to take a chance and grant these basic rights to African Americans, holding him back from his full potential.

  29. Kenny Pepper

    Throughout the 1950’s, America was living off their WW2 victory high and had one of its greatest decades in its history. The economy was expanding, television and music were exponentially growing in popularity, and the United States were one of the world’s greatest powers. In addition to rapid economic growth, America was deeply involved in a Cold War conflict with the Soviet Union. Eisenhower had lead America through their golden-age and Cold War up until 1960, when it was the Massachusetts democrat John F. Kennedy’s turn to take over the country after defeating Eisenhower’s vice president, Richard Nixon, in the 1960 presidential election. John F. Kennedy grew up over wealthy and was the youngest president ever to be elected. John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, cutting his presidency to less than three years long. This tragic American day provokes one of the toughest questions in American history; Was JFK a good president? John F Kennedy, even though only serving two and a half years as president, was a top 10 president because of his handling of the Cuban missile crisis, his work with America’s space program, and his inspiring of the American people.
    To begin with, JFK understood the importance of the space race during the Cold War against the soviets. The Soviets launch of Sputnik in 1957 sent America into complete panic. Such advanced technology for the time such as Sputnik tapped into America’s worst nuclear fears, causing many American’s to ask the question if they can send things into space and we can’t, how capable are they to send nukes at us? JFK recognized that our space program was not at the top of the world where it should be, so he decided to put it there. JFK got congress to increase spending for NASA in 1961, and in 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Kennedy’s boost of our space program later allows us to first land people on the moon in 1969, fulfilling JFK’s promise to send men to the moon by the end of the decade. The expanding Nasa today is now helping American’s understand more about the human body, monitoring climate change, and creating new jobs.
    Secondly, JFK was a man of the American people. His young and charming persona brought new life to Americans after the somewhat boring Eisenhower years. According to chapter 18 of Gretchen Rubin’s book 40 Ways to Look at JFK, Kennedy was known for imbodying and inspiring the American Dream. The way Kennedy spoke about the American way of life speaks volumes about how he ran America. In his inaugural speech as president, he was quoted on saying; “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” is one of the most famous quotes in American history and according to Rubin, inspired American’s to be a part of a “bigger vision”. In addition, Rubin talks about how Kennedy “raised the expectations of American people and their country” along with “opening people’s minds up to new ideas.” All the work JFK did through his actions and words propelled America to hold its self to a higher standard. JFK was similar in his inspiration of America to that of FDR, who is no question one of the top 10 presidents in American history.
    Finally, according to the google docs and popular American opinion, John F. Kennedy’s most important accomplishment has president was his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union had stationed nuclear missiles on Cuban soil pointed at the United States in October 1962, which could have been the end of the Cold War stand still, and the start on a nuclear WW3. JFK had devised a plan to put up a naval blockade around the Cuba island, and said that America would not hesitate to use military force to neutralize this threat of national security. After a 13-day military and political standoff, the Soviets agreed to remove their nukes from Cuba on the one condition that we didn’t invade Cuba. Kennedy was viewed as a national hero, and potentially the savior from another World War.
    In contrast to the idea of JFK as a good president, are those who believe him to be a President of lies and falsehoods. Some may argue that Kennedy’s involvement in civil rights during his time as president should be viewed as a positive because it was only ever in response to glairing civil rights issues. Even though his action may have been in response to issues, they still had a powerful effect on civil rights movements. When JFK sent U.S, Marshals to transport James Meredith from class to class, this shows the presidents backing of the growing civil rights movement and need for change in the white America. The president had a similar effect on Americans when he ordered MLK’s release from jail. His support while maybe not paving the way to racial equality, still immensely strengthened the fight for civil rights. On top of that, many Americans critique JFK for hiding his many health problems from America, including his Addison’s disease, gastrointestinal ailments, and back pain. Kennedy took many different steroids and antibiotics throughout his life to fight off his various pains and health issues, but he never disclosed anything to the public. The fact of the matter is, that Kennedy, even under all his medication, was in perfectly fine condition to function as a president. At the end of the day, all the speculation about if his medication effected his performance as president or if he was addicted to her periodic pain killing shots for his back are just speculation, and as far as we know today, they had no effect on him.
    The short-lived Kennedy area was one of vast controversy and speculation but was overall tremendously effective. John F. Kennedy led America through the Cuban Missile Crisis, greatly improved America’s space programs, and inspired the American people to be a part of a bigger vision. You can debate about him as a person all you want, but you can’t deny his legacy as a top 10 president.

  30. Taylor Mahle

    John F. Kennedy was president from 1961 until his assignation in 1963. Although some people argue Kennedy is a top ten president, I believe, President Kennedy doesn’t deserve a top ten ranking. Attributable to his lies to the public, his slow-moving on the Civil Rights movement and his indecisiveness about the Vietnam War.

    John F. Kennedy was seen as the model of the American dream; however, many people didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes of his life. Kennedy lied about his personal life including his health. He was proven to have had Addison’s disease, crippling back pain and many other health problems. This effected his work, for instance, during his campaign he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital due to a life-threatening crisis. Not only did Kennedy deceive people about his health he also lied about his academic credentials. Kennedy had dropped out of school twice due to health conditions. His academic profile had said he had gone to Princeton, Harvard and Stanford yet this was false These lies could have changed people’s opinions on how educated their president was at the time and not only how stable their president’s health was.

    When Kennedy had campaigned for election in 1960, he had advocated for African Americans. Kennedy gave African Americans hope, setting goals such as to desegregate workforces and militaries. These promises caused many African Americans to boost his popularity for the election. Nonetheless, Kennedy was all talk and no action. Kennedy watched the south breakout into flames, but he still lingered to bring the Civil Rights bill to Congress until 1963. This delayed action is a perfect example for how Kennedy used African Americans to strengthen him during the election, giving us evidence on how Kennedy was a bad president.

    When Kennedy was elected the Vietnam War was already taking place. Kennedy never knew what he had wanted to do with the Vietnam War such as pull out or step up the involvement. Yet, during the war he did increased the economic military aid but didn’t make an actual decision. The book Forty Ways to Look at JFK says that Kennedy thought that we could win the war and would pull out of the war after reelections. This shows that Kennedy was a bad president due to keeping people in the war so he would get reelected.

    Contrary to Kennedy being a bad president, others view Kennedy was a great president due his personality. Kennedy corresponded with what Americans wanted their presidents to be like. Such as inspiring others to live up to his visions, not tailoring himself to the public, and being a hard worker. All of these traits help him to persuade Americans for the vision he had for America.

  31. Kate Potocsky

    I think that Kennedy’s actions in the Civil Rights Movement, The Cuban Missile Crisis, and his love for his wife all are important factors that prove his worthiness of a top 10 spot on the presidential list. Kennedy supported Civil Rights as a “moral cause”. He was an advocate of equality and justice. Because of the freedom riders, Kennedy ordered the integration of bus and train stations all across the country. He supported the integration of schools too. He sent U.S. Marshals to protect a black student named James Meredith who would be attending the law school at Ole Miss. Also, openly supported the March on Washington. Before his death in 1963, he proposed new laws to desegregate America. After his death, the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson, pushed for JFK’s proposals to get passed. In 1964, Johnson passed The Civil Rights Act. This act outlawed all Jim Crow laws and racial segregation. Because of Kennedy, this law was passed and set an important precedent for America’s future. Another factor that proves Kennedy’s high ranking are his diligent crisis management skills. For example, he potentially saved the world from Nuclear War during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Instead of striking back after he found out that the Soviets were storing nuclear weapons in Cuba, he ordered a blockade. In less than two weeks, the Soviets agreed to remove their weapons if America promised not to invade Cuba and to lift the blockade. Because of his meticulous plan, Kennedy’s handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis is now looked at as a model for similar crises. In 2007, Barack Obama said that Kennedy used his “determined leadership” and “calm rational judgement” to handle the Cuban Missile Crisis. This shows that even 45 years later, Kennedy is still looked at as a substantial president. Lastly, Kennedy’s affection for his wife made him a great president. He was constantly doing things with her. From reading, painting, walking, and simply enjoying good conversation together, they were never apart. He even exclaimed that he married the only woman for him. They wrote deep love letters to each other to prove their love. They found the little good in a devastating situation by using their sons death as an opportunity closer. They were a picture perfect couple.

    2) Although Kennedy some positive things during his presidency, many people think that he doesn’t deserve a spot in the top 10 U.S. presidents because of his “blind spot” towards civil rights, The Bay of Pigs Invasion, and his negative attitude towards women. He was never fully committed to the Civil Rights Movement. He usually favored the support from Southern Democrats over aiding African Americans. He only supported the March on Washington after receiving promises from organizers that speakers wouldn’t tear his administration apart; initially he opposed the march. He seemed to only react to discriminatory situations; he never lead them. He was never the first person to take action of expanding the rights of African Americans. He only made changes when significant events took place. He was more of a reactor than a leader. Despite his success in the Cuban Missile Crisis, many people criticize his ability to handle difficult situations. He made a very wrong call, which he later referred to as a “colossal mistake”, when he sent American planes and ships to invade The Bay of Pigs in Cuba. He underestimated the Cuban military. This invasion catalyzed the unnecessary death and imprisonment of hundreds of American soldiers. This was a huge embarrassment for Kennedy. Even though he displayed affection for his wife often, Kennedy was truly a terrible husband. He tended to use her as a prop to get a leg up in the political world. He once said that he only got married because people would think he was queer if he was still single at the age of 37. He went on vacation when she was eight months pregnant. She gave birth to a stillborn baby without him. He couldn’t be reached for three more days. In fact, he was only in the same city as his wife four one of her four births. This awful treatment of his wife displays his sickening treatment for women.

  32. Sydney Green

    Sydney Green
    10/18/18
    4th Hour

    Many argue that John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States should have a ranking in the top 10 presidents JFK’s poor reaction to Civil Rights for African Americans, his treatment to his wife and his continuous lies prove in different.
    Kennedy was mostly seen as a reactor to problems that came up in the fight for Civil Rights among African Americans. Which is the opposite of what a leader should do. If there is an ongoing problem you should be acting to it as soon and as best as you can, rather than waiting for something bad to happen and then taking action. For example, when the attorney general and Kennedy had desegregated interstate travel. This action was influenced by the freedom riders. The freedom riders were groups of college students that planned to ride a bus from DC to Louisiana and integrate any wait rooms. But this was very unsuccessful for they were beaten while in the south and many arrested.
    JFK was no more attentive as a husband. He was mostly viewed as a partner towards his wife Jackie, their marriage wasn’t very strong. According to the text 40 ways to Look at JFK By: Gretchen Rubin in August of 1956, Jackie was eight months pregnant expecting a new baby girl. Despite this, Kennedy took a two-week vacation from Jackie on a yachting trip with friends and an array of women. He wasn’t present when Jackie went into labor and couldn’t even be reached for three days.
    John Kennedy lied about many things to the press and his co-workers. He most frequently lied about his health. JFK suffered from many illnesses and diseases throughout his life. Particularly while running for president, he suffered from chronic back pain in 1959. He mostly said that he was well and had no pain when it came to his health. In conclusion, Kennedy is not justified to be rated for top 10 presidents of the United States.
    On the flip side of this many people say that John Kennedy should be considered one of the top ten presidents to serve in the United States. He had many successes as president as well, he passed the Civil Rights Act, a great response to the Cuban Missile Crisis and the creation of the Peace Corps. If Kennedy had not been assassinated in 1963 , he would’ve passed this act. Thanks to Lyndon Johnson that served in replace for Kennedy, it was passed. The Civil Right Act prohibited discrimination based on race. It also eliminated all the Jim Crow laws in different facilities in America. He also saved America from getting involved in a possible world wide nuclear war. The Cuban Missile crisis was where Soviets put secret nuclear weapon facilities in Cuba. Kennedy found out about this and immediately sent naval ships all around Cuba to push the Soviets out in a peaceful way. Lastly, Kennedy created the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps were developed in 1961, it was to provide third world countries with health care, education, construction and farming. After they were created it quickly jumped to have 5,000 followers and kept on increasing. In conclusion, Kennedy could be seen as a impactful, positive leader or a unexperienced, bad valued president.

  33. Annika Paluda

    Though his time in office was cut short, John F. Kennedy was a good president. His vibrant, compassionate persona was refreshing to American’s in the 1960’s. In the midst of the Cold War, JFK’s youth was just what the United States needed. He proved his character again with his support for equality of all kinds. Unlike any president before, JFK called civil rights “a moral issue.” This granted him the vast majority of black votes, although there was still a large amount of whites who opposed integration. JFK ignited the movement across the country, and made civil rights a crucial topic in politics. Not only did he advocate for equal rights for blacks, but he also supported equal pay for women. In 1963, he signed the Equal Pay Act in efforts to close to wage gap between men and women. Aside from his push for equality, JFK had a gift for crisis management. In October of 1962, the Soviets started importing missiles into Cuba, who the United States had poor relations with at the time. Cuba and the Soviet Union were connected through their communist governments. Kennedy believed that Cuba was going to nuke the United States and had to decide what to do: bomb Cuba and risk the start of a third world war or quarantine the island to stop the importation of new missiles. He eventually decided to quarantine the island and potentially saved the United States from a nuclear war. His wise tactics in this situation showed that he was able to stay calm in a time that called for panic.
    No matter what side you argue for, it is impossible to ignore the fact that Kennedy had flaws too. As much as his energetic personality brought excitement to the country, JFK failed to admit that it was partially caused by Addison’s disease along with many other health issues. As treatment to his chronic back pain, he took painkiller shots and steroids. It’s hard to believe that all of these medications wouldn’t alter his capability to make important decisions without being impulsive or rash. He purposely hid his health issues, even though they could have jeopardized his ability to be a good president. But this wasn’t all that JFK lied about. His views on equality were only superficial, especially when it came to civil rights. Yes, Kennedy publicly indorsed the movement, but he was unable to make any significant changes while he was in office. He was hesitant to support many protests because he feared losing white voters. His efforts to improve women’s’ rights were also not very successful. The Equal Pay Act did little to improve the wage gap, as we still have it today. Not to mention, he treated women with little respect, especially his wife Jacqueline. During their marriage, he had multiple affairs and was only there for one of her four births. When their stillborn child was born, John was unable to reach for three days. When he finally did get the message, he was more concerned with having to leave his vacation than he was with the death of his son. And although he showed determination and calmness while dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis, he had previously embarrassed the United states in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. The invasion called for an army of Cuban exiles and American soldiers to invade the “Bay of Pigs” in efforts to overthrow communism. Unfortunately, Cuba was prepared for the invasion and easily defeated the invaders. This led to many deaths and hostages.
    It’s hard to declare whether Kennedy was a good or bad president, but I think due to the harsh circumstances of the time, Kennedy was a great fit.

  34. Sam Mercer

    I don’t think that John F. Kennedy deserves a top 10 ranking as president. Reasons for this are because of the way he treated his wife, the ideas he had as president, and his dishonesty to the American people. Kennedy had a few accomplishments during the time of his presidency but overall his negative measures had a bigger influence than his accomplishments. Kennedy was a disloyal and dishonest husband to his wife Jackie. He was accused of many affairs with different women both before and during the time of his presidency. Kennedy and his wife struggled
    through much tension during the time of Kennedy’s presidency. JFK and his wife both shared the goal of creating the same personality of the first family and this brought them closer together but ultimately their troubles ruined this. Most of the couples troubles came form disagreements about money, Jackie’s refusal to fulfill her duties as first lady, and John’s infidelity. Kennedy had some good ideas including his support for civil rights but most of his ideas either he didn’t follow through on or were just bad ideas. Many people believe that if JFK had not been assassinated he would’ve taken troops out of Vietnam but really he would’ve only taken some troops out of Vietnam and most of the military would still be fighting the war. Before and during Kennedy’s presidency he had lie about many things. JFK had lied to his wife, the US government, and most importantly the American people. Kennedy had lied about his academic credentials when running for president and while he was president. JFK had left a lot of top Ivy league schools before even taking classes their and claimed to have gotten his education there. Lastly Kennedy had lied about his health basically all his life and when he became president he tried to hide it even more. When Kennedy was president only his wife and a few aides in the white house knew about all of kennedy’s illnesses and his troubles in his life. There are many people in America who believe Kennedy deserves this top 10 ranking and believe he was one of the best presidents of all time. These people believe this because of Kennedy’s support of civil rights, his leadership and his predicted goal of pulling us out of Vietnam. Kennedy was very popular with the majority of African-Americans and was willing to lose popularity over his support of civil rights. His goals to create change in the civil rights movement was a goal he wanted to accomplish and probably would have had he been able to make it there. Many people believe that Kennedy would have pulled the US out of Vietnam which was a very unpopular war with American people and a war which a lot of Americans wanted out of. JFK was believed to be a strong fearless leader by many people and his personality that made people think that is the reason for his popularity.

  35. Aarani Balendran

    Kennedy doesn’t deserve a top ten spot in the list of presidents. What makes a good president is first-off being a good person and also being a leader before the disaster strikes, and from what I have heard about Kennedy he was neither. People always took pride in and honored him for how he handled the Cuban Missle Crisis but ignored the rest. The Bay of Pigs Invasion, for example, this was the invasion in which Cuban exiles tried to overthrow the dictatorship in Cuba with the U.S. governments support. This plan was created while Eisenhower was in office, but was not executed until JFK’s tenure. Originally JFK didn’t fully support this plan and had his doubt on how it would work. If JFK could have stuck with his opinion and made the decision he thought was right for the country, that whole mess could have been avoided. Because of JFK’s inability to be a strong leader at that time, our invasion failed, tensions with Castro increases immensely, and Cuba ended up seeking Soviet help to build their nuclear missle. So yes, JFK was able to get us through the Cuban Missle Crisis, but it was his poor judgment that got us there in the first place. Kennedy also didn’t touch on relevant issues such as Civil Rights as much as he should have. During his campaign, he caught the eyes of many African American voters with his promises to desegregate jobs and the country as a whole. All these promises prompted close to 100% of African American voters to vote for him. To them, this man was a savior, but unfortunately, Kennedy was all talk and no action. Once elected, almost all of his Civil Rights promises had never come true. Throughout the entirety of his presidency, JFK often ignored the pleas of Civil Rights leaders and their movements. He almost shut down the 1963 March of Washington due to his fear that it may ruin his chances with Southern voters. By doing this he showed all his African American voters that his promises weren’t coming true and that he would put himself before his country. Even outside his official duties, Kennedy was not an honest man. For most of his life, he lied about his health, claiming he previously took medicines that he was currently taking and saying he didn’t have the diseases that he did. He also frequently lied about his academic history. Kennedy was also definitely not a feminist. He didn’t think women deserved equal pay and job opportunities as men and also only saw them as sex objects. He even treated his wife like this. He cheated on her many times, left their honeymoon early to hang out with friends, and left 8-month pregnant Jackie behind to party with friends and younger girls. Most of this was not known by the public at the time of his tenure, so he was beloved, but now people are questioning their feelings about him.

    On the other hand, JFK had many accomplishments during his brief, but efficient presidency. Some of these accomplishments were the following. In 1962, Kennedy created the Alliance for Progress. The goal was to encourage greater economic ties with Latin America. If this worked it would alleviate growing poverty and hinder the spread of communism in Latin America. He created the Peace Corps by executive order in 1961. The Peace Corps helps promote world peace and friendship within other countries. By the end of the century 170,000, Peace Corps members served in 135 countries. He did a very good job of avoiding nuclear war with the Soviets. His plan when discovering the missile sites in Cuba was to start a naval blockade around Cuba. He negotiated with the Soviet leader when he sent a message to Kennedy on October 26th, 1962. The Soviets and the United States came to an agreement that the Soviets would dismantle the weapon sites in exchange for a pledge from the United States not to invade Cuba. He took the U.S economy out of recession through his reforms. He created many efforts to lift up the economy through his executive anti-recessionary acceleration programs. These were some of the most significant boost to the economy since the New Deal. Some of his programs included the extension of aid to children of unemployed workers, redevelopment of any distressed areas, increase in the minimum wage as well as higher coverage and an increase in social security payments. With all that he did in this short time, I think its safe to say that JFK was very good at his job. He was able to handle the stress of the Presidency during times of crisis with a firm stance and worked hard to advance our nation in times of need, and that is what makes a good president.

  36. Elle Layman

    John Kennedy personified the best America had to offer and deserves to be in the top 10 of best presidents. Kennedy was able to move people with his words and encourage people to get in action, especially in a time of violence and fear. He was an inspiration to the people of America and he drew them to him with his sense of humor and energetic ways. Kennedy was often looking to self improve and become a better person, exemplifying his strong leadership trait. Throughout Kennedy’s presidency, he often showed his best quality, crisis management. Kennedy illustrated his talent for crisis management better than any other president has. The event that highlighted this quality more than the others was the Cuban Missile Crisis. During this event, Kennedy was put to the ultimate test of keeping our country safe. Kennedy was crucial to the process of solving this problem by leading discussion with a group of Ex Comm. His plan to solve this issue had little to no bumps when implementing it and completely solved this issue. The missiles were taken out of Cuba and the people of America could breathe again. Kennedy was able to solve problems fast and efficient, a quality needed to be president. Kennedy was a man of many things, during the day he would go and solve any problem thrown his way and during the night he would go and paint with his wife. John Kennedy’s presidency was unfortunately cut short, however, that did not limit the great list of things he accomplished, earning him a spot in the top 10 best presidents of America.
    Although John Kennedy is visually appealing, his beauty is only skin deep. Kennedy does not deserve to be in the top 10 presidents of The United States because the negative cannot help but exceed the positive. Kennedy was constantly accused of lying. From if he wrote his own book to where he went to school, taking it with a grain of salt was the best choice. Kennedy lied about where he went to school to make people see him as fit to be president. Another lie of his was how much pain he was in and how sick he really was. He often said he was completely fine or the pain was minimal, which was not the case at all. He was put on endless meds and workout regimens to try and help the extreme back pain he felt. In addition to all the lies he told, his views on women were hurtful and degrading. He often referred to women as sex objects and acted like women are good for one thing and one thing only. He cheated on his wife numerous times and was rarely there for her when she was pregnant with his children. Another flaw in Kennedy’s presidency was his lack of advancement in civil rights. He did not push hard enough to create any changes in this topic, despite his popularity with the people. Moreover, John Kennedy does not deserve a top 10 spot in the rankings of presidents because he was built on lies and poor morals, and lies do not deserve reward.

  37. Matthew Inda

    1. Though creating many programs and other changes to society, I don’t believe President Kennedy deserves to be considered one of the top ten presidents. Firstly, he had numerous issues throughout his family. A good example would be Kennedy’s relationship with his wife, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. John F. Kennedy had several affairs, and didn’t care much about her. Additionally, Kennedy left his honeymoon early to hang out with his friends, and left Jackie behind when going on vacation to Palm Springs after he was elected in 1960. Kennedy also showed that he unsupported civil rights on multiple occasions. Most of his actions taken towards the rights of African Americans were to boost his popularity among certain groups. Firstly, he didn’t support the March on Washington in 1963, due to the fear of losing Southern Democratic voters. 200,000 marchers gathered, but he cared more about his public standings with segregationists and other groups than African Americans and other protestors at the time. Additionally, Kennedy made many promises to the African American portion of the population to improve civil rights. An example of this was the Civil Rights Act of 1963. Although containing ambitious measures to ensure better rights for African Americans, it was stalled when it reached the Senate, leaving many of them to feel betrayed. Another factor was Kennedy’s dishonesty while in or running for presidency. He refused to expose his health problems and frequently lied to the press and his co-workers. Additionally, Kennedy claimed he hadn’t dropped out of school, and; therefore, lied about his studies. The president needed to be truthful and honest with his people. However, he lied to make himself seem better to American voters.

    2. Although Kennedy made many mistakes in his presidency, there were many influential actions and policies he created for the nation as well. The president had a great sense of personality. Kennedy was always the same person, wether talking directly to his friends or on the television screen. He stove towards excellence, was extremely likeable, and a had a great personality. Kennedy was what everyone saw in a president and what they were supposed to be like. The president also contributed to civil rights to some extent Kennedy created the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which allowed for the federal protection of black voters. The Cuban Missile Crisis also stood out to be one of Kennedy’s proudest moments in his presidency. To Kennedy, the missile sites in Cuba seemed to be an act of aggression from the Soviets, and the weapons needed to be removed from the country. To do so, Kennedy began preparations for a naval and air blockade around Cuba. In October of 1962, the Soviets sent a message implying that they would remove their missiles. Due to his actions taken toward the situation, a third World War was potentially eliminated from occurring at the time period.

  38. Peter Manion

    JFK does not deserve to be ranked a top 10 president because he had been pressured to sign the civil rights laws he passed, he caused the Bay of Pigs disaster and kept troops in Vietnam, and he was a bad role model. Some of his likability can be attributed to the fact that he was young (elected at 43), he was catholic, and because of that people could identify with him. Another factor could be that he died early in his life and people’s clear judgement have been blinded by pity.
    Policy such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were passed from pressure that had been built up by protestors such as Dr. King. It’s easy to argue that a large part of the reason he signed it was because he and the US didn’t want to face bad publicity from the American people, the Soviets, and other European powers.
    The Bay of Pigs and keeping troops in Vietnam, are signs of his bad judgement for foreign policy. JFK kept troops in Vietnam letting US soldiers die rather than let the US concede. The Bay of Pigs on the other hand failed and severed Cuban relations until the Obama Administration (almost 50 years).
    Jackie Kennedy was not treated well by JFK. He also lied about certain things such as his physical health and his academic credentials. Both of these make him a bad role model.

    On the other hand, JFK was able to sign extremely important civil rights bills, and not all bad foreign entanglements were his fault.
    The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a very important document that Dr. King rallied behind by marching with around 200,000-250,000 people to Washington. Forced or not, compared to another president, Donald Trump passes policy which is on the opposite side and detracting rights away from people. In this viewpoint JFK helped greatly.
    Foreign entanglements such as the Vietnam War were not started by JFK, they were ongoing before his presidency. Also, JFK may have brought the troops in Vietnam home after the election if he weren’t assassinated. The Bay of Pigs failed partly because of the CIA misrepresenting the coup’s strength and Castro’s strength. All the blame shouldn’t be placed on JFK for that. Cuban American relations were already deteriorating before his presidency.

  39. Adam Rhen

    JFK was in fact a bad president due to his poor decisions, Poor morals, and not turning his words into actions. Kennedy showed his poor decision making skills with the horrific failure of the bay of pigs. Kennedy ordered an invasion of Cuba to try and stop Fidel Castro’s communist takeover, but severely undermined Cuba’s power. The invasion ended in under 24 hours with Cuba quickly killing the attackers. This showed how Kennedy was so blinded by his American superiority views that he blindly attacked the enemy, which cost 1,500 people their lives. Kennedy also had awful morals regarding women. He was sexist in the fact he did not believe women equality was right and that he just saw woman as sex objects. Even worse was how he treated his wife, Jackie Kennedy. Kennedy only married her so the public wouldn’t think he was queer and he would constantly cheat on her with many women. He even left her to go on vacation when she was 8 months pregnant, and was there for only one of his four children’s births. Not only did he have poor morals about woman, but also lying. Kennedy lied to the U.S. about his health and academics. Kennedy told America that he was in perfect health, when in reality he had Addison’s disease, many tract infections, and gastrointestinal problems. He had also lied about his college education, saying he attended Princeton, when he had to actually leave school because of his health problems. A man that is this morally mislead is a terrible representation of America and a overall bad quality for a leader. The last reason for why Kennedy was a bad president was that he could not follow through on things that he said. Kennedy proclaimed to be all for equal civil rights, but did was not able to get a bill passed on civil rights while in office. While only being in office for half a term, Kennedy was able to show severe weakness, making him not worthy of a top ten president position.

    JFK is more than worthy of being called one of the top ten presidents. Kennedy passed so many acts that positively affected the country in such little time. He was able to get the U.S. out of an economic recession with tax reforms, established the peace corps, and helped form the partial nuclear test ban treaty. All of these were able to positively affect America, and the partial nuclear test ban treaty made peace corps are still around today. As well as passing these bills and acts, Kennedy was able to divert and contain the Cuban missile crisis. He was able to negotiate with Soviet Russia to dismantle their nuclear weapons in Cuba, helping eliminate a nuclear bombing threat to the U.S. As well as being able to enact amazing policies, but he was a great American role model. He always showed his true self and was very appealing because of this. He also showed that he had the public’s interest as his number one, as he would fix his flaws and pass bills or acts that the public advocated for. Because of all this, Kennedy is well deserving of a top ten president spot.

  40. Kyle Coleman

    Yes, I believe John F. Kennedy was a top ten president of the United States. First off I would like to start by saying you cannot say that just because he was reacting to pressure it’s something that can be counted against him. Like with civil rights, regardless of the circumstances he introduced bills that made change. His views on women weren’t good however we read in class on how his speeches energized the black and women communities of America. In her assessment of the former president, Gretchen Rubin wrote that it’s not uncommon that politicians give speeches trying to stir people to action Kennedy, however, was a good enough speaker to the point where he could actually achieve that. After his, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” speech, many people took those words to heart and tried to better themselves therefore helping the country. The way he treated his wife also wasn’t right, but that has nothing to do with him being president. Also Vietnam wasn’t really a problem to the American people during JFK’s presidency, Johnson was the one who escalated our involvement in the war. His handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the nuclear test ban treaty, and introduction of the civil rights act make him a top ten president. Many of the issues facing in America in the 60’s he addressed. Compared to other short-term presidents such as Harrison, Harding, and Garfield, Kennedy accomplished much more in his presidency. He was not the first president to be assassinated in office, however the way the nation was hurt after his death showed that he was loved and respected by Americans.

    John F. Kennedy was not a good president. He made many mistakes and was also dishonest during his time in office. First off, JFK allowed America to invade Cuba to overthrow their communist leader, Fidel Castro. The fighting ended within 24 hours, the U.S. troops were defeated. It was an embarrassing loss against communists, our greatest enemies for much of the 1900’s. He also lied to the American people about his health constantly. Once you run for office people should be aware of things like your physical condition. The fact that he lied makes it seem like he was a man American’s couldn’t trust. JFK also got us involved in Vietnam, although it was Johnson who escalated it, ultimately it was Kennedy who got us involved in the first place.

  41. Ryan Goodman

    1) In my opinion, JFK is not deserving of a presidential top ten ranking. Although his policy may have been beneficial, as a person JFK was very flawed. A president should reflect the highest ideals of the American people, and JFK utterly failed to set a good example. JFK was sick throughout his entire life, which created gaps in his schooling and at many times hospitalized him. He had severe chronic back pain, Addison’s disease, and urinary and gastral infections. His diseases were at many times debilitating, and severely impacted his political career. Beyond his illnesses, Kennedy was a known misogynist, and voiced publicly that he thought women shouldn’t be paid equally. A woman from his staff claimed that JFK viewed women as nothing more than sex objects. This degrading view of women also impacted his relationship with his wife, Jackie Kennedy. Although some historians say John and Jackie were in love from the beginning, evidence from other historian’s points to their marriage as a political scheme. JFK believed that if he wasn’t married and in politics, people would think he was gay. In the 50’s this could prove extremely detrimental to his political career. So he married Jackie, a woman who exemplified the ideal American wife. But instead of treating Jackie with the respect she deserved, JFK treated her terribly. He would abandon her at parties to go home with other women, and after he lost his vice presidential bid, he left his 8-month pregnant wife to go on vacation. She then went into labor early, and he missed the birth of his still-born child. In fact, he missed 3 out of four of his kid’s births, two of which had failed. Lastly, JFK lied many times throughout his career. He lied about his illness, his Addison’s disease, and his academic credentials. Overall, JFK was the opposite of what Americans would really want in a president. But does JFK’s domestic and foreign policy outweigh his failures as a role model? No, they don’t. Many people associate JFK with helping the civil rights movement, but he did very little. The few actions taken by JFK were necessary reactions to anti civil rights terrorists who were killing black people and civil rights activists. His foreign policy wasn’t enough to outweigh his personal failures either. Evidence shows that he was going to stay in Vietnam until the US won. Besides these points, JFK was in office for such a short amount of time that he couldn’t implement enough policy to make a large impact. Overall, JFK’s personality and personal actions outweigh his presidential worth.

    2) JFK is deserving of a top ten position of presidential ranking. Although some of his personal actions and flaws reflect poorly on his personality, his domestic and foreign policy, along with his support of civil rights, makes him worthy of that top ten ranking. JFK excelled when it came to foreign and domestic policy. He was tentative, careful, and never rushed to make a decision. A great example is the Cuban Missile crisis. Without his careful, thought out response, the crisis would have been escalated to an enormous level. If a president like Eisenhower was addressing the crisis, the result could have been catastrophic. JFK’s unique personality properly equipped him to handle the Cuban missile crisis. With domestic policy, JFK created beneficial policy that helped the entire nation, despite his own beliefs. For example, he was not a strong supporter of women’s rights, but created policy to further those rights anyways. JFK also helped further the civil rights movement, at many times providing federal assistance with both policy and soldiers. He also began the process of creating the civil rights act, which Lyndon B Johnson finished after he was assassinated. In his short term, JFK created beneficial domestic and foreign policy, put the people beliefs before his own, and helped further the civil rights and women’s rights movements. Although some of his personal actions were frowned upon, JFK as a president deserves his top ten ranking.

  42. Lily Koza

    Through John F. Kennedy’s actions regarding the mistreatment of women, lies told and his ability to follow through with his proposed ideas, I believe he should not be ranked in the top ten US Presidents.
    Kennedy was known for his glamour and his perfect family but behind the image placed on the Kennedys was a completely different story. JFK would constantly bring new women inside the White House in front of his wife Jacqueline Kennedy. He was on vacation leaving his wife home due to being her eight months pregnant. Overall Kennedy did not believe in feminism. He believed women should not be paid as much as men. He also questioned their position in the workforce claiming they should just take care of the family. Kennedy’s poor treatment towards women especially his wife in my opinion lessens his worth of being in the top ten US Presidents.
    President Kennedy hid and lied his way through some major events. One of the most impactful lies is when Kennedy lied about addison’s disease and taking the medicine. If people found out he had back problems he told them it was from Malaria. Another one of JFK’s biggest lies is regarding his education. He dropped out of college several times. Kennedy’s academic successes were a lie. Lastly another minor example is Kennedy winning an award his dad was a committee member of. Claims also flew around that the book was actually written by Kennedy’s wife. Overall Kennedy continuously lies decreasing is presidential ranking.
    Throughout Kennedy’s presidency civil rights was a continuous issue. Kennedy often made promises he couldn’t keep or didn’t follow through with. Some of the promises he proposed is what pushed the American people to vote for him i the first place. Overall I believed he appealed to African Americans side throughout his election to gain more votes for himself. Kennedy didn’t push through with promises and in the end proving he is untrustworthy.
    Although Kennedy had major downfalls he was also needed during this era. The United States was in need of a young leader. Kennedy glamour and young family fit the American dream. He was also good in difficult situations. This included the Cuban missile crisis and peace corps. Kennedy also proposed the idea of a civil rights act. He was unable to finish passing the law due to his assassination.
    Kennedy was an untrustworthy youthful president with not much previous experience in politics. He made major mistakes throughout his presidency and contained strong beliefs. Overall based on the evidence given u believe president Kennedy the 35th president of the United States does not belong in the top ten presidents.

  43. Mecca Terrell

    Even though President John F Kennedy had his faults, he may not have been the best person but I do believe that he deserves a top 10 ranking as president. Although Kennedy seemed young and inexperienced at the beginning of his presidency, throughout those few years he remained determined to prove himself and faced every challenge he was given head-on. This is shown when he handled problems such as the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962. Because of his crisis management skills, he was a major influence in the decision to create a blockade in Cuba instead of launching missiles that would have potentially caused WWIII. Another example of a well-handled issue is how he responded to aggression from the Soviets. As a reaction to Soviet troops building a wall through Berlin, Kennedy sent an army convoy to reassure West Berliners that they had support from the US. Kennedy also ordered an increase in America’s intercontinental ballistic missile force, five new military divisions, and the continuation of the testing of nuclear bombs in efforts to build a defense against possible attacks from the Soviets. Kennedy even announced the creation of his New Frontier program in 1960, which included a $2 million budget increase for urban development, increased minimum wage and decreased taxes with the Fair Labor Standards Act, and ended housing segregation with Exec. Order 11063. Most of JFK’s efforts to improve the US were a success, increasing his population throughout the nation.

    But when looking at John F Kennedy from a different point of view, it can be concluded that he doesn’t deserve a top 10 ranking as president due to his character. One reason would be how he treated his family. As the president, he maintained the image as being a “family man” when in reality he was almost never there for his family when they needed him most. Some examples of this would be when he went on vacation, leaving wife Jacqueline who was eight months pregnant behind. And not only was he absent, but couldn’t be reached for three days after the birth of his stillborn son. Another reason his character wasn’t the best was because he not only hid them, but he lied about the multiple illnesses he endured during his presidency, such as gastrointestinal ailments, Addison’s disease, and back pain so bad that he often had to get multiple painkiller shots in order to function on a daily basis. But although he often couldn’t be considered a person of good character, he was still able to have a positive effect on our nation through his short lived presidency.

  44. Chris Thorsen

    JFK does not deserve to be a top ten president, due to his failure to follow through with campaign promises regarding civil rights and his failure at the bay of pigs. During his campaign, he made promises to African Americans that he would help them gain rights. However, when elected, he did nothing to further their movement until massive amounts of angry comments, letters and the threat of a large protest. The only reason Kennedy did not help African Americans was his fear that he would lose the southern democratic vote. However, after the massive push from the black community, Kennedy created his first civil rights act. Additionally, as a more minor point, he disrespected a lot of women by saying he did not believe in equal pay. Also, in 1961, he decided that he would have Ex-Cubans invade the bay of pigs in Cuba. The Americans wanted it to seem like they had no involvement, seemingly using the Cubans as puppets. The invasion turned out to be an utter failure. The main reason that it was such, was that the Cubans saw it coming and prepared with retaliatory measures. For example, they guessed that the Americans would try to obliterate their air force, so they placed old decoy planes out rather than their current planes. Additionally Castro prepared hundreds of thousands of troops near the American’s landing site, thus killing hundreds, and capturing more. Finally, Castro also gathered any Cuban citizen that were suspected rebels, so that they would be unable to help the invaders, or perhaps begin a revolution. However, while Kennedy might not have been a perfect president, he also did some good things for the country. During the Soviet missile crisis in 1962, he helped to veer our country away from total nuclear war. When it was discovered that Cuba had been given nuclear capabilities from Russia, the American government, rightfully, freaked out. This was so scary because it meant that they were now capable of hitting major cities such as Detroit or Chicago. Kennedy’s solution to this, rather than bombing the missile sites is to blockade the island and to ask the Russians to remove the missiles. After days of tension between us and the Soviets, they finally agreed to remove their missiles if we removed ours from Turkey. This just shows Kennedy’s calmness and his strategic mind in action. It also shows how well he can react to random events being thrown about him.

  45. Evan mondora

    (I thought we were supposed to print this until I got to class which is why I left a printed copy in the turn in bin)
    I believe that John F Kennedy was a good president; JFK resolved the Cuban missile crisis, tried to make men and woman have equal pay, and he discouraged nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in 1962, when the Soviet Union put nuclear missiles in a Communist Cuba. This was a direct threat to the United States because the nuclear missiles in Cuba were within firing range of many American cities including the capital, Washington D.C. JFK, who was president at the time, had been debating on using a naval blockade or directly attacking Cuba. In the end, unlike Eisenhower before him, JFK decided on forming a Naval Blockade around the Island of Cuba. Instead of bombing Cuba with the possibility of starting World War Three, JFK was also able to make an arrangement with the Soviet Union that in exchange for removing the missiles from Cuba that we would pledge not to attack Cuba, lift the blockade, and move our nuclear missiles from Turkey, as seen in our Google doc answers on “was Kennedy a good president”. In 1963, JFK created the Equal Pay Act; this was a labor law attempting to close the pay gap between men and women. The extent of which this was successful is debatable but, nevertheless, is a great thing and no president before JFK had attempted to address the issue. Again, this supports the claim that he was a good president in that respect as seen on our Google Docs Answers. JFK, unlike President Eisenhower before him, was very opposed to using nuclear war as the main go-to for fighting the Soviet Union. In the Cuban missile crisis, JFK didn’t want to directly attack Cuba in fear that it could escalate to nuclear war with the Soviet Union. At this point in the Cold War, people in the Soviet Union and United States as well as JFK and Khrushchev realized that if the United States and the Soviet Union did start a nuclear war, it would destroy the earth. This led to the Partial Nuclear Test Treaty signed by the United States and Soviet Union, as well as the United Kingdom. This treaty banned the testing of nuclear weapons above ground. “This treaty reduced tensions between the US and USSR and discouraged nuclear war.” says our Google Docs: “Was President Kennedy a good President?” One might argue that Kennedy was a bad person and therefore a bad president because of his terrible treatment of his wife and lying about his health as seen in “Several Ways to Look at JFK”. As President, JFK did not spend much of his time with his wife, Jackie, nor was he present at his daughter’s or son’s birth. Also, on multiple occasions he cheated on his wife Jackie while President. Plus, he only married her because of politics. JFK, when running for President, lied about his health. He had gastrointestinal syndrome, extreme back pain, and Addison’s disease for which he was always required to take steroids, antibiotics and painkillers. I believe that JFK certainly might not have been much of a good person but however that doesn’t mean he was a bad President because his accomplishments such as preventing nuclear war with the Soviet Union outweighed his problems.

  46. Anders Povirk

    1) Kennedy does not deserve to be ranked among the top ten Presidents of the United States for multiple reasons ranging from his rampant lies, treatment of women, and his weak stance civil rights. Kennedy was very sick from a very young age making him incapable of attending his degree at Princeton University. Despite needing to drop out Kennedy continued to lie about his credentials for the rest of his life. He also lied about not having Addison’s disease despite clearly having it. These lies to the American people to preserve his own image diminishes the value of Kennedy as an ideal role model because much of what supposedly made him ideal was based on lies.
    Furthermore, Kennedy also treated women including his wife very poorly. He once abandoned her to go on vacation when she was 8 months pregnant and was anything but loyal to her having constant affairs. This disrespect applied to all women considering Kennedy’s belief that it is ridiculous to pay women as much as men showing his belief in male superiority.
    Kennedy’s credit for social change is even further diminished when you consider that while he officially called civil rights a ‘moral issue’ he did little to actively pursue civil rights. He and his brother Robert simply reacted to panics created by black protests on the front lines. He even attempted to stop the March on Washington.
    In conclusion, Kennedy is a pretty good president but a far cry from how he is often regarded. His sudden death at the height of his popularity caused people to assign idealistic and idealistic ideas to Kennedy after his death. Many argue that Kennedy would have pulled troops out of Vietnam even though he actually increased involvement in Vietnam during his presidency. He also lacked the persuasiveness of Johnson stopping him from getting civil rights policy through Congress as effectively. Though his handling of crisis situations is admirable his flaws are still too significant to consider him one of the best president of all time.
    2) Kennedy is clearly deserving of a spot in the top 10 United States presidents because of his clean handling of crisis situations, high ideals, and his perseverance. Kennedy handled the Berlin crisis and the Cuban mistle crisis without resorting to violence and avoiding nuclear war. In the case of the Cuban missile crisis he was especially important in ensuring future cooperation between the USSR and the US. This crisis required the management of small groups which is exactly what Kennedy excels at.
    Kennedy also helped to unify and inspire the American people to do more even when not intentional. He helped to inspire civil rights groups that he did not have any real support for. He set the goal of putting a man on the moon so inspirationally that long after his death it was finally completed. His charisma led to him being a role model to such an extent that when he was assassinated it was covered for a record-breaking three days straight which was not broken until 9/11/2001 showing how much the country idolized Kennedy.
    Much of this was earned through perseverance combined with natural ability. Kennedy was very limited by his elements growing up but through a vast assortment of medication managed to rise above this issue so well that most Americans didn’t even know. His striving for perfection can be seen in how he worked on his voice for 30 min every day by barking to deepen it. In conclusion, Kennedy is a great president that made many great achievements during his shortened time in office and while many argue that he would not have been able to pull us out of Vietnam any better than Johnson all of the crises that did appear during his time in office show that he certainly had the capability to negotiate in tight circumstances but unfortunately we will never truly know for sure.

  47. Asia White

    John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on November 22, 1963, ever since his death people question whether he was a good president or not. I believe John F. Kennedy was a good president, he asked the public for opinions and informed the public, and took sacrifices. John F. Kennedy was able to talk to the public during the Cuban missile crisis he explained what he was going to do about the Soviet missiles in Cuba, warning the public and possibly preparing them to go into bomb shelters. During the crisis there were many votings on what to do, with the fear of missiles moving closer to the United States, the United States turned into a calamity show. Kennedy stayed cool and kept everything in control informing the citizens, and steered the U.S from a nuclear holocaust by making the right decision to make the right deal with the Soviets. John F. Kennedy founded the Peace Corps., which was an organization of Americans volunteered to help developing nations in fields like education, farming, health care, and construction. Helping out other nations in need, which improved alliances with many countries. John F. Kennedy encouraged the space race, making the US the first nation to successfully have a man land on the moon and successfully return back, at the time it seemed impossible but JFK encouraged and made that vision a reality. Lastly, Kennedy paved a path for the civil rights in America. In his speech in 1963, “We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution,” Kennedy said to the nation. “One hundred years have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And this nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.” the speech was praised by Martin Luther King “the most sweeping and forthright ever presented by an American president”. Following Kennedy’s assassination, his successor Lyndon Johnson pushed forward with the sweeping Civil Rights Act, saying that “No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedy’s memory”. John F. Kennedy may have had flaws but he made a difference and made the nation better.
    John F. Kennedy may have seemed like a good president but he was flawed, he lied to the public about many things which made him a different person. JFK lied about his medical condition, he suffered from a gastrointestinal disease, extreme back pain, and Addison disease. He was always on medication which had side effects and used marijuana as a method of medication, which affects how a person could act. Kennedy lied about the academic credentials he said he went to Princeton then went to Harvard but he dropped out of both due to his medical condition. Kennedy also hid the fact that he wasn’t a family man he cheated on his wife, only married her so he didn’t seem gay, and used her for him to look better. Kennedy wasn’t there for her when she was giving birth to their children decided to take a vacation when he knew she was due very soon, then came back early because the child wasn’t breathing, Kennedy didn’t feel anything when their son died as if nothing had happened. During his presidency, Kennedy helped the civil rights but was very hesitant and never initiated anything due to the fear of losing southern voters. Kennedy refused to take political risks on behalf of civil rights and Kennedy didn’t approve of racial injustice but wanted to fight injustice on his own terms. Kennedy never truly understood the depths of the civil rights movement, which made it worse because of how long it took him to enforce something, disappointing many civil right leaders.

  48. Ted Schwartz

    In my opinion, Kennedy was a great president but maybe not a great man. On one hand he was a fantastic speaker and was very liked by the people as well as making some great decisions regarding Civil Rights and the Vietnam War that helped push America to what it is today. On the other hand, he lied about and hid many things that may have made him less liked. Although he portrayed an image of a family man and a good husband and father, he had multiple affairs and was never there for his wife. When his son, Patrick, was born dead, John Kennedy was on vacation and when he heard the news of this, he said “I guess we’ll have to go home now.” and took 3 days to return to his family. Another thing Kennedy lied about was his health. He had many serious health issues including severe colonitis (essentially a bad upset stomach), extreme back pain (which rooted in his time in the navy) and Adison’s disease (which was life threatening). He would often tan himself in order to make him look younger and healthier and often wore a back brace under his clothes to support his back. The only people who knew of JFK’s illness was very close friends and family. However, Kennedy, while overrated as a president, Civil Rights leader and man did do some amazing things. He described Civil Rights as a moral issue, something very bold for the time, and helped to develop and set the groundwork many Civil Rights bills. When JFK died the grief of the people helped Lyndon B Johnson push the Civil Rights Act of 1964 an act developed by Kennedy before his death. Regarding the Vietnam War and larger Cold War, JFK made many good steps. He stated that there was no point in fighting in Vietnam which we later learnt the hard way when Lyndon Johnson pushed harder with Vietnam leading to the war being the first for the U.S to lose. He also developed the “flexible defense” strategy which allowed the U.S to defend itself through any means of warfare, opposed to just nuclear warfare. He also successfully eased tensions with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy helped keep America as the behemoth it is today as well as propel it further with new ideas, however, he also hid some very important things about his personal life that may have tarnished his legacy. JFK was certainly a top ten president but not a top ten person.

  49. Clare Birley

    1,) Although he was a very popular president in his time and even to this day, John F. Kennedy does not deserve to be ranked as a top ten president. For one, he wouldn’t take political risks to aid the civil rights movement, for fear of losing southern approval. Kennedy grew up privileged, and didn’t understand the struggles of African-Americans. For example, he lived in palm beach, a place that didn’t allow black people to own housing. He did little to actually forward the movement until later in his presidency, and due to his assassination, he never passed his Voting Rights Act. Secondly, he is responsible for the embarrassing invasion that was The Bay of Pigs. In attempt to overthrow communist dictator Fidel Castro, an invasion using former Cuban operatives was approved. The plan was destroyed when Cuban brigadiers cornered our soldiers on the beach, causing us to lose pitifully to the small army. He was also a terrible husband to Jackie Kennedy, routinely being unfaithful to their marriage. He took trips with other women when Jackie was eight months pregnant, and came home to his stillborn child. He said that he only married to avoid seeming queer by political opponents. His credentials of graduating from princeton are a fraud, as he was often too sick to attend school. Lastly, he lied about his personal health. He had many conditions that compromised his health, including Addison’s disease (a lack of hormone production), gastrointestinal disease, and chronic back pain. He was in terrible pain most of the time, becoming extremely reliant on medication to the point where doctors stopped prescribing it. His conditions have the ability to affect his personality and decisions, which is dangerous for someone with the most power in our nation.
    2.)Extremely popular in approval ratings even to this day, John F. Kennedy does deserve to be ranked as a top ten president because he created reforms to our constitution to the equality of African Americans and carefully handled the cuban missile crisis. Kennedy saw civil rights as a huge problem in America, bringing light to an issue that hadn’t been talked about presidentially in over half a century. He stated that civil rights was a “moral issue”, and created the Voting Rights Act, which he would’ve passed if not for his unfortunate assassination. He often tried to make reform even if it lowered his approval ratings overall. His main strengths as president are described as “crisis management”, which are especially displayed during the Cuban missile crisis. If not for Kennedy’s calm negotiation of taking our nuclear weapons out of Turkey in exchange for the Soviet Union removing theirs from Cuba, we could have started World War III.

  50. Ateeyah AbdulWasi

    John F Kennedy did not deserve a top 10 rating in my opinion. People may say yes if we look at just his “professional side” and not his personal side than yes he is very deserving of the places in the ranking that he got. But in my opinion, when you are a president there is only one side of you. You should be setting an example of how to be a good person AND president/ leader. For example, him not treating his wife well, he left his wife when she was 8 months pregnant to go on a cruise. Morally and just using common sense anyone would say that is wrong. JFK also when seen as a civil rights leader push hard enough in the civil rights movement and also tried to STOP the march on Washington in 1963 for his own self. He did it because he didn’t want to “antagonize southern lawmakers that he needed on his side to pass New Frontier legislation.” I think that it is important to speak out and make a physical effort to better the situation of the oppressed, even if it may antagonize the oppressors. On the contrary, people may say that he is very deserving of the top ten rating. Many people loved Kennedy. They say he was appealing in every way. “He personified the best America had to offer” according to the article. He was physically appealing and had a way with words that would captivate most of his audience (America). He and his wife seemed like the power couple to everyone. The publics intense interest in Jackie made her equally important and increased JFK’s respect and regard for her. At first JFK and his wife were very in love, they supported each other and shared the same hobbies, he seemed like the perfect president. He was seen as the person who had the same qualities as America which made it so great. He saw civil rights as a huge issue. At first, he did call for an advancement in the movement and was popular with the majority of blacks too.

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