John F Kennedy's Beliefs

Improved Essays
Author of The Faiths of the Postwar Presidents: From Truman to Obama, David L. Holmes gave an insightful talk on the faiths of the presidents since World War II. Many important decisions that have been made by the presidents of the United States has been influenced on the religious backgrounds whether they consciously or unconsciously recognize their actions as religious decisions. This talk was very interesting as much about the private lives of presidents prior to Bill Clinton was kept very personal, and gaining this knowledge that is not commonly known is fascinating.
After the events that occurred on August 6, 1945 many believed that an apocalyptic turn for the worse was happening to the world. The United States had just dropped the most deadly bomb in the history of time on
…show more content…
Kennedy was a Roman Catholic man who is known as the most secular president the United States has ever had in office. During his campaign, Kennedy’s religion was a hot button issue as he was the second Catholic to be nominated for a presidential election. During this time, America was a heavily protestant country, and many feared that electing a Catholic man to office would change our country drastically. Ironically, Kennedy was described as a bad Catholic as he expressed little to no interest in the faith. Kennedy attended church regularly as the president, but only because he married a devout Roman Catholic. Kennedy was a man that had many other issues that should have been considered during the time during his election that were more important than his religion. Kennedy was a man who suffered from uncontrollable pain and had a reputation of being careless and a bit promiscuous. This were not as important during this time as the only thing many Americans could focus on was the fact that Kennedy was a catholic. Ironically, when told that someone should write a book about what type of Catholic Kennedy was his sister replied by saying that it would be a terribly small

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    1960s Dbq Essay

    • 1344 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The presidential election of 1960 made history with the second catholic that run for president, and first to actually attained victory. The election was so close in results, and fought vigorously by both candidates; John F. Kennedy versus the well experienced Vice President Richard M. Nixon. At this election, the use of televised debates was a premier and new thing in the election at that time, which had a huge impact on the voter's decision. John F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, 1917. He graduated from Harvard in 1940; soon after, he joined the United States Navy as a skipper for PT-109.…

    • 1344 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I think that the novel is very important because it teaches us about what we do as a reaction. We take things too far we could of just sent military over there and took over them or bomb their most valuable resource. But we nuke the whole city we already knew we was more powerful than them but we had to take it to the next level.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On August 6, 1945, in response to World War II and Japan’s vicious attacks on the U.S., the United States launched the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. 80,000 people died, and sixty percent of the city was destroyed. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, in which killed 70,000 people instantaneously and many more in the following weeks. These atomic bombs resulted in pure destruction and chaos for Japan and its people. Although the atomic bombs destroyed part of Japan and took many lives with them, the dropping of the atomic bombs were justified because the U.S. aimed for the complete and utter destruction of Japan and Japan remained a major threat that needed to be eliminated.…

    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    (1) with that of the rhetor. Kennedy addressed this obstacle in his discourse Campaign speech to the Houston Ministerial Association. At the time, he spoke directly to protestant voters who could not identify with him on account of his being a Catholic. Obama…

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “More than any other president of the century. . . Kennedy made his own personality an integral part of his presidency and a central focus of national attention” (Brinkley, 696). Kennedy wanted to create an image of a strong, intelligent, and vibrant leader, and he tried to use that image to help push reform through congress; however he was largely unsuccessful in this endeavor. He faced early rejection for some of his major ideas, but he was successful in raising the minimum wage and establishing the Peace Corps (“Domestic”). Even though President Johnson was similarly known for his personality in office, it was different from Kennedy’s personality.…

    • 1241 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the first week of August 1945, the world saw the first and only use of nuclear weapons in warfare. The United States use of the atomic bombs on Japan, One of the most controversial decisions in history, resulted in the death of over 130,000 people and caused un-predicted effects on physical health and economic relations upon the world. Historians contrast the effects brought upon the world and justifications for using the atomic bombs as a solution to ending the war. The atomic bombs changed the world and brought devastating effects on the inhabitants of Japan. When President Harry S. Truman, made the decision to drop the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in august 1945, left the world forever changed.…

    • 2113 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Atomic Bomb Decision Essay

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Atomic Bombs of World War One man’s decision can alter the entire world’s lives. On August 6th, 1945, President Harry Truman ordered atomic bombs be dropped on Japan’s soil. The first city of Japan who was bombed was Hiroshima at a quarter after eight. The first attack killed over eighty thousand innocent people instantly. Some of the victims was killed by the radiation.…

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Kennedy was becoming an advocate for civil rights; some would say a Martyr of Lincoln. He wanted the nation to be one culture together made of many smaller cultures. Since he was a liberalist he was all about being equal and how to change that in America. Kennedys biggest influence in his civil rights was Martin Luther King Jr. and obviously the efforts of Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln tried to make civil rights understood by every person and he used the bible in a way which christians understood them to realize he was speaking truth.…

    • 1633 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    John F. Kennedy is a president that is remembered because he was assassinated during his presidency. But Kennedy is also remembered for a few great accomplishments during his term as well as a couple major failures. The main accomplishments of JFK’s presidency include the enacting of the Peace Corps, the Space Program, the 24th Amendment, Cold War management, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The failures of the presidency were seen mainly in the Bay of Pigs invasion and the inability for JFK to pass any legislation regarding civil rights.…

    • 2455 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Later Kennedy was accepted as the democratic candidate for president and beat Republican Richard Nixon in a very close race. Kennedy was the youngest American president in history and also the first Catholic to be president. In his…

    • 322 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Was America justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? On August 6th, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. It was the first time a nuclear weapon had been used in combat, against civilians. Between 40,000 and 60,00 people died instantly, and many more would die in the aftermath, either due to their injuries or radiation poisoning.…

    • 1739 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki drastically altered international politics by changing the scope and consequences of international warfare, as well as causing a widespread hysteria over the use of nuclear warfare that led to conflicts such as the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. On August 6, 1945, the world was changed forever. On that fateful day the United States plunged the world into the chaos of nuclear warfare by dropping the first nuclear bomb in world history. The bomb brought with it an absolutely unparalleled level of destruction to the Japanese city of Hiroshima. In less than a second, the lives of more than 100,000 people were brought to a sudden, fiery conclusion.…

    • 1888 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Atomic Bomb Effects

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages

    On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, another bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Today, these events are known as the end of World War II, and also the only time that the military used nuclear bombs in wartime. The bombs not only impacted world history, but also caused the American public to feel uncertainty regarding the implications of nuclear physics and radiation and how using this scientific knowledge impacts daily life.…

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Fitzgerald Kennedy was one the most beloved presidents of the United States. He was the youngest U.S. president and the first Roman Catholic president. There is much to be said about this man and his legacy. We hear his humility in his inaugural speech and feel the admiration of family and friends shared in Eleanor Clift’s article, “Inside Kennedy’s Inauguration, 50 Years On.” Two different perspectives, yet both reveal the qualities of a man who loved his family, his country and inspired all.…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Roughly seventy years ago marked the explosion of the nuclear bombs dropped over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The merciless bombs were dropped on August 6, 1945, by an American officer in the U.S Air Force by the name of Charles W. Sweeney, on a Booing B-29 Superfortress bomber plane during the final stages of World War II (1939-1945). The mid nineteen forty 's was without a doubt a staggering time for the Japanese nation; this was a period loaded with resentment and anger as they glimpsed a massive nuclear bomb headed straight to them as a B-29 bomber fled the scene after destroying almost their entire city. According to an online historical article provided by the history channel titled “Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”, the impact wiped out nearly 90 percent of the city and killed over 80,000 people instantly before the bomb had even hit the ground; a few thousand later then died because of the immense amount of radiation after affect the bomb…

    • 1322 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays