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Presidents of the U.S. #35 - John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961-1963)

Democratic Party

John F. Kennedy was a fighter for equality between White Americans and African-Americans (called "Afro-Americans" back then, among other now deprecated terms such as "negroes", which means "blacks" but was historically used in a pejorative way). His presidency fell in the time of the same movement that also brought Dr. Martin Luiher King, who sadly was also assassinated in 1968. Under President Kennedy, not only that battle was fought but also the battle for Germany's re-unification. On 26 June 1963, President Kennedy gave his historic speech including the legendary words:

----- QUOTE -----
Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was "Civis Romanus Sum!" Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner!"
----- END OF QUOTE -----

The official portrait by Aaron Shickler, shown here, is in the Public Domain due to a lack of a copyright notice. It might still be protected in non-US countries with different copyright laws.

John F. Kennedy's time in office was cut short when he was assassinated on 22 November 1963 in Dallas, Texas, at 12:38 PM by Lee Harvey Oswald. Kennedy died less than half an hour later in the hospital. There are still numerous conspiracy theories surrounding his death, which can easily be found on the internet. One theory, and als my personal belief, is that the murder was connected to Robert Kennedy, John F. Kennedy's brother, being an avid fighter against the American Mafia "Cosa Nostra". In that theory, John F, Kennedy was murdered in revenge for that, and there was no personal motif involved. An argument against this is that also Governor Connally was shot, but survived.

Note that a comprehensive portrayal of each president would go too far, and almost each president had negative aspects. Please refer to any neutral and well-written encyclopedia for details.