Description
Book SynopsisThe recent commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's election as the thirty-fifth president of the United States serves as a reminder of a period of time that many Americans perceive as idyllic. Just as his election, despite a near-run thing, had instilled a pervasive sense of hope throughout the country, his assassination stunned the entire nation, scarring the psyche of a generation of Americans. More than half a century later, JFK continues to inspire debates about the effectiveness of the presidency, as well as his own political legacy, making the senator from Massachusetts the object of many enduring myths: that he would have been one of the country's greatest leaders had he lived, he would have kept the US out of a full-fledged Vietnam war, and that he was a martyr of right-wing assassins. His successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, who did get the US deeply involved in Vietnam while pursuing the social reforms of the Great Society at home and abroad, also casts a long
Table of ContentsEditor’s Foreword, Jon Woronoff Preface Acronyms and Abbreviations Chronology THE DICTIONARY Appendix 1 Lists of Officials, Elections, Congresses Appendix 2 Constitutional Amendments Appendix 3 John F. Kennedy’s Addresses Appendix 4 Martin Luther King, Jr., Speech Appendix 5 Lyndon B. Johnson’s Addresses Bibliography About the Authors
