Early life of John F. Kennedy

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The early life of John F. Kennedy spans the first 25 years of his life, from 1917 to 1940. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Kennedy was brought up to reflect the core values of his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.. Beginning in his youth, he was taken aback by bad health that sometimes resulted in his inability to attend school. Such ailments would continue for the remainder of Kennedy's life.

Early years (1917 - 1935)

Childhood

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1917, to businessman/politician Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Sr. (1888–1969) and philanthropist/socialite Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald-Kennedy (1890–1995). His father was the oldest son of businessman/politician Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy (1858–1929) and Mary Augusta Hickey-Kennedy (1857–1923). His mother was the daughter of Boston Mayor John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald (1863–1950) and Mary Josephine "Josie" Hannon-Fitzgerald (1865–1964). All four of his grandparents were the children of immigrants from Ireland. He was the second child born to the Kennedys, after Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., two years his senior, and was named after his maternal grandfather. Unlike John, Joseph Jr. would be without illness or physical detriment, Alan Axelrod commenting, "the ill health of the younger son also served to underscore the phenomenal vigor of the elder." Kennedy's birth occurred the same day that his father was elected to the board of the Massachusetts Electric Company.

Kennedy contracted scarlet fever at age 2, an illness recorded by his mother on February 20, 1920. The same day, Rose gave birth to Kathleen. Kennedy was transported to the Poland Springs-based Mansion House Hotel the following month after seeing a rise in his temperature. The healing mineral water there served to aid in his recovery. Axelrod wrote that Kennedy required hospitalization to both further his chances of surviving and to separate him from his family so they would not get infected by the contagious disease. During the illness, Joe, Sr. became frightful at the prospect of his son passing away prematurely and pledged to God the donation of half his wealth in the event that his son recovered, which he honored, and wrote a note of appreciation to the doctor. The elder Kennedy had been aided in getting his son into an isolation ward by John Fitzgerald, whose influence as a former Mayor of Boston allowed him to overpower incumbent Mayor Andrew James Peters. Kennedy's mother was forced to stay with him due to concerns that she and the newborn Kathleen may have been inflected by his disease.

John's favorite sport was sailing. He and his older brother bought a sail named Jubilee in 1934, having first seen it being ridden by H. B. Atkin.

Kennedy's favorite book was Memory Hold-the-Door by John Buchan. From an early age, JFK developed an intense disliking of losing "at anything," as claimed by his sister Eunice. She further said this was the sole thing to make her brother emotional and the latter would press for continued tries until he had won more than whom he'd been bested by. This trait was claimed to have originated from Joe, Sr.'s approach of a "strident and extreme" view of winning.

Kennedy started his third grade year attending Edward Devotion School. Both JFK and his elder brother next transferred to Noble and Greenough School. Their mother felt Noble and Greenough School could give the boys more discipline. The elder Kennedy helped to found Dexter School, which JFK started attending. Kennedy began attending Canterbury School in September 1930. During that year, Kennedy's activities were restricted by an undiagnosed illness. Between October to December, he lost several pounds, tired and saw no physical growth, a doctor attributing this to his non-drinking of milk. In April 1931, Kennedy collapsed after having abdominal pain. A surgeon examining him at the time deduced it was appendicitis and JFK had an operation at a "nearby hospital". Kennedy was withdrawn from Canterbury on May 2, though the school gave him credit for the full year.

Choate

Joseph Sr. was so impressed with the progress of his eldest son at Choate Rosemary Hall, Joseph Jr. having become more mature, that he sent John there with the hopes of producing the same effect. John at first tried to be academically successful similarly to his brother, but resorted to find another way of standing out after these attempts proved futile. As a result, Kennedy developed a habit for being a troublemaker, something which plagued him the entirety of his tenure at the school. The juvenile behavior worsened when John became a member of The Muckers Club and the group plotted to disrupt Choate's annual spring celebration by bringing horse manure and several gold shovels, a plot that earned Kennedy and 12 other students expulsions that were afterward commuted to probation. The group's name was derived from headmaster George St. John swearing that certain "muckers" would "spit in our sea" after brandishing a toilet that Kennedy and cohorts had caused to explode using a firecracker.

John's academic performance has been the subject of commentary by peers and biographers alike, Choate activist Judy Donald saying that Kennedy was not a bad student though like many others did not perform to the best of his ability. Kennedy's grades increased during his sophomore year at a time where according to his housemaster Eugene Musser, he displayed an "ever-increasing maturity and sense of responsibility." He was consistently on task and cooperative. During his junior year, Kennedy's grades faltered to the point of his father expressing concerns that he was going to fail: "His happy-go-lucky manner with a degree of indifference does not portend well for his future development." Joseph Sr. communicated regularly with the school's headmaster George St. George as a result of John's grades. In his first two years there, Kennedy played multiple sports, namely football, basketball and baseball. Kennedy's football couch favorably reflected on his strength and talent in playing the sport. Afterward, his athleticism took a turn for the worse when his health began to falter. While attending Choate, Kennedy gained a lifelong friend in Lem Billings, the pair sharing commonalities in having been patronized by older siblings. Billings was seen by Kennedy's acquaintances as a negative foil to Kennedy who they viewed favorably. Alternatively, Kennedy's father thought he would be benefited from the friendship due to Billings demonstrating genuine interest in John.

There is speculation that Kennedy's famous line in his inaugural address, "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" may have been derived from sermons he heard during his tenure at the school. Donald found quotations in 2008 which included a quote from Harvard University dean: "The youth who loves his Alma Mater will always ask, not 'What can she do for me?' but 'What can I do for her?"' Author Thurson Clarke gave credence to this assertion Kennedy while Michael O'Brien expressed disagreement, reasoning that Kennedy at the time focused on his relationships instead. Though not giving an opinion on the matter of it being derived, Chris Matthews asserted that Kennedy was a student and they are "supposed to remember what their teachers tell them." Additionally, the headmaster for Choate reportedly commonly called on students to remember what mattered most was "not what Choate does for you, but what you can do for Choate."

In January 1932, Kennedy spent a week in the infirmary at Choate due to a cold and cough. The following month, Kennedy's mother gave birth to his youngest sibling Edward Moore Kennedy. Kennedy requested in a letter that he become his brother's godfather. In April, Kennedy returned to the infirmary due to a cold and swollen glands being accompanied by "an abnormal urine sample." During fall 1932, Kennedy made clear both his abdominal discomfort and fatigue. Kennedy, fifteen at the time of the 1932 presidential election, admitted the New Deal policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt did not influence him, O'Brien writing that he instead developed his views through "rational reflection and enlightened self-interest." For the first two months of 1933, he had pains in his knees and flu like symptoms. In June 1934, Kennedy was sent to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota following a feeling of illness and his parents taking notice. Two weeks later, he was transferred to St. Mary's Hospital. According to medical reports, Kennedy had a case of colitis and was given bland food by doctors as preparation for a medical test. The exams lasted for several days, during which Kennedy described a pain in his stomach and reported losing eight pounds, as well as the doctors being unable to determine his ailment. Days later, Kennedy wrote that he was suffering from an intestines problem, doctors shortly thereafter sticking a 12 inch iron tube into his behind, Kennedy additionally writing that they might have to cut his stomach. In the winter, Kennedy was taken to New Haven Hospital for observation, doctors fearing he might have leukemia based on his weight loss and hives. After being released, Kennedy wrote that he was sicker than he thought he had been and should by that point have been deceased. Kennedy graduated from Choate in 1935, being voted "most likely to succeed".

Relationships with family

Kennedy's mother doted on him, advising him well into his adulthood, but beginning in his childhood, she often took time apart from her children; a six-year-old JFK confronting her while she was packing and being quoted as saying, "Gee, you're a great mother to go away and leave your children all alone." Rose wrote of the encounter in her memoirs, confessing that she had been bothered by her son's comments. During their periods of separation, JFK remembered being tearful and missing his mother, ceasing when he realized that she was bothered by his outbursts. JFK's friend Charles Spalding said Kennedy's mother "never touched him" as a parent and the overriding parental authority for him was his father. Red Fay, also a friend of JFK, remembered Rose as not getting involved in conversations of the family and expressed the view that JFK lacked a mother that was loving toward him. Jay Mulvaney wrote that Kennedy adapted to his mother's absences during his childhood and took any love given to him by her when she was around. On Rose's end, Leaming noted Rose being aware of distaste JFK had toward her as a result of the absences but that she "remained sequestered inside the emotional wall she had built round herself."

Kennedy's father placed his hopes on Joe Jr., viewing him as the one to carry the family's political interests and dismissed his second son John to an extent though remained interested in his schooling and productivity. The elder Kennedy thought highly of his son's futures and gave them assigned roles, at one instance proclaiming that Joseph, Jr. would be a future US president while JFK would be the president of a university. Joe, Sr. elevated JFK, Joe, Jr. and Kathleen as the "pick of the litter", Mills writing that the opinion caused JFK and the two other elder siblings to be idolized by their younger siblings since the family took Joe, Sr.'s opinion as their own. Kennedy's habit of referring to his political career as "public service" originated from the elder Kennedy advising him to do so.

Kennedy's relationship with his older brother Joe, Jr. has been the subject of interpretation by historians. Axelrod wrote JFK for the most part took opportunities to "undercut" Joe, Jr. in the eyes of their father. However, JFK's roommate James Rousmaniere expressed the view that Kennedy was content with Joe, Jr. being the source of their father's primary interests: "The situation gave him a certain independence that he valued." According to their younger brother Robert's account, their conflict turned physical at times. Hodge recounted a bicycle collision between the pair and JFK requiring stitches in the aftermath. Kennedy was not as healthy as his older brother, but compensated by being witty and provoking. Schlesinger wrote that while John won the arguments, Joe Jr. won the fights. JFK at one point told the headmaster of Winthrop House that he was not as intelligent as his older brother. The two referred to each other as "Brother", notably different from how they addressed their male siblings Robert and Ted. Betty Young, who dated Kennedy during his returns from Choate, said JFK would talk about Joe, Jr. whenever they were without entertainment, assessing the latter as overshadowing his younger brother in everything. JFK would reflect that through being the oldest brother, Joe, Jr. had achieved "his greatest success" and attributed any future success for members of the family to his influence. Hlity observed that Joseph Jr. was jealous over the success of Kennedy's novel Why England Slept as Joe, Jr. commented that the novel "didn't prove anything."

John developed a close relationship with Kathleen, the two coming together from being more independent than the other children. JFK and Kathleen had commonalities in their humor, free spirit nature, and energy, O'Brien observing that Kathleen teased and joked with her brother as a way of conveying the intense love that she had for him. Such feelings were made evident by their father in a February 1935 writing to JFK: "She thinks you are quite the grandest fellow that ever lived and your letters furnish her most of her laughs." Leaming wrote that JFK worked alongside Joe, Jr. and their parents to preserve Kathleen's chastity despite both brothers by that point having become sexually active.

Despite their later companionship, in their younger years, John was distant toward Robert both mentally due to the age gap and physically, as he was often bedridden. However, the two had a connection form in John regaling Robert with stories he had read, the pair both being influenced by John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps.

Ted Kennedy recounted that his older brother took interests in all aspects of his life including his academics and athleticism; he credited John with teaching him how to sail. Throughout Ted Kennedy's career and decades after John's passing, Ted retained the letter in which John made the godfather request and in 1999 said he thought of his brother daily and was inspired by him.

Early adulthood

1935 and 1936

After graduating from Choate, Kennedy began what would be a two month hospitalization at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. Kennedy's uncertain doctors performed additional tests alongside seeing if he only had colitis or a combination of it with ulcers. In a letter to Billings, Kennedy claimed his white blood cell count decreased from 6000, the number upon entry to the hospital, to 3500 by his third week there. Kennedy persuaded his father to allow him to attend Princeton University, wanting to avoid further comparisons to his elder brother and meet new people. There, Kennedy requested Lemings arrange rooming, being content with the small room. However, Kennedy's interest in the university wained when he lost interest in the school's setting of Princeton, New Jersey amid complications stemming from his health and the school having a mood hostile against catholicism.

Over the summer of 1936, Kennedy toured France, Spain and Italy.

Kennedy applied to Harvard University that fall, satisfying his father. Commentators have noted the similarities between Kennedy's applications to both Harvard and Princeton. Kennedy wrote in both applications that he wished to attend the school because they could give him opportunities unavailable to him at other universities. Kennedy's writing has been critiqued for its length and content, though Eleanor Barkhorn of The Atlantic observed that by mentioning personal connections and the school's renewed status being bestowed upon him in attending he showed "a profound, if implicit, understanding of the primary value of attending an elite school". A short time afterward, his father wrote a letter to the school dean denouncing his son's lack of motivation "in those in which he is not interested", admitting that it was a character flaw. Joe Sr. offered his assistance to the dean in a later letter in August 1936 and wrote of a planned meeting with his son's teachers. Those teachers included the likes of Daniel Aaron. According to letters to Billings, Kennedy enjoyed Harvard. He focused mainly on government and gave particular attention to literature and history. In doing a research paper on Jean-Jacques Rousseau, he credited Rousseau with understanding what he called education's purpose, "formation of judgement and character." Kennedy opposed Rousseau's support for a primitive nature and claim that material progress had negatively impacted society, citing the "higher standard of living and [an] improvement in social conditions" in the latter's case. Kennedy had his first entry into politics while attending Harvard, running unsuccessfully for president of his class during his freshman year. He was eliminated after six candidates emerged from the thirty-five contenders and he was not among the finalists. Kennedy was, however, elected to the class's smoker committee. Kennedy's father stumped for the re-election of incumbent U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1936 presidential election, John himself being indifferent to the election, William Leuchtenburg seeing Kennedy as having no "public expression" of excitement in Roosevelt if there was any to begin with. Additionally, Kennedy was known to not discuss any of Roosevelt's policies while in college and was neglecting of both the Harvard Liberal Union and Young Democrat factions at the university. O'Brien wrote that Kennedy acted this way due to his father's varying opinions of the president, sometimes either praising or critiquing him.

1937

In early 1937, Kennedy wrote to Joe Sr. about a prescription that he would need his father to obtain for him, noting that his doctor at the time had been "keeping it pretty quiet." He was at the time attending Harvard as a freshman. Robert Dallek suggested that the prescription JFK was requesting was DOCA since at the time the clinical viability of corticosteroids had increased to the point of it being promoted as "a therapeutic cure-all". A 1937 recording of Kennedy's voice during a public speaking course at Harvard, where he spoke about the Supreme Court nomination of Hugo Black by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was released in 2017. It is believed to be the oldest recording of JFK's voice, according to Megan Sniffin-Marinoff being created as a result of the trend of Kennedy's professor to record the voices of students twice while they attended.

In July 1937, Kennedy sailed to France—bringing his convertible—and spent ten weeks driving through Europe with Billings. The duo kept in cheap lodging, paying for rooms that cost either a dollar or change, as a result of Billings' lack of wealth and aiming to keep within budget. Kennedy and Billings had different agendas going into the trip, with Kennedy wanting to examine and note the situation in Europe and Billings seeking to lecture Kennedy on Gothic designs present there. JFK purposefully would question denizens that he met at every turn of their trip including supporters and detractors of the Nazis and Spanish Civil War refugees. In August, Kennedy wrote on the state of Germany as being "too good" and assessed comments to the contrary as people coming together "to protect themselves." He also predicted Adolf Hitler would become "one of the most important personalities" of all time.

In November 1937, Kennedy hid in a shower room when photographers came to take photos of his swimming team. Harold Ulen, coach of the Harvard swimming team, remembered Kennedy had a "rather frail" physique and "tremendous efforts" were taken to convince him to be photographed.

1938

In February 1938, Kennedy was hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic. In May, Kennedy was elected to the Harvard Business Board. The following month, Kennedy remained in the New England Baptist Hospital for two weeks. That same month, JFK sailed overseas with his father and older brother to work at the American embassy in London where his father was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James's. June also saw Kennedy compete for Harvard against skippers Robert N. Bavier Jr. and Bus Mosbacher, both of whom going on to defend the America's cup, along with students from other Ivy League schools and military academies during the 1938 McMillan Cup. O'Brien wrote that the participation of Kennedy contributed to Harvard's victory. By October, Kennedy continued not feeling well but thought returning to the hospital ineffective.

Kennedy reportedly improved his grades in his junior and senior years at Harvard, making up for the "mediocre academic record" of the first two years.

In his junior year, Kennedy wrote on 1930s British military policy, the paper later being released, after encouragement from his father, as Why England Slept and becoming a bestseller. Kennedy experienced a change in his beliefs of US foreign policy over the course of Why England Slept being published, moving away from isolationism and toward learning from the mistakes made at Munich. Why England Slept altered Kennedy's standing in his family and several publications approach him to write articles as a result of its success.

1939

A year after his Mayo Clinic hospitalization, Kennedy was there again in February 1939. Mayo Clinic doctor Walter Alvarez reported Kennedy had tenderness on his abdomen, the sole area of significance and speculated the medical setback possibly stemmed from "an inherited nervousness or sensitiveness of the nervous system." Alvarez furthered that "this sort of thing" was frequently amongst college students due to further responsibilities and cited Kennedy's emotion as causing his loose bowel movement. After this, JFk set sail on the Queen Mary for the start of a six month stay in London, his father initially having intended to travel with him but being requested to return early by Neville Chamberlin. Along with the rest of his immediate family, Kennedy attended the coronation of Pope Pius XII in early March 1939. Later in the month, JFK began employment as an aide for the Paris-based US embassy, the position previously belonging to his elder brother. Kennedy and his roomate Torbert Macdonald traveled through Poland, Russia, the Baltic states, Romania, Turkey, Egypt, and Palestine after Joseph, Sr. ordered his son travel to those regions.

During the year, Kennedy toured Europe, the Soviet Union, the Balkans, and the Middle East in preparation for his Harvard senior honors thesis. In July 1939, Kennedy traveled with both Torbert MacDonald and Byron White, Kennedy meeting White for the first time while initially traveling only with MacDonald, to Berlin, Munich, Italy, Danzig and Budapest. Despite warnings by his father to keep away from potentially consequential decisions, Kennedy and his peers went to visit the tomb of Horst Wessel. It was there the three ran into a group of hecklers who threw stones at their vehicle, MacDonald remembering that they wished to retaliate but were lead away thanks to "diplomatic retreat" by Kennedy. The following month, Kennedy was sent to Prague, conflicting with U.S. Consul George F. Kennan who was disillusioned with the timing of Kennedy's visit and saw his presence as uneventful, Kennan's view being strained further by his relationship with Joesph Kennedy, Sr.. Kennan ultimately chose to ensure Kennedy had a trip of sightseeing around Prague and hurried his leaving at the end of the month.

He then went to Czechoslovakia and Germany before returning to London on September 1, 1939; that was the day Germany invaded Poland. Two days later, the family was in the House of Commons for speeches endorsing the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Germany. Kennedy was sent as his father's representative to help with arrangements for American survivors of the SS Athenia before flying back to the U.S. from Foynes, Ireland to Port Washington, New York on his first transatlantic flight. According to statements to United States Secretary of State Cordell Hull by Joseph Sr., on September 7, JFK traveled to Glasgow to speak with survivors of the SS Athenia. Press accounts indicated Kennedy was convincing in his claim of the United States government being interested in the survivors' fate. Lesley Roberts identified the appearance and speech Kennedy gave there as his first showing of leadership.

Kennedy wrote an unsigned editorial for the Harvard Crimson's October 9, 1939 issue, Leaming identifying it as "the first important public statement of his career". Kennedy dismissed the possibility of Poland returning to its prior state and concluded the ongoing war would only end "in the light of what can be done." In an October 23, 1939 case study on whether a neutral state could pilot vessels of a state at war through the state at war's territorial waters and "to a point ten miles beyond in the high seas", Kennedy wrote that it was a breach unless the pilot was a private citizen or in distress. In November, Kennedy received his first liver injection under William P. Murphy.

1940

In late spring 1940, Kennedy was involved in a student committee dedicated to the funding of Red Cross for refugees in Europe via fundraiser. Having organized the event, on May 20, a printed statement in the Boston Herald featured Kennedy writing that "the desperate needs of Europe's invaded population require no more argument than the familiar facts reported in the daily papers." The drive was successful, raising $1700 and passing the quota by $500, a fact that Kennedy mentioned to his father in a letter. In June 1940, Kennedy graduated cum laude from Harvard University with a bachelor of science degree. Kennedy's siblings Rosemary, Eunice and Robert as well as his mother attended the ceremony and Kennedy's father subsequently praised him in a cable, insisting he had always thought highly of his son.

In the fall of 1940, Kennedy both enrolled and audited classes at Stanford University. Kennedy credited Tom Killefer, his Harvard roommate, with inspiring his choice to attend, after Killefer had praised the climate while speaking negatively at the same time of that in Florida. Kennedy arrived at Stanford with a high profile on campus, due to the success of Why England Slept. During his attendance, he participated in a seminar by Thomas Swain Barclay on the then-ongoing 1940 presidential election. Kennedy met actor Robert Stack at a Hollywood, California studio while attending Stanford, the two forming a friendship based on a shared interest in women. Stack remembered Kennedy having an ability to merely look at a given woman and impress her with his appearance. Kennedy also became acquainted with Clark Gable, Lana Turner and Spencer Tracy. Kennedy had several relationships around this time, including one with Harriet Price, a Pi Beta Phi sorority member. He did not take the relationship seriously and had a number of other romantic partners. During an August 1940 interview, Kennedy expressed his view that America was ready for war but that it would have to prove it was as "any bluff will be called" and cited Munich as an example of a country not keeping weapons equal to its commitment. In October, the JFK-backed peacetime draft was enacted, and on October 18, he registered for the draft. JFK concluded his health issues would prevent him from surviving, also of the view he would look bad either way if he was not chosen or did not choose to go. In December 1940, with his father gaining a defeatist reputation, Kennedy pitched the idea of him writing a positive assessment of Britain in a letter to the elder Kennedy. Kennedy's health issues bothered him to the point that in 1940, after his college graduation, his interest in his future dimmed as he drew concerns regarding his state of being. During a play of tennis late that year, Kennedy was struck by a pain in his lower back, receiving hospitalization at the Lahey Clinic for ten days. Kennedy was given a support for his lower back, though continued to be plagued by "periodic attacks of a similar nature." Though Kennedy had planned to return to Stanford for the spring semester the following year, he instead went to South America as he began his tenure in the United States Navy.

References

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