Jfk Cuban Missile Crisis Essay

The speech made people aware that action was being taken to prevent any unexpected attacks and that every aspect of the crisis was being looked into. The speech itself upset many Americans and put them into a state of fear, but it also reassured them that Kennedy was aware and ready to take control to protect his country. Kennedy’s impact on the United States was not as remembered for what he did, but more for what he could have done. This particular speech helps illustrate the greater aspects of American history and shows why we are still a united nation. The Kennedy family had a passion for success. The public attention and fame that the family possessed came from â€Å"personal wealth and politics. † (Gale, 1994. Biography In Context) John Kennedy’s father, Joseph P. Kennedy, was ambassador of the United States and the United Kingdom. His wife, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, was an American philanthropist. The couple had nine children together, John F. Kennedy being the second oldest son. He was born on May 29, 1917. His father put a great deal of his faith into his first born, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. , his goal being to make him president of the United States. With the family’s competitive nature, this caused a lot of rivalry between the two brothers. This issue followed them into their adult lives where â€Å"Jack,† as John was called, and his older brother both went to Choate and Harvard. Kennedy had not had a set plan for pursuing a career, but he was â€Å"certain of eventual American involvement in the expanding war. † (Gale, 1994. Biography In Context) He was assigned to Naval Intelligence in Washington when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was reassigned to sea duty on PT boats. On August 2, 1943, after a Japanese destroyer crashed into Kennedy’s PT-109, he was declared a â€Å"hero† by The New York Times for rescuing the surviving crew members. This story was circulated in each of Kennedy’s campaigns helping him move up as a politician. A year later his older brother, Joseph was killed while on a dangerous volunteer mission in Europe. He died instantly do to the explosion of an aircraft carrying dynamite. Kennedy’s political career really started up around this time because of his feelings of an â€Å"unnamed responsibility† to his parents, brothers, and sisters. In 1946, his father felt it was necessary to have John Kennedy take his brothers place and run for the same seat in Congress John’s grandfather â€Å"Honey Fitz† held nearly five decades earlier. (Gale, 1994. Biography In Context) Kennedy went into politics with no plan or philosophy. Even without direction in his campaign he still did win. People looked at him indifferently due to the fact that he wasn’t very involved in the debates. His health started depleting and it was obvious to the public that he was suffering from illness. He was diagnosed with Addison’s disease in 1947. It is a disease that occurs when the adrenal glands do not produce enough hormones. He was then given only a few years to live, but when he started his cortisone treatments in 1950, his health improved along with his spirits. In the 1960 Presidential election, Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon by 12,000 votes. Kennedy began his presidency with grace and huge expectations for the nation. His inaugural speech focused on what America’s role was with the rest of the world and his obligations as â€Å"Leader of the Free World. † The Cuban Missile Crisis came about when Premier Nikita Khrushchev announced that Soviets plan to support â€Å"wars of national liberation† against noncommunist regimes around the globe. Kennedy sharpened the American military’s watch on communist rebellion against the government. In April, 1961 he authorized a CIA plan to invade Cuba. The invasion failed horribly at the Bay of Pigs and the U. S. was on the edge of war when President Kennedy confronted Khrushchev about the presence of missile sites in Cuba. After two weeks they had reached a compromise: Soviets would withdraw their missiles in Cuba and the U. S. would withdraw its missiles in Turkey. The Cuban Missile Crisis speech was given on October 22, 1962 at the White House. It addressed our nation’s allies and enemies along with all American citizens. Kennedy used logos, pathos, and ethos in his address. He used logos by stating â€Å"unmistakable evidence that a series of offensive missile sites are in preparation. He let everybody know that the evidence was proven true and that no lies are coming from the address.