alec essay

Alec Brown

Anna Alldredge

English 8

February 2017

THE INFLUENTIAL MAN:

The Legacy of Jack Kennedy

What makes a person influential? In my opinion, an influential person is someone who risked their lives for a great cause and led a large group to be inspired to do something great. The person who possesses all of those qualities is John F. Kennedy. He gave his life for the pursuit of peace and led America through a difficult time. He broke barriers and believed that everyone deserved equal rights. In a time of segregation, he stood up for African-Americans and stood up for those being oppressed by the USSR. In the end, he ended up being assassinated for his willingness to do what was right and what he believed in– and this is what makes John F. Kennedy a influential person.

Jack started his life of service as a PT boat captain in World War ll. As a son of a millionaire and a Harvard graduate, he could have easily avoided fighting in the war, but he went anyway. When he was a young man, Jack showed he would be willing to give his life to fight against evil forces, and he carried the same spirit throughout his life.  While he was patrolling his PT boat he was attacked by a Japanese destroyer and his ship was cut in half. All of the men were thrown into the water. Jack, severely injured managed to swim one of the crew member who was near death 4 miles to the nearest island. For his actions, he won a Purple Heart medal for “extremely heroic conduct.”

After leaving the navy,  he went on to be a Congressman and Senator for the state of Massachusetts, and eventually became the 35th president of the United States.  In his short term as President, he accomplished a lot. He worked on abolishing segregation, and stood by Martin Luther King, when no white politician would. After the Cuban missile crisis, he also focused on working with the USSR to make sure no one started another world war. But sadly, on a cold November afternoon, John Kennedy’s term as president ended when he was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. Who knows what many great things he could have accomplished if he would have been allowed to finish the rest of his presidency.

JFK inspired me and many others because he fought for what he believed in and did not give up until the end. He will continue to inspire many for ages. John Kennedy’s legend will continue to live on forever. And that is the tale of the Influential Man.