JFK-dabeach

On September 26, 1960, at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, an estimated 75 million poeple sat indoors, focused on their television sets, watching the first teleised presidential debate. The candidates in the first televised debate differed in many ways. John f. Kennedy, the Democratic nominee, was a Catholic form an influential Massachusetts family. Kennedy's faith eventually became an issue, as Al Smith's Catholicism had in 1928. The United States had never had a Catholic president, and many Protestants had concerns about Kennedy. Despite his narrow victory, John F. Kennedy captured the imagination of the American public as few presidents had before him. During the campaign, many had been taken with Kennedy's youth and optimism, and his Inaugural Address reinforced this impression. After the launch of the first ever artificial satellite into space, the Sputnik, President Kennedy worried about the impact of the flight on the Cold War. Soviet successes in space might convince the world that communism was better than capitalism. Less than six weeks after the Soviet flight, the president went before congress and declared: "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on a moon." Kennedy's speech set in motion a massive effort to develop the necessary technology. In 1962 John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. Three years later, the United States sent three men into orbit in a capsule called Apollo. Eventually the United States won the space race when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on July 16, 1969. John F. Kennedy was a great leader for the United States. He captivated the hearts of its citizens with his charming personality and presence. There were, however, some rumors of various affairs Kennedy had, especially during his presidency. The most commonly talked about, alleged affair was with the famous Marilyn Monroe.

=**The Assasination**= Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and John F. Kennedy's presidency abruptly ended, shockingly and tragically. On november 22, 1963, Kennedy traveled to Texas. As the presidential motorcade rode slowly through the crowded streets of Dallas, gunfire rang out. Someone had shot the president twice-- once in the throat and once in the head. Horrified government officials sped Kennedy to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead moments later. Lee Harvey Oswald, the man accused of killing Kennedy, seemed to be a confused and embittered Marxist who had spent time in the Soviet Union. He himself was shot to death while in police custody two days after the assassination. The bizarre situation led some to speculate that the second gunman, local night club owner Jack Ruby, killed Oswald to protect others involved in the crime. In 1964 a national commission heade by Chief Justice Warren conclude that Oswald was the lone assassin. In the wake of the assassination, the United States and much of the world went into mourning. Thousands traveled to Washington, D.C., and waited in a line several miles long outside the Capitol to walk silently past the president's flag-draped casket. Kennedy was president for little more than 1,000 dyas. Yet he made a profound impression on most Americans.

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