John Fitzgerald Kennedy was one of the most outstanding people in American history. He was the 35th President of the United States, a Democrat, who served his country and its political interests until he was assassinated in November 1963 because of his involvement with the Vietnam War (or, to be more exact, his being opposed to it). John Kennedy was the second youngest American President who started ruling the country at the age of 43. Notwithstanding his young age, he was the only president of the United States who won a Pulitzer Prize and who was loved by practically every citizen of his country. John Kennedyâs significance for the Vietnam War era is hard to overestimate; his loyalty to his convictions, generosity, and justice could help him to withdraw from Vietnam if he was not assassinated in 1963.
First of all, Kennedy displayed his qualities of a committed and faithful to his convictions political leader as soon as he was elected as a president. Kennedy believed in communism and decided at once to support the policy of his predecessor, Dwight Eisenhower, who was a supporter of the government of Diem. Shortly after the inauguration, Kennedy âalso made it plain that he supported the âDomino Theoryâ and he was convinced that if South Vietnam fell to communism, then other states in the region would as a consequenceâ (John F. Kennedy and Vietnam, 2009, para. 1). Kennedy knew that such a position was rather conflicting, but he did not wish to withdraw because he remained faithful to his convictions. This makes him a significant figure even in terms of the Vietnam War era.
Secondly, Kennedy has shown his worth as a generous and caring ruler when he financed the increase of the South Vietnamese Army and provided support to it. In 1961, Kennedy increased the Army by another 20,000 people (which made it 170,000 people). In addition, he sent 1,000 advisors to South Vietnam; this action aimed to ensure a sufficient level of training for the South Vietnamese Army. These two decisions, however, were never made public because they contradicted the Geneva Agreement of 1954 (John F. Kennedy and Vietnam, 2009). Therefore, such a support to the South Vietnamese Army (even though Kennedy was taking risks when providing this support) points at the unbelievable generosity of this U.S. president.
And finally, Kennedy was a just person who, though he supported Diem at the beginning, chose to overthrow him after he found out the position of the members of his government towards the Buddhist monks’ mass suicides. During his presidency, Kennedy got convinced more than once that Diem’s policy was different from what he believed it to be. His government appeared to have consisted of merciless and cruel people. In 1963, Buddhist monks started to commit mass suicides by burning themselves, which the members of the Diem government commented sarcastically stating “Let them burn, and we shall clap our hands” (John F. Kennedy and Vietnam, 2009). Such a position, according to Kennedy, could never unite South Vietnam, which served as a sufficient reason for overthrowing the Diem government.
In conclusion, the good qualities that John Kennedy possessed were indeed numerous. He was a committed political leader loyal to his convictions, a generous and caring ruler who never grudged money to help other people, and a just person who could not stand human lives being neglected. This explains why every single American was crying when John Kennedy was assassinated.
Reference
John F. Kennedy and Vietnam. (2009). Web.