"THE OUTCOME COULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT"

 WORLD ESCAPES NUCLEAR DISASTER AS MISSILE CRISIS ENDS

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On October 29, 1962, the world celebrated the end of the 13 day Cuban Missile Crisis* which had nearly brought nuclear war between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics.

Jacqueline Kennedy wrote to Soviet chairman Nikita Khrushchev after her husband's death...

"You and he were adversaries, but you were allied in a determination that the world would not be blown up.  The danger which troubled (JFK) was that war might be started...by the...little men while big men know...self control and restraint, little men are...moved more by fear and pride."

Michael Dobbs writes...

"If someone else had been president in October 1962, the outcome could have been different."

*Cuban Missile Crisis (October 16-October 29, 1962) 

SOURCES

"One Minute to Midnight:  Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro On The Brink of Nuclear War," by Michael Dobbs, Alfred A. Knopf, New York City, 2008.

"Our Planet Is Saved As Missile Crisis Ends," JFK+50, October 29, 2012, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/

Ranges of Soviet Missiles in Cuba

October 1962

Defense Intelligence Agency (PD)

"MY WIFE WAS BORN IN NY, SO I'LL SAY NY"

FUTURE FIRST LADY, JACQUELINE BOUVIER, BORN IN NEW YORK

Southampton, New York (JFK+50) On July 28, 1929, future First Lady of the United States Jacqueline Bouvier* was born here in Southampton.  Her parents were John Vernou Bouvier III and Janet Norton Lee Bouvier.

Jacqueline would attend Vassar, the Sorbonne in France and graduate from George Washington University in 1951 with a B.A. in French literature.

Jacqueline married Senator John F. Kennedy in 1953 and celebrated her 32nd birthday on July 28, 1961 as First Lady.

*Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994) served as 1st Lady 1961-1963 & was a writer, book editor and socialite.  She was devoted to the historic preservation of The White House & was a strong supporter of the arts.  

JB was working as a reporter for The Washington Times-Herald when she met JFK.  Her 2nd husband was Aristotle Onassis who she married in 1968.  He died in 1975.  JBKO is buried next to JFK in Arlington.

JFK+50 NOTE

Mr. and Mrs. Bouvier divorced in 1940 and Janet married Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr. in 1942.  HDA was heir to the Standard Oil Company fortune.

Once Senator Kennedy was asked which state he believed produced the most beautiful women.  He answered...

"my wife was born in New York, so I'll say New York."

Jacqueline Bouvier

at 6 years old

Photo by David Berne (1935)

JFK Library

"THERE'LL NEVER BE ANOTHER CAMELOT"

JACKIE KENNEDY INTERVIEWED BY THEODORE WHITE, RECALLS SOUND OF SHOT

Hyannis Port, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On December 4, 1963, The Evening Star published the Associated Press's 'Epilogue For Kennedy' by Theodore H. White*.

Mr. White interviews the widow of the late President John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, here in Hyannis Port.

Mrs. Kennedy recalls "the sound of the shot...like the sound of a backfire..."

She says...

"I keep thinking of...this line from a musical comedy...'Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot**.'

There'll be great President's again--but there'll never be another Camelot..."

*Theodore Harold White (1915-1986) was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Russian immigrants who changed their names to 'White' after a Boston department store.  

THW earned his BA in history at Harvard University, 1932 & became a writer at Time Magazine.  He authored The Making of the President 1960 & The Making of the President 1964.

JFK+50 COMMENT

Mrs. Kennedy's comments became the basis for the historical association of JFK's 'New Frontier' with 'Camelot.'  She wanted to be sure her husband would not be forgotten because his term in office was cut short.  Jackie more than achieved that goal.

If we were to go back to JFK's time, however, the mention of 'Camelot' would evoke visions of the legendary days of King Arthur and the popular Broadway play rather than the Kennedy administration.

SOURCE

"For One Brief Shining Moment There Was Camelot," by Theodore H. White, The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., December 4, 1963, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

Scene From Broadway's 'Camelot'

Robert Goulet, Julie Andrews &

Richard Burton

(1960-1963)

Photo by Friedman Abeles

JACKIE WAS A SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE IN JFK'S PRESIDENCY

JACQUELINE LEE BOUVIER BORN IN SOUTHAMPTON NY  

Southampton, New York (JFK+50) On July 28, 1929, a baby girl was born to Mr. and Mrs. John Vernou Bouvier III.  The future First Lady was named Jacqueline*.

Mr. Bouvier, who was known as "Black Jack", was a Wall Street stockbroker and of both French and English descent.  Mrs. Janet Norton Lee Bouvier was of Irish descent.

 The Bouviers divorced in 1940 and Jackie's mother remarried two years later. Her second husband was Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr., the heir to the Standard Oil Company fortune.

Jackie attended Vassar, the Sorbonne in France and graduated from George Washington University in 1951 with a BA in French literature.

As First Lady from 1961 to 1963, Mrs. Kennedy redecorated the White House and took an avid interest in the arts, but Michael Beschloss says that the idea that Jackie took little interest in JFK's political life is not true.  He writes...

"when viewed in history, she (was) a significant influence in that presidency."

Mrs. Kennedy shared her opinions on "virtually every major figure" of the administration and, again according to Mr. Beschloss, those she favored usually were promoted or had more influence than those she did not.

*Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994) competed in horse riding and was a successful student of many languages.  She lived in McLean,  VA & Newport, R.I.  JLKO attended Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, MD & Miss Porter's School in Farmington, CT.

During her college years, she studied in France for a year.  She married Senator John F. Kennedy in 1953.  Jackie was one of the youngest and most popular First Ladies in American history.

SOURCE

"Five myths about Jackie Kennedy," by Michael Beschloss, The Washington Post, October 24, 2013.

Jackie at 6 years old

Photo by David Berne (1935)

JFK Library

WOMAN OF THE YEAR 1961

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2174

JACQUELINE KENNEDY NAMED INTERNATIONAL WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Buenos Aires, Argentina (JFK+50) Fifty-five years ago today, December 30, 1961, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy*, was named the International Woman of the Year by 100 international magazine editors gathered here in Buenos Aires.

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy was born at Southampton Hospital in Southampton, New York on July 28, 1929**.  Jackie's parents were John Vernou "Blackjack" Bouvier III and Janet Norton Lee.  They divorced in 1940 and Janet married Hugh D. Auchincloss in 1942.

Jacqueline Kennedy's ancestry was Irish, English, French and Scottish.   Her mother was the granddaughter of four immigrants from County Cork who came to New York in the 1840s .

*Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994) competed in horse riding and was a successful student of many languages.  She lived in McLean,  VA & Newport, R.I.  JLKO attended Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, MD & Miss Porter's School in Farmington, CT.

During her college years, she studied in France for a year.  She married Senator John F. Kennedy in 1953.  Jackie was one of the youngest and most popular First Ladies in American history.

**Jacqueline Kennedy was the 1st First Lady born in a hospital.

Jacqueline Kennedy

International 

Woman of the Year (1961)

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

JFK+50:  Volume 5, No. 1938

JFK RECEIVES HONORARY DEGREE FROM GWU 

,Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Fifty-five years ago today, May 3, 1961,
President John F. Kennedy was presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from George Washington University*.

In accepting the honorary degree, President Kennedy noted that his wife, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, graduated with a BA from the university in 1957.

The President quipped...

"My wife beat me to this honor by about eight or nine years.  It took her two years to get this degree and it took me two minutes, but in any case we are both grateful.

This University bears the name of George Washington, which showed his understanding in his day of the necessity of a free society to produce educated men and women.

I believe....people do want to be free (and) that they desire to develop...their own potentials (and) democracy permits them to do so."

*George Washington University was established in 1821 as Columbian College in the District of Columbia & changed its name to honor the First U.S. President in 1904.   Its' 1st commencement was held in 1824 & attended by President James Monroe & the Marquis de Lafayette.

Today GWU is ranked as one of the top politically active schools in the nation.

SOURCE

"Remarks on receiving honorary degree at George Washington University, 3 May 1961," www.jfklibrary.org/

The George Washington University

Photo by Ingfbruno

April 20, 2013

The George Washington University

Photo by John White (2004)

               

BIENVENIDOS PRESIDENT AND MRS. KENNEDY

JFK'S FIRST VISIT TO LATIN AMERICA

Caracas, Venezuela (JFK+50) Fifty-three years ago today, December 16 1961, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy received a royal welcome from more than 300,000 people lining the streets along their motorcade route here in Caracas.

The Kennedys' reception stood in stark contrast to Vice President Richard M. Nixon's visit in 1958 when angry protesters pounded his car with clubs and pipes.

JFK said during his first visit as President of the United States to Latin America...

"One of the first goals of the new inter-Americanism must be the elimination of...tyranny...until this is a hemisphere of democratic and independent nations from Cape Horn to the Arctic Circle."

                 The Kennedys in Venezuela
                    Photo by Cecil Stoughton
                                 JFK Library 

President Kennedy's Alliance for Progress or Alianza para el Progreso program was popular in Venezuela. 

Through the program, the United States supplied loans and credits for road construction and agricultural and medical initiatives.  At the time of the President's visit, 38,000 families had settled on lands in Venezuela made available through the program.

The United States under JFK's leadership had pledged $20 billion to the people of Latin America.

JFK said...

"No real progress is possible unless the benefits of increasing prosperity are shared by the people themselves."

Mrs. Kennedy, who spoke in Spanish to the Venezuelan people, was particularly appreciated for both her fashion and command of the language.*

           Mrs. Kennedy Speaks in Spanish
                     La Morita, Venezuela
                        JFK Library Photo

*In a classified document released in 1997, the Presidential visit to Venezuela was described as an "outstanding success (which) bolstered (the) prestige of (the) United States in Venezuela and in (the) Americas, especially (the) Caribbean."

According to the Office of the Historian, U.S. State Department, the Alliance was "in essence a Marshall Plan for Latin America."  It says that it represented the largest American aid program to the developing nations at that time, but admits that "not all (of) its' lofty goals" were achieved and there was "a general deterioration of US-Latin American relations by the end of the 1960s."


VENEZUELA

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is located on the northern coast of South America.  The federal presidential republic, comprised of 12 states. today has a population of more than 29 million.  

Venezuela, described as one of the most urbanized countries in Latin America today, was one of the first countries of the region to declare independence from Spain.  The nation gained full independence in 1830.

Venezuela was a founding member of the United Nations. The capital, Caracas, is also the country's largest city.

The flag of Venezuela is yellow, blue and red.  The yellow stands for land wealth, the blue stands for the sea that separates Venezuela from Spain and the red represents the blood shed in achieving independence.

                      The Flag of Venezuela
                               www.cia.gov

SOURCE

"Forging the Alliance--President Kennedy's visits to Venezuela and Colombia, December 1961," Movietonews, United States Information Agency Film, John F. Kennedy Library, Boston.

To see the film click on the link below...