Collections Spotlight: Kennedy Election Brochure

November 21, 2021

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By: Kaysey A. Richardson

1999.02.017

Here at the Museum of World Treasures we have 8700 artifacts! But, did you know that only 12% of our collection is on display to the public? Although we often rotate out our exhibits, there are still some objects that rarely receive a moment to shine. This week, our Collections Spotlight is a pamphlet promoting the presidency and vice presidency of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson.

It has been fifty-eight years since the assassination of John F. Kennedy shook the world.  To reflect on Kennedy’s life here are some facts that you may or may not have known:

• A Young Choice: John F. Kennedy was our second youngest president that we have ever elected at the age of 43.  (Roosevelt was the youngest president to be elected at age 42.)  Despite his youth and seemingly lack of experience in foreign affairs, he captured the Democratic nomination in 1960.  He chose Texas senator, Lyndon Baines Johnson as his running mate and spoke to the nation stating he would help the United States to resist communism around the world.

• The First Catholic President: Although Kennedy was not the first Catholic presidential nominee, (Al Smith was the first Catholic to run for president in 1928) he became the nation’s first Catholic president in office.  Although Kennedy attended church regularly while in office, he maintained a very strong separation of church and state throughout his presidency—so much that his tenure included a decision in 1962 that school-sponsored prayers as a part of a regularly scheduled exercise violated the constitution.
• Kennedy the Bookaholic: One thing about Kennedy that stands out is his love for books.  According to those closest to Kennedy, he read constantly.  Because he was chronically ill as a child, he spent most of his childhood in a hospital bed where books became his escape from his blue circumstances.  Jackie Kennedy spoke in an interview that Kennedy read at the dinner table, after dinner in the bath, while he was walking, and even while he was doing his tie.  He loved reading so much, that often his inspiration and quotes in his speeches derived from books that he was reading at the time.
• The Purple Heart: Kennedy is the only president to have received a Purple Heart.  He sustained an injury while serving in the Navy/Marine Corps during World War II during a mission that earned him a Purple Heart.  On August 1, 1943, Kennedy was given the order to torpedo Japanese destroyers carrying supplies to soldiers fighting allied forces.  Within moments, the naval ship was bombed leaving Kennedy and his men stranded in the ocean.  At this moment Kennedy took control and instructed the men who did not die in the attack to swim many miles to an island, where they were stranded for multiple days.  He even pulled an injured crewmember three miles to shore.  The crew was rescued after Kennedy carved into a coconut that the crew was alive and needed a small boat.  Somehow this coconut made its way to a New Zealand infantry patrol who came to Kennedy and his crews’ rescue.
• Peace, Love and Civil Rights: Kennedy’s passion for peace and civil rights resulted in the creation of the Peace Corps, where he hoped to inspire a mutual understanding between Americans and people of other nations and cultures.  The Peace Corps was established on March 1, 1961 and is a voluntary organization that travels to other countries to provide assistance to those in need.  The country must invite the Peace Corps but ultimately the Peace Corps decides which country to go to depending on where assistance is needed the most.

To learn more about the history of our presidents, visit our second floor exhibit Hall of Presidents!