The Kennedy brothers, John and Robert, dominated American politics in the 1960’s. John was the first Catholic president and Robert was Attorney General with his heart set on the White House, hoping to follow in his footsteps. Ted the youngest Kennedy boy, is to this day one of the most influential senators. However, these three men did not begin the Kennedy dynasty, but they were the greatest products of a historic political family.
The Kennedys’ grandfathers, Patrick Kennedy and John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, first met in the 1890’s on the floor of the Massachusetts’s State Senate, where they were adversaries rather than allies. However, they were from very similar backgrounds; both first generation Americans whose parents had emigrated from Ireland to Boston. But they shared more than just their Irish Catholic heritage; both had to drop out of school, so they could work to help their mothers to support their families. Both men were state senators in Massachusetts, but “Honey Fitz”, for whom JFK was named, was also a Congressman representing Massachusetts in the House of Representatives and the Mayor of Boston.
Kennedy’s only son, Joe, was a Boston businessman who was a millionaire by 1926 and was one of the few prudent businessmen who escaped the Great depression almost unscathed. Joe and John Fitzgerald’s oldest daughter, Rose, fell in love in spite of John Fitzgerald’s disapproval and the two married in October 1914. Patrick and Rose had five daughters and four sons: Joe, John, Bobby, and Ted. When the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) was founded in 1934, President Roosevelt appointed Kennedy to be the first chairman of the commission. By 1935 Kennedy had helped to restore the economy by creating new trade regulations and restored the capital market. The lessons we can learn from Kennedy’s time at the SEC are that of economic planning, prudence, and responsible regulation. As he said, “An organized functioning society requires a planned economy. The more complex the society the greater the demand for planning” and declared with urgency, “Planned action is imperative, or else capitalism and the American scheme of life will be in serious jeopardy.” These words should be seriously considered by our congressmen and policymakers and encourage them to put regulations and limitations on the bailout money which they are handing out to failing mega-corporations.
After leaving the SEC in 1935, Kennedy took his family to Europe and Roosevelt made him the Ambassador to England. From this post he preached his anti-war sentiments, but believed that the United States should aid the French and British without joining the war. When the war broke out in Europe the family returned and Joe was isolated from his children.
Despite rising as a public servant his political career was not Kennedy’s proudest achievement but rather his children. As he declared, “The measure of a man’s success in life is not the money he’s made. It’s the kind of family he has raised.” He groomed his children for success and would accept nothing less than their best effort nor were they allowed to wallow in defeat. Bobby described his father’s mentality, “We were to try harder than anyone else, we might not be the best, and none of us were, but we were to make the effort to be the best.” Kennedy family mealtime has become legendary the family, the Kennedys indulged in long conversations about various topics mostly current events and history. Joe and Rose would provide long, thorough answers to any question, no matter how simple. When he was not in England he spent as much time as possible. It was through this strict and loving discipline that Joe Kennedy began the greatest political dynasty in American history.
Sources:
The Boston Irish: A Political History by Thomas H. O’Connor
Robert Kennedy and His Times by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
The Kennedys’ grandfathers, Patrick Kennedy and John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, first met in the 1890’s on the floor of the Massachusetts’s State Senate, where they were adversaries rather than allies. However, they were from very similar backgrounds; both first generation Americans whose parents had emigrated from Ireland to Boston. But they shared more than just their Irish Catholic heritage; both had to drop out of school, so they could work to help their mothers to support their families. Both men were state senators in Massachusetts, but “Honey Fitz”, for whom JFK was named, was also a Congressman representing Massachusetts in the House of Representatives and the Mayor of Boston.
Kennedy’s only son, Joe, was a Boston businessman who was a millionaire by 1926 and was one of the few prudent businessmen who escaped the Great depression almost unscathed. Joe and John Fitzgerald’s oldest daughter, Rose, fell in love in spite of John Fitzgerald’s disapproval and the two married in October 1914. Patrick and Rose had five daughters and four sons: Joe, John, Bobby, and Ted. When the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) was founded in 1934, President Roosevelt appointed Kennedy to be the first chairman of the commission. By 1935 Kennedy had helped to restore the economy by creating new trade regulations and restored the capital market. The lessons we can learn from Kennedy’s time at the SEC are that of economic planning, prudence, and responsible regulation. As he said, “An organized functioning society requires a planned economy. The more complex the society the greater the demand for planning” and declared with urgency, “Planned action is imperative, or else capitalism and the American scheme of life will be in serious jeopardy.” These words should be seriously considered by our congressmen and policymakers and encourage them to put regulations and limitations on the bailout money which they are handing out to failing mega-corporations.
After leaving the SEC in 1935, Kennedy took his family to Europe and Roosevelt made him the Ambassador to England. From this post he preached his anti-war sentiments, but believed that the United States should aid the French and British without joining the war. When the war broke out in Europe the family returned and Joe was isolated from his children.
Despite rising as a public servant his political career was not Kennedy’s proudest achievement but rather his children. As he declared, “The measure of a man’s success in life is not the money he’s made. It’s the kind of family he has raised.” He groomed his children for success and would accept nothing less than their best effort nor were they allowed to wallow in defeat. Bobby described his father’s mentality, “We were to try harder than anyone else, we might not be the best, and none of us were, but we were to make the effort to be the best.” Kennedy family mealtime has become legendary the family, the Kennedys indulged in long conversations about various topics mostly current events and history. Joe and Rose would provide long, thorough answers to any question, no matter how simple. When he was not in England he spent as much time as possible. It was through this strict and loving discipline that Joe Kennedy began the greatest political dynasty in American history.
Sources:
The Boston Irish: A Political History by Thomas H. O’Connor
Robert Kennedy and His Times by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
