Few immigrant families experience the success in America of the Kennedys, an Irish Catholic family, including Patrick and Bridget Kennedy and their four young children, who emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1840s. When Patrick died less than a decade later, Maier (2003) suggests, ôthere was little reason to believe that widow Bridget Kennedy and her destitute children, alone in the New World, wouldnÆt sufferö (34). Far from suffering, the Kennedy line spawned one of the wealthiest, politically influential, and revered families in U.S. history. The Kennedys became, under the Presidential leadership of John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline, the embodiment of the ôAmerican Dream.ö
This analysis will explore the success of the Kennedys in three chapters: 1) Social and Material Success; 2) Political Success; and 3) Successful Legacy. A summary will then provide highlights of the major factors that played a role in their ongoing success. I became interested in studying the success of the Kennedys because of their alluring appeal throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century. From Joe Kennedy, Sr.Æs appointment as Ambassador to Britain to John F. KennedyÆs New Frontier and to Caroline KennedyÆs role as first lady of California, the Kennedy mystique continues to form a cornerstone of the American imagination and hope for the future.
I conducted my research into the success of the Kennedys through a number of means. I conducted an extensive search of the library and Amazon.com in order to acquire a number of books on the Kennedys. As much as the Kennedy men have been influential in building the Kennedy ôsuccessö, the Kennedy women have also played a major role. I attempted to select a number of books dealing with one or bother genders. I also searched for books that would offer a wide array of perspectives, from Kennedy biographers and historians to essays from notable political writers like Gore Vidal and ...