"They used to say that Joe was trying to get up in the world--he was trying to promote himself and his family"
---Dot Keegan, Brookline Neighbor
---Dot Keegan, Brookline Neighbor
In USA the Kennedy family can be considered equivalent to British Royal family. They are one of the richest family and have a very rich heritage. This family has produced a president, an attorney general, several businessmen and several senators. And Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. is considered the patriarch of the Kennedy family.
Childhood
Born September 6, 1888, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was the grandson of impoverished Irish immigrants. His father Patrick Joseph "P.J" Kennedy was a powerful Democrat Ward Boss of Boston and a successful saloon keeper. Joseph's mother, Mary Augusta Hickey was a woman with a great ambition that she passed down to her son Joseph P Kennedy. Mary Augusta's desire for Joseph to succeed was so great, instead of naming him in the tradition of his father and grandfather, Patrick. Mary Augusta gave decided Joseph would be his first name, leaving Patrick as the middle name. Patrick would be the telltale sign that he was Irish and Mary Augusta did not want that.
Mary Augusta encouraged her only son to great heights but shuttled her two daughters off to private proper girl Catholic schools. If Joseph wanted to be the best, he would have to go to a school of Protestant distinction with all the little Brahmins. Mary Augusta sent him to the Boston Latin School. It was one of the elite schools for rich Protestant boys. With the help of his father's shrewd understanding of people and his mother's ambition young Joe did not waste his opportunities.
Mary Augusta encouraged her only son to great heights but shuttled her two daughters off to private proper girl Catholic schools. If Joseph wanted to be the best, he would have to go to a school of Protestant distinction with all the little Brahmins. Mary Augusta sent him to the Boston Latin School. It was one of the elite schools for rich Protestant boys. With the help of his father's shrewd understanding of people and his mother's ambition young Joe did not waste his opportunities.
Harvard
At Harvard, Joseph actively involved himself in Harvard's social stratosphere. He imitated the Brahmin's dress, eating style, conversation, accents, mannerisms and social attitudes and was always aware never to betray his Irish Catholic past. He even set out to join an elite club--a private club, where all refined Harvard gentleman, drank, ate, and conversed. Joseph knew that having money and class were the only way to achieve any type of notoriety or attention in American life. He saw it in the social registers published in the daily papers and in the fact, half his classmates families were those names on the social registers. He knew for them Harvard was a stopover before going on to own and control some of the more important and expanding businesses and corporations in the country. Seeing the realm of acceptance and power within his grasp, Joseph struggled to eliminate anything in him as Irish. The Brahmins hated the Irish and all immigrants.
His final step, and highest goal at Harvard, was to join a private club for which you had to be extended a bid from a member. As the story goes, Joseph and his roommate paced in their rooms as the bids starting being handed out at dawn. They kept pacing and waiting nervously until the sun was in the lower part of the sky. By the end of the day, his roommate was extended a bid. Joseph P. Kennedy was not. He was the star of the baseball team, son of a prominent man, but he was still an Irish Catholic and not suitable to join the Brahmin's private social clubs. It infuriated him and left bitter memories that resonated with him for the rest of his life.
Joseph graduated with a degree in music appreciation, the only major he could get through Harvard with. For Joseph P. Kennedy it was not a minute too soon. He graduated with two burning desires: to become a millionaire by the age of thirty, and to show up the Protestants who had snubbed him. He was out and ready to make his own fortune and dynasty.
His final step, and highest goal at Harvard, was to join a private club for which you had to be extended a bid from a member. As the story goes, Joseph and his roommate paced in their rooms as the bids starting being handed out at dawn. They kept pacing and waiting nervously until the sun was in the lower part of the sky. By the end of the day, his roommate was extended a bid. Joseph P. Kennedy was not. He was the star of the baseball team, son of a prominent man, but he was still an Irish Catholic and not suitable to join the Brahmin's private social clubs. It infuriated him and left bitter memories that resonated with him for the rest of his life.
Joseph graduated with a degree in music appreciation, the only major he could get through Harvard with. For Joseph P. Kennedy it was not a minute too soon. He graduated with two burning desires: to become a millionaire by the age of thirty, and to show up the Protestants who had snubbed him. He was out and ready to make his own fortune and dynasty.
Marriage
Joseph for all his desperation to be in the Brahmin world, did not want a Protestant for a wife. He wanted a Catholic woman, preferably Irish. And he went after the best Boston had to offer. Her name was Rose Fitzgerald. And she was the daughter of the first Irish Catholic mayor of Boston, John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald. She was also the most eligible Catholic and Irish woman in town. Rose had a strong Catholic faith; and a strong belief in a motherhood that champions and encourages children, made her an excellent wife who complimented Joseph's ambitions perfectly. They wanted to see their children have everything. They did not want them barred from social life as they had been because they were Irish and Catholic. Joseph and Rose had nine children: Joseph Jr., John (Jack), Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert (Bobby), Jean, and Edward (Ted). Several of his children went on to develop distinguished political careers, including two U.S. senators and one president.
Business Success
Business Success
Kennedy was a shrewd money maker. He showed an entrepreneurial spirit and an appreciation for money at an early age. Kennedy held a number of jobs as a youngster, including candy vendor, newspaper hawker, and play producer. He also performed jobs for Orthodox Jews, whose faith prohibited them from working on their holy days. During his student days at Harvard, he and a friend bought a bus and began operating sightseeing tours. Kennedy negotiated with another tour operator to share working hours. He was successful at this, earning $5,000 over the course of several summers.
After graduating from Harvard in 1912, he took his first job as a state-employed bank examiner. This allowed him to learn a great deal about the banking industry. In 1913, the Columbia Trust Bank, in which his father held a significant share, was under threat of takeover. Kennedy, borrowing $45,000 from family and friends, bought back control and at age 25 was rewarded by being elected the bank's president. Kennedy told the press he was "the youngest" bank president in America.
After graduating from Harvard in 1912, he took his first job as a state-employed bank examiner. This allowed him to learn a great deal about the banking industry. In 1913, the Columbia Trust Bank, in which his father held a significant share, was under threat of takeover. Kennedy, borrowing $45,000 from family and friends, bought back control and at age 25 was rewarded by being elected the bank's president. Kennedy told the press he was "the youngest" bank president in America.
At 30, he became a stockbroker and made a fortune through insider trading and stock manipulation. He was a master of the stock pool, a then-legal stunt in which a few traders conspired to inflate a stock's price, selling out just before the bubble burst.
Kennedy may also have traded in illegal booze, although the evidence is circumstantial. His father had been in the liquor business before Prohibition, and Joe himself got into it (publicly, that is) immediately after repeal. Some believe the family business simply went underground during the dry years. He may have been strictly a nickle-and-dimer; Harvard classmates say he supplied the illicit booze for alumni events.
Kennedy's real strength was his business smarts, notably an exquisite sense of timing. He always made a substantial profit on the properties he bought and sold. In 1957 Fortune declared Kennedy one of the richest men in America, with assets of 200 to 400 million bucks.
Kennedy's real strength was his business smarts, notably an exquisite sense of timing. He always made a substantial profit on the properties he bought and sold. In 1957 Fortune declared Kennedy one of the richest men in America, with assets of 200 to 400 million bucks.
Political Ambitions
Kennedy's own political involvement began in 1932, when he supported the Democratic presidential nomination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He worked as campaign contributor, lender, and fundraiser. In return, President Roosevelt rewarded him with the position of first chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission, a decision that was not popular in some circles. In 1938, Kennedy was appointed ambassador to England. During this sensitive period just prior to World War II, Kennedy made a number of unfortunate mistakes.
Kennedy's life was fraught with tragedy during the 1940s. His eldest son, Joseph, Jr., was killed in action during World War II. His favorite daughter, Kathleen, was killed in a plane crash four years after the death of her husband. His son, Jack, was seriously wounded when his boat was attacked by the Japanese.
Kennedy's life was fraught with tragedy during the 1940s. His eldest son, Joseph, Jr., was killed in action during World War II. His favorite daughter, Kathleen, was killed in a plane crash four years after the death of her husband. His son, Jack, was seriously wounded when his boat was attacked by the Japanese.
A Kennedy in the White House
After World War II, Kennedy concentrated his efforts on getting his sons elected to political office. He began by working on Jack's campaign for representative in the 11th District of Massachusetts. Kennedy was a quiet but effective campaigner. He contacted every powerful person he knew to assist him-with votes and campaign contributions. The tactic-and his personal $50,000 contribution-proved successful. Kennedy employed the same successful strategy in 1952, when Jack ran for the state Senate.
During Presidential election, Kennedy was accused of influencing delegates at the National Democratic Convention and of buying the nomination for his son. Jack himself once observed "Dad is a financial genius all right, but in politics, he is something else." Kennedy distanced himself from his son during the period prior to and during the nomination process, and did not return to Massachusetts until the election took place. His wife, Rose explained: "He has been a controversial figure all of his life and he thinks it's easier for his sons if he doesn't appear on the scene."
Jack Kennedy won the presidential election in 1960, fulfilling his father's dream. But Kennedy's reaction was modest: "I have a strong idea that there is no other success for a father and a mother except to feel that they have made some contributions to the development of their children."
Tragic Years
Despite suffering a stroke in 1961, Kennedy remained active and interested in the lives of his grown children. However, tragedy continued to plague his last years. He suffered a series of strokes that left him in a wheelchair and unable to speak. His son Jack was assassinated in 1963, before completing his first term as president. His son, Robert, was shot and killed in 1968, while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. His youngest son, Ted, was involved in a scandal with a young woman who drowned while in his company.
Despite suffering a stroke in 1961, Kennedy remained active and interested in the lives of his grown children. However, tragedy continued to plague his last years. He suffered a series of strokes that left him in a wheelchair and unable to speak. His son Jack was assassinated in 1963, before completing his first term as president. His son, Robert, was shot and killed in 1968, while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. His youngest son, Ted, was involved in a scandal with a young woman who drowned while in his company.
Kennedy died in 1969, at the age of 81.
Source: Internet and my little understanding
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