Becoming JFK: A Profile in Communication

by Vito N. Silvestri

Overview

John F. Kennedy began his political communication in the neighborhoods of the Eleventh Congressional District of Massachusetts, using informal more than formal speaking as he learned to speak and began his career as a political leader. For 18 years he practiced the art of communication that is so intrinsic to the art of politics—speeches, small group deliberation, stump speaking in campaigns, radio and television press conferences, debates, and interviews.

Silvestri describes the political and social contexts that shaped Kennedy's earliest efforts as a communicator and politician until his death in 1963. His first campaign became the blueprint for his future political contests; his warnings as Congressman and Senator about Vietnam and Algeria proved prophetic. Kennedy's greatest communication tests involved his persuasion of the public that a Roman Catholic had the right to run for President, his memorable Inaugural Address to a world deadlocked in nuclear stockpiling, his deliberation in the Cuban Missile crisis, his eloquent reasoning for peaceful measures and conciliatory attitudes through his address at American University, his advocacy of civil rights, and his televised presidency—historical firsts for a charismatic American leader of the nuclear half of the 20th century. Scholars, students, and other researchers as well as lay readers will find this study of JKF, political communication, and recent American history fascinating and instructive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275967628
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/30/2000
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.88(d)
Lexile:	1410L (what's this?)

About the Author

VITO N. SILVESTRI is Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Emerson College, Boston, MA, and President of Professional Communication Skills for Professionals./e He has taught speech and communication studies for 40 years and has served as consultant to business and non-profit organizations. In 1998 he was awarded the Theodore C. Sorensen Research Fellowship from the Kennedy Library Foundation. He has written a number of articles on John F. Kennedy.

Table of Contents

Preface
Part I: The Early Years: Discovering His Public Voice, 1945-1952
Beginning the Political Jourbaney: Being Worthy of Your Times
The First Campaign: Stumping the Neighborhoods
The Habit of Discussion and Debate: On the Way to Becoming a Senator
The Independent Voice of John F. Kennedy
The Senator from Massachusetts Speaks
Young Man in a Hurry
Three Speeches from Kennedy's Senatorial Career: 1953-1960: Vietnam, Algeria, Harvard Commencement Address
Campaigning for the Presidency, 1956-1960
Nationalizing a New England Accent: Beginning the Presidential Campaign, 1956-1960
Kennedy's Primary Campaigns: Wisconsin and West Virginia
The Presidential Campaign, Part I: Squaring Off on the Religion Issue
The Presidential Campaign, Part II: The First Presidential Televised Debates
Election Outcome: TV, Religion and African-American Influences
The President Communicates
The Inaugural Address: January 20, 1961
1961: A Year of Crisis, Steadfastness, and Innovation
Drama and Dialogue about Nuclear Suicide: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Words of Peace Change the Cold War Dialogue: To Win a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Reaffirmation and Revitalization: Kennedy's Summer Tour of Europe, 1963: Ich Bin Ein Berliner
Kennedy and Vietnam: Public and Private Communication
Civil Rights: Kennedy Initiates a Second Reconstruction
A Television Presidency
Epilogue: John F. Kennedy as a Communicator
Bibliography
Index