Welcome to the website for
John F. Kennedy: The Spirit of Cold War Liberalism.
Half a century after his assassination, John F. Kennedy continues to evoke widespread fascination, looming large in America’s historical memory. Popular portrayals often show Kennedy as a mythic, heroic figure, but these depictions have often obscured the details of the president’s actual achievements and failures. Despite the briefness of his presidency, Kennedy dealt with many of the issues that would come to define the 1960s, including U.S. involvement in Vietnam, the wider Cold War, and the growing Civil Rights movement at home.
In John F. Kennedy: The Spirit of Cold War Liberalism, Jason K. Duncan explains Kennedy’s significance as a political figure of the 20th century in U.S. and world history. Duncan contextualizes Kennedy’s political career and presidency, and addresses his complex personal life and his enduring legacy. In a concise narrative supplemented by primary documents, including presidential speeches and critical reviews from the left and right, Duncan builds a biography that illuminates the impact of this iconic president and the history of the United States in the mid-twentieth century.
This website supports the book with an array of additional primary documents, images, and links to video and other online resources.
Routledge Historical Americans is a series of short, vibrant biographies that illuminate the lives of Americans who have had an impact on the world. Each book includes a short overview of the person’s life and puts that person into historical context through essential primary documents, written both by the subjects and about them. A series website supports the books, containing extra images and documents, links to further research, and where possible, multi-media sources on the subjects. Perfect for including in any course on American History, the books in the Routledge Historical Americans series show the impact everyday people can have on the course of history.