Resilience and Success: The Legacy of Robert F. Kennedy

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Great accomplishments are not achieved without hard work, dedication and adversity. Throughout his life, Robert F. Kennedy exhibited many instances where one embraced challenge and worked effortlessly to overcome barriers. Adversity first hit the Kennedy family in the late 1840’s when the potato famine struck Ireland. Robert’s great grandfather, Patrick Kennedy, made the decision to move his family from Ireland to Boston, Massachusetts to seek opportunity in America. In the 1920’s Robert’s father, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, became a prominent and wealthy figurehead in American politics. Growing up in a wealthy household of nine children, Robert was privy to a very lavish lifestyle. Although wealthy, Robert’s parents instilled a structured and …show more content…

Kennedy’s election in 1960. Serving as Attorney General, Robert was faced with many different experiences both domestically and internationally. One of the major events Robert impacted was with was the freedom riders. Robert fought for equal rights for African Americans and ordered federal protection to be installed for those who traveled in the South fighting for civil rights. Although this caused a lot of controversy, it later led to the removal of the Jim Crow laws and granted African Americans equal transportation rights. Another large impact Robert Kennedy had on American politics dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Cuban diplomat, Fidel Castro began to take advantage of American business, which occurred during the end of the Eisenhower tenure. Going along with the CIA plan of attack, John F. Kennedy attempted to execute an invasion (notably known as the Bay of Pigs) on Cuba that resulted in absolute failure. Many CIA agents were taken prisoner or killed, which caused trouble for the Kennedy brothers. John immediately looked to Robert to mediate the situation the best he could. The Cuban government was working with the Soviet Union in setting up nuclear war plants. The president implemented a 500-mile quarantine for all ships going to or from Cuba in hopes of halting any war efforts, which was denounced as an act of war by the Soviets. This resulted in a large fleet of ships and an accelerated amount of nuclear sites in Cuba, all being equipped for potential war with the United States. As secret envoy to Russian affairs, Robert talked to many Russian newspaper columnists and other politicians in hopes of obtaining as much information as possible. Although many wanted to attack the Soviet/Cuban force, Robert advised John Kennedy to halt all aggression in hopes of Russian diplomat Premier Khrushchev conceding. After two letters were sent to the White House, Robert Kennedy advised the president to only respond to the

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