Who Was The Best U.S. President?

In my opinion, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a good president because he had the three most important qualities of a U.S. President: caring for the citizens' needs, concern for international relations, and helping contribute to global advances. As he said in his inaugural address ". . . ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."(White House Website) he followed his own advice while he was in office.

Kennedy cared for the citizens' needs when he helped African Americans get the rights that they deserved. A couple weeks before the presidential election, Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested in Georgia. John Kennedy phoned Martin's wife Coretta to express his concern for Martin in jail. While John Kennedy was calling Coretta, Robert Kennedy called the judge presiding over Martin's case, and he guaranteed Martin's safe release from jail. After this kind act, Martin Luther King, Sr. publicly endorsed the Kennedy family. As a result of Martin Luther King Sr.'s endorsement, over 70% of African Americans voted for John Kennedy, helping him win in several key states. When John Kennedy took office in January of 1961, African Americans had high expectations for John Kennedy and his administration. John Kennedy appointed many African Americans to high-level positions in his administration, strengthening the Civil RIghts Commission. From that start, Kennedy spoke out in favor of desegregation in schools and praised the cities who integrated their schools. Then he put Vice President Lyndon Johnson in charge of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. Kennedy's attorney general, Robert Kennedy, focused on voting rights and initiating five times the number of suits than the previous ...

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...e Soviet Union, the United States promised not to invade Cuba if the Soviet Union dismantled weapon sites. The Soviet Union agreed, removing the missiles from Cuba, but they continued to build their military arsenal. Therefore, the threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis was over, but the arms race was not. To help make peace with the Soviet Union, President Kennedy established the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on the 25th of July in 1963, about nine months after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Kennedy showed the United States in his short term as president, how they could make changes in their country instead of waiting for their country to change for them. He did this by concerning himself with the people themselves, other countries' leaders, and the overall knowledge and well-being of the world. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a good president, and one to be remembered.