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legislative career

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made friends with other 69 veterans of WWII elected to congress in 1946

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including young Republican legislator Richard Nixon from California

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Nixon's career began to rocket, not Kennedy's

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headed up investigation of the House about communist infiltration which led to the arrest of Alger Hiss

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Alger Hiss (1904-1996)

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American lawyer and government official

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involved in the establishment of the United Nations

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accused of being a Soviet spy in 1948

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convicted of perjury in connection with this charge in 1950

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served three years, maintained his innocence until his death

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Nixon captured open senate seat in 1950 in California

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in 1952 Dwight Eisenhower's running mate

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while Nixon was skyrocketing to high office, Kennedy was just getting started in the House

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1952 Kennedy challenged Henry Cabbot Lodge Jr.

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1947-1953 Senator from Massachusetts

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had been elected three times

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was favored to win again in 1952

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Cabbot spent too much time working for Eisenhower and too little time for himself

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Kennedy's family very active in campaign

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women held tea parties

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Robert managed the campaign

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father funded it

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half million dollar loan to a Boston newspaper that flipped its backing from Lodge to Kennedy

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Lodge's grandfather had defeated Kennedy's grandfather

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Lodges were Protestant blue bloods

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Kennedys represented the working class of Irish Catholics who deeply resented the Brahmins, the blue bloods

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defeated Lodge by 70,000 votes, even while Eisenhower carried Massachusetts

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1953-1960 Kennedy's senate years

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marked by poor health

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had several major back operations in first senate term

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was often near death, priests even administered the last unction

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1953 married to Jacqueline Bouvier

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marriage attended by good friend Richard Nixon and wife

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wrote "Profiles in Courage", 1957 Pulitzer Prize for biographies

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coauthor Ted Sorensen, Kennedy's "intellectual blood bank"

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used for foreign audiences

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interview

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number one problem in foreign policy: to win the support of all the countries who aren't committed to our side of the Cold War: Africa, Middle East and Asia

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have been held under colonial domination

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desire to be free

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we need to demonstrate our interest in them, our desire to help them lift themselves up, that they can win a better place in the world through democratic procedures rather than turning to the communists

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how we do this within and within the UN is the great problem that we have