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The book, authored by John F. Kennedy with Ted Sorensen as a ghostwriter, profiles senators who defied the opinions of their party and constituents to do what they felt was right and suffered severe criticism and losses in popularity as a result.
- John F. Kennedy, Ted Sorensen
- 1956
Nov 7, 2003 · Kennedy made no secret of Sorensen’s involvement in Profiles, crediting him in the preface as “my research associate,” and likewise acknowledged the contributions of Davids and others. But he insisted that he was the book’s author and bristled even at teasing suggestions to the contrary.
Although most readers associate John F. Kennedy with the 1960s, Profiles in Courage was written while he was recovering from spinal operations in 1954. At the time, Kennedy was a...
Profiles in Courage resonated with the tensions and uncertainties of the Cold War, retelling American history in a way that addressed anxieties about manly courage and national union in a moment of terrifying global challenges. The book also helped establish Kennedy's potential as a national leader by furthering the
- Introduction
- Author Biography
- Summary
- Key Figures
- Themes
- Style
- Historical Context
- Critical Overview
- Criticism
- Sources
Throughout his youth, John F. Kennedy suffered numerous ailments. When he endured two near-fatal spine operations in 1954, he decided to put his recovery period to good use. He and his aides (he was a U.S. Senator at the time) began a book profiling American politicians he admired for their courage and individualism in the face of party and constit...
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the author of Profiles in Courage, was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the second of nine children born to Joseph and Rose Kennedy, who pushed their children to strive to accomplish great things. Joseph was an ambitious man who pinned his political hopes on his oldest son, Joe. When Joe died in 194...
Preface and Part One
In the preface to Profiles in Courage, Kennedy discusses his interest in the "problems of political courage in the face of constituent pressures, and the light shed on those problems by the lives of past statesmen." He describes the three types of pressure faced by senators: pressure to be liked, pressure to be re-elected, and pressure of the constituency and interest groups. Kennedy provides a brief history of the U.S. Senate and moves on to his discussion of John Quincy Adams. In office, Ad...
Part Two
The three men discussed in part two demonstrated courage during the years leading up to the Civil War. Kennedy commends the men who, despite constituent demands, protected the nation's unity. Daniel Webster had always been an outspoken critic of slavery. In 1850, Henry Clay, a pro-slavery southerner, had a plan for a compromise that would keep the Union intact, but he needed Webster's support. Webster knew that everyone would be shocked at his support for a plan that negotiated with slave-hol...
Part Three
Edmund G. Ross was a little-known senator who single-handedly prevented the conviction of President Andrew Johnsonafter Johnson was impeached. When Ross was elected to the Senate, a battle was raging between Congress and the president. The Radical Republicans (a faction of the Republican Party) planned to get rid of Johnson, but they needed a two-thirds majority to convict him after his impeachment. They never questioned Ross' intentions, but when it came time to vote, seven Republicans voted...
The son of former President John Adamsand his wife, Abigail, John Quincy Adams was groomed from a young age for a political career. His education was overseen by his parents, who also instilled in young Adams a Puritan morality that would inform his political decisions in adulthood. Despite the privileges of his upbringing, feelings of inadequacy and a fear of failure plagued Adams. These qualities did not impede his progress as a statesman and he served as a U.S. senator, as president, as a...
A "rough and tumble fighter off and on the Senate floor," Thomas Hart Benton had a reputation as a man who would not shrink from a fight and who usually won. As Missouri's first senator, Benton served from 1821 to 1844. He was extremely popular with his constituents and never had any worries about being re-elected. When Missouri, a slave-holding state, started to lean toward joining the southern states in the plan to secede, Benton would not hear of it. Above all, he valued the Union, a stanc...
Sam Houston
Sam Houston's background was colorful and adventure-filled. As a boy, he ran away from his Tennessee home and joined the Cherokee Indians, who adopted him. He later re-entered white society in Tennessee, becoming governor. He served until his sudden resignation after discovering that his new bride was in love with another man. Houston returned to the Cherokees until Andrew Jackson, Houston's commander during the War of 1812, sent him to Texas on a military mission. There Houston began a new l...
Political Courage
From the very beginning, Kennedy is clear that the purpose of his book is to present examples of political courage. He draws from the history of the U.S. Senate and the men of integrity who served there in the past. The first line of chapter one is, "This is a book about the most admirable of human virtues—courage." He adds toward the end of the chapter that the stories he relates in Profiles in Courageare worth remembering, as are: Kennedy follows through on his promise to the reader that he...
Pressures on Political Figures
In the first chapter, Kennedy describes three types of pressures endured by public figures. Thefirst is the pressure to be liked, which Kennedy states is a human desire shared by most people. He adds that for a senator, being liked often requires the ability to compromise. Compromise, he argues, is not a sign of weak morals or lack of fortitude, but rather the wise realization that in order to get anything done, it is often necessary to make compromises. The second pressure is for re-election...
Topics for Further Study
1. Kennedy obviously valued courage and was inspired by the examples of it he found in American political history. What is a quality that you especially admire and respect? After you have chosen one, focus on a particular field (such as music, art, literature, etc.) and compile a list of five people whom you feel represent the quality you have chosen. Create a draft of your own Profiles in _____by making an outline or by writing a few paragraphs for each person you chose. After you are finish...
Historical Survey
In writing Profiles in Courage, Kennedy's intention was to make a specific case about the importance of courage, and to do so within a straightforward historical context. He does not set out to produce a piece of biased propaganda in which the stories are dramatized for effect, but rather to provide an honest look at nine individuals. His presentation of facts has the feel of a textbook, and the author makes a point of including some comments about the people's flaws as well as their virtues....
Inspirational Tone
Kennedy's skill as a public speaker is reflected in Profiles in Courage, and the tone often becomes inspirational. His sense of timing is well suited for this book, as the narrative never becomes heavy-handed. In praising the courageous, he writes in chapter one, "And only the very courageous will be able to keep alive the spirit of individualism and dissent which gave birth to this nation, nourished it as an infant, and carried it through its severest tests upon the attainment of its maturit...
Cold War
After the United States ended World War II by dropping two atomic bombs on Japan, the frightening reality of atomic weaponry was undeniable. Americans believed that a strong government could only remain strong if it was backed by a strong military defense. A strong anti-communist sentiment ran through the public consciousness in the early 1950s, and the knowledge that communist nations were building up their nuclear armaments (the Soviet Union had its first successful atomic bomb test in 1949...
Patriotism of the 1950s
Having emerged victorious and powerful from World War II, Americans enjoyed a strong sense of patriotism in the early 1950s. The country was a dominant force in world politics, the economy was booming, and people were enjoying affluence and the amenities that came with it. The middle class was growing, and more and more families found themselves able to purchase cars, televisions, appliances, and other luxuries. In 1952, war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower ran for president at the age of sixty-two....
Civil Rights
The 1950s saw the beginnings of the civil rights movement that would gain momentum and make great strides in the 1960s. The movement began with efforts at desegregation. There were inconsistencies in American society that became too obvious to ignore. For example, major league baseball teams had African-American players, yet schools were still not open to both races. As rock and roll became popular with teenagers, they realized that much of the music they enjoyed came from African-American si...
Critical reception of Profiles in Courage was generally favorable although a few critics expressed doubt about Kennedy's sole authorship. Critics who applauded the book found it to be a work of integrity, honoring political grace in past statesmen while acknowledging that there are contemporary statesmen who exhibit the same strength of character. ...
Jennifer Bussey
Bussey holds a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies and a bachelor's degree in English literature. She is an independent writer specializing in literature. In the following essay, she offers a possible explanation for John F. Kennedy's inclusion of the men he wrote about in Profiles in Courage . By reviewing the historical and cultural context, she identifies qualities in some of the nine stories that may have had relevance for the time of the book's publication. Although most readers...
What Do I Read Next?
1. The classic Democracy in America,originally published in 1835, is the work of the French writer Alexis de Toqueville, who came to the United States in 1830 primarily to study the prison system. What he learned far exceeded his expectations, and his observations of American life and politics continue to be studied today by students of history and politics. 2. James N. Giglio has written more than one book about Kennedy. In The Presidency of John F. Kennedy (1992), he presents an unbiased vi...
Joyce Hart
Hart is a published writer with a background in literature and creative writing. In the following essay, she looks at the price of courage in the lives of four of the senators portrayed in Kennedy's Profiles in Courage . John F. Kennedy ends his Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Couragewith his definition of courage. Or at least he tries to define it. He can't quite put his finger on a specific definition, but he does know what courage requires, what it may cost an individual, and final...
"And the Runner-Up Is (Notebook—President John F. Kennedy Wouldn't Qualify for New Profiles in Courage Award Memorializing Him)," in New Republic,Vol. 200, No. 26, June 26, 1989, p. 8. Gianakaris, C. J., "Plutarch," in Twayne's World Authors Series,G. K. Hall & Co., 1999. Hammer, Dean, "The Politics of Courage: Kennedy's Profiles as Political Thoug...
The impetus for the book was a passage from Herbert Agar’s book The Price of Union about an act of courage by John Quincy Adams. It gave Kennedy the idea of writing about senatorial courage. He showed the passage to Sorensen and asked him to see if he could find some more examples.
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In a discussion of courage in American politics, Kennedy profiles eight United States senators who upheld the public interest at great cost to their popularity, reputations, and careers.
