Robert F. Kennedy
United States Senator from New York
In office January 3, 1965 – June 6, 1968 Serving with Jacob K. Javits
Preceded by	Kenneth Keating
Succeeded by	Charles E. Goodell
64th Attorney General of the United States
In office January 20, 1961 – September 3, 1964
President	John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	William P. Rogers
Succeeded by	Nicholas Katzenbach
Born	November 20, 1925 (1925-11-20) Brookline, MA
Died	June 6, 1968 (aged 42) Los Angeles, CA
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Ethel Skakel
Alma mater	Harvard College University of Virginia School of Law
Religion	Roman Catholic

Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also called RFK, was the United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964 and a US Senator from New York from 1965 until his assassination in 1968. New York ratified the Constitution on July 26[[ 788]] Class 1 Senators Class 1 U New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Jacob Koppel "Jack" Javits ( May 18, 1904 – March 7, 1986) was an American Politician who served as United States Kenneth Barnard Keating ( May 18[[ 900]] - May 5[[ 975]] was a United States Representative and a Senator Charles Ellsworth Goodell ( March 16, 1926 – January 21, 1987) was a U The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice (see) concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of William Pierce Rogers ( June 23, 1913 &ndash January 2, 2001) was an American politician who served as a Cabinet officer Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach (born January 17, 1922) is an American lawyer who served as United States Attorney General during the Lyndon Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. Ethel Skakel Kennedy (born April 11 1928 is the widow of late Sen Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother" It was used in Ancient Rome as a title for the mother Goddess, and in Medieval Harvard College is the undergraduate section and oldest school of Harvard University, a Private university in the United States founded in 1636 by the Massachusetts The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice (see) concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The assassination of Robert F Kennedy, a United States Senator and brother of assassinated President John F He was one of US President John F. Kennedy's younger brothers, and also one of his most trusted advisors and worked closely with the president during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba during the Cold War. He also made a significant contribution to the African-American Civil Rights Movement. The American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968 refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing racial discrimination against African

After his brother's assassination in late 1963, Kennedy continued as Attorney General under President Johnson for nine months. The assassination of John F Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday November 22 1963 in Dallas Texas He resigned in September 1964 and was elected to the United States Senate from New York that November. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous He broke with Johnson over the Vietnam War, among other issues. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia

After Eugene McCarthy nearly defeated Johnson in the New Hampshire Primary in early 1968, Kennedy announced his own campaign for president, seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party. Eugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy ( March 29, 1916 – December 10, 2005) was an American Politician, Poet, and a The New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide Political party Primary elections held in the United States every four years as part of Please DO NOT flip the colors -->The United States presidential election of 1968 was a wrenching national experience and included the assassination of Democratic candidate The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. Kennedy defeated McCarthy in the critical California primary but was shot shortly after midnight of June 5, 1968, dying on June 6. The assassination of Robert F Kennedy, a United States Senator and brother of assassinated President John F Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year On June 9, President Johnson declared an official day of national mourning in response to the public grief following Kennedy's death. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits

Contents 1 Early life, education, and military service 2 Career until 1960 3 Attorney General 3.1 Organized crime and the Teamsters 3.2 Civil rights 3.3 Death penalty issues 3.4 Cuba 4 The assassination of JFK 5 Senator for New York 6 Presidential candidacy 7 Assassination 8 Presidency 9 Personal life 9.1 Family 9.2 Attitudes and approach 9.3 Religious faith 10 Electoral history 11 Honors 12 Writing 13 Quotes 14 Bibliography 15 See also 16 References 17 External links

Early life, education, and military service

Robert Francis Kennedy was born on November 20, 1925, in Brookline, Massachusetts, the seventh child of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy Sr (September 6 1888 &ndash November 18 1969 was a prominent American businessman and political figure and the father of U Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy ( July 22, 1890 &ndash January 22, 1995) was the wife of Joseph Kennedy and the mother of President

In September 1927, when he was almost 2, Kennedy moved with his family to a rented 20-room mansion in Riverdale, New York, then two years later, moved 5 miles (8. Riverdale (population approximately 45000 according to the 2000 U 0 km) northeast to a 21-room mansion on a six-acre estate in Bronxville, New York, purchased in May 1929. Bronxville is a village within the town of Eastchester, New York. Kennedy spent summers with his family at their home in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, purchased in 1929, and Christmas and Easter holidays with his family at their winter home in Palm Beach, Florida, purchased in 1933. Hyannis is the largest of seven villages in the town of Barnstable Massachusetts, on Cape Cod Palm Beach is an upscale Incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. He attended public elementary school in Riverdale from kindergarten through 2nd grade, then Bronxville School, the public school in Bronxville from 3rd through 5th grade, then Riverdale Country School, a private school for boys in Riverdale for 6th grade. Riverdale Country School is a co-educational independent college-preparatory day school in New York City.

In March 1938, when he was twelve years old, Kennedy sailed on his first trip abroad on the SS Manhattan with his mother and his four youngest siblings to England where his father had begun serving as American ambassador. SS Manhattan was a 24189-ton luxury liner of the United States Lines, named after a borough of New York City. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The office of United States Ambassador (or Minister to the United Kingdom (known formally as Ambassador to the Court of St Kennedy attended Gibbs School for Boys at 134 Sloane Street in London for 7th grade, returning to the United States just before the outbreak of World War II in Europe. Sloane Street is a street in London which runs north to south from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about half way along London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

In September 1939, for 8th grade, Kennedy was sent 200 miles (320 km) away from home to St. Paul's School, an elite private prep school for boys in Concord, New Hampshire. This is about St Paul's School in the United States For other schools with the same name see the disambiguation page. A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school (usually abbreviated to preparatory school, college prep school, or prep school The city of Concord (ˈkɒnkərd often mispronounced as " Concorde " is the Capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States However he did not like it and his mother thought it too Episcopalian, so after two months at St. The Episcopal Church is the official name of the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States. Paul's, Kennedy transferred to Portsmouth Priory School, a Benedictine boarding school for boys in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, for 8th through 10th grades. Portsmouth Abbey School is a private Coeducational boarding and day school for grades 9 through 12 located in Portsmouth Rhode Island. Benedictine refers to the Spirituality and Consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. In September 1942, Kennedy transferred to Milton Academy, a third boarding school in Milton, Massachusetts, for 11th and 12th grade. Milton Academy is a private, preparatory, Coeducational boarding and Day school in Milton Massachusetts. Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area

In October 1943, six weeks before his 18th birthday, Kennedy enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve as an apprentice seaman, released from active duty until March 1944 when he left Milton Academy early to report to the V-12 Navy College Training Program at Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the reserve component of the United States Navy. Constructionmanvariation Firemanvariation The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Harvard College is the undergraduate section and oldest school of Harvard University, a Private university in the United States founded in 1636 by the Massachusetts Cambridge Massachusetts is a City in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. His V-12 training was at Harvard (March–November 1944), Bates College in Lewiston, Maine (November 1944–June 1945), and Harvard (June 1945–January 1946). Bates College is a private liberal arts college located in Lewiston Maine, in the United States. Lewiston, in Androscoggin County, is the second-largest city in the U On December 15, 1945 the U.S. Navy commissioned the destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. and shortly thereafter granted Kennedy's request to be released from naval officer training to serve starting on February 1, 1946 as an apprentice seaman on the ship's shakedown cruise in the Caribbean. Events 533 - Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar In naval terminology a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance Warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, Convoy 1945 – 1950 Joseph P Kennedy Jr was built by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation 's Fore River Shipyard at Quincy Massachusetts, Events 1327 - Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Shakedown cruise is a Nautical term in which the performance of a Ship is tested For the region see Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea (kəˈrɪbiən or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ is a tropical Sea in the Western Hemisphere On May 30, 1946 he received his honorable discharge from the Navy. Events 1416 - The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund a supporter of Antipope John XXIII burns Jerome of Prague following Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A military discharge is given when a member of the Armed forces is released from his or her obligation to serve

In September 1946, Kennedy entered Harvard as a junior having received credit for his two and a half years in the V-12 program. Kennedy worked hard to make the Harvard varsity football team as an end, was a starter and scored a touchdown in the first game of his senior year before breaking his leg in practice, earning his varsity letter when his coach sent him in for the last minutes of the Harvard-Yale game wearing a cast. In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a College, University, High American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with An End in American football is a player who lines up at either end of the Line of scrimmage. A starting lineup in Sports refers to the set of players actively participating in the event when the game begins A touchdown is the primary method of scoring in American and Canadian football. A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities The Game (always capitalized is a title given to several US College football rivalry games but most particularly the annual contest between Harvard Kennedy graduated from Harvard with an A.B. in government in March 1948 and immediately sailed off on RMS Queen Mary with a college friend for a six-month tour of Europe and the Middle East, accredited as a correspondent of the Boston Post, for which he filed six stories. Naming and construction With Germany launching their and into service the British did not want to be left out in this ship building race The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. The Boston Post was the most popular daily Newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956 Four of these stories, filed from Palestine shortly before the end of the British Mandate, provide an inside view of the tensions that would lead up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War^[1]. Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The Palestine Mandate, was a set of protocols or articles that formed a multilateral legal and administrative agreement

In September 1948, Kennedy enrolled at the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia. The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his Charlottesville is an Independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States On June 17, 1950, Kennedy married Ethel Skakel at St. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ethel Skakel Kennedy (born April 11 1928 is the widow of late Sen Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Greenwich, Connecticut. Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Kennedy graduated from law school in June 1951 and flew with Ethel to Greenwich to stay in his father-in-law's guest house. Kennedy's first child, Kathleen, was born on July 4, 1951, and Kennedy spent the summer studying for the Massachusetts bar exam. Hon Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend, (born July 4, 1951) was lieutenant governor of the U Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January A bar examination is an examination to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice Law in a given Jurisdiction.

In September 1951, Kennedy went to San Francisco as a correspondent of the Boston Post to cover the convention concluding the Treaty of Peace with Japan. Attending countries Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile In October 1951, Kennedy embarked on a seven-week Asian trip with his brother John (then Massachusetts 11th district congressman) and his sister Patricia to Israel, India, Vietnam, and Japan. Massachusetts Congressional District 11 is an obsolete congressional district in eastern Massachusetts. The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. Patricia "Pat" Kennedy Lawford (May 6 1924 – September 17 2006 was an American Socialite, the sixth child of Joseph P For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Because of their eight-year separation in age, the two brothers had previously seen little of each other. This 25,000-mile (40,000 km) trip was the first extended time they had spent together and resulted in their becoming best friends in addition to being brothers.

Career until 1960

In November 1951, Kennedy moved with his wife and daughter to a townhouse in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. and started work as a lawyer in the Internal Security Section (which investigated suspected Soviet agents) of the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice. Georgetown is a Neighborhood located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington D The US Department of Justice Criminal Division develops enforces and supervises the application of all federal criminal laws in the United States except those specifically For animal rights group see Justice Department (JD The United States Department of Justice ( DOJ) is a Cabinet department In February 1952, he was transferred to the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn to prosecute fraud cases. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the entirety of Long Island Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. On June 6, 1952, Kennedy resigned to manage his brother John's successful 1952 Senate campaign in Massachusetts. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

In December 1952, at the behest of his father, he was appointed by Republican Senator Joe McCarthy as assistant counsel of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14 1908 – May 2 1957 was an American politician who served as a Republican U The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations ( PSI) is the oldest subcommittee of the U ^[2] He resigned in July 1953 but "retained a fondness for McCarthy. "^[3] After a spell as an assistant to his father on the Hoover commission, Kennedy rejoined the Senate committee staff as chief counsel for the Democratic minority in February 1954. Note This article is about the two commissions 1947-1949 and 1953-1955 headed by former President Herbert Hoover to recommend administrative changes to promote efficiency in the United States ^[4] When the Democrats gained the majority in January 1955, he became chief counsel. Kennedy was a background figure in the televised McCarthy Hearings of 1954 into the conduct of McCarthy. The Army-McCarthy Hearings were a series of hearings held by the United States Senate 's Subcommittee on Investigations between March 1954 and June 1954 ^[5]

Kennedy soon made a name for himself as the chief counsel of the 1957–59 Senate Labor Rackets Committee under chairman John L. McClellan. The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations ( PSI) is the oldest subcommittee of the U John Little McClellan ( 25 February 1896 &ndash 28 November 1977) was a Democratic Party Politician from Arkansas In a dramatic scene, Kennedy squared off with Jimmy Hoffa during the antagonistic argument that marked Hoffa's testimony. James Riddle ("Jimmy" Hoffa ( February 14, 1913 - disappeared July 30, 1975, exact ^[6] Kennedy left the Rackets Committee in late 1959 in order to run his brother John's successful presidential campaign.

Attorney General

Appointed following John F. Kennedy's election victory in 1960, Robert Kennedy's tenure as Attorney General was easily the period of greatest power for the office; no former United States Attorney General had enjoyed such clear influence on all areas of policy during an administration. The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice (see) concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement Yet to a greater extent, it was President Kennedy who sought the advice and counsel of his younger brother, and it is to this extent that Robert Kennedy remained the President's closest political advisor. Kennedy was relied upon as both the President's primary source of administrative information and as a general counsel with whom trust was implicit, given the familial ties of the two men.

President Kennedy once remarked on his brother that, "If I want something done and done immediately I rely on the Attorney General. He is very much the doer in this administration, and has an organizational gift I have rarely if ever seen surpassed. "

Yet Robert Kennedy believed strongly in the separation of powers and thus often chose not to comment on matters of policy not relating to his remit or to forward the enquiry of the President to an officer of the administration better suited to offer counsel. Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance

Organized crime and the Teamsters

As Attorney General, Kennedy pursued a relentless crusade against organized crime and the mafia, sometimes disagreeing on strategy with FBI head J. Edgar Hoover. The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian Criminal Secret society which is believed to have first developed in the mid-19th century WikipediaManual of Style (biographies#Postnominal initials Convictions against notorious organized crime figures rose by 800% during his term. ^[7]

Kennedy was relentless in his pursuit of Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa, resulting from widespread knowledge of Hoffa's corruption in financial and electoral actions, both personally and organizationally. TemplateInfobox Union for usage-->The International Brotherhood of Teamsters ( IBT) formerly known by the James Riddle ("Jimmy" Hoffa ( February 14, 1913 - disappeared July 30, 1975, exact The enmity between the two men was something of a cause célèbre during the period, with accusations of personal vendetta being exchanged between Kennedy and Hoffa. A cause célèbre (plural causes célèbres, French famous case) is Hoffa was eventually to face open, televised hearings before the Attorney General, which became iconic moments in Kennedy's political career and which gained him equal praise and criticism from the press.

Civil rights

Robert Kennedy expressed the Administration's commitment to civil rights during a 1961 speech at the University of Georgia Law School: "We will not stand by or be aloof. We will move. I happen to believe that the 1954 Supreme Court school desegregation decision was right. Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, 347 US 483 (1954 was a Landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court, which overturned earlier But my belief does not matter. It is the law. Some of you may believe the decision was wrong. That does not matter. It is the law. "

In 1961, Attorney General Robert Kennedy authorized the FBI in a written directive to wiretap civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr under the auspice of concern that communists were involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr ( January 15, 1929 April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, Activist and prominent leader See also Protests of 1968 Historically the civil rights movement was a concentrated period of time around the world of approximately twenty years (1960-1980 in The wire tapping continued through 1967. No evidence of Communist activity or influence was uncovered. Kennedy remained committed to civil rights enforcement to such a degree that he commented, in 1962, that it seemed to envelop almost every area of his public and private life—from prosecuting corrupt southern electoral officials to answering late night calls from Mrs. King concerning the imprisonment of her husband for demonstrations in Alabama. Coretta Scott King (April 27 1927 January 30 2006 was an American Author and Activist, perhaps most recognized as the wife of Martin Martin Luther King Jr ( January 15, 1929 April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, Activist and prominent leader During his tenure as Attorney General he undertook the most energetic and persistent desegregation of the administration that Capitol Hill had ever experienced. He demanded that every area of government begin recruiting realistic levels of black and other ethnic workers, going so far as to criticize Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson for his failure to desegregate his own office staff.

Although it has become commonplace to assert the phrase "The Kennedy Administration" or even, "President Kennedy" when discussing the legislative and executive support of the civil rights movement, between 1960 and 1963, a great many of the initiatives that occurred during President Kennedy's tenure were as a result of the passion and determination of an emboldened Robert Kennedy, who through his rapid education in the realities of Southern racism, underwent a thorough conversion of purpose as Attorney General. Asked in an interview in May 1962, "What do you see as the big problem ahead for you, is it Crime or Internal Security?" Robert Kennedy replied, "Civil Rights. "^[8] The President came to share his brother's sense of urgency on the matters at hand to such an extent that it was at the Attorney General's insistence that he made his famous address to the nation. ^[9].

During the attack and burning, by a vast white mob, of the First Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama, at which Martin Luther King, Jr. was in attendance with protesters, the Attorney General telephoned King to ask his assurance that they would not leave the building until the U.S. Marshals and National Guard had secured the area. For the National Guard of a State and other countries' National Guard see National Guard. King proceeded to berate Kennedy for "allowing the situation to continue". King later publicly thanked Robert Kennedy for his commanding of the force dispatched to break up an attack that might otherwise have ended King's life. The relationship between the two men was to undergo great change over the years that they would know each other—from a position of mutual suspicion to one of shared aspirations. For King, Robert Kennedy initially represented the "softly softly" approach that in former years had disabled the movement of blacks against oppression in the U. S. For Robert Kennedy, King initially represented what was then considered the unrealistic militancy that many in the white-liberal camp had regarded as the cause of so little governmental progress.

In September 1962, he sent U. S. Marshals and troops to Oxford, Mississippi, to enforce a federal court order admitting the first African American student, James Meredith, to the University of Mississippi. Oxford is a city and the County seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. James H Meredith (born June 25, 1933) is an American civil rights movement figure The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational Research University located in Oxford Riots ensued during the period of Meredith's admittance, which resulted in hundreds of injuries and two deaths. Yet Kennedy remained adamant concerning the rights of black students to enjoy the benefits of all levels of the educational system. The Office of Civil Rights also hired its first African-American lawyer and began to work cautiously with leaders of the civil rights movement. The American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968 refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing racial discrimination against African Robert Kennedy saw voting as the key to racial justice, and collaborated with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson to create the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, which helped bring an end to Jim Crow laws. Origins The bill was introduced by President John F Kennedy in his civil rights speech of June 11 1963, in which he asked for legislation "giving The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enacted primarily but not exclusively in the Southern and border states of the United States between 1876 and 1965

He was to maintain his commitment to racial equality into his own presidential campaign, extending his firm sense of social justice to all areas of national life and into matters of foreign and economic policy. At Ball State University, Kennedy was to question the student body as to what kind of life America wished for herself; whether privileged Americans had earned the great luxury they enjoyed and whether such Americans had an obligation to those, in U. Ball State University is a state-run research University located in Muncie, Indiana, U S. society and across the world, who had so little by comparison.

Responding to allegations that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a communist whose close confidants were insurrectionists, Kennedy, as Attorney General, issued written approvals to the FBI in order for the Bureau to track and eavesdrop on Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King's civil rights organization. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference ( SCLC) is an American Civil rights organization The source of the original allegations was none other than J. Edgar Hoover, who had a burning hatred for King, whom he viewed as an upstart troublemaker. WikipediaManual of Style (biographies#Postnominal initials Although Kennedy only gave written approval for limited wiretapping, the Bureau, as was common under Hoover's leadership, extended the clearance to encompass whichever areas of King's life they deemed worthy of examination—without Kennedy's knowledge.

After the assassination of President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy undertook a 1966 tour of South Africa in which he championed the cause of the anti-Apartheid movement. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The tour was greeted with international praise at a time when few politicians dared to entangle themselves in the politics of South Africa. Kennedy spoke out against the oppression of the native population and was welcomed by the black population as though a visiting head of state. In an interview with Look Magazine he had this to say:

"At the University of Natal in Durban, I was told the church to which most of the white population belongs teaches apartheid as a moral necessity. Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest Magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971 with more of an emphasis on The University of Natal was a university in Natal, and later KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Durban (eThekwini is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the EThekwini metropolitan municipality. A questioner declared that few churches allow black Africans to pray with the white because the Bible says that is the way it should be, because God created Negroes to serve. 'But suppose God is black', I replied. 'What if we go to Heaven and we, all our lives, have treated the Negro as an inferior, and God is there, and we look up and He is not white? What then is our response?' There was no answer. Only silence. "^[10]

In South Africa a group of foreign press representatives chartered an aircraft, after the National Union of South African Students failed to make sufficient travel arrangements. The National Union of South African Students (NUSAS was an important force for Liberalism in South Africa in the latter part of the last century Kennedy not only accommodated a suspected Special Branch policeman on board, but took with good grace the discovery that the aircraft had once belonged to Fidel Castro. Special Branch is an investigative unit of the British, Irish and many Commonwealth police services Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13 1926 is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from December 1959 to December 1976 and then president until ^[11]

Death penalty issues

During the John F. Kennedy administration, the U.S. Federal Government carried out the last pre-Furman federal execution (Victor Feguer in Iowa, 1963^[12]) and Robert Kennedy, as Attorney General, represented Government in this case. The federal government of the United States is the central United States Governmental body established by the United States Constitution. Furman v Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty Victor Harry Feguer (1935 &ndash March 15, 1963) was the last Federal inmate executed in the United States before the moratorium The State of Iowa ( is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. ^[13]

In 1968 Kennedy expressed his strong willingness to support a bill then under consideration for the abolition of the death penalty. ^[7]

Cuba

As his brother's confidant, Kennedy oversaw the CIA's anti-Castro activities after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13 1926 is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from December 1959 to December 1976 and then president until The Bay of Pigs Invasion (aka Playa Girón) was an unsuccessful attempt by a U He also helped develop the strategy to blockade Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis instead of initiating a military strike that might have led to nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba during the Cold War. Kennedy had initially been among the more hawkish elements of the administration on matters concerning Cuban insurrectionary aid. His initial strong support for covert actions in Cuba soon changed to a position of removal from further involvement once he became aware of the CIA's tendency to draw out initiatives and provide itself with almost unchecked authority in matters of foreign covert operations.

Allegations that the Kennedys knew of plans (by the CIA) to kill Fidel Castro, or approved of such plans, have been rejected by many historians over the years. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13 1926 is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from December 1959 to December 1976 and then president until Until 2007, the lack of any evidence linking even close advisors to the Kennedys, coupled with statements from figures such as Maxwell Taylor (concerning the two men's personal/political beliefs), indicated that the Kennedys allegedly had no part in the many and various attempts by the CIA (with help from organized crime elements) to murder the Cuban leader. General Maxwell Davenport Taylor ( August 26, 1901 &ndash April 19, 1987) was an American Soldier and Diplomat Schlesinger, for example, is of the opinion that operatives linked to the CIA were among the most reckless individuals to have operated during the period — providing themselves with unscrutinized freedoms to threaten the lives of Castro and other members of the Cuban revolutionary government regardless of the legislative apparatus in Washington — freedoms, unbeknownst to those at the White House attempting to prevent a nuclear war, placed the entire US/Soviet relationship in perilous danger.

However, according to the Family Jewels documents declassified by the CIA in 2007, Robert Kennedy personally authorized one such assassination attempt before the Bay of Pigs invasion, which involved the mafioso boss of the Chicago Outfit, Salvatore Giancana, and his right-hand man Santos Trafficante^[14][15]. The Family Jewels is the informal name used to refer to a set of reports that detail activities conducted by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. The Chicago Outfit shortened to " the Outfit " is a Crime syndicate based in Chicago Illinois, USA. Salvatore "Momo" Giancana (born Salvatore Giangana) June 15, 1908 &ndash June 19, 1975) was an Italian-American Santo Trafficante Jr ( November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was one of the last of the old-time Mafia bosses in the United

During the Cuban Missile Crisis Kennedy proved himself to be a gifted politician, with an ability to obtain compromises from key figures in the hawk camp concerning their position of aggression. The trust the President placed in him on matters of negotiation was such that Robert Kennedy's role in the Crisis is today seen as having been of vital importance in securing a blockade, which averted a full military engagement between the US and Soviet Russia. His clandestine meetings with members of the Soviet government continued to provide a key link to Khrushchev during even the darkest moments of the Crisis, in which the threat of nuclear strikes was considered a very present reality. Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (April 17 1894 – September 11 1971 served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 following ^[16]

On the last night of the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy was so grateful for his brother's work in averting nuclear war that he summed it up by saying, "Thank God for Bobby". ^[17]

The assassination of JFK

The assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963 was a brutal shock to the world, the nation and, of course, to Robert and the rest of the Kennedy family. The assassination of John F Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday November 22 1963 in Dallas Texas Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Robert was absolutely devastated, and was described by many as being a completely different man after his brother's death.

During the two days after the assassination, Kennedy wrote letters to his two eldest children, Kathleen & Joseph II, telling them about the tragedy, as well as to follow what their uncle started, as his son, Max, who was born in 1965, said in Make Gentle the Life of This World: The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy and the Words That Inspired Him.

RFK was asked by Democratic Party leaders to introduce a film about his late brother John F. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. Kennedy at the 1964 party convention. When Bobby Kennedy was introduced the crowd, including party bosses, elected officials and delegates applauded thunderously and tearfully for a full 22 minutes before they would let him speak. He spoke about his brother's vision for both the party and the nation, and quoted Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (3. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the 2):

[. . . ] and when [he] shall die
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.

Kennedy remained as Attorney General for President Lyndon B. Johnson, but the bad blood between them forced him to make new plans, running in New York for the U.S. Senate. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives

Senator for New York

Nine months after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, Robert Kennedy left the Cabinet to run for a seat in the United States Senate, representing New York.

President Johnson and Robert Kennedy were often at severe odds with each other, both politically and personally, yet Johnson gave considerable support to RFK's campaign, as he was later to recall in his memoir of the White House years. See also Executive Office of the President of the United States The White House, formerly known as the Executive Mansion, is the Official residence

His opponent in the 1964 race was Republican incumbent Kenneth Keating, who attempted to portray Kennedy as an arrogant carpetbagger. The US Senate election 1964 was an election for the United States Senate which coincided with the election of President Lyndon B Kenneth Barnard Keating ( May 18[[ 900]] - May 5[[ 975]] was a United States Representative and a Senator In United States history carpetbaggers was the term southerners gave to northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction, between 1865 and 1877 Kennedy emerged victorious in the November election, helped in part by Johnson's huge victory margin in New York.

In 1965 Robert Kennedy became the first person to summit Mount Kennedy. Mount Kennedy is a peak in the Saint Elias Mountains within Kluane National Park, in Yukon, Canada. ^[7] At the time it was the highest mountain in Canada that had not yet been climbed. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page It was named in honor of his brother John Kennedy after his assassination.

In June 1966, Kennedy visited apartheid-ruled South Africa accompanied by his wife, Ethel Kennedy, and a small number of aides. Ethel Skakel Kennedy (born April 11 1928 is the widow of late Sen At the University of Cape Town he delivered the Annual Day of Affirmation speech. The University of Cape Town ( UCT) is a Public university located on the Rhodes Estate on the slopes of Devil's Peak, in Cape Town The Day of Affirmation speech was a Speech given by Robert F Kennedy to National Union of South African Students members at the University of Cape A quote from this address appears on his gravestone at Arlington National Cemetery. ("Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. . . . ")^[18]

During his years as a senator, Kennedy also helped to start a successful redevelopment project in poverty-stricken Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in New York City, visited the Mississippi Delta as a member of the Senate committee reviewing the effectiveness of 'War on Poverty' programs and, reversing his prior stance, called for a halt in further escalation of the Vietnam War. Bedford-Stuyvesant (pron \ˈstī-və-sənt\ (also known as Bed-Stuy) is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City, USA, borough The City of New York The Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers Technically The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia

As Senator, Robert endeared himself to African Americans, and other minorities such as Native Americans and immigrant groups. African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States He spoke forcefully in favor of what he called the "disaffected," the impoverished, and "the excluded," thereby aligning himself with leaders of the civil rights struggle and social justice campaigners, leading the Democratic party in a pursuit of a more aggressive agenda to eliminate perceived discrimination on all levels. Kennedy supported desegregation busing, integration of all public facilities, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and anti-poverty social programs to increase education, offer opportunities for employment, and provide health care for African-Americans. Desegregation busing in the United States (also known as forced busing or busing) is the practice of attempting to integrate schools by assigning students to Background See also [[Disfranchisement after the Civil War]] The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865 after the Civil War, abolished and prohibited

Kennedy's presidential campaign was powered by an aggressive vision on behalf of African Americans, who flocked to his banner.

The administration of President Kennedy had backed U. S. involvement in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world in the frame of the Cold War. Robert Kennedy vigorously supported President Kennedy's earlier efforts, but, like President Kennedy, RFK never advocated commitment of ground troops. Senator Kennedy cautioned President Johnson against commitment of U. S. ground troops as early as 1965, but Lyndon Johnson chose to commit ground troops. RFK did not strongly advocate withdrawal from Vietnam until 1967, within a week of Martin Luther King taking the same public stand. Consistent with President Kennedy's Alliance for Progress, Senator Kennedy placed increasing emphasis on human rights as a central focus of U. The Alliance for Progress initiated by US President John F Kennedy in 1961 aimed to establish economic cooperation between North and South America S. foreign policy.

Presidential candidacy

See also: United States presidential election, 1968 and 1968 Democratic National Convention

In 1968, President Johnson began to run for reelection. Please DO NOT flip the colors -->The United States presidential election of 1968 was a wrenching national experience and included the assassination of Democratic candidate Chicago Convention redirects here for the Convention on International Civil Aviation for the event also referred to by this name In January 1968, faced with what was widely considered an unrealistic race against an incumbent President, Senator Kennedy stated he would not seek the presidency. After the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, in early February 1968, Kennedy received a letter from writer Pete Hamill (later acclaimed author of the novel Snow in August). The Tet Offensive was a military campaign conducted between 30 January and 23 September 1968, by forces of the Vietcong, or National Front for Pete Hamill (born June 24, 1935) is a prominent American Journalist, Columnist, Novelist, and Short story Hamill wrote an anguished letter to Kennedy noting that poor people kept pictures of JFK on their walls and that Robert Kennedy had an "obligation of staying true to whatever it was that put those pictures on those walls. " Kennedy traveled to California, to meet with civil rights activist César Chávez who was on a hunger strike. César Estrada Chávez ( March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) born in Yuma Arizona, was a Mexican-American farm worker Labor The weekend before the New Hampshire primary, Kennedy announced to several aides that he would attempt to persuade little-known Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota to withdraw from the presidential race. Eugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy ( March 29, 1916 – December 10, 2005) was an American Politician, Poet, and a Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Johnson won an astonishingly narrow victory in the New Hampshire primary on March 12, 1968, against McCarthy. Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Kennedy declared his candidacy on March 16, 1968, stating, "I do not run for the Presidency merely to oppose any man, but to propose new policies. Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. I run because I am convinced that this country is on a perilous course and because I have such strong feelings about what must be done, and I feel that I'm obliged to do all I can. "

According to linguist Desmond Derbyshire Kennedy had already decided to run for presidency years earlier in November 1965, while visiting the linguist and taking a bath in the Nhamundá river in Brazil^[19]. Desmond Cyril Derbyshire (1924– December 19, 2007) was a linguist who specialized in Carib languages. Nhamundá is a Municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas.

McCarthy supporters angrily denounced Kennedy as an opportunist, and thus the anti-war movement was split between McCarthy and Kennedy. On March 31, 1968, Johnson stunned the nation by dropping out of the race. Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Vice President Hubert Humphrey, long a champion of labor unions and civil rights, entered the race with the support of the party "establishment," including most members of Congress, mayors, governors and labor unions. Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr ( May 27, 1911 &ndash January 13, 1978) was the thirty-eighth Vice President of the United States, serving He entered the race too late to enter any primaries, but had the support of the president and many Democratic insiders. Robert Kennedy, like his brother before him, planned to win the nomination through popular support in the primaries.

Kennedy stood on a ticket of racial and economic justice, non-aggression in foreign policy, decentralization of power and social improvement. A crucial element to his campaign was an engagement with the young, whom he identified as being the future of a reinvigorated American society based on partnership and equality.

Kennedy's policy objectives did not sit well with the business world, in which he was viewed as something of a fiscal liability, opposed to the tax increases necessary to fund such programs of social improvement. When verbally attacked at a speech he gave during his tour of the universities he was asked, "And who's going to pay for all this, senator?", to which Kennedy replied with typical candor, "You are. " It was this intense and frank mode of dialogue with which Kennedy was to continue to engage those whom he viewed as not being traditional allies of Democratic ideals or initiatives. He aroused rabid animosity in some quarters, with J. Edgar Hoover's Deputy Clyde Tolson reported as saying, 'I hope that someone shoots and kills the son of a bitch. WikipediaManual of Style (biographies#Postnominal initials Clyde Anderson Tolson (22 May 1900 – 14 April 1975 was Associate Director of the FBI primarily responsible for personnel and discipline not front-line crime-fighting ' ^[20]

It has been widely commented that Robert Kennedy's campaign for the American presidency far outstripped, in its vision of social improvement, that of President Kennedy; Robert Kennedy's bid for the presidency saw not only a continuation of the programs he and his brother had undertaken during the President's term in office, but also an extension of these programs through what Robert Kennedy viewed as an honest questioning of the progress that had been made in the 5 years since the President's death. Kennedy openly challenged young people who supported the war while benefiting from draft deferments, visited numerous small towns, and made himself available to the masses by participating in long motorcades and street-corner stump speeches (often in troubled inner-cities). Kennedy made urban poverty a chief concern of his campaign, which in part led to enormous crowds that would attend his events in poor urban areas or rural parts of Appalachia. Appalachia is a term used to describe a region in the eastern United States that stretches from southern New York state to northern Alabama,

On April 4, 1968, Kennedy learned of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and gave a heartfelt, impromptu speech in Indianapolis's inner city, in which Kennedy called for a reconciliation between the races. Events 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Martin Luther King Jr ( January 15, 1929 April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, Activist and prominent leader Robert F Kennedy's speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr Riots broke out in 60 cities in the wake of King's death, but not in Indianapolis, a fact many attribute to the effect of this speech. Race Riot is a 1929 animated Short subject, featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. ^[21]

Kennedy finally won the Indiana and Nebraska Democratic primaries, but lost the Oregon primary. The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union Nebraska ( is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Oregon ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. If he could defeat McCarthy in the California primary, the leadership of the campaign thought, he would knock him out of the race and set up a one-on-one against Hubert Humphrey (whom he bested in the primary held on the same day as the California primary in Humphrey's birth state, South Dakota) at the Chicago national convention in August. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr ( May 27, 1911 &ndash January 13, 1978) was the thirty-eighth Vice President of the United States, serving South Dakota ( is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. Chicago Convention redirects here for the Convention on International Civil Aviation for the event also referred to by this name

Assassination

Main article: Robert F. Kennedy assassination

On June 4, 1968, Kennedy scored a major victory when he won the California primary. The assassination of Robert F Kennedy, a United States Senator and brother of assassinated President John F Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He addressed his supporters in the early morning hours of June 5, 1968 in a ballroom at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Ambassador Hotel was a landmark hotel in Los Angeles California and location of the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West He left the ballroom through a service area to greet supporters working in the hotel's kitchen. In a crowded kitchen passageway, Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian - Christian Arab ^[22], opened fire with a . Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (born March 19, 1944) is the convicted Assassin of United States Senator Robert F Palestinian people or Palestinians ( الشعب الفلسطيني, ash-sha`b al-filasTīni; الفلسطينيون, al-filasTīnīyyūn 22 caliber revolver and shot Kennedy in the head at close range. (Questions persist about whether Sirhan acted alone. ) Following the shooting, Kennedy was rushed to The Good Samaritan Hospital where he died early the next morning.

His body was returned to New York City, where he lay in state at St. Patrick's Cathedral for several days before the funeral mass held there. Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States, established during the American Civil War St Patrick's Cathedral is a decorated Neo-Gothic -style Catholic Cathedral in North America His brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, eulogized him with the words, "My brother need not be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (born February 22 1932 is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic "

Senator Kennedy concluded his eulogy, paraphrasing his deceased brother Robert by quoting George Bernard Shaw: "Some men see things as they are and say 'Why?' I dream things that never were and say, 'Why not?'"

Immediately following the mass, Kennedy's body was transported by special train to Washington, D.C. Thousands of mourners lined the tracks and stations, paying their respects as the train passed by. George Bernard Shaw ( (26 July 1856 &ndash 2 November 1950 was an Irish Playwright. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D

Kennedy was buried near his brother, John, in Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States, established during the American Civil War He had always maintained that he wished to be buried in Massachusetts, but his family believed that, since the brothers had been so close in life, they should be near each other in death. In accordance with his wishes, Kennedy was buried with the bare minimum military escort and ceremony. Robert Kennedy's burial at Arlington National Cemetery was the only one to ever take place at night. Coordinates: 38°52′52″N 77°04′17″W / 38.88118, -77.0715

After the assassination, the mandate of the Secret Service was altered to include protection of presidential candidates.

Presidency

Political commentators have written about what may have happened if Kennedy became president. Newsweek comments that "he might have found it difficult to get out of Vietnam", "would have tried to create massive jobs programs" and "willing to at least condone, if not order, CIA dirty tricks as his brother's surrogate chief of the spy agency's botched Get Castro operation in the early '60s. " "He also had the ability to inspire. " ^[23]

Personal life

See also: Kennedy family

Family

In 1950, he married Ethel Skakel, who would eventually give birth to 11 children:

1. Kathleen Hartington (b. The Kennedy family are a family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P Ethel Skakel Kennedy (born April 11 1928 is the widow of late Sen Hon Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend, (born July 4, 1951) was lieutenant governor of the U 1951)
2. Joseph Patrick II (b. Joseph Ryan Hawkes Patrick Kennedy II (born September 24 1952, in Brighton Massachusetts) named after his late uncle Joseph P 1952)
3. Robert Francis, Jr. (b. Robert Francis Kennedy Jr (born January 17, 1954 in Washington D 1954)
4. David Anthony (1955–1984)
5. Mary Courtney (b. David Anthony Kennedy ( June 15, 1955 &ndash April 25, 1984) was born in Washington D Mary Courtney Kennedy Hill (known as Courtney) was born on September 9 1956, in Boston Massachusetts. 1956)
6. Michael LeMoyne (1958–1997)
7. Mary Kerry (b. Michael LeMoyne Kennedy ( February 27, 1958 – December 31, 1997) was the sixth of eleven children of Robert F Mary Kerry Kennedy (born September 8, 1959, Washington DC) is the seventh of the eleven children of Robert F 1959)
8. Christopher George (b. Christopher George Kennedy was born July 4 1963 in Boston Massachusetts. 1963)
9. Matthew Maxwell Taylor (b. Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy (born January 11 1965) also known as Max Kennedy, was born in New York New York. 1965)
10. Douglas Harriman (b. Douglas Harriman Kennedy (born March 24, 1967 in Washington D 1967)
11. Rory Elizabeth Katherine (b. Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy (born December 12, 1968) is an award-winning documentary Filmmaker and producer. 1968)

The last child, Rory, was born several months after her father's assassination.

Kennedy owned a home at the well-known Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts on Cape Cod, but spent most of his time at his estate in Virginia, known as Hickory Hill, located just outside Washington, D. The Kennedy Compound or Hyannis Port Historic District is the name given to six Acres (24000 m² of waterfront property along Nantucket Sound in Hyannis is the largest of seven villages in the town of Barnstable Massachusetts, on Cape Cod Cape Cod (or simply the Cape to most New Englanders is a Peninsula nearly coextensive with Barnstable County Massachusetts and forming the easternmost The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state C. . His widow, Ethel, and his children continued to live at Hickory Hill after his death in 1968. Ethel Skakel Kennedy (born April 11 1928 is the widow of late Sen Ethel Kennedy now lives full time at the family's vacation home in Hyannis Port.

Attitudes and approach

Despite the fact that his father's most ambitious dreams centered around his older brothers, Kennedy maintained the code of personal loyalty that seemed to infuse the life of the Kennedy family as a whole. His competitiveness was admired by his father and elder brothers, while his loyalty bound them more affectionately close. A rather timid child, Robert was often the target of his father's dominating temperament.

Working on the campaigns of John Kennedy, Robert was more involved, passionate and tenacious than the candidate himself, obsessed with every detail, fighting out every battle and taking workers to task. Robert had, all his life, been closer to older brother Jack than the other members of the Kennedy family.

Kennedy's opponents on Capitol Hill maintained that his collegialist magnanimity was sometimes hindered by a tenacious and somewhat impatient manner. His professional life was dominated by the selfsame attitudes that governed his family life — a certainty that good humor and leisure must be balanced by service and accomplishment. Schlesinger comments that Kennedy could be both the most ruthlessly diligent and yet generously adaptable of politicians — at once both temperamental and yet forgiving. In this, Kennedy was very much his father's son; lacking truly lasting emotional independence and yet possessing a great desire to contribute. He lacked the innate self-confidence of his contemporaries and yet found a greater self-assurance in the experience of married life, an experience that he stated had given him a base of self-belief from which to continue his efforts in the public arena.

Upon hearing yet again the assertion that he was "ruthless", Kennedy once joked to a reporter, "If I find out who has called me ruthless I will destroy him. " And yet he also openly confessed to possessing a bad temper that required self-control: "My biggest problem as counsel, is to keep my temper. I think we all feel that when a witness comes before the United States Senate he has an obligation to speak frankly and tell the truth. To see people sit in front of us and lie and evade makes me boil inside. But you can't lose your temper — if you do, the witness has gotten the best of you"^[24]

Again in contrast to his brother, Kennedy lacked a natural flair for public speaking, and instead relied upon a passion for the issues of social justice, which resonated deeply with his own fervor.

Religious faith

Central to Kennedy's politics and personal attitude to life and its purpose was his Catholicism, which he inherited from his family. Throughout his life, Kennedy made reference to his faith, how it informed every area of his life, and how it gave him the strength to re-enter politics following the assassination of his elder brother. His was not an unresponsive and staid faith, but the faith of a Catholic Radical — perhaps the first successful Catholic Radical in American political history. ^[25]

Robert Kennedy was easily the most religious of his brothers. Whereas John maintained an aloof sense of his faith, Robert approached his duties to mankind through the looking glass of Catholicism. In the last years of his life, he found great solace in the metaphysical poets of ancient Greece, especially the writings of Aeschylus. Aeschylus (ˈɛskɨləs or /ˈiːskɨləs/ Greek: Ασχύλος, Aischylos, 525 BC/524 BC 456 BC/455 BC was an ancient Greek Playwright At his announcement of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. , Kennedy quoted these lines from Aeschylus in a memorable speech:

"He who learns must suffer. Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, and against our will, comes wisdom by the awful grace of God. "

Electoral history

1964 New York United States Senatorial Election

Robert F. Kennedy (D) 53. 5%

Kenneth Keating (R) (inc. Kenneth Barnard Keating ( May 18[[ 900]] - May 5[[ 975]] was a United States Representative and a Senator ) 45. 4%

Honors

D. C. Stadium in Washington, D. C. was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969. Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium, better known as RFK Stadium or RFK, is a professional sports Stadium in Washington D

In 1978, the United States Congress posthumously awarded Kennedy its Gold Medal of Honor. Not to be confused with the Medal of Honor, sometimes called the "Congressional Medal of Honor" which is the highest military decoration of the United States In 1998, the United States Mint released a special dollar coin that featured Kennedy on the obverse and the emblems of the United States Department of Justice and the United States Senate on the reverse. The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its Trade and Commerce. For animal rights group see Justice Department (JD The United States Department of Justice ( DOJ) is a Cabinet department The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives

In Washington, D. C. on November 20, 2001, US President George W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft dedicated the Department of Justice headquarters building as the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, honoring RFK on what would have been his 76th birthday. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. John David Ashcroft (born May 9 1942) is an American Politician who was the 79th United States Attorney General. The Robert F Kennedy Department of Justice Building is the Washington D They both spoke during the ceremony, as did Kennedy's eldest son, Joseph II. Joseph Ryan Hawkes Patrick Kennedy II (born September 24 1952, in Brighton Massachusetts) named after his late uncle Joseph P

Numerous roads, public schools and other facilities across the United States were named in memory of Robert F. Kennedy in the months and years after his death. The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial organization^[26] was founded in 1968, with an international award program to recognize human rights activists. In a further effort to not just remember the late Senator, but continue his work helping disadvantaged, a small group of private citizens launched the Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps in 1969, which today helps more than 800 abused and neglected children each year. A bust of Kennedy resides in the library of the University of Virginia School of Law, from where he obtained his law degree.

In 1994 the City of Indianapolis erected a monument in Kennedy's honor in the space made famous by his oration from the back of a pickup truck the night Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died. The monument depicts Bobby Kennedy as a piece of a large metal slab reaching out to Dr. King, who is also part of a similar slab. This is meant to symbolize their attempts in life to bridge the gaps between the races — an attempt that united them even in death.

The site of the monument is Kennedy King Park and is located at 17th Street and Broadway, in Indianapolis. A historical marker has also been placed at the site. A nephew of Martin Luther King Jr. and U.S. Congresswoman Julia Carson (D) presided over the event; both made speeches from the back of a pickup truck in similar fashion to Robert Kennedy. The 7th Congressional district of the state of Indiana and encompasses most of Marion County / Indianapolis Indiana. Julia May Carson ( July 8 1938 &ndash December 15 2007) born Julia May Porter, was a member of the United States House of Representatives ^{Indiana Historical Society}

Writing

Considered an eloquent speaker generally, RFK also wrote extensively on politics and issues confronting his generation:

• The Enemy Within: The McClellan Committee's Crusade Against Jimmy Hoffa and Corrupt Labor Unions (1960)
• To Seek a Newer World (1967)
• Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1969)

Quotes

• "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. See also Thirteen Days (film Thirteen Days A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis is Robert F "^[7]

• "Few men are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital, quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change. "

• "The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country. "^[27]

• "Men without hope, resigned to despair and oppression, do not make revolutions. It is when expectation replaces submission, when despair is touched with the awareness of possibility, that the forces of human desire and the passion for justice are unloosed. "^[28]

• "There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why. . . I dream of things that never were and ask why not. "^[29]

• "Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation . . . It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. "^[30]

• "At the University of Natal in Durban, I was told the church to which most of the white population belongs teaches apartheid as a moral necessity. A questioner declared that few churches allow black Africans to pray with the white because the Bible says that is the way it should be, because God created Negroes to serve. "But suppose God is black", I replied. "What if we go to Heaven and we, all our lives, have treated the Negro as an inferior, and God is there, and we look up and He is not white? What then is our response?" There was no answer. Only silence. " South Africa, June 1966^[31]

• "What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black. " Indianapolis, Indiana, April 4, 1968 Announcing to the crowd that Martin Luther King had been assassinated.

• "Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it. " From his last speech, June 5, 1968^[32]

• "Laws can embody standards; governments can enforce laws — but the final task is not a task for government. Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. It is a task for each and every one of us. Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted — when we tolerate what we know to be wrong — when we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy, or too frightened — when we fail to speak up and speak out — we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice. " June 21, 1961^[33]

Bibliography

• Altschuler, Bruce E. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. (1980). "Kennedy Decides to Run: 1968". Presidential Studies Quarterly 10 (3): 348–352. ISSN 0360-4918. An International Standard Serial Number ( ISSN) is a unique eight-digit number used to identify a print or electronic Periodical publication.  
• Brown, Stuart Gerry (1972). The Presidency on Trial: Robert Kennedy's 1968 Campaign and Afterwards. Honolulu: U. Press of Hawaiʻi.  
• Burner, David; West, Thomas R. (1984). The Torch Is Passed: The Kennedy Brothers and American Liberalism. New York: Atheneum. ISBN 0689114389.  
• DiEugenio, James; Pease, Lisa (2003). The Assassinations: Probe Magazine on JFK, MLK, RFK and Malcolm X. Los Angeles: Feral House. ISBN 0922915822.  
• Dooley, Brian (1996). Robert Kennedy: The Final Years. New York: St. Martin's. ISBN 0312161301.  
• Goldfarb, Ronald (1995). Perfect Villains, Imperfect Heroes: Robert F. Kennedy's War against Organized Crime. New York: Random House. ISBN 0679435654.  
• Grubin, David, director and producer, RFK. Video. (DVD, VHS). 2hr. WGBH Educ. Found. and David Grubin Productions, 2004. Distrib. by PBS Video
• Hilty, James M. Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector (1997), vol. 1 to 1963. Temple U. Press. , 1997. 642 pp.
• Murphy, John M. (1990). "'A Time of Shame and Sorrow': Robert F. Kennedy and the American Jeremiad". Quarterly Journal of Speech 76 (4): 401–414. ISSN 0033-5630. An International Standard Serial Number ( ISSN) is a unique eight-digit number used to identify a print or electronic Periodical publication.   RFK's speech after the death of Martin Luther King in 1968.

• Navasky, Victor S. Kennedy Justice (1972). Argues the policies of RFK's Justice Department show the conservatism of justice, the limits of charisma, the inherent tendency in a legal system to support the status quo, and the counterproductive results of many of Kennedy's endeavors in the field of civil rights and crime control.
• Newfield, Jack. , RFK: A Memoir. Nation Books, 2003.
• Niven, David. The Politics of Injustice: The Kennedys, the Freedom Rides, and the Electoral Consequences of a Moral Compromise. U. of Tennessee Press 2003. 269 pp.
• Palermo, Joseph A. In His Own Right: The Political Odyssey of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Columbia U. Press, 2001. 349 pp.
• Schlesinger Jr. Arthur M. Robert Kennedy and His Times (1978)
• Shesol, Jeff. Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, and the Feud that Defined a Decade (1997)
• Thomas, Evan. Robert Kennedy: His Life (2002). 509 pp.
• Zimmermann, Karl R. , The Remarkable GG1 (1977)
• RFK (documentary Film from the Public Broadcasting Service, USA) online transcript

See also

• Ted Kennedy
• Kennedy family
• Robert F. Kennedy assassination
• List of assassinated American politicians

References

External links

• The Coalition on Political Assassinations, A research and lobby group that also organize a conference on the assassination of Senator Kennedy.
• PBS video on RFK, with long quotes by historians
• Text and Audio of Robert Kennedy's Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. AmericanRhetoric. com
• Text, Audio, and Video excerpt of Robert Kennedy's Address at Cape Town University AmericanRhetoric. com
• Transcript, Audio, Video, History and Photographs of Robert F. Kennedy's April 4th, 1968 speech at Ball State University
• American Experience: RFK -- From PBS
• American Experience: RFK People & Events -- From PBS
• Robert F. Kennedy at the Internet Movie Database
• Robert F. Kennedy at Find A Grave
• Text, Audio of Edward Kennedy's Eulogy for Robert Kennedy AmericanRhetoric. The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the Find A Grave is a Website allowing its users to access maintain and expand an online Database of Burial records com
• Edward Kennedy eulogy to Robert Kennedy (text and audio)
• The Last Salute: Civil and Military Funeral, 1921-1969, CHAPTER XXVIII, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Funeral Without Formal Classification, 5-8 June 1968 by B.  C.  Mossman and M.  W.  Stark

Legal offices
Preceded by William P. Rogers	United States Attorney General Served Under: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson 1961–1964	Succeeded by Nicholas Katzenbach
United States Senate
Preceded by Kenneth Keating	United States Senator (Class 1) from New York 1965–1968 Served alongside: Jacob K. Javits	Succeeded by Charles E. Goodell

William Pierce Rogers ( June 23, 1913 &ndash January 2, 2001) was an American politician who served as a Cabinet officer The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice (see) concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach (born January 17, 1922) is an American lawyer who served as United States Attorney General during the Lyndon The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Kenneth Barnard Keating ( May 18[[ 900]] - May 5[[ 975]] was a United States Representative and a Senator New York ratified the Constitution on July 26[[ 788]] Class 1 Senators Class 1 U Jacob Koppel "Jack" Javits ( May 18, 1904 – March 7, 1986) was an American Politician who served as United States Charles Ellsworth Goodell ( March 16, 1926 – January 21, 1987) was a U

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