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Profiles in Courage, by John F. Kennedy
Free Ebook Profiles in Courage, by John F. Kennedy
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From the Back Cover
"This is a book about that most admirable of human virtues-- courage. 'Grace under pressure,' Ernest Hemingway defined it. And these are the stories of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which they endured them."-- John F. KennedyDuring 1954-1955, John F. Kennedy, then a U.S. Senator, chose eight of his historical colleagues to profile for their acts of astounding integrity in the face of overwhelming opposition. These heroes include John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Thomas Hart Benton, and Robert A. Taft.Awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1957, Profiles in Courage -- now reissued in this handsome hardcover edition, featuring a new introduction by Caroline Kennedy, as well as Robert Kennedy's foreword written for the memorial edition of the volume in 1964 -- resounds with timeless lessons on the most cherished of virtues and is a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit. It is as Robert Kennedy states in the foreword, "not just stories of the past but a hook of hope and confidence for the future. What happens to the country, to the world, depends on what we do with what others have left us."
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About the Author
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) was president of the United States from 1961 to 1963. At forty-three, he was the youngest man ever elected to the Oval Office and the first Roman Catholic president.
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Product details
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Harper; Later Printing edition (March 18, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060530626
ISBN-13: 978-0060530624
Product Dimensions:
5.5 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
4.4 out of 5 stars
317 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#39,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Published in 1956 while John F. Kennedy was a Senator from Massachusetts, Profiles in Courage received a Pulitzer Prize. Kennedy wrote it while recuperating from back surgery, probably his second one,, and I took my time savoring the bold examples of courageous Senators throughout the nation's history. In his next to last chapter he mentions unpopular political courage by a U.S. President (our first), members of the House, governors, and private citizens, but the eight with their own chapter are independent-minded Senators with consciences that informed their decisions rather than party loyalty and popular opinion.A few of these Senators have recognizable names, but most do not. They are; John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Sam Houston, John C. Calhoun, Thomas Hart Benton, Edmund Ross, Lucius Lamar, George Norris, and Robert Taft. Only the last man did Kennedy ever meet and the rest were well-researched through biographies, autobiographies, archives, and newspapers.Kennedy chose these men (no women Senators mentioned)) because they exhibited the integrity and boldness of politicians who were not always right in judgment, but withstood tremendous pressure by their party to fall into line and also terrible abuse by their friends as well as their constituents who felt betrayed. One nearly was thrown in a river. Another nearly hanged. They almost all lost reelection and ruined their political careers because a clear conscience and their constitutional duty meant far more to them. They hoped that in time their decisions would be recognized for their wisdom.I certainly wish we had more of these kind of Senators today! Kennedy admitted that he couldn't think of a current Senator in 1956 who he could include in his book, besides Taft who retired very soon after Kennedy became a Senator. Would he be able to today? Perhaps.Profiles in Courage was not simply inspirational for a person interested in the great burden and risk of being a conscientious Senator, but it helped me to understand a little better how rare such a Senator has always been and that voting for them is a privilege we didn't always have as private citizens. I learned a lot about the country's history, particularly how divisive slavery was, and about these fascinating, well-spoken men.As a Nebraskan I'm thrilled to have learned that my conservative once had a “fighting liberal†Republican Senator in George Norris. Though he wasn't a snazzy dresser or smooth talker, he's responsible for limiting the power of the Speaker of the House and so much more. Nebraskans loved his integrity if not all of his actions. I'm going to read his autobiography.John Quincy Adams, a young Federalist Senator, really delighted me. His vote allowed President Jefferson, an enemy, to cheaply purchase the Louisiana Purchase that so expanded the United States.I highly recommend this book to all voting Americans in the hope that more of you will take the time to become interested in our government and vote with your conscience. It's one of the most important things you can do to improve your country and life. Thanks!
This is a book about having the courage, judgment and mental toughness to recognize the right thing and do it, even at the cost of one's career. JFK tells the personal stories of politicians in American history, not all of whom you have even heard of, who had the opportunity to do the right thing when it was hard, and did it anyway. My favorite is the Kansas senator who, in the face of unbelievable pressure to do the opposite, voted to acquit President Johnson at his sham impeachment trial, avoiding a dangerous precedent that would have weakened America. The book also gives interesting, sometimes surprising insight into how politics and government worked throughout our nation's history.
I've put off reading this book for years and finally decided it was time. I enjoyed every minute of Profiles in Courage. There were several characters in the book who were not familiar to me so this was definitely a learning experience. The book, of course, was well written, moved at a comfortable pace for an historical book. My only complaint was that it could have been longer and included more characters.
The central theme of the book is: "This is a book about that most admirable of human virtues -courage. "Grace under pressure," Ernest Hemingway defined It. And these are the stories of the pressures experienced by eight United States Senators and the grace with which they endured them—the risks to their careers, the unpopularity of their courses, the defamation of their characters, and sometimes, but sadly only sometimes, the vindication of their reputations and their principles. A nation which has forgotten the quality of courage which in the past has been brought to public life is not as likely to insist upon or reward that quality in its chosen leaders today —and in fact we have forgotten."Below are key excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful:1- "I am not so sure, after nearly ten years of living and working in the midst of "successful democratic politicians," that they are all insecure and intimidated men." I am convinced that the complication of public business and the competition for the public's attention have obscured innumerable acts of political courage—large and small—performed almost daily in the Senate Chamber. I am convinced that the decline— if there has been a decline—has been less in the Senate than he public's appreciation of the art of politics, of the nature of the Senate as a legislative chamber. And, finally I am convinced that we have criticized those who have followed the crowd—and at the same time criticized those who have defied it—because we have not fully understood the responsibility of a Senator to his constituents or recognized the difficulty facing a politician conscientiously desiring, in Webster's words, "to push [his] skiff from the shore alone" into a hostile and turbulent sea. Perhaps if the American people more fully comprehended the terrible pressures which discourage acts of political courage, which drive a Senator to abandon or subdue his conscience, then they might be less critical of those who take the easier road—and more appreciative of those still able to follow the path of courage."2- "Where else, in a non-totalitarian country, but in the political profession is the individual expected to sacrifice all— including his own career—for the national good? In private life, as in industry, we expect the individual to advance his own enlightened self-interest—within the limitations of the law—in order to achieve over-all progress. But in public life we expect individuals to sacrifice t their private interests t( permit the national good to progress. In no other occupation but politics is it expected that a man will sacrifice honors, prestige and his chosen career on a single issue."3- "Fortunately or unfortunately, few follow that urge—but the provocation is there—not only from unreasonable letters and impossible requests, but also from hopelessly inconsistent demands and endlessly unsatisfied grievances."4- "Great crises produce great men, and great deeds of courage. This country has known no greater crisis than that which culminated in the fratricidal war between North and South in 1861. Thus, without intending to slight other periods of American history, no work of this nature could overlook three acts of outstanding political courage—of vital importance to the eventual maintenance of the Union—which occurred in the fateful decade before the Civil War. In two cases—involving Senators Sam Houston of Texas and Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, both of whom had enjoyed political dominion in their states for many years— defeat was their reward. In the third—that involving Daniel Webster of Massachusetts—even death, which came within two years of his great decision, did not halt the calumnies heaped upon him by his enemies who had sadly embittered his last days."5- "Webster had written his own epitaph: I shall stand by the Union ... with absolute disregard of personal consequences. What are personal consequences ... in comparison with the good or evil which may befall a great country in a crisis like this? ... Let the consequences be what they will, I am careless. No man can suffer too much, and no man can fall too soon, if he suffer or if he fall in defense of the liberties and Constitution of his country."6- "Lamar: If [a Senator] allows himself to be governed by the opinions of his friends at home, however devoted he may be to them or they to him, he throws away all die rich results of a previous preparation and study, and simply becomes a commonplace exponent of those popular sentiments which may change in a few days. . . . Such a course will dwarf any man's statesmanship and his vote would be simply considered as an echo of current opinion, not the result of mature deliberations."7- "Lamar: The liberty of this country and its great interests will never be secure if its public men become mere menials to do the biddings of their constituents instead of being representatives in the true sense of the word, looking to the lasting prosperity and future interests of the whole country."8- "George Norris: It happens very often that one tries to do something and fails. He feels discouraged, and yet he may discover years afterward that the very effort he made was the reason why somebody else took it up and succeeded. I really believe that whatever use I have been to progressive civilization has been accomplished in the things I failed to do rather than in the things I actually did do."9- "Columnist: The fact that thousands disagree with him, and that it is politically embarrassing to other Republicans, probably did not bother Taft at all. He has for years been accustomed to making up his mind, regardless of whether it hurts him or anyone else. Taft surely must have known that his remarks would be twisted and misconstrued and that his timing would raise the devil in the current campaign. But it is characteristic of him that he went ahead anyway."10- "This has been a book about courage and politics. Politics furnished the situations, courage provided the theme. Courage, the universal virtue, is comprehended by us all—but these portraits of courage do not dispel the mysteries of politics. For not a single one of the men whose stories appear in the preceding pages offers a simple, clear-cut picture of motivation and accomplishment. In each of them complexities, inconsistencies and doubts arise to plague us. However detailed may have been our study of his life, each man remains something of an enigma. He However clear the effect of his courage, the cause is shadowed by a veil which cannot be torn away. We may confidently state the reasons why—yet something always seems to elude us. We think we hold die answer in our hands—^yet somehow it slips through our fingers."11- "Of course, the acts of courage described in this book: would be more inspiring and would shine more with the tradition. luster of hero-worship if we assumed that each man forgot wholly about himself in his dedication to higher principles. But it may be that President John Adams, surely as disinterested as well as wise a public servant as we ever had, came much nearer to the truth when he wrote in his Defense of ^the Constitutions of the United States: "It is not true, in fact, that any people ever existed who love the public better than themselves.""12- "John C. Calhoun: I never know what South Carolina thinks of a measure. I never consult her. I act to the best of my judgment and according to my conscience. If she approves, well a and good. If she does not and wishes anyone to take my place, I am ready to vacate. We are even."13- "These stories are the stories of such a democracy. Indeed, there would be no such stories had this nation not,t maintained its heritage of free speech and dissent, had it not fostered honest conflicts of opinion, had it not encouraged tolerance for unpopular views. Cynics may point to our inability to provide a happy ending for each chapter. But I am certain that these stories will not be looked upon as warnings to beware of being courageous. For the continued political success of many of those who withstood the pressures of public opinion, and the ultimate vindication of the rest, enables us to maintain our faith in the long-run judgment of the people."
Although this book has been around for decades (obviously) I have never read it. Glad I did. Nice profiles of not as well known men in Washington politics that stood for their beliefs and weren't swayed by "the party systems" and "bosses". Very good information and reading.
This book is about people with the courage to have principles and the conscience to live by them. The actors in these historic dramas are United States Senators and their actions are the crucible of their character. The author, John F.Kennedy, then a Senator, writes a quite adequate, authentic portrayal of the passions and perils of their deeds. This is a very readable, valuable, interesting book.
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