JFK: History in an Hour. Sinead Fitzgibbon

and the USSR – which were published in the Chicago Herald-American. But instead of establishing a journalistic career, Kennedy’s experience at the UN conference whetted his appetite for post-war international politics.

      But if he harboured any doubts about his future direction, his father soon dispelled them. It was no secret that Joe Sr had long held ambitious plans to establish his family as a political force, and now, in the stead of his favoured eldest son, he encouraged Jack to fulfil these hopes.

      But it would not be easy. ‘He [Joe Jr] was altogether different from Jack,’ the Kennedy patriarch once said. ‘[Joe Jr was] more dynamic, more sociable, more easy-going. Jack […] was rather shy, withdrawn and quiet. His mother and I couldn’t picture him as a politician.’ Nevertheless, Joe Sr persevered, telling a reporter in 1957:

      I got Jack into politics. I was the one. I told him Joe was dead and that it was therefore his responsibility to run for Congress. He didn’t want to do it. He felt he didn’t have the ability and he still feels that way. But I told him he had to do it.

      For his part, Jack likened the onslaught from his father in loaded terms. ‘It was like being drafted’, he said, ‘my father wanted his eldest son in politics. “Wanted” isn’t the right word. He demanded it.’ Initially, he rebelled instinctively and resisted the pressure. ‘Dad is ready right now,’ he said to a friend, ‘and can’t understand why Johnny boy isn’t all engines ahead full.’