JFK Presidential Library and Museum July 21, 2009
Posted by flashbuzzer in History.Tags: john f. kennedy, museums, trips
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I recently visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. The library and museum commemorate the life and legacy of our nation’s 35th President, John F. Kennedy.
Here are ten nuggets that I gleaned from my time at the museum.
1. Kennedy actually had a scholarly bent and was an ardent student of history, which spurred him to craft his Pulitzer Prize-winning work Profiles in Courage. I got the impression that had it not been for his brother Joe’s death during World War II, Kennedy would have either a) stayed out of politics or b) set his sights on a “non-Presidential” position.
2. Kennedy wanted to be Adlai Stevenson’s running mate for the 1956 presidential election, but he lost out to Estes Kefauver. This setback only served to further his quest for the Presidency. On a related note, I had never heard of Kefauver before my trip to the museum, so I need to plug some holes in my knowledge of 20th Century American history.
3. Much like Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, Kennedy’s sharp performances in his three debates with Richard Nixon help to allay any potential fears about his ability to lead the nation. I was disappointed that the “Kennedy-Nixon Debate” exhibit made no mention of Nixon’s five o’clock shadow, though.
4. Kennedy’s famed inaugural address went through numerous iterations before the final version was delivered on January 20, 1961. Biblical passages, including Romans 12:12 and Isaiah 58:6 appear in one of the greatest speeches in modern history.
5. The Alliance for Progress was established between the U.S. and Latin America during Kennedy’s administration, which was an obvious attempt to combat Fidel Castro’s regional objectives. This was just one of the many initiatives that could have been more successful had Kennedy been able to serve out his first term (and a second term was a real possibility at the time).
6. Kennedy was the first president to hold live press conferences. This was a groundbreaking development, as his predecessors had always been able to edit the transcripts of their press conferences before approving them for public release.
7. The First Lady was the epitome of classiness and style. I was able to watch part of her famous CBS television special where she led viewers on a tour of the White House. During the special, she calmly described her efforts to infuse the Red Room and the Green Room with a sense of history; for example, she placed various tables and chairs from the Monroe presidency in their original locations in these rooms.
8. The White House became a welcoming environment for the arts due to the influence of the First Lady. Several poets and musicians dined at the White House and edified the other guests with well-crafted after-dinner performances. I was able to read a thank-you letter from the noted violinist Isaac Stern to the President and the First Lady after he visited the White House.
9. I had read about Kennedy’s heroism during the PT-109 incident, but browsing that exhibit helped to refresh my memory. In particular, Kennedy was wounded in the collision with the Japanese warship that sunk the PT-109, but he ignored the pain and swam with a belt between his teeth to shore while assisting an injured comrade. He then wandered about before finding two Solomon Island natives, which eventually led to the rescue of his crew.
10. One of the enduring legacies of the Kennedy administration was increased awareness and funding for people suffering from mental retardation. This was a personal battle for Kennedy, as his sister Rosemary was mentally retarded. Large, overcrowded state-run mental institutions were closed as a result of this initiative, and smaller, community-oriented institutions became more prevalent.
The museum is fairly easy to tour, and it took me slightly under four hours to go through all of the exhibits; since I usually attempt to absorb as much information as possible during my museum visits, more casual visitors would probably need about 90 minutes to browse all of the exhibits. Also, its location is a fitting tribute to Kennedy’s life-long love of the seas, as it is surrounded by the Boston Harbor. In addition, I found the short documentary of the Cuban Missile Crisis to be quite delightful, as it captured the (worldwide) fear and tension that were rampant during those fateful days in October 1962.
In terms of drawbacks, the museum is apparently difficult to visit in the winter months; its glass walls do not provide adequate insulation to repel the harsh winds blowing off the Boston Harbor.
Overall I enjoyed my time at the museum and I learned a lot, which was the main purpose of my trip.
Minute Man National Historical Park June 8, 2009
Posted by flashbuzzer in History.Tags: revolutionary war
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I recently visited the Minute Man National Historical Park in Massachusetts. The park’s main theme is the Battle of Lexington and Concord, which was the first military engagement of the American Revolutionary War.
Here are ten nuggets that I gleaned from my time at the park.
1. The Battle Road landscape has changed significantly from the date of the battle (4/19/1775). The surrounding wetlands were cultivated for hay farming at that time, so the Battle Road that the British marched along was actually surrounded by copious amounts of open space. Now the wetlands offer a more hospitable environment for various species of birds and frogs.
2. I had never realized this, but the “no taxation without representation” rallying cry of the American colonists stemmed from the massive debt that the British had incurred during the French and Indian War. Thus, in some sense, one war triggered the onset of another.
3. The heavy financial duties that the British imposed on the colonists were exacerbated by the decline of farming as a viable livelihood in the colonies. As time passed, subdivision of arable land and declining soil fertility made it quite difficult for colonists to inherit viable farmland, which forced them to seek gainful employment in major cities.
4. Having a well-connected intelligence network is invaluable when preparing for any military engagement; this lesson has been recently driven home by news of the alleged Israeli spy network in Lebanon. In 1775, spies learned that the British were planning on seizing the Minute Man arsenal at Concord, which set Paul Revere off on his famous “Ride.”
5. Perhaps I had forgotten this from my U.S. history classes, but Paul Revere was actually captured on his famous “Ride” from Boston. A roving British patrol had been set up to prevent word of their impending raid from reaching Concord, and they intercepted Revere, William Dawes and Dr. Samuel Prescott. Luckily for the Minute Men, Dr. Prescott escaped and carried his timely news to Concord.
6. The British troops showed an amazing lack of discipline during the battle. They disobeyed direct orders from General Thomas Gage to the raid’s leader, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, by burning several buildings in Concord. Also, it has been firmly established that the British fired the first shot at the Old North Bridge; the Minute Men at the bridge had been instructed to hold their fire unless fired upon.
7. Revolutionary War weapons were notoriously inefficient. A well-trained musket-wielder could fire at most three shots per minute, and the flintlock muskets of that time were wildly inaccurate. This accounts for the relatively low number of British casualties along the Battle Road (when you consider the number of Minute Men that were sniping on them).
8. The colonists who lived along the Battle Road showed a great deal of concern for any wounded British soldiers who came across their paths, taking them into their homes and attempting to nurse them back to health. In these cases, they put aside their grievances against the British Crown and focused on helping their fellow man.
9. New Englanders showed (and continue to show) a great deal of ingenuity in terms of home construction. Many of the colonial-era homes that I saw during my trip had the same key features: slanted roofs (used to mitigate the potentially damaging effects of a heavy snowfall), low ceilings and well-designed fireplaces (both trapped heat inside the home). I suppose that harsh winters are the mother of necessity.
10. Intense close-quarter combat was not absent from this engagement. In one notable incident, Minute Man James Hayward of Acton encountered a Redcoat who told him, “you are a dead man.” Hayward replied, “and so are you” before both men shot each other to death.
The Visitor Center in Lincoln featured a neat presentation narrated by Amos Doolittle, which, in some ways, immersed the audience in the events of that fateful day in 1775. The Battle Road is 5 miles long and is excellent for jogging, biking and hiking.
In terms of drawbacks, I would say that having two visitor centers (the second was at the Old North Bridge) could cause some confusion in terms of how to “properly” traverse the trail. The chronological approach, if you wanted to retrace the steps of the British during the battle, would be to 1) go to the visitor center in Lincoln, see the exhibits there and watch the Doolittle-narrated presentation, 2) drive to the visitor center at the Old North Bridge and see the bridge itself, and 3) drive to Merriam’s Corner and walk along the trail to Fiske Hill. Since the trail doesn’t loop around, though, you have to walk a total of 10 miles…
Overall I enjoyed my time at the park and I learned a lot, which was the main purpose of my trip.
