In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the Democratic Party. Harvard University educations have been common among them, and they have contributed heavily to that university's John F. Kennedy School of Government. The wealth, glamour and photogenic quality of the family members, as well as their extensive and continuing involvement in public service, has elevated them to iconic status over the past half-century.
Soon after the 1960 election of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, he and his younger brothers, Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, all held prominent positions in the federal government. They received intense publicity, often emphasizing their relative youth, allure, education, and future in politics. From 1947, when John F. Kennedy was first elected to Congress, to 2011, when Patrick J. Kennedy departed Congress, there were 64 years with a Kennedy in elective office in Washington. This spans more than a quarter of the nation's existence. There was only a brief hiatus following Patrick J. Kennedy's retirement from Congress in 2011, and the 2012 election of Joseph P. Kennedy III.
The family has suffered numerous tragedies, contributing to the idea of "the Kennedy curse". Rosemary Kennedy suffered a failed lobotomy, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy were both assassinated, Ted Kennedy was involved in the Chappaquiddick incident, and four family members were in airplane crashes: Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Kathleen Cavendish, Ted Kennedy, and John F. Kennedy, Jr.. All of these plane crashes were fatal except for Ted Kennedy's.
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Famous quotes containing the words kennedy and/or family:
“The moment when she crawled out onto the back of the open limousine in which her husband had been murdered was the first and last time the American people would see Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis crawl.... She was the last great private public figure in this country. In a time of gilt and glitz and perpetual revelation, she was perpetually associated with that thing so difficult to describe yet so simple to recognize, the apotheosis of dignity.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“It seems to me that upbringings have themes. The parents set the theme, either explicitly or implicitly, and the children pick it up, sometimes accurately and sometimes not so accurately.... The theme may be “Our family has a distinguished heritage that you must live up to” or “No matter what happens, we are fortunate to be together in this lovely corner of the earth” or “We have worked hard so that you can have the opportunities we didn’t have.””
—Calvin Trillin (20th century)