Edward Moore " Ted " Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in November 1962, he was elected nine times and served for 46 years in the U.S. Senate. At the time of his death, he was the second most senior member of the Senate, and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in U.S. history. For many years the most prominent living member of the Kennedy family, he was the son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, both victims of assassinations, and the father of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy.
Kennedy entered the Senate in a 1962 special election to fill the seat once held by his brother John. He was elected to a full six-year term in 1964 and was reelected seven more times. The 1969 Chappaquiddick incident resulted in the death of automobile passenger Mary Jo Kopechne; Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, and the incident significantly damaged his chances of ever becoming President of the United States. His one attempt, in the 1980 U.S. presidential election, resulted in a primary campaign loss to incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter.
Kennedy was known for his oratorical skills; his 1968 eulogy for his brother Robert and his 1980 Democratic National Convention rallying cry for modern American liberalism were among his best-known speeches. He became known as "The Lion of the Senate" through his long tenure and influence. More than 300 bills that Kennedy and his staff wrote were enacted into law. Unabashedly liberal, Kennedy championed an interventionist government emphasizing economic and social justice, but was also known for working with Republicans to find compromises between senators with disparate views. Kennedy played a major role in passing many laws, including laws addressing immigration, cancer research, health insurance, apartheid, disability discrimination, AIDS care, civil rights, mental health benefits, children's health insurance, education and volunteering. In the 2000s, he led several unsuccessful immigration reform efforts. Over the course of his career and continuing into the Obama administration, Kennedy continued his efforts to enact universal health care, which he called the "cause of my life."
In May 2008, Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor which limited his appearances in the Senate. He died on August 25, 2009, at his home in Hyannisport, Massachusetts. By the time of his death, he had come to be viewed as a major figure and spokesman for American progressivism.
Early life, military service, education
Kennedy was born at St. Margaret's Hospital in the Dorchester section of Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald, who were both members of prominent Irish-American families in Boston and who constituted one of the wealthiest families in the nation. His elder siblings included John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver. John asked to be the newborn's godfather, a request his parents honored, though they did not agree to his request to name the baby George Washington Kennedy.
Frequently uprooted as a child as his family moved among Bronxville, New York, Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, Palm Beach, Florida, and the Court of St. James's in London, Kennedy attended ten different schools by the age of eleven. At age seven, he received his First Communion from Pope Pius XII in the Vatican. He spent sixth and seventh grades in the Fessenden School, where he was a mediocre student, and eighth grade at Cranwell Preparatory School, both in Massachusetts. His parents were affectionate toward him as the youngest child but also compared him unfavorably with his older brothers. Between the ages of eight and sixteen he suffered the trauma of his sister Rosemary Kennedy's failed lobotomy and the deaths of his brother Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. in World War II and sister Kathleen Agnes Kennedy in an airplane crash. An early political and personal influence was his affable maternal grandfather, John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, a former mayor of Boston and U.S. Representative. Kennedy spent his four high school years at Milton Academy prep school, where his grades were ordinary and he did well at football. He also played on the tennis and hockey teams and was in the drama, debate, and glee clubs. He graduated from there in 1950.
Kennedy entered Harvard College, and in his spring semester was assigned to the athlete-oriented Winthrop House, where his brothers had also lived. He played as a large, fearless offensive and defensive end on the freshman football team. In May 1951, anxious about maintaining his eligibility for athletics for the next year, he had a friend who was knowledgeable on the subject take his Spanish language examination for him. The two were quickly caught and expelled, but in a standard Harvard treatment for cases of this kind, they were told they could apply for readmission in a year or two after demonstrating good behavior.
Kennedy enlisted in the United States Army in June 1951. Following basic training at Fort Dix, he requested assignment to Fort Holabird for Army Intelligence training, but was dropped after a few weeks without explanation. He went to Camp Gordon for training in the Military Police Corps. In June 1952, he was assigned to the honor guard at SHAPE headquarters in Paris. His father's political connections ensured he was not deployed to the ongoing Korean War. While stationed in Europe he travelled extensively on weekends and climbed the Matterhorn. He was discharged in March 1953 as a private first class.
He re-entered Harvard in summer 1953 and improved his study habits. He joined The Owl final club in 1954; he was also chosen for the Hasty Pudding Club and the Pi Eta fraternity. On athletic probation during his sophomore year, he returned as a second-string end for Harvard Crimson football during his junior year and barely missed earning his varsity letter. Nevertheless, he received a recruiting feeler from Green Bay Packers head coach Lisle Blackbourn, asking about his interest in playing professionally. Kennedy demurred, saying he had plans to attend law school and to "go into another contact sport, politics." Kennedy became a starting end on the Harvard Crimson football team in his senior year, working hard to improve his blocking and tackling to complement his 6-foot 2-inch, 200-pound size. In the 1955 Harvard-Yale game, which Yale won 21–7, Kennedy caught Harvard's only touchdown pass. He graduated from Harvard in 1956 with an A.B. in history and government.
Kennedy enrolled in the University of Virginia School of Law in 1956, and also attended the Hague Academy of International Law during 1958. At Virginia he was in the middle of the class ranking but was the winner of the prestigious William Minor Lile Moot Court Competition. While there, his fast automotive habits were curtailed when he was charged with reckless driving and driving without a license. He was officially manager of his brother John's 1958 Senate re-election campaign, and Ted's ability to connect to ordinary voters on the street helped bring a record-setting victory margin that gave credibility to John's presidential aspirations. Kennedy graduated from law school in 1959.
Marriage, family, early career
While in law school, Kennedy met Virginia Joan Bennett, known as Joan, while he was delivering a speech at Manhattanville College in October 1957. She was a senior there, had worked as a model and won beauty contests, but was unfamiliar with the world of politics. After their engagement she grew nervous about marrying someone she did not know that well, but his father insisted the wedding not be put off. They were married by Francis Cardinal Spellman on November 29, 1958, at St. Joseph's Church in Bronxville, New York. They had three children together: Kara Anne (born February 27, 1960), Edward Jr. (born September 26, 1961), and Patrick (born July 14, 1967). By the mid-1960s, their marriage was troubled by his womanizing and her growing alcoholism.
Kennedy was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1959. In 1960, John Kennedy ran for President of the United States, and Ted managed his campaign in the Western states. Ted learned to fly, and during the Democratic primary campaign he barnstormed around the western states, meeting with delegates and bonding with them by trying his hand at ski jumping and bronc riding. His seven weeks spent in Wisconsin helped his brother win the first contested primary of the season there, and similar time spent in Wyoming was rewarded when a unanimous vote from that state's delegates put his brother over the top at the 1960 Democratic National Convention.
Upon his victory in the general election, John vacated his Massachusetts Senate seat. Ted would not be eligible to fill the vacancy until February 22, 1962, when he would turn thirty. Ted initially wanted to stay out West and do something other than run for office right away; he said, "The disadvantage of my position is being constantly compared with two brothers of such superior ability." His brothers were also not in favor of his running immediately, but Ted desired the Senate seat as an accomplishment to match his brothers', and their father overruled them. Thus, the President-elect asked Massachusetts Governor Foster Furcolo to name Kennedy family friend Ben Smith to fill out John's term, which he did in December 1960. This kept the seat open for Ted. Meanwhile, Ted began work
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