The Kennedy Curse:

The Kennedy family is known throughout history for being notoriously unlucky.  The high profile line of political leaders has baffled the nation many times with tragic accidences leading to life changing evens and even fatality.  A comparable family to the Kennedys is sure to have a scandal or two, but the overwhelming number of freak accidents leaves America to one conclusion: a curse.  Knowing nothing about the Kennedy history I went to “What is the Kennedy Curse?” which gave me a lot of background information about their unfortunate history.  To Americans it seems to be the only explanation possible for this series of unfortunate evens to occur to, what seemed to be, the perfect family.  I was skeptical at first; there’s no such thing as a curse, but after researching I found the death toll and was astonished!

            I knew the Kennedys were a popular political family, but I besides that they were just a section of history that I didn’t know about.  I read an article on “Ted Kennedy” and politics on the Kennedy family for more help on their political reign.  I went to AVL to find out more on the “Kennedy Curse”.  This was a great source which talked about the deaths of the Kennedy curse in detail.  The percentage of deaths in the Kennedy family is outstanding.  Joseph P. Kennedy, SR., and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy had nine kids together, the oldest being Joseph Patrick Kennedys Jr. tragically died on impact when his bomber in WWII blew up during a complex landing.  Their second child, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, became the President of the United States of American, and shortly after was assassinated while his limo drove him through a patriotic crowd in Dallas, Tx.  Rosemary Kennedy, their third child and first daughter, was lobotomized and at 23 institutionalized for retardation.  At this point I’m thinking any Kennedy is destined to die.

Much of my later research came from other sites such as The Curse and The Other Kennedy Curse which really keyed in on other persons other than just JFK and his immediate family.  Already the Kennedy curse is quite obvious, but it doesn’t stop there.  Kathleen Agnes Kennedy, the fourth child of Joseph and Rose also died in a plane crash when she was just 28.  Their fifth and sixth children, Patricia and Eunice Mary Kennedy were succeeded the curse and lived normal, healthy lives.  Robert Francis Kennedy was the seventh child who was assassinated when he was 42.  Jean Ann Kennedy, like two of her sisters also lived a long life, but her younger brother Edward Moore Kennedy got caught up in a controversial scandal after nearly escaping a plane crash and car wreck.

At this point in my research I’m so confused. I knew it was a curse but geez, this is a ton of deaths! I knew the death toll percentage had to be extremely high, so I decided to make a pie chart to see just how high it is. I went to “Create a Graph” and it allowed me to visually organize my information.

As this pie chart clearly shows the survival rate their children is less than 50%. The question now is, is it really a curse or just an unlucky coincidence?

            I also used the site on JFK Jr.’s Family Tree which gave a lot of information on other deaths besides I believe it is just an unfortunate coincidence.  During that time World War II was still going on, so many young adults died serving the country (Joseph Patrick Kennedys Jr.).  Planes in that time weren’t as efficient and safe as they are now, and because the Kennedy’s were such a high profile family they flew a lot and usually in small personal air crafts.  Under these three conditions, the chances of crashing were almost tripled (Kathleen Agnes Kennedy). 

Unfortunately for a reason not completely known, Joseph P. Kennedy decided to lobotomize their first daughter (Rosemary Kennedy), which is the process of literally poking a needle in their head and permanently damaging their brain, causing the child to be retarded.  The two assassinations were devastating, but because they were such a high prized political family, they were all at constant risk.  After hearing of these assassinations and what Joseph P. Kennedy did to his son I wondered, what kind of people were the Kennedy’s? And did they deserve this so called curse?  So I found a newspaper of a journalist having a conversation with a Kennedy just to get the feel of their personalities.  The Kennedy family seemed to be a loving and perfect family, which was proven through this casual talk in Christian Author Goes to Washington.

All of these factors led up to the high death toll.  Due to their publicity and because it was during WWII the death rate was extremely high.  It’s impossible for me to prove that this is just by chance, but at the same time there are so many freak accidents that nobody had control over.  Between plane crashes, scandals, assassinations etc the Kennedys for multiple generations have had awful success at living past the age of 50.  So although it might seem like a horrid curse see upon this political family, is it really?

I believe it’s just a really unfortunate coincidence. 

 “You can’t let the bad things win.” - Rose Kennedy

Ted Kennedy

Magazine Cover: Curse

Kennedy Curse

Kennedy Family

JFK's Family

I am doing my research paper on the Kennedy curse (directions and contract).

When I first pulled my topic out of the bowl, I was lost.  I had no clue what Women’s Suffrage Hunger Strikes were.  I first typed in “women’s suffrage hunger strikes wwi”.  There was one hit, which only led me to images of my search.  I immediately decided to break down the milti-termed phrase.  My next search was “hunger strikes.”  I had no clue what they were and my search led me to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary which gave me the definition of a hunger strike: “refusal (as by a prisoner) to eat enough to sustain life”.

Now that I finally figured out what a hunger strike was, I decided I needed to figure out what women’s suffrage was like during the First World War; I searched around on a couple of websites till I found one that seemed legit, due to the organization that supported on The Hirstory of Women's Suffrage.  I found out that the National Women’s Party had a lot to do with Women’s suffrage.  Founder Alice Paul and president Carrie Chapman Catt played a huge role in supporting women’s suffrage.  During this time in my research I also went to a woman's wwi book, which listed the same two women, but under the organization by the name of National American Women’s Suffrage Association.  In my confusion, I reread these sections of the articles to conclude that these two groups were basically the same thing.

Once I learned a little more about women’s suffrage, I realized the key role Carrie Chapman Catt played.  Though Paul had started the successful association, she had to step down early in the process, so Catt ended up doing most of the promotion.  Soon younger women realized, once men started to receive their voting rights, they should helped Paul, but mostly Catt, on the road to fighting for women’s suffrage, stated on Sparticus Educational.  New Zealand along with some other countries had granted women the right to vote, and in 1890 Wyoming became the first state in America to allow women to vote.

Women became more eager than ever.  They wanted the right to vote!!!!!!! (these are seven of my exclamation points!...eight)  Catt, who previously had gone against supporting the war, came to a conclusion.  As this YouTube (along with the viedeo the past four websidtes I listed is where I learned/ backed up the video’s facts because I am aware that it is not an acceptable source.) video shows, Catt decided to completely do a 180, and in 1917she started rooting for the war.  She realized that, in order to get the necessary support from the government officials that were needed in order to get an amendment passed allowing women’s suffrage; she would need to support the war.  She started promoting the war, and listed off many opportunities for women in order to help war efforts. 

There were jobs like laboring in factories, sales in bonds, and Red Cross volunteer hours.  There was even a picture of her being depicted on a war poster supporting women’s involvement.  This exposure and support allowed for a higher rate of popularity among the officials and even president Wilson.  Within three years of Catt’s hard work she had gained Wilson, Wilson’s followers, and government official’s support.  It had all finally paid off; on August 26, 1920 the 19^th Amendment was passed, allowing women to vote in all states of America.

Though I had thought my research was complete at this stage, I figured out that all I had really done was researched women’s suffrage and hunger strikes, but nothing ever linked them together.  I finally came to a website that talked about the Women’s Social and Political Union.  It was started in 1903, says the Sparticus Educational, and throughout the years of promotion of suffrage for women, had used various methods.  Being the more violent group, in 1912 they organized a rampage of mass scale where women smashed in store’s window fronts.  Finally I found that hunger strikes were a form of rebellion.  When women were jailed for their actions of protesting, they would refuse to eat in jail.  The jail came up with an act called the Cat and Mouse Act, which permitted women to return on house arrest till the started eating again.  Once they were healthy again, they were escorted back to jail where they finished their sentencing.  I was so relieved to finally find somewhere where they actually connected the two terms.  With this, I completed my research.

"We can do it!" poster

women protesting for suffrage

opposed to women suffrage

womens journal on suffrage

womens suffrage in pennsylvania

When I first pulled my topic out of the bowl, I was lost.  I had no clue what Women’s Suffrage Hunger Strikes were.  I first typed in “women’s suffrage hunger strikes wwi”.  There was one hit, which only led me to images of my search.  I immediately decided to break down the milti-termed phrase.  My next search was “hunger strikes.”  I had no clue what they were and my search led me to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary which gave me the definition of a hunger strike: “refusal (as by a prisoner) to eat enough to sustain life”.

Now that I finally figured out what a hunger strike was, I decided I needed to figure out what women’s suffrage was like during the First World War; I searched around on a couple of websites till I found one that seemed legit, due to the organization that supported the website.  I found out that the National Women’s Party had a lot to do with Women’s suffrage.  Founder Alice Paul and president Carrie Chapman Catt played a huge role in supporting women’s suffrage.  During this time in my research I also went to another website, which listed the same two women, but under the organization by the name of National American Women’s Suffrage Association.  In my confusion, I reread these sections of the articles to conclude that these two groups were basically the same thing.

Once I learned a little more about women’s suffrage, I realized the key role Carrie Chapman Catt played.  Though Paul had started the successful association, she had to step down early in the process, so Catt ended up doing most of the promotion.  Soon younger women realized, once men started to receive their voting rights, they should helped Paul, but mostly Catt, on the road to fighting for women’s suffrage, stated by the next website.  New Zealand along with some other countries had granted women the right to vote, and according to this site, in 1890 Wyoming became the first state in America to allow women to vote.

Women became more eager than ever.  They wanted the right to vote!!!!!!! (these are seven of my exclamation points!...eight)  Catt, who previously had gone against supporting the war, came to a conclusion.  As this YouTube (along with the viedeo the past four websidtes I listed is where I learned/ backed up the video’s facts because I am aware that it is not an acceptable source.) video shows, Catt decided to completely do a 180, and in 1917she started rooting for the war.  She realized that, in order to get the necessary support from the government officials that were needed in order to get an amendment passed allowing women’s suffrage; she would need to support the war.  She started promoting the war, and listed off many opportunities for women in order to help war efforts. 

There were jobs like laboring in factories, sales in bonds, and Red Cross volunteer hours.  There was even a picture of her being depicted on a war poster supporting women’s involvement.  This exposure and support allowed for a higher rate of popularity among the officials and even president Wilson.  Within three years of Catt’s hard work she had gained Wilson, Wilson’s followers, and government official’s support.  It had all finally paid off; on August 26, 1920 the 19^th Amendment was passed, allowing women to vote in all states of America.

Though I had thought my research was complete at this stage, I figured out that all I had really done was researched women’s suffrage and hunger strikes, but nothing ever linked them together.  I finally came to a website that talked about the Women’s Social and Political Union.  It was started in 1903, says the site I was on, and throughout the years of promotion of suffrage for women, had used various methods.  Being the more violent group, in 1912 they organized a rampage of mass scale where women smashed in store’s window fronts.  Finally I found that hunger strikes were a form of rebellion.  When women were jailed for their actions of protesting, they would refuse to eat in jail.  The jail came up with an act called the Cat and Mouse Act, which permitted women to return on house arrest till the started eating again.  Once they were healthy again, they were escorted back to jail where they finished their sentencing.  I was so relieved to finally find somewhere where they actually connected the two terms.  With this, I completed my research.

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Newspaper clipping of WSA                               Newspaper clipping women's suffrage

head quarters opposed to women's suffrage                                        women protesting

We Can Do It! poster

When I first pulled my topic out of the bowl, I was lost.  I had no clue what Women’s Suffrage Hunger Strikes were.  I first typed in “women’s suffrage hunger strikes wwi”.  There was one hit, which only led me to images of my search.  I immediately decided to break down the milti-termed phrase.  My next search was “hunger strikes.”  I had no clue what they were and my search led me to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary which gave me the definition of a hunger strike: “refusal (as by a prisoner) to eat enough to sustain life”.

Now that I finally figured out what a hunger strike was, I decided I needed to figure out what women’s suffrage was like during the First World War; I searched around on a couple of websites till I found one that seemed legit, due to the organization that supported the History of Women's Suffrage.  I found out that the National Women’s Party had a lot to do with Women’s suffrage.  Founder Alice Paul and president Carrie Chapman Catt played a huge role in supporting women’s suffrage.  During this time in my research I also went to a book, which listed the same two women, but under the organization by the name of National American Women’s Suffrage Association.  In my confusion, I reread these sections of the articles to conclude that these two groups were basically the same thing.

Once I learned a little more about women’s suffrage, I realized the key role Carrie Chapman Catt played.  Though Paul had started the successful association, she had to step down early in the process, so Catt ended up doing most of the promotion.  Soon younger women realized, once men started to receive their voting rights, they should helped Paul, but mostly Catt, on the road to fighting for women’s suffrage, stated by the Sparticus Educational Hunger Strikes page.  New Zealand along with some other countries had granted women the right to vote, and in 1890 Wyoming became the first state in America to allow women to vote.

Women became more eager than ever.  They wanted the right to vote!!!!!!! (these are seven of my exclamation points!...eight)  Catt, who previously had gone against supporting the war, came to a conclusion.  As this YouTube (along with the viedeo the past four websidtes I listed is where I learned/ backed up the video’s facts because I am aware that it is not an acceptable source.) video shows, Catt decided to completely do a 180, and in 1917she started rooting for the war.  She realized that, in order to get the necessary support from the government officials that were needed in order to get an amendment passed allowing women’s suffrage; she would need to support the war.  She started promoting the war, and listed off many opportunities for women in order to help war efforts. 

The AVL website talks about women's suffrage and their promotion.  There were jobs like laboring in factories, sales in bonds, and Red Cross volunteer hours.  There was even a picture of her being depicted on a war poster supporting women’s involvement.  This exposure and support allowed for a higher rate of popularity among the officials and even president Wilson.  Within three years of Catt’s hard work she had gained Wilson, Wilson’s followers, and government official’s support.  It had all finally paid off; on August 26, 1920 the 19^th Amendment was passed, allowing women to vote in all states of America.

Though I had thought my research was complete at this stage, I figured out that all I had really done was researched women’s suffrage and hunger strikes, but nothing ever linked them together.  I finally came to a website that talked about the Women’s Social and Political Union.  It was started in 1903, says the Sparticus Educational Women's Social and Political Union I was on, and throughout the years of promotion of suffrage for women, had used various methods.  Being the more violent group, in 1912 they organized a rampage of mass scale where women smashed in store’s window fronts.  Finally I found that hunger strikes were a form of rebellion.  When women were jailed for their actions of protesting, they would refuse to eat in jail.  The jail came up with an act called the Cat and Mouse Act, which permitted women to return on house arrest till the started eating again.  Once they were healthy again, they were escorted back to jail where they finished their sentencing.  I was so relieved to finally find somewhere where they actually connected the two terms.  With this, I completed my research.

Newspaper clipping of WSA                               Newspaper clipping women's suffrage

head quarters opposed to women's suffrage                                        women protesting

We Can Do It! poster

Singer Sewing Machine Co. Letter

The Singer Sewing Machine Co. made a memorial in the store for the soldiers.  Once their employers have to quit and go off to war, or some senario like that, the company sends a letter and a copy of the memorial to the soldier and/or his or her family.  The company shows their respect for the soldiers by giving an offering to them with their name on it.Letter

citations

Great White Fleet

T. Roosevelt

Brazil

Japan

Pyramids

Brazil

Battleship Alabamaf

Postcards

postpard collector

The Great White Fleet

This article allowed me to find out some basic facts of what the Great White Fleet really was.  I learned that Roosevelt indorsed the many boats to travle around the world.  I also learned that there were 14,000 sailors taking the journey, along with basic facts like who what when and where it was.