ABSTRACT
Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. brought the Kennedy family of Boston to national prominence. As a young man, he felt snubbed by Boston’s elites and some of his Harvard classmates. Joseph’s anger at his lack of acceptance by the Boston elite motivated him to pursue great wealth which he believed would ensure that one of his sons would be elected President of the United States. He was determined to override the autonomy and personal desires of his male children as he pulled every string imaginable to manipulate, maneuver, bargain, and, ultimately, to crown one of his Irish Catholic sons as president. The Kennedy brothers were, in descending order, designated to be the fulfillment of their father’s ambition.
