32 pages • 1 hour read
John F. KennedyProfiles in Courage
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1955A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1 Summary
The first section of Profiles in Courage attempts to illustrate how the idea of "political courage" is put into action. Contrary to our normal idea of courage, Kennedy describes the idea of political courage as based on compromise, and balancing the pressures of one's constituents, one's party, and the interest of the nation. The US Senate is an exclusive body whose members must learn to work with one another while advancing their own individual goals and principles; this has the potential to create an environment ripe for deal-making and favors.
Kennedy argues that for political representatives, political courage is not merely finding a workable compromise between individual and group interests but merging one's own principles with the interests of the nation. Kennedy chooses President John Quincy Adams to illustrate this ideal. While a Massachusetts senator, Adams is caught in a struggle between his political party, the Federalists, and their opponents, the Republicans. English aggression on the high seas pits Adams against his constituents in Massachusetts. After being ostracized and threatened by his Federalist colleagues, Adams supports a trade embargo against England. As a result of this trade embargo, his political enemies work to place his career in jeopardy. However, at the urging of his family, and especially his father, he sticks with his principles: no amount of apparent prosperity is worth compromising national defense. Kennedy cites Adams's Puritan upbringing and personality as the chief inspiration for his politics. Although Adams is voted out of office as a senator, he later becomes president and, afterward, a congressman, achieving a spectacular and unlikely political comeback.
Part 1 Analysis
In Part 1, Kennedy defines the concept of "political courage," which is meant to challenge the conventional definition of courage. The challenge to the conventional definition of courage is made by Kennedy's contention that compromise is an essential part of "political courage."This contention is based on the argument that the obligations of a senator are unlike those of a regular person; a senator is obliged to represent his or her constituents and advance the nation's interest. Profiles in Courage is written with the supposition that this presents an inherent conflict of interest: that although the nation's interest is an easily-understood goal, senators are seldom incentivized to act in this interest.
Instead, Kennedy argues, the US Senate is a type of club, whose members compromise their ideals both to sustain their political careers and get along with their colleagues. In this environment, the Senate can become a lonely place, and Kennedy argues that personal beliefs can have serious implications for the life of senator, using the career of John Quincy Adams as proof. Kennedy attributes Adams's anti-English stance against his fellow Federalists not to any explicit political ideology, but to his own, principled stubbornness. The strong implication from the text is that Adams's personality and character were the sources of his courage. Although Kennedy cites the critical support of his family, and particularly his father, second President John Adams, Kennedy wishes to put forward that Adams's personal convictions were his key motivation. This illustrates another core element of Kennedy's concept of political courage: that it is highly personal and intrinsic.
