The Patriarch
ALSO BY DAVID NASAW
Andrew Carnegie
The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst
Going Out: The Rise and Fall of Public Amusements
Children of the City: At Work and at Play
Schooled to Order: A Social History of Public Schooling in the United States
THE PENGUIN PRESS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. • Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) • Penguin Group (Australia), 707 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3008 Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) • Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) • Penguin Books, Rosebank Office Park, 181 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North 2193, South Africa • Penguin China, B7 Jaiming Center, 27 East Third Ring Road North, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, China
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published in 2012 by The Penguin Press,
a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Copyright © David Nasaw, 2012
All rights reserved
Photograph credits appear here.
Frontis photo © Bettmann/CORBIS
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nasaw, David.
The patriarch : the remarkable life and turbulent times of Joseph P. Kennedy / David Nasaw.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-101-59591-6
1. Kennedy, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick), 1888-1969. 2. Ambassadors—United States—Biography. 3. Politicians—United States—Biography. 4. Businesspeople—United States—Biography. 5. Kennedy family. I. Title.
E748.K376N37 2012
973.9092—dc23
[B]
2012027315
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
CONTENTS
Also by David Nasaw
Title Page
Copyright
Cast of Characters
Introduction
Part I: East Boston to Cambridge to Brookline
One: Dunganstown to East Boston
Two: School Days
Three: Starting Out
Four: War
Five: Making a Million
Part II: Hollywood
Six: “My Own Master in My Own Business”
Seven: Hollywood
Eight: Gloria and Rose
Nine: Last Exit from Hollywood
Part III: Washington
Ten: On the Roosevelt Train
Eleven: Waiting for the Call
Twelve: To Washington
Thirteen: Reelecting Roosevelt
Fourteen: Maritime Commissioner
Part IV: London
Fifteen: A Plainspoken Ambassador
Sixteen: A Rather Dreadful Homecoming
Seventeen: Munich
Eighteen: The Kennedy Plan
Nineteen: Sidelined and Censored
Twenty: “This Country Is at War with Germany”
Twenty-one: The Lives of Americans Are at Stake
Twenty-two: Defeatist
Twenty-three: The Fall of France
Twenty-four: The Worst of Times
Twenty-five: There’s Hell to Pay Tonight
Part V: Washington, but Briefly
Twenty-six: Home Again
Twenty-seven: The Man Who Out-Hamleted Hamlet
Part VI: Palm Beach and Hyannis Port
Twenty-eight: A Forced Retirement
Twenty-nine: War
Thirty: “A Melancholy Business”
Thirty-one: The Candidate’s Father
Thirty-two: Family Matters
Thirty-three: “The Great Debate”
Thirty-four: The Next Senator from Massachusetts
Thirty-five: Retirement
Thirty-six: Making Money and Giving It Away
Thirty-seven: The Catholic Candidate
Thirty-eight: Electing a President
Thirty-nine: “He Belongs to the Country”
Forty: “No!”
Photographs
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography of Works Cited
Index
Photograph Credits
About the Author
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Joseph Patrick Kennedy (1888–1969, m. 1914)
Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy (1890–1995, m. 1914), wife of Joseph P. Kennedy
Children and Children’s Spouses
Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr. (1915–1944)
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, “Jack” (1917–1963, m. 1953)
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (1929–1994, m. 1953), wife of John Kennedy
Rose Marie Kennedy, “Rosemary” (1918–2005)
Kathleen Agnes Kennedy Hartington, “Kick” (1920–1948, m. 1944)
William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, Billy Hartington (1917–1944, m. 1944), eldest son of the 10th Duke of Devonshire, husband of “Kick” Kennedy
Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver (1921–2009, m. 1953)
Robert Sargent Shriver, “Sargent Shriver” or “Sarge” (1915–2011, m. 1953), husband of Eunice Kennedy
Patricia Kennedy, “Pat” (1924–2006, m. 1954)
Peter Lawford (1923–1984, m. 1954), husband of Patricia Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy, “Bobby” (1925–1968, m. 1950)
Ethel Skakel Kennedy (1928–, m. 1950), wife of Robert Kennedy
Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (1928–, m. 1956)
Stephen Edward Smith, “Steve” (1927–1990, m. 1956), husband of Jean Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy, “Ted” (1932–2009, m. 1958, 1992)
Joan Bennett Kennedy (1936–, m. 1958), first wife of Edward Kennedy
Joseph P. Kennedy’s Parents
Patrick Joseph Kennedy, “P.J.” (1858–1929, m. 1887), father of Joseph P. Kennedy
Mary Augusta Hickey Kennedy (1857–1923, m. 1887), mother of Joseph P. Kennedy
Joseph P. Kennedy’s Paternal Grandparents
Patrick Kennedy (ca. 1823–1858, m. 1849), grandfather
Bridget Murphy Kennedy (1821–1888, m. 1849), grandmother
Joseph P. Kennedy’s Parents-in-Law
John Francis Fitzgerald, “Honey Fitz” (1863–1950), father-in-law of Kennedy, mayor of Boston (1906–1908 and 1910–1914)
Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald, “Josie” (1865–1964), mother-in-law of Kennedy, wife of John Francis Fitzgerald
Dean Acheson, assistant secretary of state (1941–1945), under secretary of state (1945), secretary of state (1949–1953)
Robert S. Allen, journalist, co-columnist with Drew Pearson, “Washington Merry-Go-Ro
und”
Joseph Alsop, Washington columnist
Nancy Astor, Lady Astor, member of Parliament (1919–1945), Cliveden set
Waldorf Astor, Lord Astor, politician, newspaper owner
Bernard Baruch, businessman, financier, Democratic Party adviser
Lord Beaverbrook, Max Aitken, newspaper owner, minister of aircraft production (1940–1941), minister of supply (1941–1942), Kennedy friend
Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr., “Tony,” ambassador to Poland (1937–1943), ambassador to governments in exile (1941–1943), U.S. Army in Europe (1944–1955)
Kirk LeMoyne Billings, “Lem,” JFK friend
John Boettiger, husband of Anna Roosevelt, editor of Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Benjamin C. Bradlee, journalist and editor of Washington Post, Newsweek
Louis Brandeis, Supreme Court justice (1916–1939), Roosevelt adviser
Bart Brickley, Boston lawyer, Kennedy friend
William Christian Bullitt, Jr., ambassador to France (1936–1940)
John Burns, law professor, Massachusetts judge, SEC general counsel, Kennedy attorney and friend
Rab Butler, under-secretary of state for foreign affairs (1938–1941)
James Byrnes, senator from South Carolina (1931–1941), Supreme Court justice (1941–1942), Economic Stabilization Office (1942–1943), secretary of state (1945–1947)
Sir Alexander Cadogan, permanent under-secretary for foreign affairs (1938–1946)
Sir James Calder, head of Distillers Company, Kennedy friend
Boake Carter, radio commentator, Kennedy friend
Father John Cavanaugh, president of Notre Dame (1946–1952), Kennedy friend
Neville Chamberlain, prime minister (1937–1940)
Winston Churchill, first lord of the Admiralty (1939–1940), prime minister (1940–1945)
Count Galeazzo Ciano, Italian minister of foreign affairs (1936–1943), Mussolini’s son-in-law
Clark Clifford, Washington lawyer, head of JFK transition team
Ralph Coghlan, editor of St. Louis Post-Dispatch, JFK campaign adviser
Benjamin V. Cohen, attorney, New Deal adviser
Duff Cooper, first lord of the Admiralty (1937–1938), minister of information (1940–1941)
Thomas Gardiner Corcoran, attorney, Felix Frankfurter protégé, New Deal and Lyndon Johnson adviser
Robert Coughlin, collaborator, ghostwriter for Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy’s Times to Remember
James Michael Curley, mayor of Boston for several terms, representative from Massachusetts (1911–1914, 1943–1947), governor of Massachusetts (1935–1937)
Guy Currier, Massachusetts legislator, lawyer, lobbyist
Archbishop Richard Cushing, archbishop of Boston (1944–1970), cardinal (1958–1970)
Mark Dalton, JFK campaign manager (1946, 1952)
Russell Davenport, managing editor of Fortune magazine
Marion Davies, actress, mistress of William Randolph Hearst
Eddie (E. B.) Derr, Kennedy business associate
Paul A. Dever, candidate for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts (1946), governor of Massachusetts (1949–1953)
Thomas E. Dewey, governor of New York (1943–1954), Republican candidate for president (1944, 1948)
Joseph Dinneen, journalist with Boston Globe
Herbert von Dirksen, German ambassador to Great Britain
William J. Donovan, “Colonel Donovan” or “Wild Bill,” lawyer, intelligence officer, Roosevelt adviser
William O. Douglas, law professor, SEC commissioner, Supreme Court justice (1939–1975), Kennedy friend
Morton Downey, singer, Kennedy friend
Allen Welsh Dulles, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1953–1961)
Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe (World War II), supreme Allied commander (1951–1952), president (1953–1961)
Henri, Marquis de la Falaise de la Coudraye, Gloria Swanson’s husband
James Farley, postmaster general (1933–1940), Roosevelt adviser
James Fayne, Kennedy classmate, business associate
Robert Fisher, Harvard roommate and Kennedy friend
John J. Ford, “Johnnie,” business associate, Fore River, Maine and New Hampshire Theatre Company, New York City office
James Forrestal, secretary of the navy (1944–1947), secretary of defense (1947–1949)
Felix Frankfurter, Harvard Law School professor, Supreme Court justice (1939–1962), Roosevelt adviser
Count Enrico Galeazzi, Rome liaison to Knights of Columbus, Vatican adviser, Kennedy friend
Ann Gargan, Rose’s niece, chief caregiver after Kennedy stroke
John Nance Garner IV, representative from Texas (1903–1933), Speaker of the House (1931–1933), vice president (1933–1941)
Robert L. Ghormley, vice admiral, Roosevelt military adviser
Arthur Goldsmith, Harvard classmate, Kennedy friend
Dr. Frederick Good, family doctor and obstetrician for Kennedy children
Edmund Goulding, “Eddie,” movie and stage director, screenwriter
Lord Halifax, E. F. L. Wood, foreign secretary (1938–1940), British ambassador to the United States (1940–1946)
William Harrison Hays, Sr., “Will,” president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America
William Randolph Hearst, publishing magnate, head of Cosmopolitan Pictures
Nevile Henderson, British ambassador to Germany (1937–1939)
Luella Hennessey, Kennedy family nurse
Father Theodore Hesburgh, president of Notre Dame (1952–1987)
Sir Samuel Hoare, Conservative Party politician, home secretary (1937–1939)
Herbert Hoover, president (1929–1933), chair of Hoover Commission (1947–1949, 1953–1955)
J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1935–1972)
Harry Hopkins, Roosevelt adviser, New Deal agency administrator
Arthur Houghton, manager of Fred Stone, Hollywood executive, Kennedy friend
Louis McHenry Howe, Roosevelt adviser
Cordell Hull, senator from Tennessee (1931–1933), secretary of state (1933–1944)
Harold L. Ickes, secretary of the interior (1933–1952)
Lyndon Baines Johnson, representative from Texas (1937–1949), senator from Texas (1949–1961), Senate minority leader (1953–1955), Senate majority leader (1955–1961), vice president (1961–1963), president (1963–1969)
Joseph Kane, Kennedy cousin, family political representative in Boston
Estes Kefauver, senator from Tennessee (1949–1963), Democratic nominee for vice president (1956)
John Kennedy (no relation), “London Jack,” journalist, publicist for Kennedy
Frank Kent, Baltimore columnist, New Deal opponent
Tyler Kent, U.S. embassy (London) code clerk, convicted of stealing documents
Philip Kerr, Lord Lothian, British ambassador to the United States (1939–1940)
Robert Kintner, co-columnist until 1942 with Joseph Alsop
Louis Kirstein, David Sarnoff friend, Boston department store owner, investor in FBO
Harvey Klemmer, Maritime Commission, attached to U.S. embassy in London (1938–1940)
Frank Knox, publisher of Chicago Daily News, Republican nominee for vice president (1936), secretary of the navy (1940–1944)
Arthur Krock, Washington bureau chief of New York Times, Kennedy family adviser
Ferdinand Kuhn, Jr., journalist with New York Times
James Landis, law professor, SEC commissioner, Kennedy lawyer, friend, adviser
Alfred M. Landon, “Alf,” Republican candidate for president
(1936)
Harold Laski, London School of Economics, tutor to Joe Kennedy, Jr.
Jesse Lasky, Hollywood producer and executive
General Raymond E. Lee, military attaché at U.S. embassy in London
Missy LeHand, secretary to President Roosevelt
John L. Lewis, labor leader, CIO organizer
Charles Lindbergh, aviator, opposed United States entry in World War II
Ronald Lindsay, British ambassador to the United States (1929–1939)
Walter Lippmann, Washington-based syndicated columnist
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., senator from Massachusetts
Breckinridge Long, ambassador to Italy (1933–1936), special assistant secretary of state (1939–1940), assistant secretary of state (1940–1944)
Clare Boothe Luce, actress, playwright, wife of Henry Luce, representative from Connecticut (1943–1947), ambassador to Italy (1953–1956)
Henry Luce, “Harry” (1898–1967), publisher of Time, Life, and Fortune magazines
Louis Lyons, journalist with Boston Globe
General Douglas MacArthur, UN commander in Korea (1950–1951)
Malcolm MacDonald, colonial secretary (1938–1940)
Torbert Macdonald, JFK classmate, politician, friend
George Marshall, secretary of state (1947–1949), author of Marshall Plan
Joseph McCarthy, senator from Wisconsin (1947–1957), Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (1953–1955)
John McClellan, senator from Arkansas (1943–1977), Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (1955–1973)
John W. McCormack, representative from Massachusetts (1928–1971), House majority leader
Colonel Robert McCormick, anti–New Deal publisher of Chicago Tribune
Timothy McInerny, Boston newspaper editor, family friend
Jeremiah Milbank, banker, associate of Elisha Walker
Jay Pierrepont Moffat, State Department’s Western European division (1937–1940)
Raymond Moley, New Deal “brain trust,” Roosevelt adviser, newspaper editor
Edward Moore, “Eddie,” Kennedy friend, business associate, surrogate parent to Kennedy children
Mary Moore, wife of Eddie Moore, family friend
Henry Morgenthau, Jr., secretary of the treasury (1934–1945)