

Remembering Jackie Kennedy

Jackie Kennedy: Still The Picture Of Class

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Even several decades after being in the public eye, Jackie Kennedy is still regarded as the epitome of taste and class.

From the days of her husband’s presidency until the day she passed away, women all over the world looked at her as an example of how a woman should conduct herself.

Jackie Kennedy Onassis was a role model for mothers and wives everywhere.

In fact, the only other recognizable woman in the Western culture that could even compare to Jackie Kennedy was the late Princess Diana.

Knowing a little bit about Jackie's life and what made her who she was can help you gain insight into why Jackie O is still such a beloved and popular figure in today’s culture.

The Early Life of Jacqueline Lee Bouvier
When looking back on the early years of Jackie's life, you would almost expect that she was destined to become a prominent figure in the nation and the world. S

he was born into a family of wealth and she attended some of the more famous schools throughout her academic career.

When it was time for college, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier had her choice and decided to attend Vassar College, a well-respected institution in Poughkeepsie, New York.

During her two years there, she became “Debutante of the Year,” one of the highest honors a female student could receive at the time.

After her sophomore year at Vassar, she decided to spend her next year of college abroad in Paris, France at the University of Grenoble and the Sorbonne.
For her fourth year, she returned to the United States and attended the prominent George Washington University where she studied and acquired a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Literature.

A few years later, she attended Georgetown University in Washington, she could take some American History classes for the sole purpose of increasing her knowledge.

Meeting John F. Kennedy
After graduating from Georgetown University, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier got a job with the Washington Times-Herald newspaper as a reporter on the streets.

She would ask questions of passers-by and then publish some of the more humorous answers in a column in the paper.

This is how she first met John Kennedy, who was a congressional representative from Massachusetts at the time.

After several meetings and dates with John Kennedy, Jacqueline broke her engagement with prominent social figure John Husted and married Kennedy a few years later on September 12, 1953. The wedding was a magnificent event.

The wedding gown and dresses for the bridesmaids were designed by one of the most famous designers of the day – Ann Lowe.

There were almost 2,000 guests at the event that was held at Hammersmith Farm in Rhode Island.

Throughout the event, Jacqueline presented herself with the utmost class and respectability, making her a role model for women everywhere.

Shortly after the marriage, John Kennedy began having health issues that were related to his time in combat several years earlier.
As a result, Jackie Kennedy encouraged him to write a book about his circumstances as well as the circumstances of other senators who fought for things that they believed in. John won a Pulitzer Prize for his book–Profiles in Courage–in 1957.
When John decided to run for president of the United States, Jackie Kennedy supported him every step of the way.

She would campaign for him and she utilized unconventional methods to reach more people, including speaking to store shoppers over the building’s PA speakers and signing autographs for students in junior high schools.

When she was ordered by her doctor to stay home as a result of her pregnancy, she still helped her husband campaign by answering letters, giving interviews and anything else she could do without leaving home.

Jackie Kennedy: Graceful First Lady of the United States
When John won the presidency in 1960, Jackie Kennedy became the second youngest First Lady in United States history.

A few weeks after the election, she gave birth to John F. Kennedy, Jr.
Being in the public spotlight, she asked the public to refer to her as “Mrs. Kennedy” rather than “First Lady.”

In many interviews following the election and inauguration, she stated that her major role was to take care of the President so he could do a better job at serving the people of the nation.

She also strived to protect her children from the spotlight and the press so they could live a childhood that was as normal as possible. She didn’t allow many pictures to be taken of them so they could be spared the stress and trauma of being in the spotlight.

All of these things combined helped to make her one of the most beloved figures among wives and mothers throughout the nation.
One of the other things that made Jackie a beloved national figure is the grace and composure that she had through the difficult times.

Even in her early life, she had to struggle through the divorce of her parents and, as a result, she had a distant relationship with her mother.

She struggled with her family again when she chose to marry John F. Kennedy rather than John Husted.

She endured the stillborn birth of one of her babies after her marriage and the respiratory failure and death of another infant, Patrick, just days before the fateful trip through Dallas in 1963.

Still, she was able to hold the family together and continued to help her husband fulfill his responsibilities to the nation.

Following her husband’s assassination, Jackie Kennedy continued to display a sense of class throughout the entire ordeal.

There is a famous image of her that was filmed at the time of her husband John’s funeral.

As his flag-covered casket passes by on the street, the video shows her prodding her young son, John, Jr., to salute his father as he passed by.

When most people think of the dignity and class that Jackie Kennedy possessed, usually this image comes to mind.

It served as an example to rest of the country that they must follow her example and continue to survive as Americans and as a nation.

Following the assassination, Jackie Kennedy continued to be an example to the people of the nation while still being a mother to her children.

Not long after, she also endured the assassination of her brother-in-law, Robert F. Kennedy.
Some looked down on her marriage to Aristotle Onassis in 1968, but most felt that the remarriage made her the icon of the “modern American woman” who put the needs of her family before anything else.

Few people in the history of the nation have continued to captivate and inspire others as much as Jackie Kennedy Onassis did throughout her lifetime.

From her early years as a debutante to her later life as an editor and a fashion icon, Jackie O, as she commonly became known, continued to show the highest level of grace as an example to others.

Today, the Jackie Kennedy fashion sense continues to dominate the elite and upper class women of the country.

Ultimately, her courage and bravery will always serve as an example to others of the American response in the face of tragedy and ultimately, triumph.

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