The essays in this volume were presented at Hofstra University's fourth annual
presidential conference, held in March 1985. The conferences were begun in
1982 with Franklin D. Roosevelt, as his centennial observance. From the outset,
they were designed to bring together scholars and persons active in and out of
government during each presidency. For the John F. Kennedy Conference, our
call for papers brought over seventy responses. Fewer than half were selected
for the conference; regrettably, there was simply no room for some solid pieces
of scholarship.

Relying as we did upon the voluntary response of scholars to the call for
papers, it was inevitable that some major policies and issues of the Kennedy
presidency would be neglected. For example, we received no essays on the Peace
Corps or the Alliance for Progress; most surprisingly, there were no papers
submitted dealing with the assassination. There are, consequently, some unfor-
tunate gaps in this volume. Some of these matters were discussed in the panels
and the forums attended by key figures in the Kennedy administration. Unfor-
tunately, those discussions could not be included here.

The essays on foreign policy included here range from analyses of the Cuban
missile crisis, the test ban treaty, and the United States-Asian policies, to a look
at news management in Kennedy's foreign policy. The avoidance of an ap-
pearance of appeasement is discussed, as is the role played by an important book
of the era, The Ugly American.

In domestic affairs, four papers analyze aspects of Kennedy's economic pol-
icies. The legend almost obscures the reality of his fiscal conservatism, but his
tax cuts stimulated the economy while favoring the less fortunate and without
significantly driving up the budget deficit. There are essays that evaluate the
progress of civil and minority rights in the Kennedy era, and some that examine
the relationship between the administration and the television medium, which
seemed so suited to the Kennedy charm. His religion, and those most made
apprehensive by it, are discussed forthrightly and in the context of the time. And
finally, two papers set the Kennedy presidency in an historical frame by exploring
relationships between Kennedy and former President Harry Truman, and Ronald
Reagan's use of the Kennedy legend as part of his own political appeal.

Professor Thomas Cronin, the noted presidential scholar, delivered the keynote
address to open the Kennedy Conference. A slightly revised version of that
speech is the introductory essay in this volume, a consideration of Kennedy as
president and as politician.

We would like to thank all the contributers to this volume and the many
participants from the Kennedy administration who so enhanced the conference.
The exhibit of Kennedy books, documents, and photos that graced the conference
was particularly dependent on the efforts of Dan Fenn, Jr., Director of the John
F. Kennedy Library, and the Library Archivist, William Johnson. There are a
number of people at Hofstra to whom we are indebted. A special word of thanks
is extended to Marilyn Shepherd, to the staff of the Hosftra University Cultural
Center, and to the conference coordinators Natalie Datlof and Alexej Ugrinsky.

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