Introduction

Throughout United States history, and particularly from the 1930s through the 1960s, education was a sensitive political issue which preoccupied Congresses, Presidents and interest groups. By the time of John F Kennedy’s Presidency federal aid to education was all but inevitable but the disproportionate influence of federal aid adversaries on the House Rule Committee would permit the Kennedy Administration no margin of error. There remained in this subject an abundance of complications and contradictions. This volume addresses the central questions of Kennedy versus Congress and Kennedy versus Kennedy, using a wide range of sources to give a comprehensive focus to this area of political education.