Representative Joseph Patrick Kennedy

Joseph Patrick Kennedy served as a Representative from Massachusetts in the United States Congress from 1987 to 1999. A member of the Democratic Party, Joseph Patrick Kennedy contributed to the legislative process during 6 terms in office.

Joseph Patrick Kennedy’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the House of Representatives, Joseph Patrick Kennedy participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and politician. Known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children, he was the patriarch of the Kennedy family. Kennedy was born into a political family in East Boston, Massachusetts. After making a large fortune as a stock and commodity market investor, he invested in real estate and a wide range of privately controlled businesses across the United States. During World War I, he was an assistant general manager of a Boston area Bethlehem Steel shipyard; through that position, he became acquainted with Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In the 1920s, Kennedy made huge profits by reorganizing and refinancing several Hollywood studios; several acquisitions were ultimately merged into Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) studios. Kennedy increased his fortune with distribution rights for Scotch whisky. He owned the largest privately owned building in the country, Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. Kennedy was a leading member of the Democratic Party and of the Irish Catholic community. President Roosevelt appointed Kennedy to be the first chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which he led from 1934 to 1935. Kennedy later directed the United States Maritime Commission. He served as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1938 to late 1940. With the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Kennedy was pessimistic about Britain’s ability to survive attacks from Germany. During the Battle of Britain in November 1940, Kennedy publicly suggested, “Democracy is finished in England. It may be here [in the United States].” After a controversy regarding this statement, Kennedy resigned his position. Kennedy married Rose Fitzgerald and had nine children. During his later life, he was heavily involved in the political careers of his sons. Three of Kennedy’s sons attained distinguished political positions: John F. Kennedy served as a U.S. senator from Massachusetts and as the 35th president of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy served as the U.S. attorney general and as a U.S. senator from New York, and Ted Kennedy was a U.S. senator from Massachusetts. Kennedy was also the father of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith.