Vintage photos show what life was like in the White House during John F. Kennedy’s iconic presidency

In 1960, 43-year-old John F. Kennedy, a former senator from Massachusetts, was elected America’s youngest president.

Source: History.com

He moved into the White House with his 31-year-old wife Jackie and their two young children, Caroline and John Jr.

Source: JFK Library

When he took office, Caroline was 3 years old.

Source: PBS

And John Jr. was just 2 months old.

Kennedy’s presidency only lasted 1,037 days, but he was kept busy dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis, increasing tensions between the US and Russia, and growing unrest in the US during the Civil Rights movement.

Source: History.com

Kennedy is remembered for his poetic speeches — in particular his inaugural address known for the famed line: “My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”

He is also remembered for his rumored extramarital relationships with women — including Marilyn Monroe and reportedly members of his staff, though the affairs have never been officially confirmed.

Sources: Time, The Times

Yet his presidency overall is still regarded highly by Americans, even though experts often judge it as fairly average, since he lasted less than a single term and struggled to make inroads with Congress to get his proposed legislation through.

Michael Hogan, a professor of history at University of Illinois at Springfield, the Kennedy brand became “a sacred symbol of all that was good in American life, his virtues those of the nation itself.”

Source: The Conversation

What the Kennedys did so well was crafting their image. They showed America their good side — how they were a handsome, wealthy couple with two happy children who hosted glamorous state dinners, stylishly redecorated the White House.

Kennedy’s foreign policy helped boost his ratings, too. Even though he was responsible for the disastrous Cuba invasion, he was also responsible for ending the Cuban Missile Crisis, showing a reluctance to escalate global affairs.

This meant that after his assassination, he was compared favorably to President Lyndon B. Johnson, who ramped up the war in Vietnam after taking over the presidency from Kennedy.

Sources: The Conversation, New York Magazine

Kennedy had learned early on in his political career that image was everything and that, in order to connect with people, his personal life had to mesh with his political persona.

Source: Time

He understood working the media and the power of television — perhaps more than any other president before him.

Source: Cape Cod Times

It helped that he was good on camera.

Especially since it was a daily part of the job.

He maintained a strong, often transparent relationship with the media led by his press secretary Pierre Salinger.

Salinger told The Los Angeles Times that Kennedy had so many contacts he didn’t actually need a press secretary and could have handled it himself.

Kennedy didn’t disagree, but he said he didn’t have the time to handle it, which was where Salinger came in. 

Source: Los Angeles Times

Salinger was kept on his toes throughout Kennedy’s tenure as president.

The job of president could be tough and lonely.

Sources: Washington Post, JFK Library

It involved long hours — he rose at 7 a.m. and didn’t usually go to bed until midnight, although he took a daily nap after lunch, for up to 2 hours. No one was allowed to disturb him unless there was an emergency.

Sources: Washington Post, JFK Library

Kennedy always sat in his rocking chair in the White House. He had chronic back pain and had spinal surgery in 1954.

Following a doctor’s recommendation, he used rocking chairs and installed several throughout the White House, including one Jackie had stained and upholstered with foam rubber.

Source: New York Times 

During his time in office, Alan Price, director at the JFK Library and Museum, told PBS that Kennedy knew photos of his children would help humanize him.

Source: PBS

Despite his stacked presidential schedule, Kennedy made time for his children. He greeted Caroline’s pony.

Source: PBS

The president let his son John Jr. explores his desk.

He watched them dance.

And he attended their birthday parties.

But the media attention on her children became too much for Jackie. She ended up restricting public access to basic details about them, like their height.

Source: PBS

While Kennedy worked, his wife renovated the White House with the help of Henry Francis du Pont, an expert on furniture and interior decoration. When the renovations were completed, she took CBS around and showed the nation her work.

Source: Wall Street Journal

She thought that the three State Parlors — colored red, blue and green — came across too strong. She began her redecoration with the Green Room, which was reimagined as an American Federal parlor with lighter paint colors.

Source: Wall Street Journal

The Red Room’s redecoration was inspired by America and the French Empire. Again, the walls were lightened — this time to a pinky red. She also brought in some French furniture.

Source: Wall Street Journal

The Blue Room, located in between the other two, was again painted a lighter shade. This room was exclusively French-inspired.

Source: Wall Street Journal

She renovated the second floor of the White House, which was where the First Family lived. She converted a guest bedroom called the “Prince of Wales” suite into a private kitchen and dining room.

Source: Reader’s Digest

She converted the White House’s sun parlor into a school room for the children.

Source: Reader’s Digest

She also restored the White House’s Treaty Room.

She had a portable stage set up in the White House so they could host parties and watch shows.

Source: JFK Library

Outside the White House, the Kennedy children made the most of its grounds. They admired a five-foot snowman built by the White House gardener Robert Redman.

They had a sleigh ride through the snow in 1962.

They took walks with their pet dog Charlie, a Welsh Terrier.

Caroline even had to chase after him when he got loose at the airport.

The years passed quickly in the White House. The children grew older.

In late 1963, though Kennedy’s popularity had fallen somewhat since he had spoken publicly about civil rights, he announced his run for re-election.

Source: Sun Sentinel

One month before he was assassinated, he secretly invited photographer Stanley Tretick into the White House to take photos of him and John Jr. against his wife’s wishes, waiting until Jackie had left the country so she couldn’t stop them.

Source: Washington Post

On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. His body was taken back to the White House before he was buried.

Source: JFK Library

After the assassination, Jackie said she was happy that he had disobeyed her to take those photos with John Jr. She told Tretick that her favorite photo of her and her husband was one from years earlier, where he reached over to remove the hair from her eyes.

Source: Washington Post

She also said that their time in the White House was one of the best times of her life, because for those few years, they lived there close together as a family.

Source: PBS