Taraborrelli - The Kennedy Heirs: John, Caroline and the New Generation: A Legacy of Triumph and Tragedy

For our purposes with The Kennedy Heirs, I ask that you consider the first generation of Kennedys to be the one that includes those children born to Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr. (born 1888) and his wife, Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy (born 1890). Their first child was Joseph Patrick Jr. (born 1915). The rest followed quickly: John Fitzgerald (born 1917), Rose Marie (born 1918), Kathleen Agnes (born 1920), Eunice Mary (born 1921), Patricia Helen (born 1924), Robert Francis (born 1925), Jean Ann (born 1928), and Edward Moore (born 1932).

The second generation are the surviving children of Joseph and Rose, and their spouses: John and Jacqueline Bouvier (born 1929), Eunice and Sargent Shriver (born 1915), Pat and Peter Lawford (born 1923), Bobby and Ethel Skakel (born 1928), Jean and Stephen Smith (born 1927), and Ted and Virginia Joan Bennett (born 1936) and, later, Victoria Reggie (born 1954).

The third generationthe primary subject of this workcomprises the progeny of the second, and there were many, twenty-nine in all.

John and Jackie were the parents of Caroline Bouvier (born 1957) and John Fitzgerald Jr. (born 1960).

Eunice and Sargent were the parents of Robert Sargent III (born 1954), Maria Owings (born 1955), Timothy Perry (born 1959), Mark Kennedy (born 1964), and Anthony Paul (born 1965).

Pat and Peter Lawford were the parents of Christopher Kennedy (born 1955), Sydney Maleia (born 1956), Victoria Francis (born 1958), and Robin Elizabeth (born 1961).

Bobby and Ethel were the parents of Kathleen Hartington (born 1951), Joseph Patrick II (born 1952), Robert Francis Jr. (born 1954), David Anthony (born 1955), Mary Courtney (born 1956), Michael LeMoyne (born 1958), Mary Kerry (born 1959), Christopher George (born 1963), Matthew Maxwell Taylor (born 1965), Douglas Harriman (born 1967), and Rory Elizabeth (born 1968).

Jean and Stephen were the parents of Stephen Edward Jr. (born 1957), William Kennedy (born 1960), Amanda Mary (born 1967), and Kym Maria (born 1972).

Edward (Ted) and Joan were the parents of Kara Anne (born 1960), Edward Moore Jr. (born 1961), and Patrick Joseph (born 1967).

The fourth generation, then, would be the many children of the third, some of whom are also considered for this work, such as Joseph Patrick III (son of Joseph II and Sheila Rauch, born 1980), John Conor (son of Robert II and Mary Richardson, born 1994), and John Jack Bouvier Kennedy (son of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Arthur Schlossberg, born 1993).

MY MANDATE WITH this volume was not to write about every Kennedy of the third generation who ever drew breath. Admittedly, as I was doing my research, some held my fascination more than others. In the end, I sought to tell what I think are the stories that best explored the truth of who these people were in one anothers lives and that also revealed their true selves, warts and all, as well as their many contributions to our society. After all, this is a generation that was ubiquitous in our culture in the 1960s, 70s, 80s, into the 90s, and beyond, and, as you will read on these pages, even today. Maybe Life once put it best when the magazine reported of them: They were Americas children. Born at a time when the nation itself seemed reborn, the grandchildren of Joseph and Rose Kennedy became a compelling symbol of the future for people hungry for change. And we couldnt get enough of them. Americans probably saw more of the Kennedys on television and in photographs than they saw of their own families. At a time when the American family was said to be falling apart, the Kennedy family seemed of biblical strength.

A myth I think worth dispelling from the outset is that these particular Kennedys did little to nothing of any great significance in our culture. In fact, they were all raised to have a strong sense of noblesse oblige. Of course, when one considers the global ramifications of what President Kennedy did with his time in office, maybe not much can compare. The same holds true of the great work of Bobby and Ted, not to mention Sargent and Eunice. Theyre all competing with icons and legends, political consultant David Axelrod, who has advised several of them, noted of the younger Kennedys. However, as you will read, so many of them have contributed a great deal to the world, if not in elected office, then as activists. Ethels daughters Rory and Kerry make films about poverty and travel the world as warriors for social justice, for instance; Eunices son Tim Shriver runs his mothers Special Olympics; Jackies daughter, Caroline Kennedy, works tirelessly to raise funds for education. If such causes appear modest next to staring down the Russians, integrating the South or going to the moon, they are not, Time once observed. They are simply of their time. Some would change the world in small ways in the private sector, others in a much bigger manner while in public office. The number of legislation, for instance, either sponsored or cosponsored by Teds son Patrick Kennedy during his many years in government amounts to 3,156. Put it this way: There arent many who do nothing with their lives. Not in that family.

What I have also learned over the years as a Kennedy historian is that, despite the complexities of their lives, personal and political, its really not that difficult to understand them. Of course, some of their experiences have been amplified tenfold because of money, power, and prestige. Also, fame does tend to twist everything. However, at the heart of their stories are the kinds of choices and decisions similar, at least I think, to those we may have made in our own lives as weve attempted to navigate the sometimes rocky terrain of getting along with parents, siblings, and children. I believe we can relate to the Kennedys on a deep, visceral level that has to do with a thing so basic and so uncomplicated: our shared humanity. To my mind, this is why the Kennedys story continues to resonate. Plus, of course, the many tragedies of their lives have reached out to us over the years, causing our hearts to ache unbearably for them.

At a symposium on the legacy of the Kennedy women at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Kerry Kennedy told me, Its difficult when your most private moments are also your most public moments, but its interesting, too, because we have never really felt alone in any of it. We have always felt at one with the American public, and I think they have felt the same dynamic with us. Theres this special, symbiotic relationship Americans have with my family going all the way back to my grandparents, to President Kennedy and my aunt Jackie, to my father, my mom Uncle Teddy, Aunt Joan my late brother David and while I think a lot of it has to do with basic empathy, I also think it has to do with a collective human experience. All people have troubles in their lives. If understanding how we have dealt with our own problems can in some way help people cope with their own, well, then I think thats good. In fact, I think thats very good, and I know my family members would agree.