John Quincy Adams s Courage And Integrity Displayed By...

In Profiles in Courage, Kennedy writes short biographies of bravery and integrity displayed by eight U.S. senators in the history of American Senate. In his view, these individuals defied the opinions of their parties and those of their constituents to take the direction they deemed right. Consequently, these senators had to bear the brunt of their actions such as severe criticism and loss of popularity. Kennedy wrote the book, while he was recuperating in hospital after surgery during his reign as the Senator of Massachusetts. John Quincy Adams, Thomas Benton, and Sam Houston are some of politicians whom this book explores. Tied to these profiles were issues of party loyalty, favoring the compromise of 1850, and voting against party opinions. In this way, the book contains stories of men who recognized what needed to be done and did it (Kennedy 27). As the title suggests, Kennedy’s text explains how influential figures sacrificed their personal influence for their conscience despite severe rebuttals from their parties and alliances. The author presents his subject in the form of bibliographies for each of the profiles that he sets to discuss. He places each of the figures in a separate title detailing how each one of them took bold initiatives. He carefully defines courage as taking an action based on a principle with the knowledge that it will likely cost them re-election (Kennedy 217). To this effect, Kennedy proceeds to show how each senator took the initiative even with