10-Year-Old JFK Asks For More Allowance

Ever wanted a little more allowance money? Take a cue from former president John F. Kennedy.

We’ve got a cool, hand-written letter from the former president, when he was a 10-year-old Boy Scout. The letter was written decades before he became President of the United States and gives some interesting insight into his future self.

In the letter he makes a very organized, straight-forward case to his father for a raise in allowance. The reason? To be better ‘Prepared’ as a new Boy Scout. After all, Kennedy was the first Scout to become president.

Take a look at a copy of the letter and, for your convenience, we’ve typed it out below (misspellings and all).

 

 

A Plea for a raise
By Jack Kennedy

Dedicated to my
Mr. J. P. Kennedy

Chapter I

My recent allowance is 40¢. This I used for areoplanes and other playthings of childhood but now I am a scout and I put away my childish things. Before I would spend 20¢ of my ¢.40 allowance and in five minutes I would have empty pockets and nothing to gain and 20¢ to lose. When I a a scout I have to buy canteens, haversacks, blankets, searchlidgs, poncho things that will last for years and I can always use it while I can’t use a cholcalote marshmellow sunday with vanilla ice cream and so I put in my plea for a raise of thirty cents for me to buy scout things and pay my own way more around.

Finis
John Fitzgerald Francis Kennedy

______________________________________

What do you think of the letter? Cool piece of history?

8 Comments

  1. He was ten give the kid a break. The fact that he tried to put it in memo style and finished it with Finis says that he had a lot on the ball

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.