. ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> america's new ambassador to britain joseph p. kennedy cameramen as he is about to depart for st. james' court. >> when president roosevelt sends joseph p. kennedy in 1938 across the atlantic to be the ambassador to the united kingdom, he was a star, a celebrity. he had run a studio in hollywood. he was already a success in business and politics. he was among the top 20 richest men in america. it was big news. >> the rise of joseph kennedy is as remarkable as it is seemingly unstoppable. >> joe kennedy came from an irish family. they worked their way from the bottom to the top. they were outsiders. >> his grandparents came during the great potato famine of the 1840s to boston. so the family is just tw generations removed from the asantry of ireland. >> mr. joseph kennedy, the american ambassador, left for buckingham palace to present his credentials to the king. >> having an irish catholic in the job, it was just like the perfect victory in the struggle of my grandfather to feel accepted. >> as for me, i'm delighted to be here. >> you can

sure enough, joe kennedy helped them. >> joseph p. kennedy jr. ports for preliminary training. >> joe kennedy was the oldest son and therefore the most beholden to please dad. and joe kennedy wanted joe jr. to be president of the united states. >> now it's a first seat in america's defense for a young man who saw what happened over there. >> unlike joe, jack was not dutiful. he had a little bit of a rebellious streak. gallivanting around, chasing girls. he was also sick a lot. >> when jack is 2 years old, he contracts scarlet fever and he is basically sick for the rest of his life. fallen arches, bad knees, chronic colds, you name it, he had it. >> jack gets an office job in the navy intelligence service. because jack is disabled in any number of ways. it's during that office job that he takes up with a woman. >> she's a danish journalist called inga arva. they have this intense affair and the problem was that the fbi were recording some of these romantic sessions. >> inga arevad is a great beauty, but she allegedly was a german spy. and that made

this is a sneak peek of the first episode on the kennedy's political patriarch joseph p. kennedyerica's new ambassador to britain joe p. kennedy faces a bevy of cameramen as he is about to depart for st. james' court. >> when president roosevelt sends joseph p. kennedy in 1938 across the atlantic to be the am bas dor to the united kingdom, he was a star a celebrity. he had run a studio in hollywood, and he was already a success in business and politics. he was among the top 20 richest men in america. it was big news. >> wow. right now, the man you just heard speak ing ing in the clip natally, the cnn presidential historian and it is something to see that archival footage. so this had to be a fascinating journey for you, too, a historian down memory lane and you were not there for all of this, but -- >> no. >> and this uncovering the event, and the episode of reveal ing so much about the patriarch and in kennedy family. >> first of all, one of the joys of history is that things that historians know, and most people don't, and good for them, because they have lives to lead, but the

this is not just the story of joseph p. kennedy prominent pushing father. this is a joint effort on the part of both joseph p. kennedy and rose. >> have you had a chance to sit back and realize? >> no, no, i don't think so. going to take a little while i think. >> they joined in the family's triumph. bobby had been jack's campaign manager and their father is is adamant he's handed an important role in the new administration. >> joe kennedy let jack choose his cabinet with one exception. joe insisted that the next attorney general be robert kennedy. >> one cold december morning, the president gets pob by kennedy up at his house in georgetown and tells him he's going to be appointing him as attorney general and he says, bobby, grab your balls, let's go. >> jfk stops at the door and says, hey, comb your hair. >> bobby for most of his career a senate investigator is announced to the world as the new head of america's criminal justice system. >> in look iing for an attorney general, he must need to fight for law enforcement r, must administer laws without favor a

you the main house where rose and joseph p. kennedy lived. the house where bobby and ethel live. behind it you have the house where jack kennedy and jackie kennedy live. and now in this compound is the center of the world. this was the realization, the dynastic dream of joseph p. and rose kennedy. >> next on "american dynasties: the kennedys" -- >> ask what you can do for your country. >> jack believed in the promise of america. >> kennedy was walking into an ambush, and he had no idea. >> it turns out to be an unmitigated disaster. >> jack needed someone to watch his back. >> i am not pleased to admit the position. >> he says bobby, grab your balls. let's go. >>> i jon john f. kennedy do solemnly swear. >> john f. kennedy becomes president of the united states of america. the kennedys have achieved their dream. but in his first year in the white house, jfk learns winning power is one thing. wielding it is another.

. >>> joseph p. kennedyhat the best and brighted eest of his children die in the war. >> kick had deified her family to marry the love of her life, billing harkington, only to lose them. the heir to the chatwick estate only had a few weeks together. >> they only had a few weeks together and to lose him so young was devastating. >> i think joe kennedy was very sad about that for kathleen. but there had been several problems over that marriage because billy harkington was protestant. i think he thought that she could come back into the protestant church. >> after billy's death, kick decides to stay in england. engla england is in home run blood. kick at this time is seriously considering a career in politics, becoming a member of parliament. she's very politically engaged at this point. but in a few years, all of that just comes to an end. >> in 1948, kathleen tells her parents that she's fallen in love a second time with a british noble man, an anglican who is married and has a child. and tells her father, th

kennedy live. and now, this compound is the center of the world. this was the realization, the dynastic dream of joseph pat you can do for your country. >> jack believed in the promise of america. >> kennedy was walking into an ambush, and he had no idea. >> it turns out to be an unmitigated disaster. >> jack needed someone to watch his back. >> i am pleased to accept the position of the attorney generalship. >> he says, bobby, grab your balls, let's go. >>> one of the most powerful men on earth holds a position that has existed for nearly 2,000 years. as the world changes and faith evol evolves, his authority remains. what began with one apostle has become 1.2 billion followers under one man. he is the head of the catholic church, the pope. and this is his path to power. ♪