O'Neill came from a working class [[Catholic Irish]] family, and always stayed cloe to his roots in the neighborhoods. He greaduated from Boston College in 1936 and immediately plunged into state politics with election to the legislature. After a 16-year career in the state legislature, O'Neill was elected to replace [[John F. Kennedy]] in Congress when Kennedy moved to the Senate in 1952. O'Neill was an astute backstage politician who was famous for negotiating deals in general, with little interest in any specific programs. | O'Neill came from a working class [[Catholic Irish]] family, and always stayed cloe to his roots in the neighborhoods. He greaduated from Boston College in 1936 and immediately plunged into state politics with election to the legislature. After a 16-year career in the state legislature, O'Neill was elected to replace [[John F. Kennedy]] in Congress when Kennedy moved to the Senate in 1952. O'Neill was an astute backstage politician who was famous for negotiating deals in general, with little interest in any specific programs. |