But before they began to blend in, they had first to raise themselves to a level fairly equal to that of the rest, economically in particular. To do so, they had to advance not as individuals but as groups. They built po- litical and economic power structures of their own within the larger society — stores, banks, businesses of all sorts, and a professional class of doctors, preachers, and teachers. Then they truly became enfranchised when they had power to wield. The history of the Kennedy family illustrates the evolution.
