John McCain summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see John McCain.

John McCain, in full John Sidney McCain III, (born Aug. 29, 1936, Panama Canal Zone—died Aug. 25, 2018, Cornville, Ariz., U.S.), Politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1983–87) and the U.S. Senate (1987– ). McCain graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1958. A navy pilot during the Vietnam War, he was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was held as a prisoner of war until 1973. In 1982 he was elected to the Congress of the United States; he served first as a representative from Arizona and then as a senator from that state. Though a member of the Republican Party, he took independent stances on many issues and was known particularly for his support of campaign finance reform. After an unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, he won his party’s nomination in 2008. However, he was defeated in the election by Barack Obama of the Democratic Party.

Republican Party Summary

Republican Party, in the United States, one of the two major political parties, the other being the Democratic Party. During the 19th century the Republican Party stood against the extension of slavery to the country’s new territories and, ultimately, for slavery’s complete abolition. During the

United States Navy Summary

United States Navy (USN), major branch of the United States armed forces charged with the defense of the country at sea, the seaborne support of the other U.S. military services, and the maintenance of security on the seas wherever the interests of the United States extend. The earliest sea battles

navy Summary

Navy, a nation’s warships and craft of every kind maintained by armed forces for fighting on, under, or over the sea. A large modern navy includes aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, submarines, minesweepers and minelayers, gunboats, and various types of support, supply, and repair

government Summary

Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not