Final answer:
Kennedy did not want to get directly involved with the University of Mississippi integration issue because he feared losing support from white Democrats in the South and believed that voter registration drives were a more effective approach to civil rights activism.
Step-by-step explanation:
The reason why Kennedy did not want to get directly involved with the University of Mississippi integration issue was because he was concerned about losing support from white Democrats in the South, which could have had an impact on his foreign policy agenda and his chances of getting reelected in 1964.
Furthermore, Kennedy believed that voter registration drives were a more preferable approach to civil rights activism compared to boycotts, sit-ins, and integration marches.
When James Meredith, an African American student, attempted to enroll at the segregated University of Mississippi in 1962, Kennedy responded by sending federal troops and marshals to support the U.S. Marshals who had been dispatched by his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.