CH 17 SEC 1 Kennedy and the Cold War

I. Kennedy Becomes President John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon contended for the presidency in The election was the first that had televised debates, and public opinion was affected by those debates. Kennedy looked better on camera, was tanned and fit, while Nixon had just recovered from knee surgery and looked pale and thin.

I. Kennedy Becomes President People who watched the debates gave the edge to Kennedy, but those who listened thought Nixon did better. Some people were worried about Kennedy being Catholic, but people also wanted to move forward and Nixon was a tie to the past. In the end Kennedy won in one of the closest popular votes in history.

I. Kennedy Becomes President Kennedy did not have support in the South either, especially after he backed MLK and the civil rights movement. Kennedy’s inaugural speech focused on changing with the times, and on stopping Communism in the world. He avoided being specific, especially dealing with domestic problems.

I. Kennedy Becomes President His group of advisors were all young like he was, many of them were university professors and other intellectuals. His brother Robert Kennedy was his closest advisor, and was appointed attorney general.

II. The Bay of Pigs Invasion Before the election of 1960, the CIA was training 1500 Cuban nationals to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro. The program was approved by Eisenhower, and Kennedy inherited it. Fidel Castro led a revolt against the U.S.-backed Cuban government, and gained the support of the people by promising equality and freedom.

II. The Bay of Pigs Invasion But once he gained power, he became a dictator, spoke against the U.S., and signed a trade agreement with the Soviet Union. The CIA hoped the invasion would inspire the people to rise up against Castro and help overthrow him.

II. The Bay of Pigs Invasion When Kennedy took over, he debated about the invasion. Eventually he decided to go forward with it, in the hopes of driving Castro out of power. A week before the invasion, the story came out in the New York Times. Kennedy denied it, but a bomber problem exposed the connection to the U.S.

II. The Bay of Pigs Invasion When the invasion happened, Castro was ready. The invasion force was pinned down at their landing site, and eventually all would be captured or killed. Kennedy could not send troops in to help for fear of international backlash, and the invasion was a complete failure. The Soviets then promised to help Cuba defend itself from the U.S.

III. The Berlin Crisis The city of Berlin was divided just like Germany, West was free and East was Communist. Kennedy’s failure in Cuba encouraged Khrushchev to push him about Berlin. At the Vienna Conference in 1961, Khrushchev wanted East Germany recognized as an independent country, and the U.S. to leave West Berlin. Kennedy refused.

III. The Berlin Crisis West Berlin was a problem for Communists. It allowed a place for people to flee from East Germany so the U.S. knew it had to protect the city. Kennedy wanted to show that the U.S. was serious, so he built up troops in West Germany and waited to see how the U.S.S.R. would respond.

III. The Berlin Crisis Khrushchev had Communist forces build a wall to divide East and West Berlin. Almost overnight the wall sprang up, and over the next few months changed from a barbed wire fence to a concrete wall. The wall divided neighborhoods, separated families, and even cut through cemeteries. Two years later Kennedy came to West Berlin and gave a famous speech about the separation between freedom and communism.

IV. The Cuban Missile Crisis The biggest problem between the U.S. and the Soviet Union would occur over Cuba. In response to threats of invasion and tensions in Turkey, the Soviet Union sent nuclear missiles to Cuba. When the U.S. found out about them, the Soviet Union said they only gave Cuba defensive missiles, and no offensive ones.

IV. The Cuban Missile Crisis The U.S. responded by telling the Soviet Union that if they were lying, there would be serious consequences. The Soviets said if the U.S. attacked Cuba there would be war. After spy planes found more evidence of offensive nuclear missiles, then preparations were made to attack the missiles. The U.S. put a blockade around Cuba to keep more missiles from getting there.

IV. The Cuban Missile Crisis Ships from the Soviet Union carrying missiles approached the blockade, but then turned back. Two days later, Khrushchev sent Kennedy a letter offering to remove the missiles if the U.S. pledged to not invade Cuba. The next day another letter came that demanded the U.S. remove missiles from Turkey. The U.S. accepted the first letter and ignored the second. The missiles were removed and the crisis ended.

IV. The Cuban Missile Crisis Because there was no direct communication between the president and the communist leader, changes happened after the missile crisis. A phone line between the White House and the Kremlin was set up, and the two countries signed treaties limiting nuclear testing in the air and underwater.

V. Kennedy’s Foreign Policy Kennedy wanted to help the world, so he started the Peace Corps, designed to help third world countries and gave young people the chance to volunteer. He also sent money to build schools and houses and power plants, but the countries generally spent the money on other things.

In your notebooks Draw a poster showing the three major crises that Kennedy faced, and draw his response to each. Label the pictures and use color. Full page.