JFK and the Cold War Chapter 28 Section 2

Flexibility JFK b/l that Eisenhower had relied too heavily on nuclear weapons He thought there should be a more flexible response to helping countries fight communist aggression JFK’s flexible response Build up of conventional troops and weapons Allow the US to fight a limited style war if needed Rather than going to all out war w/ the use of nuclear weapons

The Flexibility Plan Kennedy supported the Special Forces A small army unit created to wage guerilla warfare in limited conflicts Green Beret’s This type of warfare would prevent the all-out warfare of nuclear weapons and large amounts of casualties

Fighting Poverty Alliance for Progress – series of cooperative aid projects w/ Latin American govt. To improve relations w/ Latin America To create a prosperous Latin America Peace Corps – organization that sent young Americans to perform humanitarian services in less developed nations

Into Space Space Race – US and the Soviet Union competed for domination over the heavens To enhance their competitive positions on the Earth JFK was determined that the first humans to reach the moon must be Americans He wanted it done b/f the decade was out July 1969 – astronaut Neil Armstrong b/c the first person to set foot on the moon

The Bay of Pigs 1959 – Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban dictator Batista and set up a Soviet supported totalitarian regime in Cuba Eisenhower approved a secret plan for the CIA to train and arm Cuban exiles to invade Cuba In hopes of causing a revolt against Castro When JFK b/c president his advisors approved the plan In office fewer than 3 months JFK trusts his advisors and agrees to the operation

The Bay of Pigs April 17, 1961 – 1,400 armed Cuban exiles land at the Bay of Pigs – South coast of Cuba It was a disaster Kennedy canceled the air support to keep the US’s involvement secret The expected uprising of the Cuban people never happened W/i two days Castro’s forces killed or captured almost all of the fighting rebels Effects Exposed the American plot to overthrow a neighbor’s govt. Made the US look weak and disorganized

The Berlin Wall June 1961 – Khrushchev and JFK meet Khrushchev… Wants to stop the flood of Germans pouring out of Communist East Germany into West Berlin East Germans were tired of Communist oppression and were escaping it by fleeing from East Germany into West Berlin Demands that the US, Britain, and France w/draw from Berlin Berlin sits w/i East Germany JFK refuses and reaffirms the West’s commitment to West Berlin

The Berlin Wall Khrushchev had a wall built through Berlin Blocked movement b/w the Soviet sector and the rest of the city Guards were posted along the wall in machine gun towers Guards shot at those who attempted escape from the East Surrounded by barbed wire, flood lights, minefields, and vicious dog patrols The wall stood for nearly 30 years It was a symbol of the Cold War division b/w East and West

The Cuban Missile Crisis October 22, 1962 – Kennedy announces on tv that US spy planes had taken photographs showing that the Soviets had placed long-range missiles in Cuba Khrushchev had placed nuclear missiles in Cuba to counteract US nuclear weapons that were placed in Turkey w/i easy range of the Soviet Union Enemy missiles so close to the US terrified everyone

The Cuban Missile Crisis Kennedy orders… A naval blockade To prevent Soviet ships from delivering more missiles into Cuba The Soviets to dismantle the existing missile sites Warns that if any weapons were launched against the US he would respond fully against the Soviet Union The Soviets continued to work on the missile sites

The Cuban Missile Crisis After many secret negotiations the Soviet Union offered a deal Khrushchev agreed to remove the missile if the… US promised not to invade Cuba US removed its missiles from Turkey near the Soviet border

The Cuban Missile Crisis October 28, 1962 – JFK and Khrushchev reached an agreement JFK agreed to… Not invade Cuba Remove the Turkish missiles Khrushchev agreed to… Remove their missiles from Cuba

Missile Crisis Impact The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world too close to nuclear war August 1963 – the US and the Soviets agreed to a treaty to ban the testing of nuclear weapons w/i the atmosphere First step toward mutual arms reduction Undermined Khrushchev’s position and contributed to his fall from power The new leadership was less interested in reaching agreements w/ the West The Soviets b/g to dramatically build up arms over the next 2 decades

The Assassination of JFK November 22, 1963 – JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas Lee Harvey Oswald accused of being the assassin A Marxist who had spent time in the Soviet Union Oswald was then killed by Jack Ruby while in police custody The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin  a conclusion that is still doubted and argued against today

The Dreadful Day in Dallas

Arrival in Dallas

Breakfast Banquet

Jackie leaves Parkland Hospital

Leaving Dallas

Arriving in D.C.

A Son’s Salute

The Eternal Flame