Kennedy & The Cold War Kennedy & The Cold War Chapter 28-1 ● 1960-1970

1960 1960

The Election of 1960 Eisenhower ends 2nd term Economic recession Sputnik I and long-range missile launches spark fear that the US is falling behind USSR U-2 Incident Cuba aligned with USSR

The Election of 1960 Richard Nixon John F. Kennedy Republican Vice President under Eisenhower (very popular president) Wanted to ride Eisenhower’s coattails Protestant No strong stance on Civil Rights Performed poorly in televised debates John F. Kennedy Democrat Senator from Massachusetts Roman Catholic Well-organized campaign Wealthy family Civil Rights advocate Performed well in televised debates

Presidential Debates of 1960

October 1960 President Eisenhower (R) Richard Nixon Martin Luther King and 33 others are arrested for sitting at a segregated lunch counter. All the protestors were released, except for King, who was sentenced to hard labor (officially for a traffic violation). EFFECT: News of JFK’s actions helped him to carry the African-American vote and key states in the Midwest & South President Eisenhower (R) Refused to intervene Richard Nixon Neither takes a public position John F. Kennedy JFK calls MLK’s wife to express sympathy Robert Kennedy (brother/campaign manager) persuaded the judge to release MLK on bail

November 1960 JFK wins election Smallest victory margin since 1884 Fewer then 119,000 votes

1961 1961

JFK’s Inauguration Invites artists, writers, and cultural figures Includes Marian Anderson Opera singer banned from Daughters of the Revolution meeting, who instead sang on steps of Lincoln Memorial; invited by Eleanor Roosevelt

JFK’s Inauguration “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” —John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy Becomes the 35th President http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLdA1ikkoEc&feature=related

1961-1963 1961-1963 CAMELOT

—Camelot; Opened on Broadway 1960 The Camelot Years “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shinning moment known as Camelot.” —Camelot; Opened on Broadway 1960

The Kennedy Mystique Americans are obsessed with the family JFK Wife Jacqueline and their 2 children Young daughter, Caroline Infant son, John, Jr. The Brothers Joe (killed in action during WWII John Robert Ted

Ted JFK RFK The Kennedy Brothers

The Best and the Brightest Robert Kennedy Attorney General McGeorge Bundy Former Harvard University President National Security Advisor Robert McNamara Secretary of Defense Former President of Ford Motor Company Dean Rusk Secretary of State Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

New Military Policy Felt that the Eisenhower administration had not done enough to contain Communism Redefine nuclear strategy

New Military Policy Flexible Response “The Kennedy Administration worried that [the] reliance on nuclear weapons gave us no way to respond to non-nuclear attacks without committing suicide… We decided to broaden the range of options by strengthening and modernizing the military’s ability to fight a nonnuclear war.” Robert McNamara (in retrospect)

New Military Policy Increased spending on nonnuclear military needs Troops, ships, artillery Created elite branch of military, Green Berets Tripled nuclear capability

Crisis in Cuba 1956-1959: Fidel Castro fights guerilla war to topple Fulgencio Batista Fought revolution with the promise of democracy Gained power and was internationally recognized in 1960 Eisenhower’s administration had cut off relations with Cuba

Crisis in Cuba 1961: Castro openly declared himself Communist and accepted aid from the USSR Castro seized control of 3 America oil refineries Broke up commercial farms into communes to be worked my peasants In response, the US bans the import of Cuban sugar

Crisis in Cuba Castro represses political opponents Castro’s reliance on USSR support increases One dictator has been replaced with a new one 10% of the Cuban population becomes refugees and lives in exile in Miami, FL

Bay of Pigs Invasion March 1960: President Eisenhower gives CIA permission to train a counter-revolutionary force of Cuban exiles JFK approves plans for an exile-run invasion of Cuba once he’s elected April 17, 1961: 1,300-1,500 exiles invade Cuba The invasion fails Some exiles are killed, others imprisoned JFK negotiates with Castro for their release $53 million in food and medical aid

Bay of Pigs Invasion Publicly: JFK takes responsibility for the failure Privately: JFK blames the CIA and Pentagon Cuba relies even more heavily on the support of the USSR

BFFs: Castro & Khrushchev

Cuban Missile Crisis Summer 1962: USSR supply of weapons (including nukes) to Cuba increases October 14, 1962: US spy planes photograph nuclear missiles in Cuba October 22, 1962: JFK informs the US that there are missiles on Cuba and that any attack from Cuba would trigger an all-out attack on the USSR

Cuban Missile Crisis http://www.classzone.com/cz/books/americans05/secured/resources/applications/ebook/swf/animations/TAS_28_881.html

The Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile Crisis The Next 6 Days: 100,000 man invasion force assembles in FL End Result: Khrushchev agrees to have no nukes in Cuba JFK agrees not to invade Cuba JFK agrees to remove nukes from Turkey aimed at the USSR

Cuban Missile Crisis EFFECTS Both JFK and Khrushchev lost respect in their counties Castro banned all flights to Miami

JFK & the Berlin Wall August 15, 1961: East German communist authorities build a wall To stop the “intellectual drainage” of East Germany into West Berlin (and therefore West Germany) East Germany was economically worse off

JFK Speech at the Berlin Wall

Both Leaders Attempt to Lessen Tension Hot Line: Direct phone line between JFK and Khrushchev Limited Test Ban Treaty: Barred nuclear testing in the atmosphere