The Kennedy Years 3 Years of Intense Drama And Sadness

The Election of 1960 Kennedy vs. Nixon

Kennedy wins! Kennedy beat Nixon in the popular vote by less than 150,000! He also won the electoral vote 303-219. Potential Cheater? Can the dead in Chicago get a vote here? Nixon and many others claimed Kennedy received votes from dead people in Chicago. What does that mean? Kennedy supposedly had ties with the mob as well. None of this was actually proven, much like the conspiracies surrounding his death.

Where to start? JKF wants to make some significant changes to some things. Here are some things he wants to change: Foreign Policy Creates the Peace Corps to help countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and try to get them on our side for later on. The peace corps sent American Volunteers to those countries that needed them to help develop those countries. Created the Alliance for progress which provided $$$ for Latin American countries if they agreed to accept democratic reforms in their countries. Designed the flexible response – this was the ability to react to a crisis with more than just a nuclear war option.

Cold War Trouble The Bay of Pigs incident- 1960 Before the invasion - Fidel Castro overthrows Batista in Cuba to gain control of the country. He forms a communist government with him as the dictator. The CIA had a plan to get rid of Castro from the Eisenhower years, and JFK agreed to let them do it. It failed miserably. JFK called off airstrikes that would have helped the CIA and the rebels win. No other Cubans ever joined the rebels like they thought they would. Results: U.S. Loss Several hundred killed Cuba becomes friendlier with Soviet Union Communist country at our back door We look like fools, bullies, and weak.

Cold War Trouble The Berlin Wall – built in 1961 – torn down in 1989-1990 when Communism Fell. Khrushchev – leader of Soviet Union – believing JFK to be weak, told him to remove all troops from west Berlin and to recognize East Germany as its own communist country in the world. JFK did not want to go war over Berlin, but could not give in to these demands, and sent more troops to West Germany. Khrushchev responded by putting up barbed wire fences around the borders. The barbed wire would eventually be reinforced by a large and longer concrete wall complete with watchtowers to make sure no one from East Germany could escape to West Germany. This wall became known as the Berlin Wall. Khrushchev pretty much got what he wanted anyways.

Cold War Trouble Cuban Missile Crisis – 1962 As a result of the Bay of Pigs, Castro asked the Soviets for missile defense systems. He got all that and more. There were several nuclear missile sites in Cuba that U.S. spy planes said could hit U.S. cities on the east coast if fired, and we could not defend against it. The U.S. readied our nuclear weapons and blocked any ships trying to enter Cuba with weapons. Soviet ships right up to the blockade, but then stopped and turned around. This is probably the closest we ever came to nuclear war with the Soviet Union. JFK told Khrushchev to get rid of their missiles in Cuba and the U.S. won’t invade. He also secretly agreed to remove U.S. nuclear missiles in Turkey.

The Kennedy Charisma JFK was a young good-looking man that had just won the Presidency in 1960. With it he inherited its many problems and issues. The way he handled them is what made him iconic. He was a WWII Hero He was handsome and good-looking He appeared to be an intellectual (Harvard Grad) He appeared to be athletic (football, sailing, swimming) The All-American Man. His wife was Jackie Kennedy. She too added to his image. They were the model American family. She charmed world leaders. She also appreciated the fine arts and redecorated the White House with paintings and redesigned it so that it would be the best house in America. The Kennedy’s were a Roman Catholic family and everyone knew that. They struggled at times to prove that they believed in the separation of church and state, and were also not loyal to the Pope like some accused.

The Kennedy Charisma JFK had a profound effect on people. Teenagers showed up to his speeches in large numbers and admired his youthful charisma. He had to work very hard to maintain his public image. He wouldn’t allow pictures of him with his glasses on. He had Addison’s disease Was not actually very good at sports

The Kennedy Charisma Then Tragedy Strikes JFK’s Cabinet Called the knights of the round table, because he always ran things by his advisors before making decisions. They all sat at the table together. His cabinet was young and smart like him, but lacked a lot of political experience. His brother “Bobby” was his closest advisor and was the attorney general. JFK’s agenda – “The New Frontier” Civil Rights Berlin Cuba Called for each American to sacrifice and work together to get things done. Did not get a lot of support in Congress to pass his laws. Did help the poor, through the Area Redevelopment Act and acknowledged needing to overcome racism and segregation. Then Tragedy Strikes