Ch 30: Kennedy and the Cold War What did Kennedy face: Spread of communism Threat of nuclear war The Candidates: Democrat John F. Kennedy Republican Richard M. Nixon

The Candidates Similarities Differences Born in the 20th century Served in the navy in WWII Elected to Congress in 1946 Elected to the Senate 1950s Passionate about foreign affairs Supported the Cold War fight against Communism Young, energetic, intelligent, hardworking Kennedy: Son of a wealthy businessman, attended Harvard, Catholic Nixon: born in California, poor working class, had to balance his time between studies and supporting his family, respected for serving as Vice President under Eisenhower

Televised Debates make the difference 1960 election-highlighted growing power of television Agreed to 4 debates Debate boiled down to how the candidates looked and spoke, rather than what they said Kennedy’s “Victory” proved crucial to the election Nixon had just had knee surgery and then went on a grueling campaign. By the time of the first debate, held in chicago and watched by 70 million, Nixon looked pale and exhausted.

Kennedy launches New Cold War Strategies First goal: build up the nation’s armed forces Flexible response: defense policy, one that prepared the US for any type of conflict Creating good will among nations Peace Corps, 1961-”missions of freedom” Alliance for Progress-resurrect Good Neighbor policy toward Latin America-not successful

Limiting Nuclear Weapons Date Agreement Effect 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Banned testing in the atmosphere 1972 SALT I Froze existing number of weapons SALT I-missile Set strict limits on missiles that could shoot down other missiles 1979 SALT II Treaty Set absolute limit on # of weapons 1991 START treaty Required both sides to reduce # of weapons Compare How did each of the later treaties advance beyond the previous treaty? Neither side wanted to start a destructive war Reducing the threat Disarmament talks 1969-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) Examples of limits Anti-ballistic missiles Reagan launched “Star Wars” missile defense against nuclear attack Era of détente-relaxation of tensions (during the 1970s) Ended in 1979-when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan 1968-signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

The Cold War goes Global ALLIES Building alliances & bases NATO 1955-Southeast-Asia Treaty Org (SEATO) US, Britain, France, Australia, Pakistan, Thailand, New Zealand & the Philippines Central Treaty Org (CENTO) Britain, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan SOVIETS Warsaw Pact Formed alliances with government in Africa and Asia Communist China (1949-1960) Alliances were known as the Soviet bloc DIFFERENCES: Americans established army, navy & air force bases around the globe

Cuba goes Communist 90 miles off the coast of Florida 1950s-Fidel Castro Organized an armed rebellion By 1959-Castro had led his guerrilla army to victory Known as the Cuban Revolution Supported by the Soviet Union Nationalized businesses Most land now under government control Severely limited Cubans’ political freedoms

Bay of Pigs 1961-JFK supported an invasion by US trained Cuban exiles Invaders came ashore in the “bay of pigs” Castro’s forces captured the invaders US response: placed a trade embargo on Cuba that still remains in effect

Cuban Missile Crisis 1962-Soviets sent missiles to Cuba JFK’s response: Imposed a naval blockade that prevented further Soviet shipments For a few days the world faced a risk of nuclear war Finally Khrushchev agreed to remove the Soviet missiles and war was averted Watch “Showdown: The Cuban missile crisis” on Witness History Discovery school. Then ask: Considering Cuba’s location on the map, why did Soviet nuclear missiles on the island pose a threat to the US Why do you think Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba?

Assessment How did Kennedy respond to the continuing challenges of the Cold War? Television played an important role in the 1960 presidential election. How influential is television in presidential elections today? How did the Cuban missile crisis affect public opinion about President Kennedy?