Kennedy and Cuba * US History

The election of 1960 Vice President Richard Nixon was the Republican nominee MA Senator John Kennedy was the Democratic nominee Kennedy was seen as more charismatic than Nixon First televised Presidential debate

Kennedy Wins Despite voters concerns about John Kennedy’s catholic faith they elected him to be the President Extremely close election Difference of .10% of the vote Both Kennedy and Nixon supported Civil Rights reforms but Kennedy gained support by intervening when Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested. Nixon is written off as a political has-been.

Camelot Kennedy the youngest President elected to office, 43 years old. He had a young family and a young wife Jacqueline “Jackie” Kennedy Caroline and John Jr. Many American felt a youth and vigor in the White House Kennedy’s term is seen as a fairytale time in DC

Kennedy and the Cold War Almost immediately after coming into office Kennedy was forced to deal with issues on the global stage. In his inauguration he said: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” What does this quote tell us about Kennedy’s foreign policy? 

Kennedy and the Cold War Kennedy believed that America could gain standing in the world by helping poor nations develop Created the Peace Corp in March of 1961 Wanted to give young Americans an opportunity to serve underdeveloped nations for a short time

The Space Race In 1957, the Soviet Union launched an artificial satellite called “Sputnik” First time this was accomplished Americans were afraid of being technologically outperformed by the Soviets Leads to a race between the US and USSR to see who could advance faster in space development In May of 1961 Kennedy promises that America will land a man on the moon The “Moon Shot Speech”

Kennedy and Cuba In 1959 Communist revolutionaries lead by Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban government. In 1961, Kennedy authorized a military invasion of the island of Cuba by exiled Cubans in an attempt to overthrow Castro. Called the “Bay of Pigs” invasion Kennedy does not provide air support for the troops and they are quickly subdued by Castro’s forces Seen as a major military blunder for Kennedy

Effects of the Bay of Pigs Castro lost all trust in Kennedy, expected more invasions Kennedy begins to ramp up sanctions against Cuba In September of 1962 Kennedy signs an embargo that bans all trade between Cuba and the United States. Tension with the Cubans (Soviets) was at an all time high.

The Cuban Missile Crisis Castro’s ally: Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. (Stalin died in March 1953) Promised to defend Cuba militarily Summer 1962-Soviet weapons to Cuba, including nuclear missiles, increased greatly. JFK warned that would not tolerate offensive nukes in Cuba. Oct 14: photos show Soviet missile bases in Cuba with missiles ready to launch. Could reach the US in minutes.

Cuban Missile Crisis Oct 22: JFK tells the nations about the missiles and his plans (?) to remove them. Any missile attack from Cuba would trigger and all-out attack on the Soviet Union. Soviet ships headed towards Cuba US Navy prepared to quarantine Cuba to prevent the ships from coming within 500 miles of it. In FL, 100,00 troops waited. The fear was very real and terrifying.

The End First break in the crisis: Soviet ships stopped suddenly to avoid fight at sea. Secretary of State Dean Rusk: “We are eyeball to eyeball, and the other fellow just blinked.” Few days later Khrushchev offered to remove the missiles if JFK promised to not invade Cuba. Secretly JFK agreed to remove missiles from Turkey. “For a moment, the world had stood still, and now it was going around again.” -RFK