PowerPoint by Mr. Hataway Created February 26, 2003 Revised March 16, 2011 JFK and the Cold War

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The New Frontier  Kennedy’s Inaugural Speech  “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”  Promised a landing on moon by end of decade.  Challenge the Soviet bloc to respect human rights.

Bay of Pigs Invasion, April 1961  Cuban Leader Fidel Castro made alliance with Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev  La Brigada –Eisenhower had CIA train and arm Cuban exiles. –Kennedy approves Cuban invasion by the exiles.

Bay of Pigs Invasion, April 1961  Kennedy canceled air support.  Most of La Brigada were either captured or killed.

The Berlin Wall  Kennedy met Khrushchev in June 1961  Kennedy refused to recognize East Germany or withdraw from Berlin.  Khrushchev commented “It will be a cold winter”

The Berlin Wall  In 1961, the Soviet- backed East German government (GDR) began constructing a fence to halt the flow of “human resources” from the East to the West.

The Berlin Wall  The Wall was a symbol of the division of East and West for the remainder of the Cold War until it was taken down in 1989.

Fall of The Berlin Wall 1989

Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962  Soviets placed nuclear missiles in Cuba in summer of 1962.

Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962  In October 1962, President John F. Kennedy warned Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that an attack launched on the United States from missiles based in Cuba would be considered an attack from the Soviet Union.

Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962  EX-COM gave Kennedy two Options –Air strikes –Air strike followed by invasion  Kennedy demanded 3rd option –“quarantine” of Cuba emerged.

Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962  A Tense Thirteen Days –Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles. –Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba. –Secretly Kennedy removed American missiles from Turkey.

Kennedy’s “Flexible Response”  A growing “Missile Gap,” with Soviets.  Kennedy asked Congress to increase defense appropriations by 1/3.

Kennedy’s “Flexible Response”  Built up conventional troops and weapons to fight a limited war.  Supported special forces such as the “Green Berets” for covert operations. “Green Berets” “Green Berets”

Kennedy’s “Flexible Response”  Fear of annihilation, led the U.S. and Soviets to to sign the Test Ban Treaty (1963) that prohibited atmospheric tests.

Kennedy’s “Flexible Response”  White House/Kremlin Hotline –August 1930, direct communication between the White House and the Kremlin. –the new hotline would "help reduce the risk of war occurring by accident or miscalculation."

Space Race  Kennedy proposing America put a man on the moon by  JFK put LBJ in charge of NASA.  Mercury program put Alan Shepherd in Space (1961) & John Glenn in orbit (1962).

The Vietnam Quagmire  JFK continued Eisenhower’s policy of support for anticommunist forces in Southeast Asia to prevent the “domino effect.”  JFK increased US involvement in Vietnam by sending 16,000 military advisors over (1963).

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