Kennedy and the Cold War Chapter 20 Section 1 Kennedy and the Cold War

The Election of 1960 Voters restless in 1960 Economy in recession Soviets developed Sputnik I and long range missiles Military power of US falling behind Soviets U2 incident Cuba aligned with Soviets Seemed like US was losing the Cold War

The Election of 1960 Democratic nominee for President-John F. Kennedy Said nation was “adrift” Promised active leadership to get America moving again

The Election of 1960 Republican opponent-Richard Nixon Hoped to capitalize on Eisenhower’s popularity Both candidates expresses similar views on policy issues

The Election of 1960 1960 election closest since 1888 JFK wins 2 issues put him over the top Television Views on civil rights

Kennedy the Candidate Well organized campaign Backing of his large and wealthy family Looks and charisma that appealed to voters

Kennedy the Candidate Had to overcome obstacles Only 43-many though inexperienced Catholic- People were afraid he would be too influenced by the Pope Kennedy stated he would make decisions based on national interest, not outside religious pressures

Televised Debate Nixon/Kennedy debate was the 1st televised debate between presidential candidates Nixon-a foreign policy expert agreed to televised debate b/c he thought it would show Kennedy’s inexperience

Televised Debate People didn’t seem to care about experience-cared more about looks and speech 70 million people watched Both candidates seemed knowledgeable and articulate

Televised Debate Nixon lost the image battle JFK was coached by TV producers – looked better than Nixon Nixon seemed sweaty and nervous JFK looked quick, aggressive and cool

Televised Debate Gave JFK a boost in the polls Began attracting large crowds Launched television age of American politics

Kennedy and King October 1960-Atlanta police arrest MLK Jr. King sentenced to 4 months hard labor Eisenhower refused to intervene Nixon took no public position

Kennedy and King JFK phoned King’s wife to express sympathy Robert Kennedy convinced judge to release King on bail African American community supported JFK

Kennedy Takes Command Cold War occupied much of JFK’s attention Said that the Soviets were winning the race for allies in the third world Economically deprived countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America

Kennedy Takes Command Blasted republicans for allowing Communism to move to Cuba Kennedy took a hard line against the Soviets Wanted to redefine our nuclear strategy

Kennedy Takes Command Eisenhower relied on threat of massive retaliation Using the threat of nuclear arms over minor conflicts was not a risk JFK wanted to take

Kennedy Takes Command Developed a policy of Flexible response Developing American non-nuclear forces in case there was a minor conflict Believed a stronger military would give the President more options in handling a crisis

Kennedy Takes Command Flexible Response resulted in an increase in military spending Boosted conventional military forces Created Special Forces – Green Berets

Kennedy Takes Command Tripled nuclear capabilities of the US Allowed the US to fight limited wars as well as maintain a nuclear balance with the Soviets

Crisis Over Cuba Cuba 90 miles from the US Eisenhower cuts off diplomatic relations w/ Cuba 1/3/61 Revolutionary leader of Cuba Fidel Castro openly proclaimed himself a communist

The Cuban Dilemma Castro promised democracy Led a guerrilla war against dictator Fulgencio Batista Wanted to eliminate poverty and inequality and dictatorship Revolutionize Cuba from “the bottom up”

The Cuban Dilemma US recognized new Castro govmt Believed Castro was a freedom fighter US/Cuban relations got worse when Cuba nationalized oil refineries own by the US & Britain

The Cuban Dilemma Broke up commercial farms and made them communes Castro began to rely on Soviet aid and political repression to enact his reforms Many liked Castro for standing up to the US

The Cuban Dilemma Others said Castro betrayed the Revolution Called him a tyrant that replaced one dictator with another 10% of Cuban population left

The Bay of Pigs Summer 1960- Eisenhower gave CIA permission to secretly train hundreds of Cuban exiles Hoped their invasion of Cuba would trigger a mass uprising to overthrow Castro

The Bay of Pigs Approved the plan Promised air support to Cuban exiles April 17, 1961 1,400 Cuban exiles landed in Southern Cuba

The Bay of Pigs Nothing worked A prior air strike failed to knock out the Cuban air force – even thought the CIA said it did An advance group sent to distract Castro never reached shore

The Bay of Pigs The commandos that did reach the island were met by 20,000 Cuban soldiers backed by Soviet jets and tanks All exiles were either killed or taken prisoner

The Bay of Pigs Castro turned this into a public relations triumph One American commentator said we “look like fools to our friends, rascals to our enemies, and incompetent to the rest

The Bay of Pigs JFK embarrassed Questioned how the CIA could have screwed up so bad Publicly accepted blame

The Bay of Pigs JFK negotiated w/ Castro for the return of the captured commandos Had to pay Castro a ransom of $53 million in food and medical supplies

Cuban Missile Crisis Cuba had a powerful ally in the Soviet Union Khrushchev promised to defend Cuba w/ Soviet weapons Including nuclear weapons

Cuban Missile Crisis JFK told Soviets the US would not tolerate offensive nuclear weapons in Cuba October 14, 1962- photos provide evidence the Soviets were building missile bases on Cuba

Cuban Missile Crisis Some of these sites contained missiles ready to launch These missiles could hit US cities in minutes

Cuban Missile Crisis October 22, 1961- JFK informs nation of the Soviet missiles in Cuba Made it clear that a missile attack from Cuba would trigger an all-out attack on the Soviet Union

Cuban Missile Crisis For the next 6 days- the world faced the possibility of nuclear war Soviet ships w/ more missiles were heading for Cuba US Navy quarantined Cuba-ships could not come w/in 500 miles of the island

Cuban Missile Crisis 20,000 US troops assembled in Florida-largest invasion force ever assembled in the US

Cuban Missile Crisis Soviet Ships suddenly stop to avoid confrontation Khrushchev offered to remove missiles if the US pledged not to invade Cuba JFK agreed Crisis over

Cuban Missile Crisis Crisis damaged Khrushchev’s prestige Criticized for backing down from the US His own people as well as the Chinese accused Khrushchev of being weak

Cuban Missile Crisis JFK criticized as well Criticized to exercising brinkmanship when private talks may have resolved the crisis w/out a threat of nuclear war

Cuban Missile Crisis Others believed JFK had been too soft Said he passed up an opportunity to invade Cuba and oust Castro This would have been a mistake- Soviets had more troops and weapons in Cuba than the CIA had estimated

Effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis Many Cuban exiles blamed Democrats for “losing” Cuba and became Republicans Castro closed doors to Cuban exiles Banned all flights to and from Miami

The Berlin Crisis Crisis emerged shortly after bay of Pigs fiasco West Berlin became a showcase for Democracy by 1961 Economically prosperous

The Berlin Crisis In 11 years since Berlin Airlift- 3 million east Germans (20% of the E. German population) fled to West Berlin Showcased the failure of E. German communist government

The Berlin Crisis Khrushchev threatened to close off West Berlin JFK refused to give up US access to West Berlin Pledged that Communism would not drive US out of West Berlin

The Berlin Crisis US nuclear power prevented the Soviets from closing off Berlin Instead…August 13, 1961 began building a massive wall to divide East and West Berlin

The Berlin Crisis Berlin wall ended Berlin crisis Further aggravated Col War tension Reduced flow of east Germans into west Berlin Became an ugly symbol of Communist oppression

Searching for Ways to Ease Tensions April 1963- JFK proposed the creation of a hotline between Washington DC and Moscow The 2 leaders could now communicate directly should a crisis arise

Searching for Ways to Ease Tensions Limited Test Ban Treaty- barred nuclear testing in the atmosphere