 John F. Kennedy By Lauren Miller and David Hunter

Key Terms  Election of 1960  Trade Expansion Act  Peace Corps  Vietnam War  Alliance for Progress  Bay of Pigs  Nuclear Test Ban Treaty  Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

Outline I. Life and Death II. Change in Culture III. Influence on US Economy IV. Military and National Security V. Cuba and Soviet Union VI. Social Equality

Life  Born into a rich family  Was a Roman Catholic  Was the senator of Massachusetts prior to becoming president  Went to Harvard  Youngest man ever to be elected president

Death  Died on November 22, 1963 while riding in an open limousine in Dallas, Texas. He was shot in the brain and died within seconds.  He was allegedly killed by Lee Harvey Oswald.  After death, some accused Kennedy of being a “womanizer” and being involved in relations with organized crime figures.

Election of 1960  Kennedy won the election with 303 electoral votes to 219  He appealed to workers, Catholics, and African- Americans  Even though Kennedy won the electoral vote, he only won the popular vote by 118,574 votes out of over 68 million

Change in Culture  Had high expectations especially for youths  Influenced a sexual revolution, which was caused mainly due to the introduction of the pill  A culture based more around youths  The beginning of a feminist revolution during his presidency

Influence on Economy  Wanted to pass bills for medical assistance for elders and increased federal financial aid for education  Campaigned on revitalizing the economy and was against inflation  Kennedy negotiated a non-inflationary wage agreement in the steel industry  Stimulated economy by cutting taxes and putting more money in general public’s hands

Influence on Economy  Kennedy promoted the multi-billion dollar project of landing an American on the moon. This happened $24 billion later, but Kennedy was not alive.  Trade Expansion Act in 1962 cut tariffs by up to 50%. It promoted trade with Common Market countries.  JFK, in 1963, cut about $11.1 billion in taxes for individuals and corporations. These proved to beneficial for US economy.

Military and National Security  Deployed 1,000 FBI agents for “internal security”  JFK proposed the Peace Corps, in which the US sent an army of mostly youthful volunteers to bring American skills to third world countries  JFK increased spending on conventional military forces

Peace Corps  Program was established under Executive Order on March 1, 1961  Purpose of the program was to provide technical assistance and to help people outside the US understand US culture and the US to understand the cultures of other countries.  The program worked towards social and economic development.  Opponents of JFK thought the Peace Corps would be used by Draft dodgers to avoid going to war.

The Vietnam War  Corrupt Diem government in Saignon had ruled since 1954 and was supported by American dollars.  Communists in Vietnam had begun to revolt against the democratic government  In 1961, Kennedy ordered an increased number of troops in South Vietnam to prevent a communist revolutionary government from taking over.  By his death, Kennedy had order 15,000 American troops to fight in Vietnam

Cuba and the Soviet Union  Kennedy proposed the 1961 Alliance for Progress with Cuba.  The goals of this was to narrow the gap between the rich and poor, to attempt to quite communists  JFK wanted Fidel Castro out of power in Cuba. To do this, JFK wanted the US to invade Cuban with anti- communist exiles. He believed this would trigger an uprising to get Castro out of power. However, this did not work out.

Bay of Pigs  The Bay of Pigs was created by the CIA and organized by Anti-Castro Cubans.  April 17 th, 1961, 1,200 exiles landed at Cuba’s Bay of Pigs  This was a failure for the US because most exiles either died or were ransomed away for drugs.  JFK’s Bay of Pigs and attempted assassination of Castrol created high tensions between the US and Cuba. This caused Cuba to become closer with the Soviet Union.

Bay of Pigs  In October of 1962, American spies found that the Soviets had nuclear missiles in Cuba.  On the 22 nd, JFK demanded Soviets leave Cuban and take their nuclear weapons away.  JFK stated that an attack on the US from Cuba was an attack from the USSR.  On the 28 th, Khrushchev removed the weapons from Cuba.  As a result, the US removed some missiles from Turkey that were aimed at the USSR.

Soviet Union  August 1963, Kennedy and the Soviets signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This was an agreement to stop testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere.  August 1963, a Moscow-Washington hotline was created to increase communication between the US and USSR  1963, JFK gave a speech in an attempt to decrease tension. In his speech, he stated that he supported positive relations with the Soviet Union.

Civil Rights  JFK took 2 years to follow his promise of eliminating racial discrimination in housing.  JFK was fearful of stimulating a black revolution because it would lose him support from Southern Democrats.  Kennedy created a civil rights bill that was not passed until after his death.

Social Equality  JFK proposed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, but it did not pass until after his death.  The act shifted emphasis of immigration from European nations to Latin American and Asian countries. This allowed these immigrants to come to the US as easily as European immigrants.  The selection of immigrants was more based on reunifying families than meeting per country quotas.

Social Equality  JFK worked towards affordable housing and equal pay for women.  Promoted integration, but believed it should be done slowly in order to not enrage the South.