Kennedy Administration Semester 2 Week 9

The Era of TV Politics Begins  The TV debates of the 1960 presidential election had enormous impact  Following the first debate, the media focused more strongly on the appearance of the candidates  Suddenly the whole country seemed to have become experts on makeup and television lighting  TV had been used in campaigns as early as 1948, it was not until the 1960 election that a large majority of voters used TV as a voting tool

The Candidates   Both candidates shared the desire to lead the nation through the challenges of a new decade, but they differed in many ways   JFK, a Catholic came from a wealthy & influential MA family   Nixon, a Quaker, from CA, came from a financially struggling family   JFK seemed outgoing & relaxed; looked cool, collected & presidential   Nixon struck many as formal & even stiff in manner; according to one observer he resembled a "sinister chipmunk"

Big Money for TV  Compared to earlier campaigns, the 1960 presidential race made new use of TV, with both major parties spending substantial amounts of money on TV ads  The Dems spent over $6 million in TV & radio spots, while the Repubs spent more than $7.5 million  TV news commentator Eric Sevareid complained that the candidates had become “packaged products,” and he stated that “the Processed Politician has finally arrived”

The Issues  The campaign centered on the economy and the Cold War –they differed little on these two issues  Both promised to boost the economy and both portrayed themselves as “Cold Warriors” determined to stop the forces of communism  JFK argued that the nation faced serious threats from the Soviets  In Cuba, Fidel Castro was allying himself with the USSR  At home, many people lived in fear of a soviet nuclear attack  JFK voiced his concern about a suspected “missile gap,” in which the United States lagged behind the Soviets in weaponry  Nixon countered that the U.S. was on the right track under the current administration  Nixon also warned that the Dems fiscal policies would boost inflation & that only he had the necessary foreign policy experience to guide the nation

Issues for Kennedy as a Catholic  JFK came under scrutiny about his religion  U.S. had never had a Catholic president  many Protestants had concerns about JFK  JFK decided to confront this issue openly in a speech, “I believe in an America where the separation of the church & state is absolute, he said, “where no Catholic prelate would tell the president, should he be a Catholic, how to act”

JFK Win Narrow Victory  The 4 televised debates strongly influenced the outcome of the election, one of the closest in U.S. history  JFK won popular vote by 119,000 out of 68 million votes cast and the Electoral College by  In several states only a few thousand votes could have swung the Electoral College numbers the other way

Kennedy the Mass Media President  Despite his narrow victory, JFK captured the imagination of the American public as few presidents before him had  During the campaign, many had been taken with JFK’s youth and optimism  JFK strongly reinforced this impression when he gave his Inaugural Address  The Kennedy family seemed to have been created for media coverage  JFK himself was a master of the media, particularly TV  He was the first to broadcast his press conferences live on television

Inaugural Address   proclaimed that the U.S. would do anything to uphold its version of freedom throughout the world   “Ask not what your country can do for you --- ask what you can do for your country”

New Frontier  He hoped to increase aid to education, provide heath insurance to the elderly, create a Department of Urban Affairs, and help migrant workers  Congress defeated a number of JFK’s proposals, including health insurance for the elderly, a Department of Urban Affairs, and federal aid to education  JFK often resisted calls to push harder for his agenda  He decided not to fight every battle on Capitol Hill and preferred to reserve his bargaining power for issues that were both truly important & winnable

Ideas on Women  1961, he created the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women  The commission called for federal action against gender discrimination & affirmed the right of women to equally paid employment  Kennedy responded by issuing an executive order ending gender discrimination in the federal civil service  1963, he signed the Equal Pay Act for women  The commission also sparked the creation of similar groups on the state level and inspired many women to work together to further their interests

The Alliance for Progress  To improve relations between the U.S. & Latin America, JFK proposed an Alliance for Progress, a series of cooperative aid projects with Latin American governments  The alliance was designed to create a “free and prosperous Latin America” that would be less likely to support Communist- inspired revolutions  Over a 10-year period, the United States pledged $20 billion to help Latin American countries established better schools, housing, health care, and fairer land distribution  The results were mixed  Some countries- notably Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Central American republics- the alliance did promote real reform  In others, governing rulers used the money to keep themselves in power

POP QUIZ  QUIETLY TAKE OUT A FULL, SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER  NUMBER 1-5

POP QUIZ 1. Who were the 2 candidates for the Election of 1960? 2. How many televised debates were there? 3. In his inaugural address, JFK proclaimed that the U.S. would do anything to uphold its version of this? 4. JFK hoped to increase aid to education, provide heath insurance to the elderly, create a Department of Urban Affairs, and help migrant workers with this? 5. This alliance was designed to create a “free and prosperous Latin America” that would be less likely to support Communist- inspired revolutions?

The Plan in Berlin  The lines of German occupation had hardened  The W’rn regions had combined into one, creating the new nation of West Germany  The sector controlled by the USSR became East Germany  The city of Berlin, lying inside East Germany was also divided  USSR demanded a peace treaty that would make the division of the city permanent

The Berlin Crisis  JFK feared the Soviet effort in Germany was part of a larger plan to take over the rest of Europe  6/1961, JFK had 1 st conversion w/ Soviet premier (leader) Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna, Austria; this went poorly, JFK felt bullied  JFK asked Congress for a huge increase of more than $3 billion for defense  JFK requested more military personal

Berlin Wall  USSR built a wall in Berlin that effectively sealed East Berliners in their region of the city  This became an enduring symbol of East-West conflict for the next 3 decades Nikita Khrushchev

Castro Takes Over in Cuba  1959, Castro successfully led forces that overthrew the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista  Under Batista, Cuba had been an economic dependency of the U.S. & when Castro’s government started to nationalize Americans’ lands and investments and sell sugar to the Soviet Union  Eisenhower stopped trade with the island and the CIA began to train anti-Castro exiles for an invasion

Castro’s Cuba  The U.S. had worried about Cuba ever since revolutionary leader Fidel Castro took over in 1959  Many Cubans supported Castro because he promised to improve the lives of the poor by exploiting wealthy Cuban & U.S. companies operating in Cuba  Castro developed ties to the USSR, particularly after the U.S. broke diplomatic relations

The Plan to Overthrow Castro  When JFK learned that Eisenhower had approved a plan in 1960, in which the CIA was providing military training for Cuba opponents of Castro in Guatemala  An invasion of Cuba at a place called the Bay of Pigs was planned  The idea was when the invasion took place, the Cuban people would use this opportunity to overthrow Castro

The Bay of Pigs Invasion  Took place on 4/17/1961; it was a total disaster  An air strike failed to destroy Cuba’s air power, Castro was able to stop forces coming to Cuba  Advisers urged JFK to send in U.S. planes for help, but he refused & cut his losses  The illegal effort to overthrow a legitimate gov’t was exposed to the world  European leaders were concerned about the kind of leadership JFK planned to provide

Map of Cuba

Missiles Found in Cuba  USSR disturbed by the Bay of Pigs invasion, now supported Cuba  10/1962, photos taken from U.S. spy planes revealed that the Soviets were placing missiles (ICBMs) in Cuba  USSR had its 1 st ally in the W’rn Hemisphere, 90 miles South of U.S.

Possible Soviet Motives  U.S. Jupiter missiles in Turkey  Khrushchev was trying to show how much power he had  Protection of Cuba from a U.S. invasion

JFK’s Reaction  Bombers & missiles were armed w/ nuclear weapons  The fleet was ready to move  Soldiers were ready to invade Cuba any minute

Kennedy Goes on TV  Tells public about the missiles & demands USSR remove them  “The U.S. would not shrink from the risk of nuclear war”  Announced a naval “quarantine” around Cuba to prevent the Soviets from bringing in more missiles  He was careful not to use “blockade” since this is an act of war

Who was going to Blink 1 st ?  Soviet ships came close to quarantine line but were called back  Khrushchev sent a letter to JFK pledging he would remove the missile if JFK promised that the U.S. would end the quarantine & stay out of Cuba

A SECOND LETTER?!  Khrushchev would sent a 2 nd letter demanding that the U.S. take the missiles out of Turkey in exchange for removal of Cuban missiles  The U.S. accepted the terms of the 1 st note while ignoring the 2 nd one

The Legacy of the CMC  This would be the closest the world has come to nuclear war  The CMC did lead to reduce the risk of nuclear war 1.JFK & Khrushchev established a “hot line” between nations to discuss these type of issues , signed Limited Test Ban Treaty – banned nuclear testing above ground

POP QUIZ  QUIETLY TAKE OUT A FULL, SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER  NUMBER 1-5

POP QUIZ 1. Where did JFK 1 st meet Khrushchev? 2. Before Castro took over Cuba who was the leader? 3. Before the Bay of Pigs invasion who was concerned about the kind of leadership JFK planned to provide? 4. Name 2 of the possible Soviet motives for the Cuban Missile Crisis. 5. This banned nuclear testing above ground?