KENNEDY AND AMERICA IN THE 1960S

“If you give me a week, I might think of one.” Eisenhower when asked if Richard Nixon had participated in any major decision as Vice President

 On September 26, 1960, Kennedy and Nixon took part in the first televised debate between presidential candidates  Kennedy looked and spoke better than Nixon  Journalist Russell Baker said, “That night, image replaced the printed word as the national language of politics”

 Television was blamed for losing Nixon the race  JFK looked cool, collected, presidential  Nixon, according to one observer, resembled a "sinister chipmunk"

 Henry Cabot Lodge (Nixon’s VP) – “There will be a Negro in the Cabinet”  JFK helped MLK get out of jail  MLK’s father “I’ve got a suitcase of votes and I’m going to take them to Mr. Kennedy and dump them in his lap”

KENNEDY WINS CLOSE ELECTION

 Kennedy won the election by fewer than 119,000 votes  Nixon dominated the west, while Kennedy won the south and the east coast JFKRMN

In his inaugural address, JFK uttered this famous challenge: “Ask not what your country can do for you --- ask what you can do for your country”

 The press loved the Kennedy charm and JFK appeared frequently on T.V.  The Kennedys were considered American “Royalty” (hence “Camelot” reference)

 The first family fascinated the American public  JFK could read 1,600 words a minute = speed-reading courses  Jackie = fashion and culture

 JFK surrounded himself with “best and the brightest” available talent  Relied most on his 35-year-old brother Robert, whom he appointed attorney general

 Tripled our nuclear capability  Increased troops, ships and artillery  Created Green Berets (Special Forces)

 Just 90 miles off the coast of Florida  Openly Communist, Cuba was led by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro who welcomed aid from the USSR  Relations between the U.S. and Cuba were deteriorating

 In March 1960, Eisenhower gave the CIA permission to secretly train Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba  JFK approved the mission – didn’t want to be soft  It turned out to be a disaster  April, 1961  1,200 Cuban exiles vs. 25,000 Cuban troops backed by Soviet tanks “We looked like fools to our friends, rascals to our enemies and incompetents to the rest” Quote from U.S. Commentator

Everyone in Cuba knew about it – Not a Surprise JFK moves the invasion 100 miles west – away from a good escape route into the Bay of Pigs Did not include American ground support – mix of a lot of Cubans US Air strike didn’t knock out Cuban air force JFK doesn’t authorize another air strike because Cuba knew about it Distraction group never reached the shore US thought that 1,500 Cuban Exiles could win Those who landed didn’t have US support and faced 25,000 Cubans backed by USSR tanks Castro found 100 – 200,000 domestic supporters and stopped them

“I want to know how all this could have happened. There were 50 or so of us, presumably the most experienced and smartest people we could get, to plan such an operation. Most of us thought it would work. I know there are some men now saying they were opposed from the start. I wasn't aware of any great opposition….. Kennedy continued: "But five minutes after it began to fall in, we all looked at each other and asked, 'How could we have been so stupid?' When we saw the wide range of the failures we asked ourselves why it had not been apparent to somebody from the start. I guess you get walled off from reality when you want something to succeed too much.”

 Prisoners taken JFK has to give Castro 62 million worth of food and medicine  JFK and the US gov. look really bad  Khrushchev sees JFK as a push over  Gives Cuba a boost – we beat the American mercenaries  Vindicates critics of the US who thought we were being too imperialistic and involved  Castro asked for USSR protection – brings missiles to Cuba which will be a problem in the future

 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev promised to defend Cuba with Soviet weapons  During the summer of 1962 the flow of Soviet weapons into Cuba – including nuclear – increased greatly

 October – U.S spy planes discover nuclear missile sites in Cuba October – U.S spy planes  Oct. 22 – JFK informs the nation, promises to remove them  Oct. 24 – US implements of a quarantine of Cuba  Oct 25 – Soviet ships coming to Cuba stop Oct 25 – Soviet ships coming to Cuba stop  Oct 28 – Khrushchev says he will remove missiles.

USA will not tolerate nukes in Cuba Photos revealed nukes ready to launch in Cuba JFK said the U.S. would respond to any attack with out nuclear strike against USSR KENNEDY RESPONDS

 More USSR ships  JFK orders blockade  USSR ships turn back  Finally, Khrushchev agreed to remove the nuclear weapons  As long as USA promises not to invade Cuba For 13 days in October, 1962 the world stood still as the threat of nuclear war gripped the planet

 The compromise reached satisfied no one, it was a particular embarrassment for Khrushchev and the Soviet Union who had not made public the withdrawal of the missiles in Turkey.  U.S. military commanders were also not happy with the result. General LeMay told the president that it was “the greatest defeat in our history” and that the U.S should invade immediately.  Cuba felt they had been betrayed by the Soviets whom they had trusted.  The Cuban Missile Crisis spurred the creation of the Hot Line. This is a direct communications link between Moscow and Washington D.C.

 In 1961, Berlin, Germany was a city in great turmoil  In the 11 years since the Berlin Airlift, almost 3 million East Germans (Soviet side) had fled into West Berlin (U.S. controlled) to flee communist rule

 The Soviets did not like the fact that East Berliners were fleeing their city for the democratic west  Their departure hurt the economy and the prestige of the USSR  Just after midnight on August 13, 1961 the Soviets began construction of a 90- mile wall separating East and West Berlin East Germany begins construction on the Berlin Wall, which becomes a primary symbol of the Cold War and Soviet oppression

 Both Khrushchev and Kennedy began searching for ways ease tension  In 1963 they established a hot line between the White House and the Kremlin  Later that year, the superpowers signed a Limited Test Ban Treaty that served to ban nuclear testing in the atmosphere

 “The New Frontier”  Economy  Education  Medical care for the elderly and the poor  Space exploration

 One of the 1 st programs launched by JFK  Volunteer program to assist developing nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America

 April 12, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space  America’s space agency (NASA) began construction on new launch facilities in Cape Canaveral, Florida and a mission control center in Houston, Texas

 Finally, on July 20, 1969, the U.S. would achieve its goal  An excited nation watched as U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon  Space and defense-related industries sprang up in Southern and Western states Armstrong “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”

 In 1963, JFK called for “a national assault on the causes of poverty”  Investigates Racial Injustice in South  Presented Congress with a sweeping civil rights bill and a sweeping tax cut bill to spur the economy

 On a sunny day on November 22,1963, Air Force One landed in Dallas with JFK and Jackie  JFK received warm applause from the crowd that lined the downtown streets of Dallas as he rode in the back seat of an open-air limousine