1. John F. Kennedy

2. The Election of 1960 The election of 1960 was the closest since
1884; Kennedy
defeated Richard
Nixon by fewer than
119,000 votes.

3. Election of 1960
Eisenhower was not able to transfer his popularity to another Republican
His VP, Richard Nixon, had gained a reputation as a statesman in his diplomatic travels to Europe and South America

4. Election of 1960
He was seen standing up to Nikita Khrushchev in the “kitchen debate” in a visit to Moscow
The Republican candidate was known to be a though and seasoned campaigner

5. Election of 1960
Many Democrats wanted to nominate Adlai Stevenson again or Lyndon B. Johnson
In the primaries, John F. Kennedy defeated his rivals

6. Election of 1960
To balance the ticket, MA senator Kennedy chose L.B. Johnson from TX - a choice crucial to getting the southern states

7. The Debates
Four televised debates took place, the first in American politics
Kennedy used make-up and appeared vigorous and comfortable
Nixon looked sinister, pale and tense

8. The Debates
The debates were broadcasted coast to coast and watched by million viewers

9. The Debates
Orval Faubus, States’ Rights Party, was kept out of the debates

10. The Debates Kennedy attacked the Eisenhower administration for
The recent recession
Losing the arms race to the Soviets
A losing gap in the space race - not true by 1960

11. The Debates
When polled after the debates, the majority of people who listened to the debates on the radio, said Nixon won
Those who watched on TV thought Kennedy won
Appearances make a difference

12. The Results
Kennedy won by a little over 100,000 votes but a wider electoral college margin
Republicans charged Democrats of stuffing ballot boxes with “votes” of deceased people

13. Election of 1960

14. Did You Know?
• He was a decorated naval officer in World War II. • He received the Pulitzer Prize for his book, "Profiles in Courage." • He served exactly 1,000 days in office. • He was the first president born in the 20th century and the youngest president ever elected.
He is the only Roman
Catholic president
He could read words a minute.

15. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address
Kennedy was the youngest person ever to be elected president. His
youth helped provide the theme to his inaugural address:
“Let the word go forth…
That the torch has been
passed to a new
generation of Americans…
The energy, the faith, the
devotion which we bring
to this endeavor will light
our country and all who
serve it…And so, my fellow
Americans-ask not what
your country can do for
you-ask what you can do
for your country.”

16. The Camelot Years With JFK’s youthful glamour and his talented
advisors, the
Kennedy White
House reminded
many of a modern-
day Camelot, the
mythical court of
King Arthur.

17. Bay of Pigs (Bahía de Cochinos )

18. The Bay of Pigs On the nights of April 17,1961, some 1500 Cuban exiles
supported by the U.S. military
landed on the island’s
southern coast at Baja de
Cochinos, the Bay of Pigs. The
CIA and the exiles hoped it
would trigger a mass uprising
that would overthrow Castro.
It didn’t! Cuban forces, backed
by Soviet tanks and jet aircraft,
easily repelled the exile invasion.
Some of the exiles were killed,
others imprisoned.

19. What was the objective of the Bay of Pigs Invasion?
Who started the idea?
Why was it unsuccessful?
What happened to the Cuban Exiles?
What impact did it have on Cuba, US, other countries?

20. Assassination Attempts on Fidel Castro
Booby Trapped Seashells
Skin Diving Suit
Contaminated cigars
Poison Pills in ice cream
Thalium salt (to make his beard fall out)

21. The New Frontier President Kennedy’s legislative program to
provide medical care
for the elderly….
To rebuild blighted
urban areas….

22. To aid education….
To bolster the national
defense….

23. To increase
international aid….
To expand the space
program.

24. To provide volunteer
assistance to developing
nations in Asia, Africa,
and Latin America.
And to promote civil rights.

25. Kennedy and Berlin One of the high points of Kennedy’s foreign
travels was a trip he
made to Berlin in 1963
to dramatize America’s
commitment to West
Berlin and West Germany.
In a speech at the Berlin
Wall, Kennedy electrified
an audience of about 150,000
Germans by stating , “Ich bin
ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner),
thus declaring the solidarity of
all free people with the people
of West Berlin.

26. Crisis Over Cuba The first test of Kennedy’s
foreign policy came in Cuba,
just 90 miles off the coast of
Florida. Revolutionary leader,
Fidel Castro, openly declared
himself a communist and
welcomed aid from the
Soviet Union.

27. Cuban Missile Crisis In October, 1962, photographs taken
by American planes
revealed Soviet
missile bases in
Cuba-and some
contained missiles
ready to launch.
They could reach
U.S. cities in
minutes.

28. On October 22,
Kennedy ordered
a naval blockade
of Cuba to prevent
further deliveries
of Soviet weapons.
He also demanded
that the Soviets
remove the missiles.
Khrushchev promised to
challenge the blockade,
calling it “outright banditry.”

29. For a few days, nuclear war and massive destruction was a
distinct possibility for every American. In schools, children
practiced air raid drills, a common occurrence during the Cold
War. People who had built bomb shelters began stocking
them with food and other provisions. Even the president called
his family to the White House where they could be protected in
the presidential nuclear shelter.

31. Suddenly, on October 24, many of the Soviet ships stopped short
of the blockade line, turned, and sailed home. “We’re eyeball to
eyeball,” said Secretary of State Dean Rusk, “and I think the
other fellow just blinked.” On October 28 Khrushchev agreed
to dismantle the missile bases in response to Kennedy’s promise
not to invade Cuba.

32. Tragedy in Dallas
In the fall of 1963, public opinion polls showed that Kennedy was losing popularity because of his advocacy of civil rights. On November 22,
1963, President and
Mrs. Kennedy went
to Texas to mend
political fences with
members of the
state’s Democratic
Party.

33. Crowds lined the
streets of Dallas
to greet the
President. In front
of them sat Texas
Governor John
Connally and his
wife Nellie.

34. As the car approached a state building known as the Texas State Book
Depository, rifle shots rang out.

35. Kennedy was
shot in the head.
His car raced to
a nearby
hospital, where
doctors
frantically tried
to revive him,
but it was too
late. President
dead.

36. In 1963, the Warren
Commission investigated
and concluded that
Lee Harvey Oswald
had shot the president
while acting on his own.

37. On Sunday, Nov. 24,
as millions watched
live television
coverage of Oswald
being transferred
between jails, a
nightclub owner
named Jack Ruby
broke through the
crowd and shot and
killed Oswald.