1. JFK: A Presidency

2. Election of 1960 Problems in America: Who Ran?
Economic recession
Was America losing to the Soviets in the Cold War?
Who Ran?
Democratic John Kennedy
Republican Richard Nixon
What 2 issues pushed Kennedy over the top?
Television and Civil Rights

3. Kennedy the Candidate Arguments against Kennedy:
He was too Young, inexperienced
He was Catholic
How did the debate help him?
He looked and spoke better than Nixon (even though Nixon was more knowledgable)
How did MLK help him?
After MLK was arrested for civil disobedience, JFK got his Brother to call the judge and have him released

4. The Camelot Years The election was the closest since 1884
Kennedy’s inauguration set a tone of grace, elegance, and wit
Who was in Kennedy’s Inner Circle?
McGeorge Bundy: a national security advisor
Robert McNamara: secretary of defense
Dean Rusk: Secretary of State
Robert Kennedy: Attorney General

5. Foreign Policy: Castro Comes to Power
Cuba is 90 miles off the coast of Florida
Led a guerrilla movement to topple Fulgencio Batista
Promised to eliminate poverty, inequality, and dictatorship
U.S. first recognized his government, but then Castro seized control of U.S. oil refineries
Due to rough conditions in cuba, a counter-revolutionary movement took hold of miami

6. Foreign Policy: Bay of Pigs
Began with Eisenhower and then Kennedy approved the mission 9 days into his presidency
April 17th, 1961
Air strike fails, exiles fail to make it to shore- Americans killed or imprisoned
Major embarrassment for Kennedy as Castro claims western defeat

7. Foreign Policy: Cuban Missile Crisis
America found out that the soviets were building illegal missile sites in Cuba
Four options:
Do nothing and attempt negotiations
Blockade Cuba to prevent future supplies from entering cuba
Bomb missile sites
Amphibious invasion of Cuba

8. Foreign Policy: Cuban Missile Crisis
We choose: Blockade of Cuba
13 days America sat on the brink of Nuclear war
We had 100,000 troops waiting in Florida (the largest invasion force ever assembled)
Khruschev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade
“For a moment, the world stood still”- Robert Kennedy

9. Foreign Policy: Berlin Crisis
3 million East Germans had fled into Western Berlin in the years following the Berlin airlift
Khruschev wanted to block off western Berlin to protect the East German economy
August 13th, 1961: Construction on the wall began which would separate East and West Berlin
Symbol of the Cold War Divide

10. Foreign Policy: The Hot Line
1963: direct line between White House and Kremlin
Meant to prevent Nuclear War

11. Foreign Policy: The Limited Test Ban Treaty
Banned testing nuclear weapons in the air
Wanted to prevent environment damage

12. Domestic Policy New Frontier: Name for Kennedy’s Domestic Policy
Stimulating the economy:
Pushed deficit spending
Increased minimum wage, cut taxes
Raised defense budget by 20%

13. Domestic Policy: Poverty
Abroad:
Peace Corps:
Volunteer assistance to the developing nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America
Huge Success
1968: 35,000 volunteers had served in 60 nations
Alliance for Progress:
Offered economic assistance to Latin American countries
Not a success- resented by Latin Americans due to our history with them

14. Domestic Policy: Poverty
At Home:
Michael Harrinton’s book The Other America brought the topic of poverty to the forefront
Profiled 50 million Americans who struggled with less than $1,000/year
Kennedy tried to push through Civil rights legislation
Presented a bill to congress that would get passed through under Johnson

15. Domestic Policy: Race to the Moon
Soviet Yuri Garigan became the first person in space
Kennedy saw this as a challenge, wanted to surpass them
Invested millions into nasa
Apollo 11 becomes the U.S. space mission to land on the Moon
The Eagle was the craft that actually landed on the moon- Neil Armstrong, first person to walk on the moon

16. assassination November 22nd, 1963 Kennedy is shot in Dallas, Texas
Governor Connally was also shot
Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the shooting- he was then killed by Jack Ruby
Warren Commission was put in charge of the investigation into his death- concluded Oswald acted alone, however in 1979, a reinvestigation alleged he was a part of a larger conspiracy.