1. Election of 1960 Dems take Congress and Presidency
JFK defeats Tricky Dick Nixon
WHY???
LBJ
Debates held on TV
Ike had a recession
“Missile Gap”
Large cities turn out for Catholic Kennedy

3. Kennedy Background
Good looking, young President (different from previous Presidents)
War hero in WWII
Roman Catholic
Wealthy

4. Domestic Policy (New Frontier)
Federal spending for mental health
Presidents Commission on the Status of Women
Equal opportunities and hiring practices for women
Supported African American Civil Rights
Black vote helped him win the election
Integrated University of Alabama and Mississippi (1963)
Affordable housing for low-middle class Encouraged all Americans to join the Peace Corps
Encouraged all Americans to join the Peace Corps
Increase spending on defense and the space race

5. JFK Foreign Policy R O B E T M C N A R
Sec. of Defense

6. Thích Quảng Đức Agreed with the Domino Theory
Sent 17,000 “advisors” to Vietnam
Promised to remove troops by 1965
Thích Quảng Đức

7. Bay of Pigs
U.S. trained Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro (Operation Mongoose)
Surprise attack fails and Castro tries to gain nuclear weapons

8. Berlin Wall
Constructed in August of 1961 (no response from the U.S. or her allies)
Could JFK had done anything?
How does this make young JFK look?
Ich bin ein Berliner!

10. Closest we ever came to WWIII
Cuban Missile Crisis
Closest we ever came to WWIII
October 15, 1962, U2 spy plane recognizes missile sites in Cuba
Crisis ends 10/28/62 when the U.S. promises no invasion and Soviet Union promises to remove missiles from Cuba
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ended the testing of nukes above ground

11. Kennedy Assassination
JFK killed November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas
Killed by Lee Harvey Oswald
First time there is ever live footage of a President being assassinated (Zapruder Film)