1. JFK and the Cold War

2. Flexible Response Global instability
Soviet Union supported “wars of national liberation”
Kennedy felt Eisenhower relied too heavily on nuclear weapons
Flexible Response- aid to nations resisting communism
Build-up of troops
Build-up of conventional weapons
JFK expanded Special Forces, elite army unit to wage guerilla warfare in limited conflicts

4. Alliance for Progress Latin Americans unfriendly towards US
US too involved in Latin Governments
US corporations seen as imperialists
Alliance for Progress- cooperative aid projects with Latin American governments to improve relations
Create a “free and prosperous Latin America”
More stability
Less likely to support Communist revolutions
US pledged $20 billion to help LA countries
Establish schools
Better housing
Health care
Land distribution
Worked in Chile, Columbia, Venezuela, Central American Republics
Other rulers used money to keep themselves in power (funded weapons, dictatorships, etc.)

6. Peace Corps Started at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
Peace Corps- Organization sent Americans to provide humanitarian services in less-developed nations
Training
Two years in countries that requested assistance
Laid out sewage systems
Trained medical technicians
Taught English
Built roads
Still active today- one of Kennedy’s most enduring legacies

8. Space Race
Yuri Gagarin, 1961 (USSR astronaut)- first person to orbit Earth
USSR beat US in Space Race again (Sputnik 1957)
US can’t allow world to think Communism is better than Capitalism
JFK sets goal to land on the moon by end of the decade
Increased space technology development
John Glenn, first American to orbit Earth
1965, Apollo Missions begin
1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins headed to the moon
Armstrong- first man to walk on the moon
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind
Demonstrated US technological superiority over the Soviet Union

10. Bay of Pigs Fidel Castro overthrows Cuban dictator, 1959
Establishes ties with Soviet Union- Khruschev wants to strengthen Cuba’s military
Land reforms
Seized foreign-owned businesses (many American-owned)
Eisenhower ordered CIA to train Cuban exiles to invade Cuba
JFK approved invasion  April 1961 armed Cuban exiles invaded the Bay of Pigs (southern Cuba)
Disaster
Boats ran aground
Kennedy cancelled air support to keep invasion a secret
Castro’s forces killed or captured the invaders
Exposed US plan to overthrow neighboring government
Made US look weak and disorganized

12. Berlin Wall, June 1961
Nikita Khruschev (USSR leader) wanted to stop East Germans (Soviet Zone) from leaving to go to West Berlin (US/French/British Zone)
Khruschev demanded Allies withdraw from Berlin because it was entirely in the Soviet Zone
Kennedy refused and reaffirmed West’s commitment to West Berlin
Khruschev built Berlin Wall through Berlin, blocked movement between East and West Berlin
Guards stationed along the wall, shot people trying to escape
Symbol of Cold War divisions

14. Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 USSR place long-range missiles in Cuba
Cuba only 90 miles from Florida  dangerous threat
JFK orders:
Naval blockade to stop delivery of missiles
Existing missile sites dismantled
Warned against Soviet attack on US soil  full-scale response
Soviets didn’t meet Kennedy’s demands  fear of nuclear war
Secret negotiations between US and USSR
US secretly agreed to remove missiles from Turkey
US publicly promised not to invade Cuba
USSR removed missiles from Cuba
Forced US and USSR to consider consequences of nuclear war
1963 Treaty between US and USSR banning nuclear testing
USSR seen as weak  Khruschev falls from power  dramatic military build-up in USSR to regain might