1. The New Frontier and Great Society
Kennedy and the Cold War

2. Election of 1960 1960 economy in recession Cold War tension high
Sputnik
Soviet creation of long-ranged missiles
Cuba and Soviet Union aligned
U-2 incident
Were we losing the Cold War?

3. Election of 1960 continued…
John F. Kennedy, Massachusetts Senator
Richard M. Nixon VP, ride coattails of Eisenhower’s popularity
Two issues put Kennedy over the top
1. Televised debate
2. Civil Rights

4. Election of 1960

5. The Televised Debate Affects Votes
Kennedy had a well-organized campaign; handsome and charismatic
Roman Catholic; young
September 26, 1960, 70 million viewers watched the two candidates debate the issues
Nixon, foreign policy expert expected to expose Kennedy’s inexperience
Kennedy was coached; looked and spoke much better than Nixon
Launched the television age in politics; “Image replaced the written word as the natural language of politics.”

6. Kennedy and Civil Rights
In October, 1960, MLK Jr. arrested for sitting at a segregated lunch counter
Kennedy called Coretta Scott King to express sympathy
Robert Kennedy, brother and campaign manager, persuaded the judge to release King on bail, pending appeal
News of the incident captured the African American community, whose votes would help Kennedy carry key states in the Midwest and South.

7. Kennedy Elected

8. The Camelot Years
Very close election; Kennedy won by less than 119,000 votes
Grace, elegance and wit; the inauguration invited artists, singers, scientists
Opera singer Marian Anderson who had been banned from singing at Constitution Hall because she was black
“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

9. The Camelot Years and the Kennedy Mystique continued…
Wife Jackie; fashion icon
Pictures of their children
Celebrities and artists to the White House
Appeared on television
Press loved him
Image bolstered
Talented advisors; surrounded himself with the best and brightest
Brother Robert as Attorney General
Royalty; like King Arthur’s Court

10. The Kennedy Mystique

11. A New Military Policy
Focused on the Cold War from the beginning of his presidency
Redefined the nation’s nuclear policy
Flexible response: a policy developed to prepare for a variety military responses to international crises rather than focusing on the use of nuclear weapons.
Increased defense spending of non-nuclear forces and created the Green Berets
Tripled the nuclear capabilities of the US

12. Crisis over Cuba Fidel Castro
Revolutionary, communist leader of Cuba
Welcomed Soviet aid
Eisenhower had cut off diplomatic relations
Once in power, Castro seized American and British oil refineries and sugar plantations
Gave land to peasants
Became a dictator
10% of Cuban population went into exile in Miami

13. The Bay of Pigs
In March 1960, President Eisenhower gave the CIA permission to secretly train the Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro
Kennedy learned of the plan 9 days after his election. With doubts, he approved it.
In April 1961, 1,500 Cuban exiles supported by the US military landed on the Bay of Pigs
Nothing went as planned

14. Bay of Pigs continued… Air strike failed to knock out Cuban air force
Small advance group sent to distract Castro’s forces never reached the shore
When main unit landed, they face 25,000 Cuban soldiers backed by Soviet tanks and jets
Some killed, others imprisoned

15. The Bay of Pigs continued…

16. Cuba Missile Crisis Soviets and Cubans STRONG allies
Soviets promised to defend Cuba with Soviet arms
During the summer of 1962, flow of weapons, including nuclear missiles from Soviet Union to Cuba increased
Kennedy released a warning that the US would not tolerate weapons in Cuba
Photographs revealed the weapons were ready to launch
Any missile attack from Cuba would trigger an all-out attack on the Soviet Union

17. Cuban Missile Crisis continued…
Kennedy ordered them to be removed
For six days the world faced the terrifying possibility of nuclear war between the US and Soviets
Soviet Ships carrying missiles in the Atlantic
Florida; 100,000 troops waiting

18. Cuban Missile Crisis continued…
Soviet ships stop suddenly
Khrushchev offered to remove missiles in return for the US pledge not to invade Cuba
US secretly agreed to remove weapons from Turkey

19. Cuban Missile Crisis continued…

20. Kennedy and Khrushchev Take the Heat
The crisis damaged Khrushchev’s prestige in the Soviet Union
Criticism of Kennedy for brinkmanship
Castro closed the doors to Cuba and banned all flights
Thousands of exiles fled to Miami

21. Crisis over Berlin
In 11 years since the Berlin Airlift, 3 million East Germans (20% of population) fled to West Berlin, weakening the economy.
Khrushchev erected the Berlin Wall: a concrete and wire wall that severed Berlin in two
Ugly symbol of communist oppression

22. The Berlin Wall

23. Searching for Ways to Ease Tensions
The showdowns between Kennedy and Khrushchev made both leaders aware of the gravity of split-second decisions
Hot line: phone between the White House and the Kremlin
Limited Test Ban Treaty: Barred nuclear testing in the atmosphere