1. The Berlin Wall Goes Up (1961)
Checkpoint Charlie

2. Berlin Wall
East German government built a wall between East and West Berlin
The Berlin Wall was meant to stop the flood of East Germans escaping to freedom in the West (symbol of tyranny and oppression)
Strong Cold War symbol until 1989
Rapid political changes in Germany led to the reunification of Germany in 1990

4. President Kennedy tells Berliners that the West is with them!
Ich bin ein Berliner! (1963)
President Kennedy tells Berliners that the West is with them!

5. Khruschev Embraces Castro, 1961

6. Bay of Pigs Debacle (1961)
After President Kennedy took office, he approved the CIAs plan to overthrow Fidel Castro, the communist leader in Cuba
Cuban Exiles: trained and supplied by the US government- planed to invade Cuba and start a revolution.
The invasion was April 17, 1961: location called Bay of Pigs
Castro’s troops crushed the rebellion and brought about the embarrassment of Kennedy and the US government

7. Bay of Pigs Debacle (1961)

8. Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
Fearing another US invasion, Castro agreed to the Soviet plan to base nuclear missiles aimed at the United States in Cuba
Kennedy learned of the plan while it was under construction
October 22, 1962, he ordered a naval blockade of Cuba and demanded the Soviets withdraw the missiles

9. Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
We went eyeball-to-eyeball with the Russians, and the other man blinked!

10. Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
The Cuban Missile Crisis: brought the US and Soviet Union to the brink of war, but the soviets backed down and withdrew their missiles
Kennedy clearly demonstrated that the US would not tolerate the soviets in the Western Hemisphere.
Kennedy helped the nation return some prestige in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion.
In 1963, US, Soviet Union, and Britain agreed not to test nuclear weapons in the air, in the sea, or in outer space (only underground testing)

11. We had missiles in Turkey
The US had missiles in Turkey in 1961 aimed right at the Soviet Union
USSR asked for them to be disbanded we ignored the request

12. The Space Program The Soviet Union launched the first person in space
Kennedy committed the nation to putting the first person on the moon
In 1969, six years after his death Neil Armstrong stepped on to the moon’s surface
The space effort cost 25.4 million

13. The Peace Corps
Thousands of volunteers were sent to developing countries to train local people in technical, educational, and health programs
The peace corps was intended to offset the growth of communism in those nations
Stills exists today