1. The Kennedy Years

2. Election of 1960
R- nominated Eisenhower’s Vice-President, Richard Nixon
D- nominated Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy
JFK brother increased support for JFK by helping get MLK out of jail.
Main Issue: Cold War Defense
Role of the TV: Election featured the first televised presidential debates and it was the first time television was used as a serious campaign tool
Kennedy won in a tight election, in some ways due to his better manipulation of television

3. John F. Kennedy 1917 – 1963 35th President (1961 – 63)
WWII veteran who had held his own command in the US Navy
First Catholic president
In his inaugural address, he famously stated “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”

4. The New Frontier
JFK proposed ambitious policies intended to boost education, health insurance for the elderly, create a Dept. of Urban Affairs, & help migrants
Congress decided that Kennedy’s programs were too expensive and voted against them

5. Kennedy Targets the Moon
Space Race- In 1961, JFK promised a man on the moon in less than a decade
Neil Armstrong: July 20, 1969 – 1st human to walk on the moon
“[We] commit … before this decade is out, to landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth … But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? …We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win”
"That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

6. Affirmative Action
Minorities given preferential treatment by employers, schools etc.

7. Cuba
Leader: Fidel Castro
Gov’t: Communist

8. The Bay of Pigs Invasion
Under the approval of then-President Eisenhower, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) began training Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba with the purpose of overthrowing Castro’s communist gov’t.
In April 1961, the exiles landed at The Bay of Pigs in Cuba, but were quickly defeated by Cuban military forces when the US failed to provide any further invention on their behalf
Major international embarrassment for the US

9. The Cuban Missile Crisis
Soviets placed nuclear missiles in Cuba in Fall 1962
US demanded their removal and enacted a naval blockade of Cuba to stop Soviet ships from bringing more missiles
Many thought that WWIII would result as the US and USSR faced off over a tense 13-day period, each threatening the other with nuclear force
Soviets eventually backed down and removed the missiles, thanks to the US publicly promising not to invade Cuba and secretly agreeing to remove American missiles from Turkey

10. Germany
Berlin Wall was built

11. The Peace Corps Created in 1961
Purpose is “To promote world peace and friendship … which shall make available to interested countries … men and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under conditions of hardship if necessary, to help the peoples of such countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained manpower.”
Since 1961, over 200,000 college-educated American volunteers have served 2-year commitments in foreign nations

12. Alliance for Progress
Economic aid to Latin America – like the Marshall Plan

13. JFK Assassination
Nov. 22, 1963
While riding in a motorcade in Dallas, TX, Kennedy was shot and killed
Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the killing, but was himself shot and killed 2 days later by Jack Ruby while being transported from jail to appear in court

16. Warren Commission
Established to investigate JFK’s assassination – concluded Oswald was the only shooter