Transcript Kennedy Presidency and Cold War

04/25
warm-up: What approach did Kennedy take to
address the civil rights movement?
Place grade sheets and any missing work in the
back of the room
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
outlawed discrimination based on race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin. It ended unequal
application of voter registration requirements and
racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and
by facilities that served the general public
The bill was called for by JFK in June of 63] in which
he asked for legislation.
The election of 1960
JFK Becomes President
Election of 1960
• As his term came to an end, Eisenhower
endorsed Nixon as the Republican nomination
for president.
• Democrats endorsed WWII hero and MA
Senator, Kennedy.
TELEVISED DEBATE AFFECTS VOTE 1960
TV Debate Impacts Voters
• JFK
– wealthy, handsome, charismatic
– Only 43
– Roman Catholic
– Kennedy looked and spoke better than Nixon, but weak
against Communism
• Nixon more experienced
– 8 years as Vice President
– Former Governor
– Huge Anti-Communist
1960 Presidential Election
Kennedy and Civil Rights
•
•
•
•
•
King arrested
Nixon took no public
position
JFK telephoned Coretta to
express sympathy
Bobby Kennedy (RFK)
persuaded the judge who
had sentenced King to
release him on bail (helps
JFK appeal to the AfricanAmerican community)
JFK won by fewer than
119,000 votes
Significance
• the Nixon/Kennedy debates were the first to
be televised and tilted many towards JFK
because he looked better, introducing the idea
that public image was highly influential in
America choosing it's elected officials.
THE KENNEDY MYSTIQUE
• The first family fascinated the
American public
• For example, after learning
that JFK could read 1,600
words a minute, thousands
enrolled in speed-reading
courses
• Jackie, too, captivated the
nation with her eye for fashion
and culture
THE CAMELOT YEARS
•
During his term in office, JFK and his
beautiful young wife, Jacqueline, invited
many artists and celebrities to the White
House
•
press portrayed the Kennedys as a young,
attractive, energetic, and stylish couple;
with attention to arts and culture and an
average every-day family
•
The press loved the Kennedy charm and
JFK appeared frequently on T.V.
•
The Kennedys were considered American
“Royalty” (hence “Camelot” reference)
THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST
• Of all of his elite advisors who
filled Kennedy’s inner circle, he
relied most on his 35-year-old
brother Robert, whom he
appointed attorney general
RFK was John’s closest
friend and advisor
The New Frontier
Bold, new domestic programs
to fix:
• Education
• Welfare
• Health Care
• Elderly Assistance
• Inner-Cities
• Continue FDR’s social
action
New Frontier Goals
• Provide medical care for elderly
• Rebuild urban areas
• Education (focusing on Math & Science)
• Strengthen national defense
• Increase international aid
• Expand space program
JFK’s Problems Passing New
Frontier
• Small Democratic majority in
Congress
• Barely won the presidency
• Congress didn’t support policies
• Christian Southern Conservative
Democrats didn’t like him
• Republicans weren’t supportive
either
• Battled high inflation
• Contending in conflicts in Cuba,
Berlin, and Vietnam
• Most legislation would NOT pass
RACE TO THE MOON
• On April 12, 1961, Soviet
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
became the first human in
space
• Meanwhile, America’s space
agency (NASA) began
construction on new launch
facilities in Cape Canaveral,
Florida.
The Space Race
• President Kennedy was also
eager for the United States to
lead the way in exploring space.
• The Soviet Union was ahead of
the United States in its space
program and President Kennedy
was determined to catch up.
• Kennedy was the first president
to ask Congress to approve
more than 22 billion dollars for
Project Apollo, which had the
goal of landing an American
man on the moon before the
end of the decade.
Crises over Cuba
• The Cuban dilemma
– Fidel Castro comes to
power in 1959
– Puts on mass public trials
and executions
– U.S. denounces Cuba and
accepts thousands of Cuban
refugees
– 1960 – Cuba signs a trade
treaty with the Soviet
Union
The Bay of Pigs
• In March 1960 Eisenhower orders
CIA to train Cuban exiles for an
invasion of their homeland
• JFK notified of plan 9 days into
his presidency
• JFK continues with the plan and
has CIA train 1000 Cuban exiles
to invade Cuba.
• The plan: day before the invasion,
planes would attempt to wipe out
Castro’s air force, then exiles
would land at the beach, and the
Cuban people would rise up
against Castro and overthrow him
Bay of Pigs (Cont.)
• Plan failed: JFK failed to
provide the necessary
resources.
• It turned out to be a
disaster when in April,
1961, 1,200 Cuban exiles
met 25,000 Cuban troops
backed by Soviet tanks and
were soundly defeated
•
Operation
Mongoose
JFK goes ahead with a plan called
Operation Mongoose in which
gov’t agents worked:
• -to disrupt the island’s trade
• -working with mobsters to
assassinate Castro
• Castro survives more than 600
assassination attempts created by
the CIA
• Examples: Exploding cigar,
poisoned wetsuit, poisoned
milkshake, exploding conch shell,
etc.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• In an attempt stop
American intervention,
Castro and Kruschchev
(USSR) devised a daring
plan: installation of
Soviet missiles and
nuclear bombers in Cuba
Cuban Missile Crisis
• 13 day confrontation between the United States and
the Soviet Union nuclear missiles in Cuba. In 1962, the
Soviet Union secretly placed nuclear-tipped missiles on
the Communist-led island of Cuba. The world was on
the brink of nuclear war
Cuban Missile Crisis (Cont.)
• Eventually, the Presidents had
worked out a secret agreement
• The Cuban Missile crisis comes
to a close as Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev agrees to remove
Russian missiles from Cuba in
exchange for a promise from the
United States to respect Cuba's
territorial sovereignty.
CRISIS OVER BERLIN
• In 1961, Berlin,
Germany was a city in
great turmoil
• In the 11 years since the
Berlin Airlift, almost 3
million East Germans
(Soviet side) had fled
into West Berlin (U.S.
controlled) to flee
communist rule
SOVIETS SEEK TO STOP EXODUS
East Germany begins
construction on the Berlin Wall,
which becomes a primary
symbol of the Cold War and
Soviet oppression
• The Soviets did not like the fact
that East Berliners were fleeing
their city for the democratic
west
• Their departure hurt the
economy and the prestige of
the USSR
• Soviets began construction of a
90-mile wall separating East
and West Berlin