Transcript Kennedy - Weebly

Kennedy
Election 1960
• Used Sputnik and USSR testing of 1st ICBM
(Intercontinental Ballistics Missile) against the
Republicans – US had lost our sense of
purpose
• He argued the Rep. had allowed a “Missile
Gap” to occur…
• What about Eisenhower’s “New Look” tells
you this is a false statement?
Election 1960
• Kennedy’s jabs convinced the American
public, that the US needed new leadership
• TV also showed Kennedy in a better light than
Nixon…
• Nixon was sick and appeared nervous and
sweating while Kennedy looked youthful and
vibrant.
Nixon – Kennedy Debate
• On the radio, Nixon won the debate.
• Nixon had a cold, and appeared tired and
nervous, while Kennedy appeared youthful
and vigorous…on TV, image won over
substance.
Domestic Policies
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask
what you can do for your country.”
What does this tell you about Kennedy’s
aspirations for the American people?
What might this say about his feelings on civil
rights?
Kennedy regarded civil rights as a distraction
from his main concern…the Cold War
THE CAMELOT YEARS
• During his term in office,
JFK and his beautiful young
wife, Jacqueline, invited
many artists and celebrities
to the White House
• 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
• JFK surrounded himself
with what one journalist
described as the “best and
the brightest” available
talent
• 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
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Education
Welfare
Health Care
Elderly Assistance
Inner-Cities
Continue FDR’s social action
JFK’s Problems
• Small Democratic majority in
Congress
• Barely won the presidency
• Congress didn’t support policies
• Christian Southern Conservative
Democrats didn’t like him
• Battled high inflation
• Contending in wars in Cuba,
Berlin, Russia, and Vietnam
• Most legislation would NOT pass
Peace Corps
• Sent young Americans abroad to aid in the
economic and educational progress of
developing nations.
• Needed to improve the image of the US in
these countries so that they don’t turn to
communism
• By 1966 more than 15,000 were volunteers
The Peace Corps
• JFK’s call for American
international volunteerism
• The commitment:
– Spend 2 years in developing
nations
– Specialize in education,
agriculture, irrigation, sewage
treatment, or health care
– Promote democracy and
American influence
• Remains one of the most lasting
legacy’s of JFK’s presidency
THE PEACE CORPS
• The Peace Corps is a volunteer
program to assist developing
nations in Asia, Africa and
Latin America
• The Peace Corps has become a
huge success
KENNEDY ADDRESSES INNER CITY BLIGHT
AND RACISM
• In 1963, Kennedy called for “a national assault on the causes of poverty”
• He also ordered his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy to
investigate racial injustice in the South
• Finally, he presented Congress with a sweeping civil rights bill and a
sweeping tax cut bill to spur the economy
JFK’S OTHER EDGE: CIVIL RIGHTS
Sit-Ins were non-violent protests
over the policy of whites-only
lunch counters in the South
• A second major event of
the campaign took place
in October, 1960
• Police arrested Martin
Luther King for conducting
a “Sit-In” at a lunch
counter in Georgia
• King was sentenced to
hard labor
JFK, NIXON REACT DIFFERENTLY TO KING
ARREST
• While the Eisenhower
Administration refused to
intervene, JFK phoned
King’s wife and his
brother, Robert Kennedy,
worked for King’s release
• The incident captured the
attention of the AfricanAmerican community,
whose votes JFK would
carry in key states
King
Kennedy
Freedom Rides
• 1961 Civil Rights
activists rode the
interstate buses to
enforce the
desegregation laws.
• They were met with
extreme violence in
the South. JFK had the
National guard ride
and protect them.
Alliance for Progress
• A “Marshall Plan” for Latin America, although
with much less money.
• Aimed to promote material and “political”
freedom
• Used to combat the allure of communism…it
failed.
• Unlike the Marshall Plan, military regimes in
LA controlled the money and enriched
themselves, while letting their people suffer.
Alliance for Progress
• JFK’s pledge of support for
Latin America
• Considered a “Marshall Plan
for brown people”
– $20 billion to support internal
improvements
– Supported education and
schools
– Built hospitals and promote
health care
– Helped distribute land
• Pros: helped some
• Cons: much abuse and
corruption
Flexible Response
• Challenged Eisenhower’s
idea of “massive
retaliation”
• Pushed for the use of
conventional weaponry
and military to combat
Communism
• U.S. couldn’t rely on
nuclear arsenal to
protect itself
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
and a mission control
center in Houston, Texas
The Space Race
• JFK’s promise to be the first
to the moon
• 1962: NASA sends John
Glenn, first American in
space
– Used Saturn V rocket to propel
out of Earth’s orbit
• 1969: Saturn V rocket
launches Apollo 11
– First, and only, successful moon
landing
– Neal Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin,
and Michael Collins
A MAN ON
THE MOON
• Finally, on July 20, 1969, the
U.S. would achieve its goal
• An excited nation watched as
U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong
took the first steps on the
moon
• Space and defense-related
industries sprang up in
Southern and Western states
Armstrong
“One small step for man, one
giant leap for mankind”
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
• Considered JFK’s first
major foreign policy
issue
• Intended to overthrow
Fidel Castro, who had
become too cozy with
Khrushchev
• Eisenhower, before
leaving office, had
approved CIA training of
Cuban exiles
JFK Starts the Invasion
(April 17, 1961)
• JFK hopes to start a
revolution, authorizes
invasion
• Total Failure:
– 1,400 armed Cubans, called La
Brigada
– Runs aground on a coral reef
– JFK cancels air support, keep
America’s involvement secret
– Castro captured or killed
almost all of La Brigada
– Exposed American covert
operations
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
The Berlin Wall
(August 1961)
• JFK and Khrushchev meet
in Berlin to discuss E.
German refugees
escaping to West Berlin
• JFK promises to continue
support
• Khrushchev orders the
construction of the wall
The Cuban Missile Crisis
(Oct. 12, 1962)
• American spy plan
discovers the
construction of missile
launching sites in Cuba
• Khrushchev had offered
nuclear missiles to force
JFK’s concessions in
Berlin
• Began 13 days of an
intense stare down
Nuclear Chicken
• JFK pushes for naval blockade
• Goal:
– Seize any ships going into/out of
Cuba
– Force the immediate removal of
missiles
• The Problem:
– A direct attack on Soviets would
be an act of war
– The existence of the missiles
were an act of war
The Fallout
(Oct. 28, 1962)
• Russia blinks!
• Russia removes missiles from
Cuba
• U.S. removes missiles from
Turkey
• Quarantine ends, but embargo
begins
EASING TENSIONS
• Both Khrushchev and
Kennedy began searching for
ways to ease the enormous
tension between the two
superpowers
• In 1963 they established a hot
line between the White
House and the Kremlin
• Later that year, the
superpowers signed a Limited
Test Ban Treaty that served to
ban nuclear testing in the
atmosphere
TRAGEDY IN DALLAS
• On a sunny day on November 22,1963, Air Force One landed
in Dallas with JFK and Jackie
• JFK received warm applause from the crowd that lined the
downtown streets of Dallas as he rode in the back seat of an
open-air limousine
JFK SHOT TO
DEATH
• As the motorcade
approached the Texas
Book Depository, shots
rang out
• JFK was shot in the neck
and then the head
• His car was rushed to a
nearby hospital where
doctors frantically tried to
revive him
• President Kennedy was
dead (11/22/63)
JFK LAID TO REST
Three-year old John Kennedy
Jr. salutes his father’s coffin
during the funeral
• All work stopped for
Kennedy’s funeral as
America mourned its
fallen leader
• The assassination and the
televised funeral became
historic events
• Like 9-11, Americans can
recall where they were
when they heard the news
of the President’s death