John F. Kennedy DiO: 1961-1963

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John F. KennedyDiO 1961-1963

• PP Democrat
• Born May 29, 1917
• Died Nov 22, 1963
• VP Lyndon B.Johnson
• State Mass.
• Pol. Plat New Frontier

Election and Foreign Policy
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I. Election of 1960

• The Candidates
• - Democratic John F Kennedy from Massachusetts
• (VP) Lyndon B Johnson
• from Texas
• - Republican Richard Nixon from California
  (the current VP under IKE)
• (VP) Henry Cabot Lodge (MA)

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I. Election of 1960

• The Issues
• JFK was Catholic
• - No Catholic had ever led!
• - Many wondered if JFK could separate
• his Catholic beliefs from his secular
• duties, but he announced his firm belief
• in separation of church and state!
• The Cold War
• The Civil Rights movement
• Televised Debates

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KENNEDY AND THE COLD WAR

• The Democratic nominee for president in 1960 was
  a young Massachusetts senator named John Kennedy.
• He promised to get America moving again.
• Kennedy had a well-organized campaign and was
  handsome and charismatic.

Senator Kennedy, 1958
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REPUBLICAN OPPONENT RICHARD NIXON

• The Republicans nominated Richard Nixon, Ikes
  Vice-President.
• The candidates agreed on many domestic and
  foreign policy issues.
• Two factors helped put Kennedy over the top T.V.
  and Civil Rights.

Nixon hoped to ride the coattails of the popular
President.
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TELEVISED DEBATE AFFECTS VOTE

• On September 26, 1960, Kennedy and Nixon took
  part in the first televised debate between
  presidential candidates.
• Kennedy looked and spoke better than Nixon.
• Journalist Russell Baker said, That night, image
  replaced the printed word as the national
  language of politics.

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JFK CONFIDENT, AT EASE DURING DEBATES

• Television had become so central to people's
  lives that many observers blamed Nixon's loss to
  John F. Kennedy on his poor appearance in the
  televised presidential debates.
• JFK looked cool, collected, and presidential.
• Nixon, according to one observer, resembled a
  "sinister chipmunk."
• http//www.archive.org/details/1960_kennedy-nixon_
  2

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JFKS OTHER EDGE CIVIL RIGHTS

• 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.

Sit-ins were non-violent protests over the policy
of whites-only lunch counters in the South.
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JFK, NIXON REACT DIFFERENTLY TO KING ARREST

• While the Eisenhower Administration refused to
  intervene, JFK phoned Kings wife and his
  brother, Robert Kennedy, worked for Kings
  release.
• The incident captured the attention of the
  African-American community, whose votes JFK would
  carry in key states.

King
Kennedy
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KENNEDY WINS CLOSE ELECTION
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CLOSEST ELECTION SINCE 1884

• Kennedy won the election by fewer than 119,000
  votes.
• Nixon dominated the west, while Kennedy won the
  south and the east coast.

RMN
JFK
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Foreign policy

• JFK relied upon nuclear arms build-up along with
  flexible response to ensure American safety
  during the Cold War.
• (3) JFK challenged Americans to think of ways
  they could serve, famously saying "Ask not what
  your country can do for you--ask what you can do
  for your country.

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• (4) Peace Corps 1961 - Prompted individual
  citizens to work abroad and dedicate themselves
  to the development, progress, peace of
  developing countries and cultures.(3rd World)
• Kennedy wanted to involve Americans more actively
  in the cause of global democracy, peace,
  development and freedom.

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You Can Go!
Peace Co r p
But if the life will not be easy, it will be
rich and satisfying. For every young American who
participates in the Peace Corpswho works in a
foreign landwill know that he or she is sharing
in the great common task of bringing to man that
decent way of life which is the foundation of
freedom and a condition of peace. -JFK
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(11) Alliance for Progress
U.S. assistance program for Latin
America that began in 1961 - Aimed to relieve the
continents poverty and social inequities. Later
included U.S. programs of military and police
assistance to counter Communist subversion.
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FOCUS ON THE COLD WAR

• From the beginning of his term in early 1961, JFK
  focused on the Cold War (Soviet relations).
• JFK tripled our nuclear capability, increased
  troops, ships and artillery, and created the (5)
  Green Berets (Special Forces) they could go
  anywhere at any time to help with anything.

In 1962, JFK called the green beret "a symbol of
excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of
distinction in the fight for freedom."
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CRISIS OVER CUBA
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The Crisis over Cuba

• Just 90 miles off the coast of Florida, Cuba
  presented the first big test of JFKs foreign
  policy.
• Openly Communist, Cuba was led by revolutionary
  leader Fidel Castro who welcomed aid from the
  USSR.
• Relations between the U.S. and Cuba were
  deteriorating.

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(9) BAY OF PIGS
In March 1960, Eisenhower gave the CIA permission
to secretly train Cuban exiles for an invasion of
Cuba to overthrow Communist friendly gov.

• Kennedy learned of the plan only nine days into
  his presidency.
• JFK approved the mission.
• It turned out to be a disaster when in April,
  1961, 1,200 Cuban exiles secretly came ashore
  and were met by 25,000 Cuban troops backed by
  Soviet tanks and were defeated.

We looked like fools to our friends, rascals to
our enemies and incompetents to the rest. Quote
from U.S. Commentator
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(13) THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

• Fidel Castro, leader of now communist Cuba had a
  powerful ally in Moscow
• Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev promised to
  defend Cuba with Soviet weapons
• During the summer of 1962 the flow of Soviet
  weapons into Cuba including nuclear increased
  greatly

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• WHY DIDNT WE JUST ENACT THE
• MONROE DOCTRINE and/or
• ROOSEVELT COROLLARY
• AND JUST KICK BOOTY?

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KENNEDY RESPONDS

• Kennedy made it clear the U.S. would not
  tolerate nuclear weapons in Cuba
• When surveillance photos revealed nukes ready to
  launch in Cuba, JFK said the U.S. would respond
  to any attack from Cuba with an all-out nuclear
  retaliation against the Soviets

American president John F Kennedy making his
dramatic television broadcast to announce the
Cuba blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis 
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13 DAYS

• When more
• Soviet ships
• headed for
• Cuba with
• weapons,
• JFK ordered a blockade
• The first US break in the crisis occurred when
  the Soviets ships turned back
• Finally, Khrushchev agreed to remove the nuclear
  weapons from Cuba in exchange for a U.S. promise
  NOT to invade Cuba
• Is there more to the story?

For 13 days in October, 1962 the world stood
still as the threat of nuclear war gripped the
planet
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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

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(10)The Berlin Wall is built

• 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
• Just after midnight on August 13, 1961 the
  Soviets began construction of a 90-mile wall
  separating East and West Berlin

East Germany begins construction on the Berlin
Wall, which becomes a primary symbol of the Cold
War and Soviet oppression
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EASING TENSIONS

• On August 6, 1963, after more than eight years of
  difficult negotiations, the United States, the
  United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union signed the
  Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
• 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
• (19) Later that year, the superpowers signed a
• Limited Test Ban Treaty that served to
• ban nuclear testing in the atmosphere
• and reduce tension in the world

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The two most powerful nations had been
squared off against each other, each with its
finger on the button. 
-Khrushchev

It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite
sides of the world, should be able to decide to
bring an end to civilization. - JFK
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(7) OPEC forms

• Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries-
  The Worlds 12 Oil Producing and Exporting
  Countries- 6 in the Middle East, 4 in Africa, and
  2 in South America.

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The Vietnam War 1954 - 1975
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Background to the War

• France controlled Indochina since the late 19th
  century
• Japan took control during World War II
• With U.S. aid, France attempted re-colonization
  in the postwar period

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Background to the War

• The French lost control to Ho Chi Minhs Viet
  Minh forces in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu
• President Eisenhower declined to intervene on
  behalf of France.

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Background to the War

• International Conference at Geneva
• Vietnam was divided at 17th parallel
• Ho Chi Minhs nationalist forces controlled the
  North
• Ngo Dinh Diem, a French-educated, Roman Catholic
  claimed control of the South

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Background to the War

• A date was set for democratic elections to
  reunify North and South Vietnam
• Diem (the Catholic Southern Vietnam,
  non-communist US backed guy) backed out of the
  elections, leading to military conflict between
  North and South

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US Gets Involved

• Repressive dictatorial rule by Diem
• Diems family holds all power
• Wealth is hoarded by the elite
• Buddhist majority persecuted
• Torture, lack of political freedom prevail
• The U.S. aided Diems government
• Ike sent financial and military aid
• 675 U.S. Army advisors sent by 1960.

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Early Protests of Diems Government- remember
Diem was Catholic and didnt approve of Buddhism
Self-Emolation by a Buddhist Monk
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(8) U.S. Military Involvement Begins

• Kennedy elected 1960
• JFK Increases military advisors to 16,000
• 1963 JFK supports a Vietnamese military coup
  detat Diem and his brother are murdered (Nov.
  2)
• Kennedy was assassinated just weeks later (Nov.
  22)