CUBAN REVOLUTION
Fidel Castro in 1959
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The Cuban Revolution was the revolt that resulted
in the rise of Fidel Castro to power in the now
Marxist Cuba. General Fulgencio Batista, who
was supported by the United
States, was overthrown on January 1, 1959 by a
group known as the 26th of July Movement. Castro
had been exiled to Mexico after being let out of a
fifteen-year sentence early for attacking Batista’s
government. While in Mexico, Castro gathered
more Cuban exiles to start planning for a
revolution against Batista. The fighting raged for
approximately three years, with the exiles slowly
closing in on Batista. Batista fled to the
Dominican Republic. This enabled Castro to take
control of the island, with Manuel Urrutia Lleo
being the first president under him. Soon, Cuba’s
new communist leaders became allied with the
Soviet Union.
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U.S. PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION OF 1960
United States
President John F.
Kennedy,
Results of the
1960 Presidential
Election
In the U.S. Presidential Election of 1960, Richard M. Nixon, Eisenhower’s vice president,
was the Republican candidate for the presidency. The Democrats had nominated Senator
John F. Kennedy from Massachusetts. Senator Harry Byrd from Chicago ran under the
independent banner, with Strom Thurmond as a running mate. The election was very close
in the popular vote, but Kennedy won the election with 303 electoral votes.
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BAY OF PIGS INVASION
The poster warns of the pending
invasion of the Bay of Pigs
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The Bay of Pigs Invasion occurred between
April 15–19, 1961. It was an unsuccessful
attempted invasion in southwest Cuba by
Cuban exiles, backed by the U.S.
government. They were attempting to
overthrow the government of Fidel Castro.
The invasion occurred shortly after John F.
Kennedy became president. When the
invasion failed, it proved to be a severe
blemish for the Kennedy administration. In
addition, it made Cuba’s Fidel Castro
become very concerned about the tenuous
relationship between the United States and
Cuba. Three major Central Intelligence
Agency officials were forced to resign as
well, with the most notable being CIA
Director Allen Dulles.
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APOLLO PROGRAM
At his inauguration, John F. Kennedy
announced his intentions for the United
States to put a man on the moon. This
would become the start of the Apollo
Program. America did not want to be left
behind in the space race, as they saw Soviet
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin become the first
man to fly in space on April 12, 1961. The
next day, Congressmen were talking about
catching up with the Russians. Kennedy
was determined to have the United States
put a man on the moon before the Russians.
Kennedy’s challenge for an American to go
to the moon was answered on July 20,
1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz
Aldrin landed on the moon.
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President Kennedy announcing his
intentions to go the moon on May 25, 1961
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JFK AND KHRUSHCHEV
During a meeting in Vienna, Austria, in June 1961, United States President Kennedy and
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev discussed issues that were pertinent to both countries.
Many people believed that the Soviet Union would test the American policy of Containment
in Southeast Asia. However, after the failure at the Bay of Pigs and the building of the Berlin
Wall, Kennedy was more determined than ever to not allow a communist threat overtake
Vietnam. Kennedy felt that if this occurred, it would damage the credibility of the United
States in the eyes of its allies abroad. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson also promised that
South Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem would receive additional aid from the United
States.
Both Kennedy and Johnson felt that the Diem’s forces would be able to defeat the Viet Minh
on their own. Kennedy was against sending American soldiers to the region would be bad
for the foreign policy of the United States in the long run. However, the army of South
Vietnam was very poor and could not put up much of a fight against the Republic of
Vietnam’s army. Some in the government suggested that United States soldiers be sent to the
region in disguise, but Kennedy rejected this idea. However, Kennedy would increase the
amount of assistance that was sent to the South Vietnamese army.
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THE BERLIN WALL
Construction of the Berlin Wall begins
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Construction of the Berlin Wall began on
August 13, 1961. Its purpose was to divide
East Berlin and West Berlin. The wall was
being built by the Soviets in order to stop the
flood of people who had been attempting to
make their way out of East Germany. During
the construction of the wall, some of the
streets that were alongside the barrier were
torn up so that cars and other vehicles would
not be able to make their way through to the
other side. Soldiers were stationed at the
wall, with orders to shoot anyone who tried
to escape from either side. In addition to this,
minefields and chain fences were set up to
further prevent people from escaping.
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CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
President Kennedy talks with his Cabinet
in a meeting during the Cuban Missile
Crisis.
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The Soviets had been secretly installing
military bases on the island of Cuba, which
was only 90 miles off the coast of the United
States. In 1962, these bases had nuclear
weapons on them. President John F.
Kennedy ordered a “quarantine” of the
island, which sparked a thirteen-day conflict
that brought the United States and the Soviet
Union close to nuclear war. In the end, the
Soviets backed down and agreed to withdraw
their nuclear missiles from Cuba, in
exchange for a secret agreement by Kennedy
guaranteeing that the United States would
not move against the Castro regime.
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KENNEDY ASSASSINATION
On November 22, 1963, President John F.
Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
Kennedy had been struck by gunshots while
riding in his presidential motorcade through
Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas. The official
explanation was that he was assassinated by
Lee Harvey Oswald, who fired shots from the
sixth floor of the Texas School Book
Depository. This conclusion was made after a
ten-month investigation by the Warren
Commission, which looked into the death of
President Kennedy. After Kennedy was
declared dead at 1 p.m. at Parkland Hospital,
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn
in as president while on Air Force One.
Speculation persists that there may have been a
larger conspiracy behind the shooting rathern
than Oswald working as the lone gunman.
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A photograph taken just seconds after the
fatal shot to President Kennedy
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