JFK & the Cold War
JFK and the Cold War
• “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your
country can do for you--ask what you can do for your
country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not
what America will do for you, but what together we
can do for the freedom of man.”
▫ JFK – Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961
The Election of 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
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”
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,
presidential
• Nixon, according to one
observer, resembled a
"sinister chipmunk"
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
1960 Presidential Election
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 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 speedreading courses
• Jackie, too, captivated
the nation with her eye
for fashion and culture
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 Best and the Brightest
 McGeorge Bundy – NSA
 Robert McNamara –
Secretary of Defense
 Dean Rusk – Secretary of
State
 Robert Kennedy – Attorney
General
 Had no previous law
experience
A New Military Policy
• Flexible response – increased defense spending in
order to boost conventional military forces –
nonnuclear forces such as troops, ships, and artillery
– and to create an elite branch of the army called the
Special Forces, or Green Berets. He also tripled the
overall nuclear capabilities of the U.S.
• Goal – allow the U.S. to fight limited wars around the
world while maintaining a nuclear balance of power
with the Soviets
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
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
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
▫ Castro seizes U.S.
businesses and Eisenhower
cuts off imports of Cuban
sugar
▫ 1960 – Cuba signs a trade
treaty with the Soviet Union
The Bay of Pigs
• In March 1960 Ike 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
• 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 to help the exiles
and they were rounded up
by Castro’s men
• 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
“We looked like fools to our friends,
rascals to our enemies and
incompetents to the rest”
Quote from U.S. Commentator
Operation Mongoose
• JFK goes ahead with a plan called
Operation Mongoose in which gov’t
agents worked to disrupt the island’s
trade and continued 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 to counter
any new American
intervention and to
improve the Soviet
position in the nuclear
arms race, Castro and
Kruschchev devised a
daring plan: installation
of Soviet missiles and
nuclear bombers in
Cuba
Cuban Missile Crisis
• Oct. 14, 1962 – U-2 flights showed 65
sites for offensive medium-range ballistic
missiles – could reach the U.S. in 3
minutes
• 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
• JFK ordered a naval quarantine of the
island (used the word “quarantine” rather
than “blockade” since blockade was an act
of war)
• Oct. 22 – went on national television
informing the Soviets of American policy
and demanded their retreat
• American forces around the globe went on
alert
• The world was on the brink of nuclear war
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
13 DAYS
• For 13 days in October, 1962
the world stood still as the
threat of nuclear war gripped
the planet
• War seemed imminent
• The first break in the crisis
occurred when the Soviets
ships turned back from the
blockade
Cuban Missile Crisis (Cont.)
• Eventually, the Presidents had
worked out a secret agreement
• Khrushchev said that he would
remove the missiles if the U.S.
agreed not to attack Cuba and
removed its missiles from Turkey
• Kennedy publicly agreed to the
1st and privately to the second
• Was this necessary? Should
Kennedy have gone on T.V. or
negotiated privately?
The Fallout
•Russia blinks!
•Russia removes missiles from
Cuba
•U.S. removes missiles from
Turkey
•Quarantine ends, but embargo
begins
•The Problems:
▫ Khrushchev forced from office
▫ Kremlin begins nuclear
expansion
▫ U.S. and Russia agree to test ban
treaty
▫ Establish direct communication
link: the red phone
“We’re eyeball to eyeball,
and I think the other fellow
just blinked.” –Dean Rusk,
Secretary of State
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
• Just after midnight on
August 13, 1961 the Soviets
began construction of a 90mile wall separating East
and West Berlin
Trying to Ease Tensions
• Both Khrushchev and Kennedy
began searching for ways to ease the
enormous tension between the two
superpowers
• Two Agreements
▫ 1. Direct hotline between the
White House and the Kremlin
▫ 2. Signing of the Limited Test Ban
Treaty – called for an end to all
nuclear tests in the ocean, the
atmosphere and outer space – by
the end of the year, 113 other
nations had signed the treaty
The New Frontier
Bold, new domestic
programs
•
•
•
•
•
•
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)
Bolster national defense
Increase international aid
Expand space program
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
• Republicans weren’t supportive
either
• Battled high inflation
• Contending in conflicts in Cuba,
Berlin, and Vietnam
• Most legislation would NOT
pass
The Peace Corps
• JFK’s call for American
international volunteerism
• The Peace Corps is a volunteer
program to assist developing
nations in Asia, Africa and Latin
America
• 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
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 successful moon landing
▫ Neal Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin,
and Michael Collins
A MAN ON
THE MOON
• By 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
• Kennedy’s vision succeeded
Armstrong
“One small step for man, one
giant leap for mankind”
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
The Arrival in Dallas
• JFK, LBJ, and families
arrive in Dallas for a
political rally
• The families separate for
an escorted drive in
downtown Dallas
• Shots fired: JFK shot in
the head and the throat
• Eyewitnesses argue about
the number and locations
of shots
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)
Assassinated
• Assassinated November 22, 1963 in Dallas,
Texas, in an event that shook the nation’s
confidence and began a period of internal strife
and divisiveness, especially spurred by divisions
over US involvement in Vietnam.
The Plot Thickens
The Birth of a Conspiracy
• Lee Harvey Oswald had
connections with Russia and
supported the revolution in
Cuba
• Arrested 80 minutes after
the assassination
• Evidence found at the Book
Repository, where he shot
Kennedy
• Oswald shot by Jack Ruby, 2
days later
The Big Questions
• Why did Lee
Harvey Oswald kill
Kennedy?
• Why did Jack Ruby
kill Oswald?
• Was this part of a
larger conspiracy?
Sunday, 24 November, 1963 –
On Sunday morning, while millions watched on TV, Oswald was murdered in the
basement of a Dallas jail by Jack Ruby, the owner of a Dallas strip-tease joint called
the Carousel . Rumors spread rapidly, and a shocked nation demanded answers.
Jack Ruby, right, shoots Oswald, center, to death 11/24/63
Three-year old John
Kennedy Jr. salutes
his father’s coffin
during the funeral
LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON
BECOMES PRESIDENT
• The Vice-President,
Lyndon Baines
Johnson, became
President after JFK
was assassinated
• The nation mourned
the death of the
young president
while Jackie
Kennedy remained
calm and poised
A somber LBJ takes the oath of
office aboard Air Force One with
the Jackie next to him
The Warren Commission
• Chief Justice Earl Warren starts federal
investigation
• Goal:
▫ Prevent speculation about conspiracy
24 September, 1964 –
After ten months of secret hearings, Chief Justice Earl Warren presented the
Commission’s report to President Johnson. The Commission found that Oswald, acting
alone, had assassinated President Kennedy. Mainstream media hailed it as “the most
massive, detailed and convincing piece of detective work ever undertaken, unmatched
in the annals of fact finding.”
24 November, 1964
The US government releases
26 volumes of testimony and
exhibits which contained the
evidence on which the
Warren Report was
purportedly based.
The New York Times reported
that the 26 volumes
‘overwhelmingly supported
the conclusions [of the Warren
Commission’s Report] that the
assassination was no
conspiracy but the work of one
unhappy man, Lee Harvey
Oswald.’
WARREN COMMISSION FINDINGS
1. There were three shots fired and which struck Kennedy.
2. The shots came from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book
depository building.
3. One shot fired passed through Kennedy and struck Governor
Connally.
4. The shots were fired by a lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald.
5. The killing of Kennedy was due purely to a ‘lone-nut’
assassin.
The Legacy of the assassination
• Devastated the country and shocked the world
• Seemed to end the dream of innocence of the
1950s
• Coincided with a broader wave of social change:
the Civil Rights Movement, the Feminist
Movement, escalation in Vietnam, and the FreeSpeech and Anti-War Movements
• LBJ becomes president and will take a stronger
position on Vietnam and Civil Rights