Explain how John F. Kennedy had to
confront the challenges and fears of
the Cold War.
Confronting Global Challenges
 United States’ dangerous rivalry with the Soviet Union
continued to intensify
 Flexible Response – build up of conventional weapons
and troops to be used against Communist movements
rather than nuclear weapons.
 Alliance for Progress – aid to Latin American
governments designed to create “free and prosperous”
countries that would be less likely to support
Communist-inspired revolutions.
Confronting Global Challenges
 Peace Corps – young
Americans providing
humanitarian services to
fight poverty in less
developed nations
 Taught English, built
sewer systems, trained
medical technicians
 Served two years in
country
The Space Race
 “I believe that this nation should commit itself to
achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of
landing a man on the moon.” – John F. Kennedy
 NASA
 1962 – John Glenn orbits the Earth
 1965 – 2 men at a time can orbit
 1968 – Apollo – 3 men launched into space
 July 20, 1969 – Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on
the moon
 “That’s one small step for man, one giant step for
mankind.” – Neil Armstrong
Crises of the Cold War
 Bay of Pigs: April 17, 1961 – Cuba - 1,400 U.S. armed
Cuban exiles attempted to ignite an uprising against
Communist sympathizer Fidel Castro
 Mission failed – exposed American plot to overthrow
Cuban government
 Berlin Wall: June 1961 – Soviet leader Khrushchev
demanded U.S., Great Britain, and France withdraw
from Berlin.
 After refusal, Berlin Wall is built to seal of Soviet sector
and prevent East Germans from escaping to West Berlin
Cuban Missile Crisis
 1962 – most terrifying crisis in the Kennedy era
 Soviet Union had placed long-range missiles in Cuba
 Kennedy ordered a Naval blockade to prevent more
Soviet ships from entering Cuba
 Soviet Union agreed to remove missiles if U.S. agreed
not to invade Cuba and remove their missiles from
Turkey
 1963 – U.S. and Soviet Union agree to ban the testing
of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere
 Soviet Union continued to build their military until
the 1980s.
Death of a President
 November 22, 1963
 Dallas, Texas
 Lee Harvey Oswald accused of killing President
Kennedy
 Assassinated by Jack Ruby
 Warren Commission concluded that Oswald had acted
alone
 Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President