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Mood of Americans was
restless because of the
launching of Sputnik and Long
range missiles
John F. Kennedy-Democrat
candidate
Richard Nixon-Republican
candidate
Sept. 26, 1960 1st televised
debate
Nixon tried to expose
Kennedy’s inexperience but
Kennedy was favored because
of his better speaking ability
and looks
As a result, politics become
apart of TV
How do you think TV changed
the political campaigning
process? 1
Martin Luther King
was arrested in 1960
for having a sit-in at
lunch counter
 Nixon and Eisenhower
did nothing
 Kennedy call King’s
wife Robert Kennedy
(brother) got King out
on bail
 Black community
supported Kennedy in
election
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In the past, what
political party did
minorities usually vote
for? Why? 2
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Believed Eisenhower didn’t do
enough to prevent the USSR
from entering into Asia, Africa
and Latin America
Flexible Response- Kennedy’s
policy of expanding the
military to respond to non
nuclear threats

Created Green Berets (special
forces of the Army)
 Built 3 times more nuclear
weapons
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Do you think people feared
communism more in the 60s
or 50s? 3
Jan. 3, 1961 Eisenhower
cut off diplomatic relations
with Cuba because of the
revolutionary leader Fidel
Castro
 Promised democracy and
overthrew the pro-American
dictator Fulgencio Batista
 Why US disliked Castro
1.Seized 3 oil refineries owned
by the US and Great Britain
2. Split up American sugar
companies which
Americans owned 75% of
crop land
 How did the US become so
involved in Cuba? 4
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US replied with an embargo (ban of
trade with military force)
Castro turned to the USSR
10% of Cuba’s population left
Bay of Pigs:
In 1960 Eisenhower gave CIA
permission to secretly train Cuban
exiles to invade Cuba and
overthrow Castro
Kennedy agreed with the mission
but only found out about shortly
after becoming President
What is going to be the reaction of
Castro? 5
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April 17, 1961 1,300-1,500
Cuban exiles with US
military support landed on
Cuba’s southern coast
called Bay of Pigs
Why Bay of Pigs Failed and
Effects
1.
2.
3.
4.
CIA claimed Cuban air
force was knock out
A small group of soldiers
was to distract Castro’s
force but never landed
When the main command
unit arrived on coast,
were met by 25, 000
Cuban troops armed with
Soviet tanks and
weapons
Men killed and
imprisoned
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Impacts:
Kennedy took blame for the
failure
US paid Castro $53 mil. in
food and medical supplies to
release prisoners
Kennedy promised to resist
further communism in the W.
Hemisphere
How was containment
affected? 6
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After Bay of Pigs, Khrushchev
promised to defend Cuba with
nuclear weapons
Summer of 1962, Cuba received
arms and nuclear weapons
US responded that it would not
tolerate nuclear weapons in
Cuba
Oct. 14, 1962 The CIA reported
USSR military bases with
missiles aimed at the US
Oct. 22, 1962 Kennedy informed
the nation of the existence of
nuclear weapons in Cuba
US vouched if Cuba attacked US
would attack USSR
End of the Crisis
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Kennedy called up 100,000
troops in FL and US Navy
prevented any more USSR
ships to go to Cuba
For 6 days the world waited
for the 2 nations to go to
war with nukes
Oct. 28, 1962 Khrushchev
offered to remove missiles
as long as US didn’t invade
Cuba
US secretly agreed to
remove missiles from
Turkey
How do you think the
American public felt about
the gov’t after this? 7
The Impacts on the Leaders

Kennedy
 Criticized for using
brinkmanship
 Cuban exiles blamed
Kennedy for losing
Cuba to Castro
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Castro
 Nov. 1962 prohibited
anymore Cubans from
leaving
 Will later allow anyone
who has family in Miami
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Khrushchev seen weak to
the Communist party
Event led to his
replacement in 1964
How do you think this
event affect the
Communist Party? 8
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By 1961 20% of East Germany’s
population fled to W. Berlin
Had weakened E. Germany’s
economy
Refugees informed public about
the failure in E. Germany
JFK & Khrushchev met in Vienna,
Austria June 1961
Khrushchev planned to close off all
access roads to W. Berlin to stop
people fleeing
Kennedy refused to give up
American zone in Berlin
What is the solution to Germany? 9
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Aug. 13, 1961, Ex. German troops
began building the Berlin Wall
It was a 10 ft wall of concrete with
barbed wire fencing on top
After both crisis 1963 JFK &
Khrushchev establish a hotline
(communication system between
the US & USSR)
However, the leaders did agree
upon the Limited Test Ban Treaty
which prohibited the testing of
nukes in the atmosphere