Kennedy
Administration
Semester 2
Week 9
The Era of TV Politics Begins
 The
TV debates of the 1960 presidential
election had enormous impact
 Following the first debate, the media
focused more strongly on the appearance
of the candidates
 Suddenly the whole country seemed to
have become experts on makeup and
television lighting
 TV had been used in campaigns as early
as 1948, it was not until the 1960 election
that a large majority of voters used TV as
a voting tool
The Candidates
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Both candidates shared the
desire to lead the nation through
the challenges of a new decade,
but they differed in many ways
JFK, a Catholic came from a
wealthy & influential MA family
Nixon, a Quaker, from CA, came
from a financially struggling
family
JFK seemed outgoing & relaxed;
looked cool, collected &
presidential
Nixon struck many as formal &
even stiff in manner; according
to one observer he resembled a
"sinister chipmunk"
Big Money for TV
 Compared
to earlier campaigns, the 1960
presidential race made new use of TV,
with both major parties spending
substantial amounts of money on TV ads
 The Dems spent over $6 million in TV &
radio spots, while the Repubs spent more
than $7.5 million
 TV news commentator Eric Sevareid
complained that the candidates had
become “packaged products,” and he
stated that “the Processed Politician has
finally arrived”
The Issues
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The campaign centered on the economy and the Cold War
– they differed little on these two issues
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Both promised to boost the economy and both portrayed
themselves as “Cold Warriors” determined to stop the
forces of communism
JFK argued that the nation faced serious threats from the
Soviets
In Cuba, Fidel Castro was allying himself with the USSR
At home, many people lived in fear of a soviet nuclear
attack
JFK voiced his concern about a suspected “missile gap,” in
which the United States lagged behind the Soviets in
weaponry
Nixon countered that the U.S. was on the right track under
the current administration
Nixon also warned that the Dems fiscal policies would
boost inflation & that only he had the necessary foreign
policy experience to guide the nation
Issues for Kennedy as a Catholic
 JFK
came under scrutiny about his
religion
 U.S. had never had a Catholic president
 many Protestants had concerns about JFK
 JFK decided to confront this issue openly
in a speech, “I believe in an America
where the separation of the church &
state is absolute, he said, “where no
Catholic prelate would tell the president,
should he be a Catholic, how to act”
JFK Win Narrow Victory
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The 4 televised debates
strongly influenced the
outcome of the election,
one of the closest in U.S.
history
JFK won popular vote by
119,000 out of 68 million
votes cast and the
Electoral College by 303219
In several states only a
few thousand votes could
have swung the Electoral
College numbers the
other way
Kennedy the Mass Media President
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Despite his narrow victory, JFK captured the
imagination of the American public as few
presidents before him had
During the campaign, many had been taken with
JFK’s youth and optimism
JFK strongly reinforced this impression when he
gave his Inaugural Address
The Kennedy family seemed to have been
created for media coverage
JFK himself was a master of the media,
particularly TV
He was the first to broadcast his press
conferences live on television
Inaugural Address
 proclaimed
that the
U.S. would do
anything to uphold its
version of freedom
throughout the world
 “Ask not what your
country can do for you
--- ask what you can
do for your country”
New Frontier
 He
hoped to increase aid to education,
provide heath insurance to the elderly,
create a Department of Urban Affairs, and
help migrant workers
 Congress defeated a number of JFK’s
proposals, including health insurance for
the elderly, a Department of Urban Affairs,
and federal aid to education
 JFK often resisted calls to push harder for
his agenda
 He decided not to fight every battle on
Capitol Hill and preferred to reserve his
bargaining power for issues that were both
truly important & winnable
Ideas on Women
1961, he created the Presidential Commission
on the Status of Women
 The commission called for federal action
against gender discrimination & affirmed the
right of women to equally paid employment
 Kennedy responded by issuing an executive
order ending gender discrimination in the
federal civil service
 1963, he signed the Equal Pay Act for women
 The commission also sparked the creation of
similar groups on the state level and inspired
many women to work together to further
their interests
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The Alliance for Progress
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To improve relations between the U.S. & Latin
America, JFK proposed an Alliance for Progress, a
series of cooperative aid projects with Latin
American governments
The alliance was designed to create a “free and
prosperous Latin America” that would be less
likely to support Communist- inspired revolutions
Over a 10-year period, the United States pledged
$20 billion to help Latin American countries
established better schools, housing, health care,
and fairer land distribution
The results were mixed
Some countries- notably Chile, Colombia,
Venezuela, and the Central American republicsthe alliance did promote real reform
In others, governing rulers used the money to
keep themselves in power
POP QUIZ
 QUIETLY
TAKE OUT A FULL,
SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER
 NUMBER
1-5
POP QUIZ
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Who were the 2 candidates for the Election of
1960?
How many televised debates were there?
In his inaugural address, JFK proclaimed that the
U.S. would do anything to uphold its version of
this?
JFK hoped to increase aid to education, provide
heath insurance to the elderly, create a
Department of Urban Affairs, and help migrant
workers with this?
This alliance was designed to create a “free and
prosperous Latin America” that would be less
likely to support Communist- inspired
revolutions?
The Plan in Berlin
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The lines of German
occupation had hardened
The W’rn regions had
combined into one, creating
the new nation of West
Germany
The sector controlled by the
USSR became East Germany
The city of Berlin, lying
inside East Germany was
also divided
USSR demanded a peace
treaty that would make the
division of the city
permanent
The Berlin Crisis
 JFK
feared the Soviet effort in Germany
was part of a larger plan to take over
the rest of Europe
 6/1961, JFK had 1st conversion w/
Soviet premier (leader) Nikita
Khrushchev in Vienna, Austria; this
went poorly, JFK felt bullied
 JFK asked Congress for a huge increase
of more than $3 billion for defense
 JFK requested more military personal
Nikita Khrushchev
Berlin Wall
 USSR
built a wall
in Berlin that
effectively
sealed East
Berliners in their
region of the city
 This became an
enduring symbol
of East-West
conflict for the
next 3 decades
Castro Takes Over in Cuba
 1959,
Castro successfully led forces that
overthrew the regime of Cuban dictator
Fulgencio Batista
 Under Batista, Cuba had been an economic
dependency of the U.S. & when Castro’s
government started to nationalize
Americans’ lands and investments and sell
sugar to the Soviet Union
 Eisenhower stopped trade with the island
and the CIA began to train anti-Castro
exiles for an invasion
Castro’s Cuba
The U.S. had worried
about Cuba ever since
revolutionary leader Fidel
Castro took over in 1959
 Many Cubans supported
Castro because he
promised to improve the
lives of the poor by
exploiting wealthy Cuban
& U.S. companies
operating in Cuba
 Castro developed ties to
the USSR, particularly
after the U.S. broke
diplomatic relations
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The Plan to Overthrow Castro
 When
JFK learned that Eisenhower
had approved a plan in 1960, in
which the CIA was providing
military training for Cuba
opponents of Castro in Guatemala
 An invasion of Cuba at a place
called the Bay of Pigs was planned
 The idea was when the invasion
took place, the Cuban people would
use this opportunity to overthrow
Castro
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
 Took
place on 4/17/1961; it was a total
disaster
 An air strike failed to destroy Cuba’s air
power, Castro was able to stop forces
coming to Cuba
 Advisers urged JFK to send in U.S. planes
for help, but he refused & cut his losses
 The illegal effort to overthrow a legitimate
gov’t was exposed to the world
 European leaders were concerned about
the kind of leadership JFK planned to
provide
Map of Cuba
Missiles Found in Cuba
 USSR
disturbed by the Bay of Pigs
invasion, now supported Cuba
 10/1962, photos taken from U.S.
spy planes revealed that the
Soviets were placing missiles
(ICBMs) in Cuba
 USSR had its 1st ally in the W’rn
Hemisphere, 90 miles South of
U.S.
Possible Soviet Motives
 U.S.
Jupiter
missiles in
Turkey
 Khrushchev was
trying to show
how much
power he had
 Protection of
Cuba from a
U.S. invasion
JFK’s Reaction
 Bombers
&
missiles were
armed w/
nuclear weapons
 The fleet was
ready to move
 Soldiers were
ready to invade
Cuba any minute
Kennedy Goes on TV
 Tells
public about the missiles &
demands USSR remove them
 “The U.S. would not shrink from the
risk of nuclear war”
 Announced a naval “quarantine”
around Cuba to prevent the Soviets
from bringing in more missiles
 He was careful not to use
“blockade” since this is an act of
war
Who was going to Blink 1st?
Soviet
ships came close to
quarantine line but were called
back
Khrushchev sent a letter to JFK
pledging he would remove the
missile if JFK promised that the
U.S. would end the quarantine
& stay out of Cuba
A SECOND LETTER?!
Khrushchev
would sent a 2nd
letter demanding that the
U.S. take the missiles out of
Turkey in exchange for
removal of Cuban missiles
The U.S. accepted the terms
st
of the 1 note while ignoring
the 2nd one
The Legacy of the CMC
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This would be the closest the
world has come to nuclear war
The CMC did lead to reduce the
risk of nuclear war
1. JFK & Khrushchev established a “hot
line” between nations to discuss
these type of issues
2. 1963, signed Limited Test Ban
Treaty – banned nuclear testing
above ground
POP QUIZ
 QUIETLY
TAKE OUT A FULL,
SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER
 NUMBER
1-5
POP QUIZ
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Where did JFK 1st meet Khrushchev?
Before Castro took over Cuba who was
the leader?
Before the Bay of Pigs invasion who was
concerned about the kind of leadership
JFK planned to provide?
Name 2 of the possible Soviet motives
for the Cuban Missile Crisis.
This banned nuclear testing above
ground?