JFK and the Cold War

JFK and the Cold WarPages 748-751The Kennedy MystiqueElection of 1960

John F. Kennedy (D)

Richard Nixon (R)Election of 1960Personality and styleover substance

Nixon had more exp

Kennedy younger

John F. KennedyWar hero

Catholic

Role of TelevisionTV played a huge role in determining the outcome of the election

The campaign featured the first televised presidential debates

Kennedy/Nixon DebatesMost thought Nixon gave better answers

Seemed nervous

Bad makeup

TV vs. RadioMost journalists reported that if you listened on the radio, most thought Nixon won

Those viewing on TV thought Kennedy won

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QazmVHAO0os

Kennedy Inagurationhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4phB-rRjYQw

Most famous line?Kennedys MistakesLeader of Soviet Union was Nikita Khrushchev

Cuban InvasionKennedy sponsored an invasion of Cuba on April 17, 1961

This confirmed Soviet fears of American aggressiveness

Bay of PigsSupposed to be secret mission

Bay of PigsBay of Pigs was a plan from the Eisenhower administration

Kennedy refused to commit American armed forces to support them, Cuban forces were able to capture the attackers

Damage ControlKennedy now had to quickly fix this problem

Rushed into a meeting with Khrushchev that he was not prepared for

Gave Soviet Union the impression he was weakSoviet ThreatSoviet Union focused attention again on Berlin

City was still divided and was an escape route from Communism for many

Soviet Union was attempting to block access to BerlinImportantWanted the U.S. to formally recognize East Germany

Kennedy responded by doubling draft calls, called up reservists, and warned families to build bomb fallout shelters

New War FearsSoviets chose not to fight the Americans directly, but rather build a wall around the western sectors of Berlin

Berlin Wall 8/13/61

Berlin WallPrivately JFK accepted the wall, A wall is a hell of a lot better than a war

Getting Into VietnamAmerican involvement started in the mid 1950s when the United States replaced France as the supporter of anti-Communist Vietnamese who had established a government in the southern part of Vietnam

Ho Chi MinhHo Chi Minh, leader of Communist North Vietnam had defeated the French in 1954

Power struggle ensued, international conference wanted a single government.

Southern LeaderEisenhower administration wanted Ngo Dinh Diem from the South and Catholic roots to hold own elections

DiemControlled the South, which was free

Communist insurgents were beginning to battle him in the South

The Viet CongOpportunity for JFKKennedy saw this as an opportunity to reassert idea of containment

Tried to support Diem with more weapons and military advisors

Didnt work

Now What?Diem was losing support of his people in the South

Kennedy administration approved a coup that killed Diem and replaced him

Cuban Missile Crisis

Cuban Missile CrisisPhotos in Oct 1962 revealed Soviets at work on launching sites in Cuba from which missiles could hit the United States

Officials spent 5 days trying to decide what to do

OptionsDoing nothing was political disaster, an invasion was not feasible, and air strikes were impossible

Decided to demand removal of the missiles and set up a naval quarantine in order to buy some more time

SpeechJFK spoke to a terrified nation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W50RNAbmy3M

Soviet ResponseKhrushchev offered to withdraw the missiles in exchange for a promise from the U.S. not to invade Cuba

A second letter followed the next day also demanding the removal of American missiles in NATO countries

American ResponseJFK just decided to accept the first letter and act as if he never received the other

Pledged not to invade Cuba and secretly removed some missiles from Turkey