Tengowski Iii 3 1961 was a mean year
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Transcript of Tengowski Iii 3 1961 was a mean year
1961- “It was a very mean year.”
• 1. Space Program
• 2. Bay of Pigs
• 3. Berlin Crisis
• 4. USSR Test Detonates 50 Atomic Weapons
• 5. US Detonates H-Bomb (Christmas Island)
1. Space Program• April 12, 1961• Yuri Gagarin (USSR) completes
first orbit of the Earth
• May 5, 1961• Alan Shepard is first American
into outer space
JFK Response – May 25, 1961
• “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but
because they are hard…”
2. Bay of Pigs-April 17, 1961
• JFK criticized Ike for being soft on Cuba
• Afraid Communism might spread
• Ike called for invasion worked in Guatemala
• JFK hoped that the invasion would foster a revolution
Bay of Pigs – April 17, 1961Operation Bumpy Road
• Cuban Exiles
• 1453 Troops
• Cubans
• 2500 Troops
• 200,000 Militia
Bay of Pigs cont.
• In 72 hours, the invasion was over
• CIA wanted to respond with air strikes, JFK said no-feared a strike against West Berlin
Results of the Bay of Pigs
• Unlike Ike, JFK took full responsibility
• Popularity rose to 83%
• JFK sent $53 million to Cuba for 1100 prisoners
• Cuba became top US priority
JFK Approves Operation Mongoose –November 30, 1961
• By 1975, 24 different attempts were made to take the life of Fidel Castro…
• $50 Million/Year spent of the project…
Berlin Crisis (June-August 1961)• Khruschev wants Berlin to
be a “free city”• “If JFK wants a war, he’ll be the
last President of the US”
• Real Problem-2000 people leaving Berlin every day