Download 1) The Causes of World War One

Mr. Huffman’s U.S. History
U5C187S3 (Foreign Policy in the Early 1960s)
Pages 551-558
1) The Bay of Pigs Invasion
a) Throughout first half of the 20th century, Cuba had been controlled by US
i) In 1959, Fidel Castro led a popular revolution against Fulgencio Batista
(1)
Castro ousted Batista and nationalized property in the name of his
new government, including property owned by U.S. businesses
ii)The US, under Eisenhower, broke dipl. relations>imposed trade sanctions
iii) Castro had turned to the USSR for support > developed strong ties
iv) Eisenhower & the CIA developed a plan to take a small force of Cuban
exiles living in the US, train them in Guatemala, > help them land in
Cuba, where the population was to rise up and help overthrow Castro
v) Although Kennedy and his advisors were uncertain, the plan was already
well along when he came to office, and he allowed it to proceed
b) Attack and Defeat
i) In April ‘61, Bay of Pigs invasion launched, w. Cuban-flown US bombers
striking Cuban airfields & landing craft heading into the Bay of Pigs
ii)Air strikes not effective, & Cuban military was able to contain invasion
iii) Although Kennedy's advisors urged him to use American air power to
aid the invasion, he refused, and the Cuban invaders were defeated
Mr. Huffman’s U.S. History
U5C187S3 (Foreign Policy in the Early 1960s)
Pages 551-558
iv) Plan was revealed, role of the US made public, US lost prestige
2) The Berlin Crisis
a) Germany divided into occupation zones between US, UK, France, & USSR
i) In 1948, US & USSR had experienced a crisis when the Soviets
blockaded West Berlin, & Truman responded with the airlift
b) Now the Soviets wanted a new peace treaty recognizing division of Berlin
into E & W, so that they could cut off East Germans crossing the border
i) Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, issued an ultimatum demanding US action
on the issue, & JFK felt like he was being forced into action he wasn't
ready to take, with the threat of a Soviet invasion of Germany behind it
c) Kennedy's response was to prepare the United States for war with the
USSR, to prove that we would not be pushed around
i) He called for a new defense spending bill of over $3B, asked for an
additional $200M for fallout shelters, doubled draft & called up reserves
ii)JFK addressed the public, announcing that the US was preparing for war
d) The Berlin Wall- Soviets decided to build a wall in Berlin instead of war
3) The Cuban Missile Crisis- After the failed US attempt to overthrow Castro,
Soviets had pledged themselves to support & defend Cuba from the US
Mr. Huffman’s U.S. History
U5C187S3 (Foreign Policy in the Early 1960s)
Pages 551-558
a) Initially, this was limited to financial & conventional military aid, but in
1962, the Soviets decided to introduce nuclear weapons into Cuba
b) 16 Oct 62- An American U-2 spy plane took pictures of a large construction
area in Cuba > analysts discovered evidence of Soviet MRBMs
c) The President convened a small group of his top advisors which he called
the Executive Committee, or ExComm, to try and decide what to do
i) Most of the members were in favor of using air strikes and perhaps a
follow-on invasion to eliminate the missiles and launch facilities, but
JFK's younger brother Robert, the Attorney General, disagreed
ii)As ExComm searched for a solution, US & USSR prepared for war
d) The only other solution anyone could come up with was a blockade (called
a quarantine at the time), and Kennedy decided to give that a try
i) On Monday, October 22, he announced the presence of nuclear missiles
in Cuba, demanded their immediate withdrawal, & announced quarantine
e) Soviet freighters carrying the rest of the missiles turned back, and the
Soviets offered to remove the missiles in place if the United States would
pledge to end the quarantine & leave Cuba alone- JFK agreed, crisis ended
i) Kennedy seen as a hero by both Americans and American allies
Mr. Huffman’s U.S. History
U5C187S3 (Foreign Policy in the Early 1960s)
Pages 551-558
ii)Fear experienced by both sides convinced them to make some changes
(1)
A "hot line" was installed between White House & Kremlin
(2)
The Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed in 1963
4) Alliance for Progress was an effort to counter Communist expansion through
the use of peaceful assistance in the third world- seen as a ploy
5) The Peace Corps, which has been successful, and which is still ongoing, is the
Peace Corps, started by Kennedy in 1961
6) Johnson's Foreign Policy
a) 1965, rebels attacked the right-wing, military government of the Dominican
Republic- Johnson sent 22K Marines to island, where they defeated rebels
b) Another area that Americans were involved in was Vietnam
i) The US had committed under Eisenhower and Kennedy to support the
South Vietnamese against the Communist-supported North, and had sent
thousands of advisors to South Vietnam to train their military