Download The Election of 1960

John F. Kennedy
1961-1963
JFK’s Bio
• decorated naval
officer in World War
II.
• Pulitzer Prize for
his book, "Profiles in
Courage."
• He served exactly
1,000 days in office.
• He was the first
president born in the
20th century and the
youngest president
ever elected.
•He is the only
Roman
Catholic president
•He could read 1600
The Election of 1960
•closest
since
1884
(~119,00
0)
•TV
debate
may have
swung
election
The Inaugural
Address
“Let the word go forth…
That the torch has been
passed to a new
generation of
Americans…
The energy, the faith,
the
devotion which we bring
to this endeavor will light
our country and all who
serve it…And so, my
fellow
Americans-ask not what
your country can do for
Camelot
Crisis Over Cuba
The first test of Kennedy’s
foreign policy came in
Cuba,
just 90 miles off the coast of
Florida. Revolutionary
leader,
Fidel Castro, openly
declared
himself a communist and
welcomed aid from the
Soviet Union.
The Bay of Pigs
On April 17,1961, some 1500
Cuban exiles supported by
the U.S. military landed on
the island’s southern coast
at Baja de Cochinos, the Bay
of Pigs. The CIA and the
exiles
hoped it would trigger a mass
uprising that would overthrow
Castro. It didn’t! Cuban forces,
backed by Soviet tanks and jet
aircraft, easily repelled the
exile
invasion. Some of the exiles
were
killed, others imprisoned.
Cuban Missile Crisis
In October, 1962,
photographs taken
by American planes
revealed Soviet
missile bases in
Cuba-and some
contained missiles
ready to launch.
They could reach
U.S. cities in
minutes.
On October 22,
Kennedy ordered
a naval blockade
of Cuba to prevent
further deliveries
of Soviet weapons.
He also demanded
that the Soviets
remove the missiles.
Khrushchev promised to
challenge the blockade,
calling it “outright banditry.”
For a few days, nuclear war and massive destruction was a
distinct possibility for every American. In schools, children
practiced air raid drills, a common occurrence during the Cold
War. People who had built bomb shelters began stocking
them with food and other provisions. Even the president called
his family to the White House where they could be protected in
the presidential nuclear shelter.
Suddenly, on October 24, many of the Soviet ships stopped sho
of the blockade line, turned, and sailed home. “We’re eyeball to
eyeball,” said Secretary of State Dean Rusk, “and I think the
other fellow just blinked.” On October 28 Khrushchev agreed
to dismantle the missile bases in response to Kennedy’s promis
not to invade Cuba.
Kennedy and Berlin
One of the high points
of Kennedy’s foreign
travels was a trip he
made to Berlin in 1963
to dramatize America’s
commitment to West
Berlin and West Germany.
In a speech at the Berlin
Wall, Kennedy electrified
an audience of about 150,000
Germans by stating , “Ich bin
ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner),
thus declaring the solidarity of
all free people with the people
of West Berlin.
The New
Frontier
President Kennedy’s
legislative program to
provide medical care
for the elderly….
To rebuild blighted
urban areas….
To aid education….
To bolster the national
defense….
To increase
international aid….
To expand the space
program.
To provide volunteer
assistance to developing
nations in Asia, Africa,
and Latin America.
And to promote civil
rights.
May 19, 1962 at
Kennedy’s 45th
birthday celebration
“Happy birthday Mr.
President…”
"I can now retire from
politics after having
had Happy Birthday
sung to me in such a
sweet, wholesome
Tragedy in Dallas
In the fall of 1963,
public opinion polls
showed that Kennedy
was losing popularity
because of his
advocacy of civil
rights. On November
22,
1963, President and
Mrs. Kennedy went
to Texas to mend
political fences with
members of the
state’s Democratic
Party.
Crowds
lined the
streets of
Dallas
to greet
the
President.
In front
of them
sat Texas
Governor
John
Connally
and his
wife
Nellie.
As the car approached a state building known as the Texas State Bo
Depository, rifle shots rang out.
Shot in
the
head,
his car
raced to
a nearby
hospital,
where
doctors
tried
to revive
him to no
avail.
JFK died
on Nov.
22, 1963
In 1963, the
Warren
Commission
investigated
and concluded
that
Lee Harvey
Oswald
had shot the
president
while acting on his
own.
On Sunday, Nov. 24,
as millions watched
live television
coverage of Oswald
being transferred
between jails, a
nightclub owner
named Jack Ruby
slipped through the
crowd and shot and
killed Oswald.
JFK is buried in Arlington
Cemetery. The eternal
flame burns at his grave
site.
JFK, Jr. saluting his
father as his casket
passed by became
the defining moment
of his assassination.
The Kennedy Curse
had begun.