Download Election of 1960 Kennedy Takes Office

Election of 1960
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Democratic candidate: John F. Kennedy
Republican candidate: Richard M. Nixon
September 26, 1960: first televised debate
Both candidates considered themselves “Cold warriors” when to stop
communism.
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Kennedy’s religion was a major issue at the time. No one had been elected
President who was catholic.
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People feared he would take orders from the Pope.
While addressing a convention of Protestant ministers Kennedy gave a
famous speech saying, “I believe in an America where the separation of
church and state is absolute where no catholic prelate would tell the
president how to act”.
Kennedy Takes Office
• Kennedy implements his legislative agenda that he campaigned on called the
“New Frontier”.
• To stimulate the economy Kennedy fought for deficit spending and investing
more funds in defense and space exploration. It worked.
• President took on labor and asked companies to hold down prices of goods.
• Kennedy pushed for tax cuts because he believed it would enable businesses
to hire more people, but Congress would not accept it because they believed it
would cause inflation.
• Kennedy convened the President’s panel on Mental Retardation. As a result,
Congress provided grants to build research centers and to construct mental
health facilities.
• Kennedy also convened a forum on women’s equality.
Warren Court Reforms
• In 1953 Earl Warren became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
• Under his leadership the Supreme Court issued several rulings that
dramatically changed American politics and society.
• Baker V. Carr 1962 ruled in favor of reapportionment. It allowed Federal
courts to hear lawsuits where parties would force states to redraw
electoral districts. They cited “one man, one vote” meaning rural areas or
otherwise would not hold more authority.
• The case boosted the political power of minorities.
• The court ruled in several cases that backed the principle of “Due process”
under the law. Meaning the government must treat everyone under the
law equally.
• The Supreme Court upheld separation of church and state.
Several rulings dealt with expanded federal protection and due process. Rulings applied the
Bill of Rights to the state level and protected individual rights.
JFK and the Cold War
• Kennedy wanted to have a “flexible response” to resist communism. He
wanted to rely on conventional weapons, troops and special forces to deal
with communism.
• Focused on providing aid to poor countries around the world specifically
Latin America to prevent them from becoming communist.
• Created the “Alliance for Progress” providing 20 billion dollars to assist Latin
American countries to create infrastructure, schools, hospitals, housing and
health care.
• Kennedy wanted to win the space race by placing the first man on the
moon.
• He wanted to prove to the world that capitalism was superior to
communism and prevent communism from strengthening in other nations.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
Started with Eisenhower and followed with Kennedy.
Conceived by the CIA to overthrow Fidel Castro, the
invasion involved Cuban exiles who had fled Castro’s
rule and settled in the United States.
The Bay of Pigs mission failed.
Kennedy took responsibility
for the mission’s failure.
The President said,
however, that he would
continue to resist efforts
by the communists to
control other countries in
Western Hemisphere.
Crisis of the Cold War “Bay of Pigs”
• Fidel Castro takes over Cuba in 1959, and becomes allies with the Soviet
Union.
• CIA secretly trained Cuban exiles were sent to back to Cuba by President
Kennedy. The goal was to attack and bring about an uprising amongst
the people to get rid of Castro.
• The Cubans arrived in the bay of pigs in south coast of Cuba. It was a
disaster. Many of their boats sank before even reaching shore.
• Within days the Cuban exiles were captured and killed within a couple of
days.
• President Kennedy was seen as being weak for the inability to execute
this military plan. Additionally the United States was exposed
attempting to overthrow a government.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Failed Invasion
• Information was leaked early- New York Times
• Air strikes failed.
• Castro prepared for a land attack.
• Invaders were captured and ransomed back to
United States for $52 million in food and aid.
• Strengthened Castro’s ties to the Soviet Union
Kennedy
Khrushchev
Soviet Response
• June 1961 Premiere Khrushchev met with President Kennedy in Austria.
• President Kennedy wanted to purse a nuclear test ban treaty. Khrushchev
wanted West Germany to give up Berlin. Kennedy refused.
• As a result of the lack of cooperation Khrushchev builds a wall that
separates eastern Berlin with Western Berlin. It was the beginning of the
Berlin wall.
• The Berlin Wall symbolized the division between the Soviets and the
United States, and between totalitarianism and democracy.
Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962, American
intelligence
agencies
photographed
Soviet
nuclear missile
installations
in Cuba.
The missiles
at these
Cuban sites
threatened
major cities in
the United
States.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• Kennedy assembled a group of advisors, known as
the ExComm, to help him plan a response.
Managing
the
Crisis
– ExComm military members favored an air strike,
perhaps followed by a land invasion of Cuba.
– Others argued for a naval blockade. Kennedy
agreed with this plan.
• The world watched as Soviet ships carrying missile
parts approached the naval blockade. They turned
back.
Effects
of the
Crisis
• Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the missiles if the
United States pledged to never invade Cuba.
• Both Kennedy and Khrushchev took steps to ease
tensions between their countries.
• They set up a hotline to allow direct communication
during times of crisis.
• The Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed,
ending atmospheric and underwater testing of
nuclear weapons.
To resolve the Cuban missile crisis, Kennedy worked
In Public
Behind the Scenes
In a television address,
Kennedy blamed Khrushchev
for reckless action that
threatened world peace.
Kennedy told the Soviets that
Kennedy initiated a U.S.
naval blockade of Cuba.
removed their missiles from
the United States would
remove U.S. missiles from
Turkey and Italy if the Soviets
Cuba.
Cuban Missile Crisis
• U2 spy plane found these nuclear missile silos in Cuba, 1962.
• Kennedy announces to the nation the Soviet Union had placed long range
nuclear missiles in Cuba.
• Kennedy orders an naval blockade of Cuba and demands the missiles be
dismantled and leave Cuba.
• Secret negotiations between the Soviets and U.S happened for a few weeks.
• Soviets agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba if America remove its missiles
from Turkey.
After six tense days, the Soviets backed off.
Nikita Khrushchev agreed to honor the
blockade and removed the missiles.
The crisis prompted the two leaders to establish
a period of détente. They set up a hot line
between Washington, D.C. and Moscow to
improve communication.
Death of President Kennedy
• On November 22nd 1963 Kennedy was in Dallas Texas. He was traveling in a presidential
motorcade.
• While driving through the downtown plaza he was shot and mortally wounded.
• Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested as the suspect.
• Two days later while in police custody walking out of the police station he was shot and
killed by Jack Ruby.