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Kennedy and Foreign Policy
The Big Idea
The United States confronted Communist nations in Cold War
conflicts around the world.
Main Ideas
• President Kennedy confronted Communist threats around
the world.
• The United States and the Soviet Union raced to send a
person to the moon.
• The Cold War conflict in Vietnam led the United States into
war.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 1:
President Kennedy confronted Communist
threats around the world.
• President Kennedy was committed to stopping the spread
of communism worldwide.
– Maintained strong military forces
– Expanded nation’s supply of nuclear weapons
– Through Alliance for Progress program, pledged $20 billion in
aid to Latin American countries
– Developed the Peace Corps, which in 1961 started sending
volunteers to developing countries to help with projects such
as digging wells and building schools
Holt McDougal,
Military Confrontations
Bay of Pigs
• Cuban rebel Fidel Castro
overthrew the Cuban
government and established a
Communist state.
• Proximity of Cuba worried
Americans.
• Kennedy approved CIA
operation to remove Castro
from power.
• April 17, 1961– About 1,500
Cuban exiles landed by boat at
Cuba’s Bay of Pigs but the
invasion failed.
• Kennedy faced criticism for the
disastrous invasion.
Holt McDougal,
The Berlin Wall
• Many East Germans fled to
democratic West Germany.
• Soviet premier Nikita
Khrushchev demanded that
the border be closed and
threatened war.
• August 13, 1961– East
German government began
building the Berlin Wall, a
barrier of concrete and barbed
wire between East and West
Berlin.
• Wall became symbol of the
Cold War.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• In October 1962, American spy planes discovered Soviets
installing nuclear missiles in Cuba.
– If launched, missiles could reach American cities in minutes.
• Kennedy demanded removal of the missiles.
• U.S. Navy formed a blockade around Cuba to prevent Soviet ships
from bringing more weapons.
• Soviet ships turned back, ending the Cuban missile crisis.
• Effects
– Soviets later agreed to remove missiles from Cuba.
– Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba and to remove some missiles in
Turkey and Italy.
– United States and Soviet Union set up a telephone “hotline” so leaders
could talk directly to each other at a moment’s notice.
– United States and Soviet Union signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban
Treaty, which banned the testing of new nuclear weapons
aboveground.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 2:
The United States and the Soviet Union raced
to send a person to the moon.
• The space race, competition between the United States and
Soviet Union to explore space, heated up in the 1960s.
– April 1961– Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin became first person in
space.
– May 1961– Alan Shepard Jr. became first U.S. astronaut in space.
– 1962– John Glenn became first American to orbit Earth.
• 1961– Kennedy outlined bold plan to Congress to land first man
on the moon.
– Congress provided NASA with billions of dollars of funding.
– Began work on Project Apollo
• July 20, 1969– American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin
“Buzz” Aldrin became first people to walk on moon.
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Main Idea 3:
The Cold War conflict in Vietnam led the
United States into war.
• Vietnamese nationalist Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh fought the
French for control of Vietnam.
• Presidents Truman and Eisenhower supported France with military
aid
– Concerned that Vietminh victory would lead to spread of communism
in Asia
– Feared domino theory– that if one country became Communist,
nearby countries would follow
• In July 1954, French and Vietnamese leaders agreed to Geneva
Accords.
– Temporary division of Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam
– Called for democratic elections in July 1956 to unite the two countries
under one government
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North and South Vietnam
North Vietnam
• Communist state led by Ho Chi
Minh
• Introduced land redistribution
plan and thousands killed and
imprisoned during process
• Funded and supplied
Communist guerilla forces,
called the Vietcong, for South
Vietnam’s NLF
South Vietnam
• Western-style government led
by Ngo Dinh Diem, supported
by United States
• Poor leadership resulted in
many problems.
• Growing numbers of South
Vietnamese began to support
Ho Chi Minh and Vietminh.
• Diem refused to allow South
Vietnam to participate in
elections.
• Diem‘s opponents form
National Liberation Front (NLF)
and began fighting against
Diem’s government in late
1950s.
Holt McDougal,
American Involvement in Vietnam
• Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy sent military advisers and
special forces to South Vietnam.
– U.S. military accompanied South Vietnamese army on combat
missions.
– By 1963 about 16,000 U.S. military personnel were serving in
Vietnam.
• Diem became more and more unpopular
– Would not hold elections
– Ordered troops to fire on Buddhist demonstrators
– Opponents began to consider violence as only option.
• In November 1963 a group of South Vietnamese army offices
seized power and killed Diem.
Holt McDougal,
Escalation in Vietnam
The Big Idea
Johnson quickly expanded U.S. involvement in Vietnam, but
American soldiers faced a determined enemy.
Main Ideas
• President Johnson committed the United States to victory
in Vietnam by expanding U.S. involvement.
• American soldiers faced new challenges fighting the
Vietnam War.
• The Tet Offensive was an important turning point in the
war.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 1:
President Johnson committed the United
States to victory in Vietnam by expanding
U.S. involvement.
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
•
•
•
August 1964– North Vietnamese torpedo boats are reported to have attacked
U.S. ships.
President Johnson saw actions as act of war.
Congress passed Tonkin Gulf Resolution, giving president authority “to take
all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the
United States.”
Johnson Takes Action
• First U.S. combat troops sent to South Vietnam in March 1965
• Operation Rolling Thunder, a series of air strikes, targets North Vietnam war
industries and attempts to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a North Vietnamese
supply route.
• By late 1968 more than a million tons of explosives had been dropped on North
and South Vietnam.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 2:
American soldiers faced new challenges
fighting the Vietnam War.
• President Johnson pursued policy of escalation, or increased
involvement, in the war.
– By 1968 more than 500,000 American troops were serving in
Vietnam.
• General William Westmoreland commanded U.S. ground
forces.
– Used strategy based on search-and-destroy missions, where U.S.
patrols searched for enemy camps, then destroyed them with
massive firepower and air raids
• War was fought in jungles and villages of South Vietnam.
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Challenges of War
• Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army were challenging
opponents.
– Used their knowledge of region and guerilla warfare tactics
– Continual supply of troops at the ready
– Received weapons and supplies from Soviet Union and Communist
China
• Civilians of South Vietnam were often caught in the middle of
fighting.
– Vietcong killed people they believed were cooperating with the South
Vietnamese government.
– U.S. and South Vietnamese forces attacked villages they suspected
of assisting the Vietcong, undermining the U.S. goal of winning
support and loyalty from the South Vietnamese.
Holt McDougal,
Soldiers in Vietnam
• More than 2 million American soldiers served in Vietnam.
– Average age was 18-21
– One-quarter of them were drafted, many from minority
groups and poor families.
• American troops faced harsh conditions.
– Carried 70-90 pounds of equipment in 100-degree heat
and rainstorms
– Never knew when they might encounter enemy fire
– Danger of land mines and booby traps
– Rarely able to control captured territories for very long
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 3:
The Tet Offensive was an important turning
point in the war.
• January 30, 1968 was Vietnamese New Year, called Tet.
– In previous years, a cease-fire halted fighting on this holiday.
• Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces launched the Tet
Offensive.
– Surprise attacks all over South Vietnam
– Attacked U.S. Embassy in Saigon, South Vietnam’s capital
– Showed that they were still strong and determined
• Attack was successfully fought off by American and South
Vietnamese forces but they were shocked by the size and force
of the offensive.
• February 1968– President Johnson denied the military’s request
for more troops.
– American support for the war was dropping.
Holt McDougal,
On the Homefront
• Television reports had important impact on public opinion.
– Americans could see the action.
– People were shocked by the brutality of war.
• Public opinion on the war was split.
– Supporters of the war, hawks, called for increased military
spending.
– Opponents of the war, doves, believed that the war was draining
money that should be spent at home.
• On March 16, 1968, a company of U.S. soldiers massacred
hundreds of unarmed people in the village of My Lai.
• The My Lai massacre caused many more Americans to question
U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Holt McDougal,
The End of the War
The Big Idea
Growing antiwar feelings in the United States helped
convince the government to end U.S. involvement in the
Vietnam War.
Main Ideas
• Opinions about the Vietnam War divided American society
in the 1960s.
• The war under Nixon expanded from Vietnam to Laos and
Cambodia.
• The Vietnam War ended in 1973, but it had lasting effects
on Vietnam and the United States.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 1:
Opinions about the Vietnam War divided
American society in the 1960s.
• Growing numbers of Americans began to criticize the war.
• College students often took the lead in organizing antiwar
protests.
– One active group was Students for a Democratic Society.
– By end of 1968, 75 percent of college campuses had been sites for
antiwar demonstrations.
• Some Americans held demonstrations in support of the war.
• Some young Americans developed a counterculture– a culture
with its own values and ways of behaving.
– Members of this counterculture were called hippies.
– Emphasized individual freedom, nonviolence, and communal sharing
– Expressed rejection of traditional society by growing long hair and
wearing unusual clothes
Holt McDougal,
Election of 1968
• President Johnson decided not to run for another term of office.
• Several others campaigned for Democratic nomination.
– Vice President Hubert Humphrey
– Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York
• Violence broke out at Democratic convention after police tried to
stop antiwar demonstrations.
– Damaged chances of Hubert Humphrey, the Democratic nominee, of
winning the election
• Republican nominee was Richard M. Nixon.
– Promised to restore order to society and bring “peace with honor” to
Vietnam
• Richard Nixon won the 1968 presidential election.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 2:
The war under Nixon expanded from Vietnam
to Laos and Cambodia.
Nixon’s Plan
•
•
•
With his national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, Nixon created a
plan to pull U.S. troops form Vietnam and have the South
Vietnamese Army take over all the fighting.
Strategy called Vietnamization
Withdrawal of American troops began
Cambodia and Laos
• Nixon, without knowledge of Congress or American public, approved
bombing raids on Cambodia and Laos to disrupt Vietcong supply lines.
• On April 30, 1970, Nixon announced that U.S. troops were sent into
Cambodia to attack Communist bases.
• Nixon seemed to be expanding the war.
Holt McDougal,
1972 Election
• Student protests erupted all over the nation.
• In June 1971 the Pentagon Papers were published.
– Revealed that for years, U.S. officials had been lying to the American
public about war’s progress
– Intensified antiwar feelings
• Twenty-sixth Amendment ratified in 1971
– Lowered voting age from 21 to 18
• Democratic candidate George McGovern tried to appeal to young
voters.
• Majority of voters over 21 supported Nixon.
• Richard Nixon won presidential election by a landslide.
Holt McDougal,
Main Idea 3:
The Vietnam War ended in 1973, but it had
lasting effects on Vietnam and the United
States.
• On January 27, 1973, the United States signed a ceasefire called the Paris Peace Accords.
– Agreement between United States, North Vietnam, South
Vietnam, and the Vietcong
– United States agreed to withdrawal of all troops.
– North Vietnam agreed to return all American prisoners of
war.
• Despite the peace agreement, fighting broke out between
North and South Vietnam in 1974.
– United States refused to send troops back to South Vietnam.
Holt McDougal,
Impact of Vietnam War
Southeast Asia
United States
• 250,000 South Vietnamese
soldiers died in the war.
• Some 58,000 Americans were
killed in the war.
• 1 million North Vietnamese
and Vietcong solders were
killed.
• More than 300,000 Americans
were wounded.
• An estimated 2 million
civilians killed
• Returning American soldiers
were not always welcomed
home and many suffered from
post-traumatic stress disorder.
• North Vietnamese forces
captured Saigon in April 1975,
and Communist leaders
created the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam.
• War Powers Act passed in
1973, requiring president to
get Congressional approval
before committing U.S. troops
to armed struggle
• Communist dictators took over
Laos and Cambodia.
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial
dedicated in 1982
Holt McDougal,