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C AMELOT AND C RISIS John F. Kennedy’s Administration
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BELL RINGER: WHO WOULD YOU VOTE FOR, AND WHY?Candidate A Candidate B
BELL RINGER: WHO WOULD YOU VOTE FOR, AND WHY?Aaron Schock – (R, IL) Henry Waxman – (D,
CA)
The media can
be mean, can’t
they?
CAMELOT AND CRISISJohn F. Kennedy’s Administration
ELECTION OF 1960
Incumbent Vice President under Eisenhower.
Emphasized his experience.
Wasted energy by campaigning in all 50 states instead of concentrating on the swing states.
Young Senator from Massachusetts.
Used his large, well-funded campaign organization to gain endorsements and get out the vote.
Battled discrimination from the media due to his Roman Catholic faith.
Richard Nixon (R-CA) John F. Kennedy (D-MA)
KENNEDY-NIXON DEBATES They were the first presidential debates held on
television, and thus attracted enormous publicity. An estimated 70 million viewers watched the first debate.
Nixon had been sick recently, and looked pale, sickly, underweight, and tired. He also refused makeup for the first debate, and as a result his beard stubble showed prominently on the era's black-and-white TV screens.
Kennedy, by contrast, rested and prepared extensively beforehand, appearing tanned (due to recent campaigning in CA), confident, and relaxed during the debate.
Those who listened to the debate on the radio claimed Nixon had won, while those who viewed it on television believed Kennedy had won.
The Kennedy-Nixon Debates
Image is EVERYTHING!
KENNEDY’S INAUGURATION Kennedy's inaugural address was the first
inaugural address delivered to a televised audience in color. The speech emphasized several themes: regular public service, cooperation with Latin America, and an increased emphasis on manned space exploration.
Challenged a “New Frontier” – would be highlighted by the charge towards the “final frontier”
Created the Peace Corp. to give democratic purpose to young people
“ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
WELCOME TO CAMELOT!
CAMELOT JFK’s administration reflected the president himself
– young, energetic, idealistic Had a young, beautiful family that represented a
new American ideal
JFK’S NEW FRONTIER Presidential Commission
on the Status of Women: Created to advise the President on issues concerning the status of women.
Appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as its chairperson.
JFK’S NEW FRONTIER Kennedy entered office with ambitions to eradicate
poverty and to raise America’s eyes to the stars through the space program.
Under his administration unemployment benefits were expanded, aid was provided to cities to improve housing and transportation, funds were allocated to continue the construction of a national highway system started under Eisenhower, a water pollution control act was passed to protect the country’s rivers and streams, and an agricultural act to raise farmers’ incomes was made law.
A significant amount of anti-poverty legislation was passed by Congress, including increases in social security benefits and in the minimum wage, several housing bills, and aid to economically distressed areas.
PEACE CORPS The program was established by Executive Order
10924, issued by JFK on March 1, 1961 Goals were to provide technical assistance; help
people outside the United States to understand American culture; and help Americans to understand the cultures of other countries.
Intended to show third world countries that there was a better way than communism.
Since 1961, over 210,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps and have served in 139 countries.
THE FINAL FRONTIER In May of 1961, JFK
challenged the nation to commit itself to landing a man on the moon within the decade.
Two weeks later, Alan Shepard became the first American in space
The following year, John Glenn manned the first space mission to orbit the earth.
ONE SMALL STEP… Apollo 11 - Neil Armstrong and
Buzz Aldrin landed their Lunar Module on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
The moon landing was broadcast on television, and millions of people around the world witnessed the momentous event.
“That’s one small step for man… one giant leap for mankind.”
KENNEDY, COLD WARRIORJFK and Foreign Policy
PROBLEMS IN BERLINThe Cold War Heats Up
THE TROUBLE WITH BERLIN In August, 1961, East
Germany began erecting a wall surrounding Western Berlin.
At first, the wall was merely some barbed wire and chain link fencing, but soon a massive wall surrounded the democratic section of the city.
Built in 1961
Berlin
Wall
THE IRON CURTAIN BECOMES REAL:The Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
THE TROUBLE WITH BERLIN The goal was to prevent East Berliners from
defecting to the West, but thousands would attempt to escape the clutches of the Soviets East German soldier Conrad Schumann defected
to West Berlin during the wall‘s early days by jumping the barbed wire fence.
Buildings that bordered Western Berlin became centers for Eastern defectors, who jumped out of windows onto mattresses placed below by Westerners.
Many tried to swim the rivers that split the city, risking the dangers of the open water.
Many died in attempting to reach the democratic West.
Death at the WallOn August 17, 1962, an East German teenager, Peter Fechter, was shot in the pelvis by East German guards while trying to escape from East Berlin. His body lay tangled in a barbed wire fence, bleeding to death, in full view of the world’s media. American soldiers could not rescue him because he was a few meters inside the Soviet sector. East German border guards were reluctant to approach him for fear of provoking Western soldiers, one of whom had shot an East German border guard just days earlier. More than an hour later Fechter’s body was removed by the East German guards. A spontaneous demonstration formed on the American side of the checkpoint, protesting the action of the East and the inaction of the West.
BERLIN CRISIS OF 1961 Between 1945 and 1950, over 15 million
people emigrated from Soviet-occupied eastern European countries to the West.
The border between East and West was restricted and patrolled by military guards from both sides. Checkpoint Charlie: The best-known crossing
point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War – served as a symbol for the division of East and West.
When large numbers of East Germans began defecting under the guise of "visits", East Germany essentially eliminated all travel between the west and east in 1956.
BERLIN CRISIS OF 1961 In 1958 the Soviets demanded the other nations out of
Berlin. They refused, and tensions escalated over the next few years.
When Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev met the new U.S. President, JFK in June 1961, he reiterated his desire for the western allies to leave West Berlin and proposed a peace treaty on Soviet terms. The Western allies, however, had no intention of giving up their right of access to Berlin.
In early August 1961, the construction of the Berlin Wall began, cutting off all avenues of escape to the West.
The Soviets and East Germans moved in with a massive show of force to protect the border, and Kennedy called 148,000 National Guardsmen and Reservists to active duty.
On October 27, 1961, the Soviets deployed 10 tanks on their side of Checkpoint Charlie, and U.S. and Soviet tanks stood a mere 100 yards apart from each other.
Moscow and Washington mutually agreed to pull back, but tensions would continue to grow between the two superpowers.
JFK AND FOREIGN POLICY Publicly supported citizens of Western Berlin
at a speech at the Wall“Ich bin ein Berliner”
It was a great morale boost for West Berliners, as well as a warning to the Soviets that the US would not abandon the democratic city.
Supported the strategy of “flexible response” – developing an array of military “options” that could be matched to the gravity of the crisis at hand.
Berlin opens in 1989Wall torn down 1990
Problems in Cuba
I hate my job…
Fighting in the 3rd World Third world nations: Latin America, Asia, and
Africa Economically poor and politically unstable Lacked education and technology US & USSR fight over influence in these areas
Major Strategies for Gaining Influence
Foreign Aid Propaganda Espionage Brinkmanship Multinational Alliances
(e.g. NATO) Proxy Wars (fighting
each other without actually fighting each other)
Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution U.S. backed unpopular dictator
Fulgencio Bautista but Cuban resentment led to the overthrow by Communist leader, Fidel Castro.
Castro was praised for bringing social reforms and improving the economy.
As a harsh dictator, he suspended elections, jailed or executed opponents, and censored press and media.
Nationalized the Cuban economy and took over U.S. owned sugar mills and refineries
President Eisenhower order an block on all trade with Cuba (still in effect today!)
The Bay of Pigs Invasion* Castro turned to U.S.S.R. for military aid In March 1960, Eisenhower allocated $13
million to the CIA in order to plan Castro's overthrow. The CIA proceeded to organize the operation with the aid of the Mafia, and began training anti-Castro Cuban exiles for an invasion of the island.
April 15, 1961 – The Cuban revolutionaries invaded at the Bay of Pigs with initial success, but were quickly overpowered by the Cuban forces.
The invasion failed because, at the last minute, JFK decided not to provide the air support he had promised, in order to prevent hostilities with Cuba’s ally, the USSR.
What could possibly go
wrong?
*No actual pigs were harmed in the making of this invasion.
Consequences of the Bay of Pigs The failure of the
Bay of Pigs invasion led Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev to believe expansion in Latin America would be easy
1962 secretly built 42 missiles in Cuba to prevent future aggression from the United States.
USA
THIRTEEN DAYS IN OCTOBER: THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS On October 14, 1962, an
American spy plane spotted several nuclear missile sites on the island of Cuba.
The long range missiles had the capability of traveling over 2,000 miles.
Some missiles were fully operational, and were pointed at the United States.
Missiles? What missiles?
YOU ARE PRESIDENT KENNEDY. WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT THE GROWING DANGER IN CUBA?1. Do nothing: American vulnerability to Soviet
missiles was not new. America was still more powerful than Cuba.
2. Diplomacy: Use diplomatic pressure to get the Soviet Union to remove the missiles.
3. Warning: Send a message to Castro to warn him of the grave danger he, and Cuba were in.
4. Blockade: Use the US Navy to block any missiles from arriving in Cuba.
5. Air strike: Use the US Air Force to attack all known missile sites.
6. Invasion: Full force invasion of Cuba and overthrow of Castro.
THIRTEEN DAYS IN OCTOBER: THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
Kennedy chose to form a blockade around Cuba, making sure no other missile materials reached the island.
JFK went on the air and told the American public about the situation in Cuba, strongly stating that the U.S. would not back down to these aggressors.
“It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union”
THIRTEEN DAYS IN OCTOBER: THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS After threats by the Soviet Union over US
“war actions” against Cuba, JFK heightened the military alert level to DEFCON 2 (Air Force made ready for air strikes and nuclear interception on 15 minutes' notice)
On October 25, 14 Soviet ships approached the blockade, hesitated, and then turned back around.
On October 27, Kennedy agreed to remove all missiles set in southern Italy and in Turkey, in exchange for Khrushchev removing all missiles in Cuba.
“Eye to eye, they blinked first.”
November 22, 1963JFK and his wife, Jackie, were campaigning in Dallas, TX for the 1964 election when he was shot in the head while his motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Kennedy was hit by a bullet from a high-power rifle fired from the sixth floor of the nearby Dallas Schoolbook Depository by Lee Harvey Oswald. Two days later, Oswald was himself shot and killed by businessman Jack Ruby.
The Zapruder
Film
Conspiracy theories abound in connection to JFK’s assassination. Abraham Zapruder unexpectedly captured the assassination of the President with a home-movie camera. It is the only complete film of the event an has been analyzed for over forty years for information on what happened that fateful day.
THE WARREN COMMISSION Created specifically to investigate the
assassination of President Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald
Still a controversial report, with inconsistencies or oversights becoming the obsession of conspiracy theorists
Johnson was sworn in on Air Force One right after JFK’s body arrived from the hospital. Mrs. Kennedy is still wearing the pink Chanel suit she was wearing when her husband was shot, and was reported to still have spots of her husband’s blood on her face.
The entire nation would mourn the loss of John F. Kennedy
The Great Society?LBJ’s Administration
LIVING UP TO CAMELOT After JFK’s assassination, Lyndon Baines
Johnson would serve out the remaining year of the President’s term.
During that time he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as see the passage of the 24th Amendment.
He would run for the presidency in his own right later that year, winning by a landslide.
Now he would be able to complete Kennedy’s legacy, as well as institute his own agenda.
JOHNSON’S “GREAT SOCIETY” A set of economic and welfare measures pushed
through by LBJ Focused on eliminating poverty (focusing on the
extreme poor of Appalachia), supporting medical care for those in need, equality of education, urban problems, transportation, and racial injustice. Medicare and Medicaid Immigration and Nationality Services Act Extension of constitutional protections to Native
Americans on reservations Job Corps Federal Food Stamp Program Head Start and federal funding for public schools
and universities National Endowment for the Arts, Public
Broadcasting Act (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR), Kennedy Center for the Arts
Endangered Species Preservation Act, Clean Air Act
The poor in Appalachia
INTO THE QUAGMIREJohnson’s administration would bring about some of the greatest social reforms in the nation’s history, and yet his legacy would be overshadowed by his actions in the conflict in Vietnam.
