1. Chapter 29 Section 1 Notes First Half
“Kennedy and Foreign Policy”
Soviet Union leader
Nikita Khrushchev →
← US President
John F. Kennedy

2. Kennedy Confronts Communism
In 1961, his first year in office as President, Kennedy was able to get Congress to pass two programs that were designed to get 3rd World nations to have better relations with the U.S., in hopes that they would less likely become communist in the future
Alliance for Progress – aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America, and economic improvement with the help of U.S. financial aid
Peace Corps – a program to send young talented Americans to developing nations to assist in projects such as improved farming, education, health care, water, electricity, etc.

3. Cuba’s new Communist leader Fidel Castro
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Cuban revolution that places Communist Fidel Castro in power
Jan. 3, 1961 (17 days before JFK took office) - Eisenhower broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba
US feared Cuba could be used by Soviet Union for an attack on the US
US makes plan to overthrow Communist govt. in Cuba without the appearance of US involvement
Cuba, only 100 miles from tip of Florida

4. Cuban exile invaders captured by Cuban Troops at Bay of Pigs
- US began to train an army of Cuban exiles to overthrow the govt. - invasion began April 16 - Soviet Union accuses US of planning the invasion - Cuban exile forces defeated by the Cuban military men were captured by Cuban govt. - JFK continued to deny involvement, but faced severe criticism
Cuban exile invaders captured by Cuban Troops at Bay of Pigs

5. The Building of the Berlin Wall
- between the years of , East Germany suffered a “brain drain”
- the following people left East Germany for West Germany
- 4,600 doctors
- 15,885 teachers
- 738 university teachers
- 15,536 engineers and technicians
- 11,705 students
- by 1961, 3 million people had left for West Germany

6. Building of the Berlin Wall in 1961
Soviet leader Khrushchev threatens to take over West Berlin
Kennedy vowed to defend the city
- East Germany had fortified border with West Germany, but not between East & West Berlin
Aug , 1961 – Soviets & East Germans closed the border off with barbed wire
US sends troops to West Berlin, but no shots fired
Building of the Berlin Wall in 1961
- Aug barbed wire
replaced with concrete
blocks
- by end of August, the wall
was about 12 feet high

7. Detail of U2 Photos of Missile Site in Cuba
Cuban Missile Crisis
- Oct. 14, a US U-2 spy plane detects nuclear missile sites being built in Cuba
- JFK weighs 2 options:
1. military response
(from air strikes on the missile bases to invasion of Cuba)
2. naval blockade of Cuba (called a quarantine)
- JFK chooses blockade in hopes of avoiding war with Soviet Union
Detail of U2 Photos of Missile Site in Cuba

9. - crisis kept secret until Oct
- crisis kept secret until Oct. 22 when JFK informed the US in a televised address
- Soviets responded by sending ships to break the blockade (quarantine)
- US warns that they will fire upon any ship attempting to cross the quarantine line
- Oct Soviet ships turned back, and the nation breathes a sigh of relief
President Kennedy speaks to nation about the Cuban crisis
US ship that was part
of quarantine of Cuba

10. - Oct JFK receives a letter from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev saying the USSR would remove missiles if US lifted the blockade and pledged not to invade Cuba
- Oct JFK received 2nd letter adding that the USSR wanted US missiles in Turkey removed
- Oct JFK ignores the 2nd letter and agrees to the terms of the first letter
- Oct Khrushchev agrees to remove missiles from Cuba and crisis ends
US Ambassador Stevenson reports on Soviet missiles in Cuba to Security Council of the United Nations on Oct. 26, 1962

11. - “hotline” installed connecting the White House and Kremlin directly
- both Kennedy and Khrushchev were relieved that nuclear war was avoided and took steps to avoid another crisis that could lead to nuclear war:
- “hotline” installed connecting the White House and Kremlin directly
- Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed banning the testing of new nuclear weapons above ground, which signaled to the world that the two superpowers were trying now to get along
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev
US President John F. Kennedy

12. Race to Moon
At the beginning of the decade, Kennedy promised in his inauguration address that he believed the U.S. should try to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade (1960s)
Congress provided millions of dollars to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (N.A.S.A.) to achieve that goal
Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union became the first person to travel in space, and the first to orbit the Earth, in April of 1961
Yuri Gagarin – Soviet cosmonaut

13. U.S. Catches Up in Space Race
In May 1961, Alan Shepard became the 1st U.S. astronaut in space
In 1962 John Glenn became the 1st American to orbit the Earth
N.A.S.A. then began Project Apollo, which had the goal of putting a man on the moon
Alan Shepard

14. Man on the Moon
On July 20, 1969, with millions watching worldwide on TV, the lunar module Eagle landed on the moon
U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the 1st to step on the moon
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” – Armstrong
The Apollo program landed 5 more successful missions on the moon, and successfully avoided disaster in the Apollo 13 mission