Kennedy Administration Ch 20 Sect 1 Kennedy Administration
I. Election of 1960 John F. Kennedy (D) v. Richard Nixon (R and Eisenhower’s VP) Very close race…JFK had 2 advantages, TV and Civil Rights. 1st Televised debate (70 million viewers) African-American vote helped Kennedy win by 119,000 votes – Camelot Years
II. Kennedy started new Foreign Policy Wanted to meet threats in 3rd World Countries where guerilla warfare was common Approach called “flexible response” Trained soldiers in modern warfare Special forces – Green Berets Also established Peace Corps to work in developing areas
III. Bay of Pigs Invasion Eisenhower planned to invade Cuba to overthrow Communists (Castro) & reinstate Democracy April 17, 1961 - 2,000 Cuban exiles armed & trained by U.S., landed at Bay of Pigs: Immediately bogged down in rough terrain & hostile fire Things went terribly – Air strikes missed targets, 25,000 Soviet-backed Cuban soldiers waited Blame was placed on CIA & Military; Lack of info
IV. Berlin Wall (see pg. 677) Allied forces in Berlin still made Soviets uneasy August 13, 1961 East Germans began construction of Berlin Wall – concrete & barbed wire w/ armed guards Stayed as symbol of Cold War until dismantled in 1990. 1963 – Limited Test Ban Treaty passed, US & Soviets agreed to ban nuclear testing in atmosphere.
V. Cuban Missile Crisis October 1962 – U2 spy plane discovered Soviets building nuclear missile launch site in Cuba WHY? 1. US had missiles in Turkey 2. Weapons would stop us from invading Cuba again
Cuban Missile Crisis cont… Kennedy’s Choices: Invade Cuba Bomb the Missile Site Set up Quarantine to prevent weapons from reaching Cuba Negotiate a Settlement Allow the Missiles to Stay STOP HERE!
VI. Results of the Crisis: Kennedy Chose Option 3 – Quarantine of Soviet Ships Last moment, ships turned around back to Soviet Union Khrushchev agreed to stop building site if we agree not to invade Cuba – we agreed Long-range result – Largest peacetime military buildup in history!