The 1960’s

John Fitzgerald Kennedy JFK b/c president in 1960 at the age of 43 The youngest elected president in history JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963 By Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) took over the presidential office Johnson also won his own presidential election in 1964

The Berlin Wall (1961) Nikita Khrushchev – new leader of the SU 1961 – SU builds a wall that separates East and West Berlin The Berlin Wall A massive barrier guarded by barbed wire, flood lights, machine gun towers, minefields, and vicious dog patrols Built to stop East Berliners from escaping to West Berlin Getting away from communist oppression

Bay of Pigs (1961) Fidel Castro has taken control of Cuba Set up a Soviet supported communist govt. John F. Kennedy is US President JFK approves a secret plan to help Cuban exiles invade Cuba and start a revolution against Castro Once the b/g the revolt JFK calls off US air support It turns into a disaster – the expected uprising from Cuban citizens never happened Many of the US trained invaders were killed or captured

Cuban Missile Crisis SU sends arms and military advisers to Cuba After the US Bay of Pigs disaster 1962 – Khrushchev b/g to place nuclear missiles in Cuba w/i easy range of America In response to US nuclear weapons that were placed in Turkey w/i easy range of the SU JFK orders a blockade to stop more missiles from getting into Cuba This gave each side time to negotiate a peaceful solution

Cuban Missile Crisis Effects The agreements… Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in Cuba JFK agreed not to invade Cuba The crisis brought the world too close to nuclear war! This terrifying fact had a huge effect on both sides A hotline communications system b/w Moscow and Washington, D.C was installed in 1963 They could now communicate quickly in a time of crisis

The Johnson Administration Johnson’s goal was to create what he called a “Great Society” Johnson’s welfare state Health care for the elderly Combat poverty Federal assistance for education Civil Rights for African Americans

Martin Luther King, Jr. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was the leader of Civil Rights Movement He advocated passive disobedience Peaceful protests such as marches, sit-ins, etc. King was assassinated in 1968 By James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee The movement continued w/o him, but he is remembered as the most influential person of the movement

Vietnam 1964 – US president Lyndon B. Johnson sends rising numbers of troops to Vietnam The goal – to keep the Communist regime of N. Vietnam from gaining control of S. Vietnam Stop the spread of Communism  Containment!!! US sees Vietnam in terms of the domino theory Domino Theory – if S. Vietnam falls to Communism, then other Asian countries will fall too CONTAINMENT  US foreign policy!!!

The Vietnam War Vietnam was the first war to be brought into American homes every evening on television Huge effect on the support, or lack thereof Turned American support against the war An antiwar mvmt b/g to form in the US Especially among college students of draft age US failed to defeat the determined N. Vietnamese Even w/ the massive superiority in equipment and firepower

US Gets Out of Vietnam LBJ does not run for reelection He was condemned for his handling of the war Richard Nixon b/c the new US President He ran on the campaign to get the US out of Vietnam 1973 – Nixon reaches an agreement w/ N. Vietnam that allowed US to w/draw Within 2 years of the US w/draw, S. Vietnam fell to the communist N. Vietnamese forces Vietnam showed the limitation of American power!

Equality For All! Women’s Liberation Movement Also called Women’s Lib B/g in the late 1960’s Women b/g to assert their rights for equality Equal opportunity, equal treatment Especially in the workplace  equal pay! Women b/g to burn their bras in protest to the bondage they had suffered by the hands of men