1. The Cold War 1960-1968

2. 2 Key Concept: What were the six major strategies of the Cold War? The six major strategies were: 1. Brinkmanship, 2. Espionage, 3. Foreign aid, 4.Alliances, 5. Propaganda, 6. Proxy or Surrogate wars. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 1.

3. JFK and the Cold War “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” – Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

4. Flexible Response Challenged Eisenhower’s idea of “massive retaliation” Pushed for the use of conventional weaponry and military to combat Communism U.S. couldn’t rely on nuclear arsenal to protect itself

5. Alliance for Progress JFK’s pledge of support for Latin America Considered a “Marshall Plan for brown people” $20 billion to support internal improvements Supported education and schools Built hospitals and promote health care Helped distribute land Pros: helped some Cons: much abuse and corruption

6. Crises over Cuba The Cuban dilemma Fidel Castro comes to power in 1959 Puts on mass public trials and executions U.S. denounces Cuba and accepts thousands of Cuban refugees Castro seizes U.S. businesses and Eisenhower cuts off imports of Cuban sugar 1960 – Cuba signs a trade treaty with the Soviet Union

7. The Bay of Pigs In March 1960 Ike orders CIA to train Cuban exiles for an invasion of their homeland JFK notified of plan 9 days into his presidency JFK continues with the plan The plan: day before the invasion, planes would attempt to wipe out Castro’s air force, then exiles would land at the beach, and the Cuban people would rise up against Castro and overthrow him

8. Bay of Pigs (Cont.) Plan failed: JFK failed to provide the necessary resources to help the exiles and they were rounded up by Castro’s men It turned out to be a disaster when in April, 1961, 1,200 Cuban exiles met 25,000 Cuban troops backed by Soviet tanks and were soundly defeated “We looked like fools to our friends, rascals to our enemies and incompetents to the rest” Quote from U.S. Commentator

9. Operation Mongoose JFK goes ahead with a plan called Operation Mongoose in which gov’t agents worked to disrupt the island’s trade and continued working with mobsters to assassinate Castro Castro survives more than 600 assassination attempts created by the CIA Examples: Exploding cigar, poisoned wetsuit, poisoned milkshake, exploding conch shell, etc.

10. The Cuban Missile Crisis In an attempt to counter any new American intervention and to improve the Soviet position in the nuclear arms race, Castro and Kruschchev devised a daring plan: installation of Soviet missiles and nuclear bombers in Cuba

11. Cuban Missile Crisis Oct. 14, 1962 – U-2 flights showed ballistic missiles – could reach the U.S. in 3 minutes JFK said the U.S. would respond to any attack from Cuba with an all-out nuclear retaliation against the Soviets JFK ordered a naval quarantine of the island (used the word “quarantine” rather than “blockade” since blockade was an act of war) The world was on the brink of nuclear war

12. Nuclear Chicken JFK pushes for naval blockade Goal: Seize any ships going into/out of Cuba Force the immediate removal of missiles The Problem: A direct attack on Soviets would be an act of war The existence of the missiles were an act of war

13. 13 DAYS For 13 days in October, 1962 the world stood still as the threat of nuclear war gripped the planet War seemed imminent The first break in the crisis occurred when the Soviets ships turned back from the blockade

14. Cuban Missile Crisis (Cont.) Eventually, the Presidents had worked out a secret agreement Khrushchev said that he would remove the missiles if the U.S. agreed not to attack Cuba and removed its missiles from Turkey Kennedy publicly agreed to the 1 st and privately to the second Was this necessary? Should Kennedy have gone on T.V. or negotiated privately?

15. The Fallout Russia blinks! (but so does JFK!) Russia removes missiles from Cuba U.S. removes missiles from Turkey Quarantine ends, but embargo begins The Problems: Khrushchev forced from office Kremlin begins nuclear expansion U.S. and Russia agree to test ban treaty Establish direct communication link: the red phone “We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked.” –Dean Rusk, Secretary of State

16. CRISIS OVER BERLIN In 1961, Berlin, Germany was a city in great turmoil In the 11 years since the Berlin Airlift, almost 3 million East Germans (Soviet side) had fled into West Berlin (U.S. controlled) to flee communist rule

17. SOVIETS SEEK TO STOP EXODUS The Soviets did not like the fact that East Berliners were fleeing their city for the democratic west Their departure hurt the economy and the prestige of the USSR Just after midnight on August 13, 1961 the Soviets began construction of a 90-mile wall separating East and West Berlin East Germany begins construction on the Berlin Wall, which becomes a primary symbol of the Cold War and Soviet oppression

18. Trying to Ease Tensions Both Khrushchev and Kennedy began searching for ways to ease the enormous tension between the two superpowers Two Agreements 1. Direct hotline between the White House and the Kremlin (Cuban Missile Crisis) 2. Signing of the Limited Test Ban Treaty – called for an end to all nuclear tests in the ocean, the atmosphere and outer space – by the end of the year, 113 other nations had signed the treaty

19. 19 Space Race Cold War tensions increased in the US when the USSR launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite into geocentric orbit on October 4, 1957. –The race to control space was on. April 12, 1961: Yuri Gagarin became first human in space and first to orbit Earth. US felt a loss of prestige and increased funding for space programs and science education. On May 25,1961, Kennedy gave a speech challenging America to land a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade. 1962 – John Glenn 1 st American to orbit the Earth Apollo 11 (Neil Armstrong) landed on the moon on July 16, 1969.

20. 20 The U-2 Incident USSR was aware of American U-2 spy missions but lacked technology to launch countermeasures until 1960. May 1, 1960: CIA agent Francis Gary Powers’ U-2, was shot down by Soviet missile. Powers was unable to activate plane's self- destruct mechanism before he parachuted to the ground, right into the hands of the KGB. When US learned of Powers' disappearance over USSR, it issued a cover statement claiming that a "weather plane" crashed after its pilot had "difficulties with his oxygen equipment." US officials did not realize: Plane crashed intact, Soviets recovered its photography equipment Captured Powers, whom they interrogated extensively for months before he made a "voluntary confession" and public apology for his part in US espionage

21. The Vietnam War During the Cold War, the U.S. was committed to containing communism The U.S. was effective in limiting communist influence in Europe But, the spread of communism in Asia led the U.S. to become involved in a civil war in Vietnam Involvement in Vietnam from 1950 to 1973 proved to be America’s longest & most controversial war

22. America’s Commitment to Vietnam Since 1887, France controlled the colony of Vietnam in SE Asia By 1945, Communist leader Ho Chi Minh led a war of independence for Vietnam Truman & Eisenhower feared the spread of communism in Asia (“domino theory”) & sent aid to France (also France threatened to NOT join NATO if we didn’t help

23. America’s Commitment to Vietnam Vietnam won independence in 1954 but was divided along the 17th parallel Ho Chi Minh gained control of communist North Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem became democratic president of South Vietnam

24. America’s Commitment to Vietnam Ho Chi Minh’s communist supporters in the North were called the Vietminh In South Vietnam, a group of communists called the Vietcong were formed to oppose Diem & unify Vietnam

25. South Vietnamese President Diem led a corrupt government, offered little assistance to the poor, & oppressed Buddhists Presidents Eisenhower & Kennedy supported Diem despite his growing unpopularity America’s Commitment to Vietnam In 1963, Buddhist monk Quang Duc immolated himself to protest Diem’s regime In 1963 President Kennedy recognized that Diem had lost control of Vietnam & gave approval for the assassination of Diem “Strongly in our mind is what happened in China at the end of World War II, where China was lost. We don’t want that.” —JFK Diem’s assassination led to chaos in South Vietnam After JFK’s death in 1963, the responsibility for Vietnam fell to Lyndon Johnson

26. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, 1964 In 1964, a North Vietnamese gunboat attacked the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin Congress responded with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave Lyndon Johnson broad powers to “defend Vietnam at any cost”

27. U.S. Troops in Vietnam In an effort to contain the spread of communism into South Vietnam, LBJ began sending U.S. troops in 1965 In “Operation Rolling Thunder,” the U.S. military began bombing North Vietnam The Escalation of the Vietnam War By 1968, over 500,000 U.S. soldiers were fighting in Vietnam

28. Fighting the War in Vietnam The goal of U.S. military was to defeat the Vietcong & support democracy in South Vietnam: But, the Vietcong lived among the civilians in Vietnamese in cities & villages (who is the enemy?) The Vietcong used guerilla tactics to combat U.S. military superiority Jungles made fighting difficult

30. The U.S. military used a variety of tactics to fight the war in Vietnam The air force bombed villages & supply lines (Ho Chi Minh Trail)

31. The U.S. military used a variety of tactics to fight the war in Vietnam napalm pesticidesAgent Orange The military used napalm to destroy villages & pesticides (Agent Orange) to destroy crops

32. The U.S. military used a variety of tactics to fight the war in Vietnam Soldiers were sent on deadly “search & destroy” missions into the jungles to find the Vietcong

33. Despite overwhelming military superiority, the U.S. could not win in Vietnam & the war became unpopular at home Television made Vietnam a “living room war” TV broadcasts reported body counts, atrocities, declining troop morale, & lack of gains in the war “My Lai Massacre” 1968

34. The American public believed their was a “credibility gap” between what the gov’t was saying & the reality of the Vietnam War “Vietcong surrender is imminent” General Westmoreland & the Credibility Gap “There is a light at the end of the tunnel” “The U.S. has never lost a battle in Vietnam” But, the military continued to draft more young men to fight in Vietnam

35. The Tet Offensive, 1968 Tet Offensive In 1968, the Vietcong launched the Tet Offensive against U.S. forces in South Vietnam The attack was contrary to media reports that the U.S. was winning the Vietnam War

36. The Tet Offensive, 1968 Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a turning point in the Vietnam War President Johnson began to question whether the war could be won… …& LBJ announced that he would not seek re-election “Johnson’s War” American attitudes towards the war changed & anti-war movement grew

37. Protesting the Vietnam War Since 1965, U.S. troops had been in Vietnam… but 1968 was the height of the Vietnam War & the year of the disastrous Tet Offensive As more men were drafted into the war, the larger the anti-Vietnam protests became

38. Students protested the killing of civilians & the draft, especially the large numbers of African Americans, Hispanics, & high- school dropouts Protesting the Vietnam War

39. Richard Nixon & the Election of 1968 LBJ’s decision not to run for re-election & the assassination of Robert Kennedy left the Democrats divided for the election of 1968 Republican Richard Nixon took advantage of the divided Democrats & won the 1968 election

40. Nixon wanted “peace with honor” in Vietnam

41. Vietnamization Nixon & National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger developed a plan called Vietnamization: gradually withdraw U.S. troops & replace them with South Vietnamese soldiers But, Nixon really wanted a “knockout blow” in Vietnam & secretly sent U.S. troops Cambodia & ordered bombings of Laos

42. When Americans found out about Nixon’s attacks on Cambodia & Laos, it set off the largest protest in U.S. history 250,000 people, mostly students on college campuses, protested the war & some protests turned violent 4 students died when the National Guard shot into a crowd of violent protestors at Kent State University in 1970

43. Ending the Vietnam War In 1973, the U.S. & North Vietnam agreed to a cease fire & the U.S. withdrew troops from Vietnam In 1975, North Vietnam violated the cease fire, invaded South Vietnam, & unified the nation under a communist government

45. The Impact of the Vietnam War The conflict in Vietnam was the longest & most divisive war in U.S. history Of the 3.3 million U.S. soldiers who served:  58,000 were killed  303,000 were wounded  15% were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the war  Many vets faced hostility from other U.S. citizens when they returned home

46. The Impact of the Vietnam War The war changed foreign policy  Containment ended as Americans became cautious of the U.S. role in the world  Congress limited a president's ability to send troops without a declaration of war by passing the War Powers Act in 1973

47. The Impact of the Vietnam War The war changed America at home  People began to lose faith in the honesty of gov’t leaders during the Johnson & Nixon years  The $176 billion cost of the war led to high inflation in the 1970 & weakened LBJ’s Great Society  The 26 th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18 years old