1. The
Presidency of
John F.
Kennedy

2. In his inaugural address in January, 1961 Kennedy called the people of the nation into action:
“Ask not what your country can do for you…ask what you can do for your country.”
Explain.

3. This sort of “make it happen” attitude was reflected in almost every facet of his administration.

4. JFK surrounded himself with what one journalist described as the “best and the brightest” available talent.
Of all of the elite advisors who filled Kennedy’s inner circle, he relied most on his 35-year-old brother Robert, whom he appointed attorney general.

5. His youth, his energy, and even his family all came to symbolize the can do spirit of America.

6. This played out in Kennedy’s domestic policy agenda in significant ways.

7. - Kennedy and Congress created this volunteer program to assist developing nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
- Younger, primarily college aged kids took up the call and served.
- Why did Kennedy want such a program?

8. Space Race
Having lost the race to get into space, not once but twice to the Soviets, Kennedy challenged NASA and America’s scientists to get to the Moon by the end of the 1960’s.

9. Kennedy also proposed a bold new social welfare program dubbed the “New Frontier.”
- Govt. funded medical care for the elderly.
- Increase in govt. assistance for the poor.
- Federal aid for higher education.
- Stimulation for the nation’s economy by cutting taxes.
- Govt. involvement in the push for African-American rights.

10. Most of the New Frontier agenda went nowhere. Why?

11. Much of Kennedy’s time in office was dominated by the Cold War.

12. Remember that Eisenhower had adopted the policy of brinkmanship.

13. Remember as well that in 1959 Fidel Castro and the communists rose to power in Cuba.

14. Lastly, recall that communist Cuba was allied with the Soviet Union and Nikita Khrushchev.

15. After taking office, Kennedy worried that with a communist, Soviet ally so close to the U.S. things might get out of hand.
If that happened, what would likely result from Pres. Eisenhower’s approach?

16. To replace brinkmanship, Kennedy advocated a plan known as “flexible response.”
He wanted a variety of possible military options which would be used according to the severity and importance of the event.

17. The importance of such a flexible response became clear as the world once again turned its attention to the city of Berlin.

18. At a conference in Vienna in 1961, Khrushchev demanded that the U. S
At a conference in Vienna in 1961, Khrushchev demanded that the U.S. and NATO withdraw their support from the capitalists in West Berlin. Why?

19. People from across Soviet controlled Eastern Europe were flocking to West Berlin. Why?

20. By July, 1961, over 1000 people a day would escape from communism by flying out of East Germany through airports in West Berlin.

21. Kennedy and NATO flat out refused Khrushchev’s demand that they abandon West Berlin. In fact the President pledged even more support than before.

22. Khrushchev thus had a problem:
- Capitalism wasn’t leaving W. Berlin.
- People were fleeing communism through that city.
What could he do to solve it?

23. Under orders from Moscow, the communist East German government began to build a wall around West Berlin.

26. Once again, the U.S. was shocked, this time by the obvious oppression of Soviet communism on the people of West Berlin, and also on the people of their own allied nations.

27. In 1963, President Kennedy travelled to West Berlin to pledge continued American support and to protest Soviet action. There he told the world “Ich bin ein Berliner.”

28. Kennedy’s biggest problem, however, remained Cuba.

29. Cuba became a huge issue for Kennedy for two main reasons.

30. In 1959, the U.S. placed nuclear missiles in Turkey.#1
In 1959, the U.S. placed nuclear missiles in Turkey.

31. #2
In 1961, the U.S., through the CIA, had supported an unsuccessful rebellion led by pro-U.S. Cubans against Fidel Castro. (Bay of Pigs Incident)

32. The Soviets grew increasingly worried about both the U. S
The Soviets grew increasingly worried about both the U.S. missiles in Turkey, and of another possible attempt to overthrow Castro and communism in Cuba.

33. To deal with both of these problems, the Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles of its own in Cuba in September 1962.

34. U.S. spy planes first noticed the construction of missile launch sites on October 14th and 15th.

35. The presence of Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba was totally unacceptable to the American government.

36. It also made an attack on the US far more dangerous.

37. Kennedy informed the public of the missiles in Cuba and told Americans that any attack by those missiles would result in an all out U.S. nuclear attack against the Soviet Union.

38. To prevent any more Soviet missiles from reaching Cuba, Kennedy ordered the U.S. navy to quarantine Cuba, not allowing any ships in or out.

39. The problem was that there were already Soviet ships headed to Cuba
The problem was that there were already Soviet ships headed to Cuba. If those ships attempted to breach the U.S. quarantine . . .

41. On October 26th, Khrushchev ordered the ships to stop as negotiations had begun to resolve the crisis.

42. The Soviet Union agreed to remove all nuclear weapons from Cuba.

43. The U.S. agreed to not invade Cuba in an effort to remove Castro from power.

44. Kennedy also secretly agreed to remove U. S
Kennedy also secretly agreed to remove U.S. nuclear weapons in Turkey slowly over time.

45. Both Khrushchev and Kennedy began searching for ways to ease the enormous tension between the two superpowers.
In 1963 they established a hot line between the White House and the Kremlin.
Later that year, the superpowers signed a Limited Test Ban Treaty that served to ban nuclear testing in the atmosphere.