1. John F. Kennedy

2. An interesting background
• Decorated WWII naval officer • Earned Pulitzer Prize for Profiles in Courage • Served exactly 1,000 days in office • First president born in the 20th century and youngest president ever elected
Only Roman Catholic president
Could read 1600 words a minute

3. Wins close election against Nixon
The election of 1960
was the closest since
1884; Kennedy
defeated Richard
Nixon by fewer than
119,000 votes.
By the way…..”Jack” is a common nickname for John and his family called JFK “Jack”

4. Youthful theme in Inaugural Address
“Let the word go forth…
That the torch has been
passed to a new
generation of Americans…
The energy, the faith, the
devotion which we bring
to this endeavor will light
our country and all who
serve it…And so, my fellow
Americans-ask not what
your country can do for
you-ask what you can do
for your country.”

5. The Camelot Years
With JFK’s youthful glamour and his talented advisors, the Kennedy White House reminded many of a modern-day Camelot, the mythical court of King Arthur.

6. Communism moves close to US
The first test of Kennedy’s
foreign policy came in Cuba,
just 90 miles off the coast of
Florida. Revolutionary leader,
Fidel Castro, openly declared
himself a communist and
welcomed aid from the
Soviet Union.

7. The Bay of Pigs Fiasco
April 17,1961, 1500 Cuban exiles supported by the U.S. military landed at Baja de Cochinos, the Bay of Pigs
Hoped to trigger a mass uprising that would overthrow Castro
It did not! Cuban forces, backed by Soviet tanks and jet aircraft, easily repelled the exile invasion
Some of the exiles were killed, others imprisoned

8. Cuban Missile Crisis In October, 1962, photographs taken
by American planes
revealed Soviet
missile bases in
Cuba-and some
contained missiles
ready to launch.
They could reach
U.S. cities in
minutes.

9. On October 22,
Kennedy ordered
a naval blockade
of Cuba to prevent
further deliveries
of Soviet weapons.
He also demanded
that the Soviets
remove the missiles.
Khrushchev promised to
challenge the blockade,
calling it “outright banditry.”

10. Time for schools to replace fire drills with duck and cover drills

12. On October 28, Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the missile bases in response to Kennedy’s promise not to invade Cuba.

13. Berliners love JFK
- High point of Kennedy’s foreign travels was a trip he made to Berlin in 1963
to dramatize America’s
commitment to West Berlin and West Germany.
- His speech at the Berlin
Wall, Kennedy electrified
150,000 Germans
“Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner), declaring the solidarity of all free people with the people
of West Berlin.

14. JFK’s goal…a New Frontier
Medical care
for the elderly….
Rebuild blighted
urban areas….

15. Aid education….
Build up the military….

16. Increase
international aid….
Expand the space program…

17. Provide volunteer
assistance to developing
nations in Asia, Africa,
and Latin America…
And fight for civil rights.

18. Tragedy in Dallas: A Nation in Shock
-Fall 1963, public opinion polls showed that Kennedy was losing popularity because of his advocacy of civil rights
- On November 22, 1963, President and Mrs. Kennedy went to Texas to mend political fences with
members of the state’s Democratic Party

19. It started as a beautiful day in Dallas
- Crowds lined the streets of Dallas to greet the President. Texas
- Governor John
Connally and his
wife Nellie sat in front of the Kennedys.

20. As the car approached a state building known as the Texas State Book Depository, rifle shots rang out.

21. Shock and confusion in the motorcade
Kennedy was
shot in the head.
His car raced to
a nearby hospital, where doctors
frantically tried
to revive him,
but it was too
late. President
dead.

22. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the shooting.

23. Could this get any worse?
On Sunday, Nov. 24,
as millions watched
live television
coverage of Oswald
being transferred
between jails, a
nightclub owner
named Jack Ruby
broke through the
crowd and shot and
killed Oswald.

24. The nation stands still to grieve, cry and pay respect.

25. It all seems so final as the casket heads to Arlington National Cemetery.

26. A final salute from a young boy to his dad.

27. Arlington National Cemetery