1. Ch 30: Kennedy and the Cold War
What did Kennedy face:
Spread of communism
Threat of nuclear war
The Candidates:
Democrat John F. Kennedy
Republican Richard M. Nixon

2. The Candidates Similarities Differences Born in the 20th century
Served in the navy in WWII
Elected to Congress in 1946
Elected to the Senate 1950s
Passionate about foreign affairs
Supported the Cold War fight against Communism
Young, energetic, intelligent, hardworking
Kennedy: Son of a wealthy businessman, attended Harvard, Catholic
Nixon: born in California, poor working class, had to balance his time between studies and supporting his family, respected for serving as Vice President under Eisenhower

3. Televised Debates make the difference
1960 election-highlighted growing power of television
Agreed to 4 debates
Debate boiled down to how the candidates looked and spoke, rather than what they said
Kennedy’s “Victory” proved crucial to the election
Nixon had just had knee surgery and then went on a grueling campaign. By the time of the first debate, held in chicago and watched by 70 million, Nixon looked pale and exhausted.

4. Kennedy launches New Cold War Strategies
First goal: build up the nation’s armed forces
Flexible response: defense policy, one that prepared the US for any type of conflict
Creating good will among nations
Peace Corps, 1961-”missions of freedom”
Alliance for Progress-resurrect Good Neighbor policy toward Latin America-not successful

5. Limiting Nuclear Weapons
Date
Agreement
Effect
1963
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Banned testing in the atmosphere
1972
SALT I
Froze existing number of weapons
SALT I-missile
Set strict limits on missiles that could shoot down other missiles
1979
SALT II Treaty
Set absolute limit on # of weapons
1991
START treaty
Required both sides to reduce # of weapons
Compare
How did each of the later treaties advance beyond the previous treaty?
Neither side wanted to start a destructive war
Reducing the threat
Disarmament talks
1969-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)
Examples of limits
Anti-ballistic missiles
Reagan launched “Star Wars” missile defense against nuclear attack
Era of détente-relaxation of tensions (during the 1970s)
Ended in 1979-when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan
1968-signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

6. The Cold War goes Global
ALLIES
Building alliances & bases
NATO
1955-Southeast-Asia Treaty Org (SEATO)
US, Britain, France, Australia, Pakistan, Thailand, New Zealand & the Philippines
Central Treaty Org (CENTO)
Britain, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan
SOVIETS
Warsaw Pact
Formed alliances with government in Africa and Asia
Communist China ( )
Alliances were known as the Soviet bloc
DIFFERENCES:
Americans established army, navy & air force bases around the globe

7. Cuba goes Communist 90 miles off the coast of Florida
1950s-Fidel Castro
Organized an armed rebellion
By 1959-Castro had led his guerrilla army to victory
Known as the Cuban Revolution
Supported by the Soviet Union
Nationalized businesses
Most land now under government control
Severely limited Cubans’ political freedoms

8. Bay of Pigs 1961-JFK supported an invasion by US trained Cuban exiles
Invaders came ashore in the “bay of pigs”
Castro’s forces captured the invaders
US response: placed a trade embargo on Cuba that still remains in effect

9. Cuban Missile Crisis 1962-Soviets sent missiles to Cuba
JFK’s response:
Imposed a naval blockade that prevented further Soviet shipments
For a few days the world faced a risk of nuclear war
Finally Khrushchev agreed to remove the Soviet missiles and war was averted
Watch “Showdown: The Cuban missile crisis” on Witness History Discovery school.
Then ask:
Considering Cuba’s location on the map, why did Soviet nuclear missiles on the island pose a threat to the US
Why do you think Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba?

10. Assessment
How did Kennedy respond to the continuing challenges of the Cold War?
Television played an important role in the 1960 presidential election. How influential is television in presidential elections today?
How did the Cuban missile crisis affect public opinion about President Kennedy?