PART ONE : Kennedy and the "New Frontier" - 1960-1963

Who were Kennedy’s “brightest & best”?

Kennedy’s “brightest & best” refers to Kennedy’s team/cabinet - JFK himself didn’t call his team that but journalist David Halberstam did in 1972.

He called them this as Kennedy unconventionally chose to surround himself with bright academics, intellectuals & leaders of industry like him rather then members of Congress etc.

Who made up Kennedy’s “brightest & best”?

• Lyndon B Johnson

• Dean Rusk

• Robert McNamara

• Bobby Kennedy

• Sargent Shriver 

• McGeorge Bundy

Who was Lyndon B Johnson?

Johnson was Kennedy’s Vice President.

He had be chosen as he acted as a foil to Kennedy to balance the Dem ticket : he was from Texas, had not attended an elite university and had 24 years of congressional experience.

LBJ had the best grasp of congressional politics than anyone else in the Kennedy administration and was a legislative expert.

Who was Dean Rusk?

Dean Rusk was Kennedy’s & later Johnson’s Sec of State.

Rusk had been appointed as he was self-effacing allowing JFK to have personal control over foreign policy which was the aspect of presidency he was most interested in.

He had however had a fractious relationship with Kennedy who felt the state department offered little.

Who was Robert McNamara?

Robert McNamara was Kennedy’s & Johnson’s Defense Secretary.

He had been headhunted by Sergeant Shriver to join Kennedy’s group from his previous role as president of Ford.McNamara also had expertise in statistical analysis and was dynamic, tough-talking & persuasive.

He played such a major part in the escalation in Vietnam that some have called the Vietnam War McNamara’s War. He ended up believing it was unwinnable by 1967 and in his 1995 book that it had been prosecuted unwisely.

Who was Bobby Kennedy?

Robert Kennedy was Kennedy’s Attorney General & younger brother - he also became Johnson’s Attorney General until 1964.

He was a Harvard law graduate who had worked previously as legal assistant to McCarthy and ran Kennedy’s campaign before becoming Attorney General.

Bobby ran for & was elected Senator of New York state (1965-8) before running for president in 1968 with a more liberal view than JFK e.g. in Civil Rights but was assassinated

Who was Sergeant Shriver?

Sergeant Shriver was trained lawyer and also Kennedy’s brother in law and was a part of Kennedy’s circle.

He was the driving force behind the Peace Corps and continued to serve under Lyndon B Johnson as one of the architects of the “war on Poverty.

He later became Ambassador to France (1968-70) and ran as vice presidential candidate in George McGovernis 1972 presidential bid.

Who was McGeorge Bundy?

McGeorge Bundy was Kennedy’s & Johnson’s National Security Adviser.

He was a brilliant academic - former intelligence officer in WW2 & Prof of Gov at Harvard. Bundy was involved in the Bay of Pigs & Cuban Missile Crisis and was known for his role in advocating US involvement in Vietnam to both JFK & Johnson.

What were the criticisms of Kennedy’s “brightest & best”?

• Many people were horrified by the nepotism of Booby Kennedy being Attorney General - Johnson agreed with another Senator that it was disgrace for a kid who’s never practiced sic law to be appointed

• Civil Rights aide Harris Wofford considered these intellectuals too mich like Kennedy - cool, skeptical, pragmatic

• Overall they had little experience in governing and Kennedy didn’t want to seem reliant on Johnson’s legislative expertise

• Compared to Eisenhower’s army command like structure of the White House, Kennedy’s made rapid fire decisions but was also somewhat chaotic worrying Bobby Kennedy

• Their actions in Vietnam were viewed as arrogantly foolish and great errors but they also had successes at home & abroad

What was Flexible response?

Flexible response was Kennedy’s foreign policy for containment.

It’s purpose was to expand the available means of countering communism as Kennedy believed that the communist threat was more diverse than it had ever been.

Why did Kennedy go for Flexible Response instead of something else?

Kennedy believed that the communist threat was more diverse than it had ever been so needed to be prepared for conventional war in Europe etc, USSR nuclear strikes & revolutions in the 3rd world.

Reaction to the new Communist strategies of expansion - Khrushchev also promised that the Soviets would support these revolutions as soon as Kennedy became president

Kennedy also wanted to move away from Eisenhower’s Massive Retaliation as it left the US with very little options if the opponent didn’t back down - humiliation or all-out nuclear war.

What were the main elements of Kennedy’s Flexible Response?

• Increase in conventional forces

• Enlargement of the nuclear arsenal

• Economic aid

• Covert action & negotiation with the USSR

What are some continuations and changes from Eisenhower’s New Look to Kennedy’s Flexible Response?

Continuity :

• Focus on negotiations

• Enlargement of nuclear weapons in Arms Race & Space Race

• Use of the CIA

Change :

• Commitment to both conventional & nuclear forces instead of nuclear forces prioritised above conventional forces

• Increased spending on conventional forces in order to undo Eisenhower’s decrease

• Increased focus on economic aid in containment

• Use of CIA isn’t as central to Kennedy as it was to Eisenhower

How could Kennedy afford to both increase spending on nuclear & conventional forces in Flexible Response?

Kennedy couldn’t necessarily “afford it” but he had different economic policies than Eisenhower meaning he wasn’t aiming for balanced budgets.

He instead believed in more federal spending & budget deficits and that spending on defence etc would stimulate output, employment etc and so benefit the economy.

How much did Kennedy increase military spending?

13%

1961 - $47.4 billion vs 1964 - $53.6 billion

How did the conventional forces change under Kennedy?

2.5 million men in armed forces - 1960

2.7 million men - 1964

Increase in number of soldiers trained in counter-insurgency techniques (counter- guerilla warfare) called the Green Berets.

What was Kennedy’s reasoning for an increase in economic aid as part of Flexible Response?

He wanted to remove the economic conditions which spawned Communism in 3rd World countries vs Eisenhower who had tackled the symptoms but not the causes.

Where did Kennedy give the increased economic aid to?

In Latin America he set up the Alliance for Progress in 1961 in an attempt to alleviate poverty there - $20 billion dollars was set aside to promote living standards through reforms like land distribution.

The Peace Corps of volunteers was also formed to work on projects in 3rd world countries.

An Agency for International Development was also set up and targeted overseas aid at developing countries.

How did Kennedy increase nuclear forces?

10 new Polaris submarines were built.

400 Minuteman missiles were constructed.

Apollo Space Program announced in 1961.

Overall what were the consequences of Kennedy’s Flexible Response?

• Increase in conventional forces - 13% increase,increase from 2.5 mill to 2.7 mill soldiers in armed forces & in soldiers trained in counter-insurgency techniques Green Berets.

• Enlargement of the nuclear arsenal - 10 new Polaris submarines were built, 400 Minuteman missiles were constructed.

• Economic aid - Alliance for Progress $20 billion dollars set aside for Latin America

• Covert action - Bay of Pigs + Operation Mongoose

• Negotiation with the USSR - post Cuban Missile Crisis diplomacy continued & agreement were reached on nuclear testing

How did the USA’s relationship change with China/the PRC under Kennedy?

Unlike with the USSR, negotiations weren’t able to be reached as the USA still didn’t recognise the PRC or allow admission to the UN.

There were also issues as important American pressure groups still opposed recognition of the PRC & policy makers were worried about their influence on S.E.Asia / Vietnam.

The PRC also had little interest in improving relations so the relationship was still tense/negative.

What was the Vienna Summit?

Conference between USA & USSR in 1961 (only a few months after Kennedy’s inauguration) where Khrushchev and Kennedy met for the first time.

What happened at the Vienna Summit (1961)?

• Kennedy suspected that Khrushchev would try to exploit his relative inexperience in foreign affairs

• Kennedy feared humiliation planned/intended to come off strong

• Khrushchev end up vieing Kennedy as being inexperienced & that he can push Kennedy around

• A key issue in Vienna was the Berlin settlement Khrushchev had been pushing for

What sort of situation did Kennedy inherit in terms of foreign policy?

• A more angry Khrushchev - U2 spy plane and the end of peaceful co-existence

• A worsening USSR-USA relationship

• A Cold War with a much larger focus area - Eisenhower’s involvements in Cuba & Vietnam have to be followed through

What was the situation like in Berlin when Kennedy became president?

There had been discussions about Berlin between Eisenhower and Khrushchev e.g. Camp David but the failure of the Paris Summit meant there was no conclusion on it.

At the same time a Brain Drain is occurring in E.Germany with people using Berlin as an escape route since the E.Germany & W.Germany border had been closed in May 1952.

What was the Brain Drain?

Fleeing of young,educated E.Germans from Communist E.Germany to capitalist W.Germany for a better life.

By the end of 1951 500,000 E.Germans had fled & in 1957 the GDR made escaping to the West as crime punishable by prison sentence.

In July 1961 300,000 E.Germans fled so the situation was still bad for the Germans & Soviets in terms of propaganda and in terms of catching up to the West by Kennedy’s presidency.

What was discussed about Berlin in the Vienna Summit?

Khrushchev tried to force the Americans to sign a peace treaty, threatening to cut off Allied access to W.Berlin.

Kennedy responded by increasing the number of army divisions & announcing substantial increases in ICBMs.

Overall it was an unsuccessful summit which only increased tensions.

Who was the Berlin Wall built by?

The East Germans/ German Democratic Republic!!!

While Khrushchev agreed to the initial building it wasn’t a project led by the Soviets so it isn’t technically a USSR-USA issue but a USA-GDR issue.

What happened in the Berlin Wall/Crisis?

Over the 12th of August night & 13th morning a barbed wire fence - to be replaced with a concrete one - was built slightly inside East Berlin so it didn’t encroach on West territory.

It was 155km long with 302 watchtowers.

What was the American response to the Berlin Wall?

Immediately after it was built on the 13th, American tanks were sent to the wall area.

Kennedy’s military advised him to destroy the wall by force but he wasn’t prepared to go to war saying “a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war”.

The Americans didn’t get involved for risk of war etc.

What was the high point in tension with the Berlin Wall/Crisis?

October 1961 :

• Soviet and American tanks were involved in a stand-off across Checkpoint Charlie after an American diplomat refuses to comply to E.German orders saying he’ll only talk to a Soviet

• The stand-off went on for 16 hours with the two facing each other with only 100m between them

• Talks between the Soviets & Americans happened at the same time & led to an agreement that both sides would withdraw at the same time

• The crisis ended with neither side losing face

How did the Berlin Wall effect the people of Berlin?

The wall harshly divided people and was deeply troubling to them.

The wall was constantly being improved to make it harder to escape & led to >200 people dying while trying to escape.

How did the Berlin Wall effect America’s foreign policy relationships?

USA-USSR relations -

• the Berlin Wall had a positive effect on their relationship as Berlin was no longer a trouble spot in the Cold War& essentially solved the Berlin question which had existed since 1945

• it seemed that by building the wall the Soviets had accepted the USA’s presence in Berlin & there were no more ultimatums etc

American - West German relations -

• The relationship with West Germany surprisingly didn’t become negative as most people understood Kennedy had very few options and most W.Germans didn’t want to go to war after WW2

• In June 1963 JFK visited West Berlin & did his “ich bin ein Berliner” to an audience of 450,000 & ecstatic crowds

• While he wasn’t able to improve their situation the West people they at least felt that Kennedy cared & empathised with them

Overall, how did the Berlin Wall/Crisis effect Kennedy?

Kennedy’s reputation stayed the same/improved as most people didn’t expect any more from him in such a difficult scenario and agree with his sentiment of “a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war”.

He’s able to handle the situation quite well.

What were the main reasons as to why the situation with Cuba escalated under Kennedy?

• Cuba moving close to the USSR & Communism

• Actions taken by the USA towards Cuba