Kennedy Administration and Cold War Tensions Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering major events of the Kennedy presidency, including the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the JFK assassination.

Bay of Pigs invasion

An April 1961 failed attempt by 1,400 CIA-trained Cuban exiles to overthrow Communist leader Fidel Castro, which ultimately brought the USSR and Cuba closer together.

Fidel Castro

The Communist leader of Cuba who was the target of the ill-conceived Bay of Pigs mission.

Berlin Wall

A structure built in August 1961 by East Germany to separate West Berlin and stem the flow of people escaping from East Berlin; it remained until November 1989.

Khrushchev

The Soviet leader who delivered an ultimatum on Berlin and secretly installed nuclear missiles in Cuba in October 1962.

Cuban Missile Crisis

An October 1962 confrontation triggered by the secret installation of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles off the Florida coast.

Naval "quarantine"

The action ordered by JFK on October 22, 1962, to blockade Cuba and demand the immediate removal of Soviet missiles.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (July 1963)

A treaty considered by JFK to be his greatest achievement which banned the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons but was not signed by France or China.

Hotline

A communication system installed between Moscow and Washington following the Cuban Missile Crisis that provided 2-hour access between the two capitals.

Lee Harvey Oswald

The alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy who was arrested in Dallas and later killed by Jack Ruby.

Lyndon Johnson

The Vice President who became president following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

Jack Ruby

An alleged mafia member who killed Lee Harvey Oswald while Oswald was being taken to court.

Warren Commission

An investigative body created at President Johnson's request which concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin of JFK.