Kennedy's Reforms

John F. Kennedy

served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate before becoming the 35th President in 1961. He faced a number of foreign crises, especially in Cuba and Berlin, and managed to secure such achievements as the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and the Alliance for Progress. He was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

Richard M. Nixon

served as a Republican member of Congress and of the Senate as well as Vice President under Dwight D. Eisenhower. He ran for President in 1960 and lost to John F. Kennedy but won the office in 1968.

New Frontier

Kennedy's plan to improve the economy, fight racial discrimination, and explore space

Equal Pay Act

1963 law requiring men and women to receive equal pay for equal work

deficit spending

practice of a nation paying out more money than it is receiving in revenues

space race

competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to successfully land on the moon

Warren Commission

committee that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy

The Bay of Pigs

An unsuccessful invasion of Cuba in 1961, which was sponsored by the United States. Its purpose was to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 crisis that arose between the United States and the Soviet Union over a Soviet attempt to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba

Nikita Khrushchev

Aggressive Soviet leader whose failed gamble of putting missiles in Cuba cost him his job

Berlin Wall

A wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West

The Peace Corpse

agency established in 1961 to provide volunteer assistance to developing nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America. JFK created it to address poverty abroad, service to the world

Lee Harvey Oswald

On November 22, 1963, he assassinated President Kennedy who was riding downtown Dallas, Texas. Oswald was later shot in front of television cameras by Jack Ruby.