Studied by 0 people
Chapter 20, sections 1-3 Study guide
Election of 1960/ “ firsts “
Between JFK and Nixon, and was one of the closest elections (119,000 voters). Kennedy was able to win through television and civil rights issues.
Firsts:
JFK was the youngest president to be elected (43)
First Catholic president
Use of TV (presidential debate)
First Presidential debate
September 26, 1960, and there were 70 million TV viewers. Nixon planned to expose Kennedy’s inexperience, but he was coached by television producers, and he looked and spoke better than Nixon.
John F. Kennedy
Check
JFK and MLK
In October. Police in Atlanta, Georgia, arrested Martin Luther King, Jr., and 33 other African-American demonstrators for sitting at a segregated lunch counter.
Other demonstrators were released, but King sentenced to month of labor
Eisenhower administration refused to intervene, and Nixon took no public position
When Kennedy heard of the arrest and sentencing, he telephoned King’s wife, to express his sympathy. Meanwhile, Robert Kennedy, his brother and campaign manager, persuaded the judge who had sentenced King to release the civil rights leader on bail, pending appeal.
As a result he got most of the votes from African Americans, which votes would help Kennedy carry key states in Midwest and South
Camelot Years/mystique
Kennedy's White House was known as Camelot for its glamour, culture, wit
Critics argued his smooth style lacks substance, but new family fascinated the public
JFK could read 1600 words in a minute
First Lady captivated the nation with her eye for fashion and culture
Constant articles about family
Flexible Response
Eisenhower’s policy of brinkmanship (inflexible)
over reliance nuclear weapons
decreased of conventional weapons
shrank military branches
refused to compromise
JFK flexible response
Small, limited war while maintaining a balance of nuclear power with the Soviet Union.
we need to rebuild our Arsenal weapons ( conventional )
tripled our stock pile of nuclear weapons
expanded military branches
created elite special forces: Navy Seals, Green Berets
Fidel Castro/Bay of Pigs fiasco
Castro
Cuban dictator who openly declared himself a communist and welcomed aid from the Soviet Union
Led 10% of Cubans to go into exile, most went to Miami
Bay of Pigs
Eisenhower gave permission for CIA to secretly train Cuban exile for invasion on Cuba - - Kennedy learns of plan 9 days after election, and approves it
April 17, 1961, some 1,300 to 1,500 Cuban exiles supported by the U.S. military landed on the island’s southern coast at the Bay of Pigs. Nothing went as planned.
An air strike had failed to knock out the Cuban air force, although the CIA reported that it had succeeded. A small advance group sent to distract Castro’s forces never reached shore. When the main unit landed, it lacked American air support as it faced 25,000 Cuban troops backed up by Soviet tanks and jets. Some of the invading exiles were killed, others imprisoned.
Kennedy paid ransom of $ 53 million in food and medical supplies for the release of the surviving commandos. He publicly took the blame too.
Cuban missile Crisis/Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev sends weapons to Cuba, including nuclear missiles
On October 14, photographs taken by American planes revealed Soviet missile bases in Cuba—and some contained missiles ready to launch.
On October 22, Kennedy informed the nation of the existence of Soviet missile sites in Cuba and of his plans to remove them. He made it clear that any missile attack from Cuba would trigger an all-out attack on the Soviet Union.
For the next six days, the world faced the terrifying possibility of nuclear war. In the Atlantic Ocean, Soviet ships—presumably carrying more missiles—headed toward Cuba, while the U.S. Navy prepared to quarantine Cuba and prevent the ships from coming within 500 miles of it. In Florida, 100,000 troops waited—the largest invasion force ever assembled in the United States.
The first break in the crisis occurred when the Soviet ships stopped suddenly to avoid a confrontation at sea. A few days later, Khrushchev offered to remove the missiles in return for an American pledge not to invade Cuba. The United States also secretly agreed to remove missiles from Turkey. The leaders agreed, and the crisis ended.
Berlin Wall/Crisis
In 1961, Nikita Khrushchev ordered the Berlin Wall built to stop the flow of refugees from East to West Berlin. Most were seeking freedom from Communist rule.
At a summit meeting in Vienna, Austria, in June 1961, Khrushchev threatened to sign a treaty with East Germany that would enable that country to close all the access roads to West Berlin. When Kennedy refused to give up U.S. access to West Berlin, Khrushchev furiously declared, “I want peace. But, if you want war, that is your problem.” After returning home, Kennedy told the nation in a televised address that Berlin was “the great testing place of Western courage and will.” He pledged “[W]e cannot and will not permit the Communists to drive us out of Berlin.” Kennedy’s determination and America’s superior nuclear striking power prevented Khrushchev from closing the air and land routes between West Berlin and West Germany. Instead, the Soviet premier surprised the world with a shocking decision. Just after midnight on August 13, 1961, East German troops began to unload concrete posts and rolls of barbed wire along the border. Within days, the Berlin Wall was erected, separating East Germany from West Germany. The construction of the Berlin Wall ended the Berlin crisis but further aggravated Cold War tensions. The wall and its armed guards successfully reduced the flow of East German refugees to a tiny trickle, thus solving Khrushchev’s main problem. At the same time, however, the wall became an ugly symbol of Communist oppression.
Hot line
direct line of communication ( JFK and Khrushchev )
communication is the key to conflict resolution
Limited Test Brand Treaty
1 st Cold war treaty U.S/USSR
banned the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere
