Unit 9D: 1960's

Notes

• by 1960, Americans were anxious about the changes that had taken place in the 1950’s

• The election of 1960 marked a turning point in U.S. Politics

  • Richard Nixon

  • John F. Kennedy

• Kennedy wanted a “flexible response” to fight the Cold War: more ICBMs but also a bigger military

  • He wanted “First Strike Capability” against the USSR (Rather than Mutually Assured Destruction MAD)

• JFK created the Peace Corps in 1961 to send humanitarian aid & improve US relations with under-developed nations

• in 1962, JFK committed the US to catch the USSR in space race by landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade

• Rather than blockade the city, communist leaders built the Berlin wall to keep East Germans out of West Berlin

• Under Eisenhower, the CIA trained Cuban exiles to invade the island and overthrow of Castro

• in 1961, JFK authorized the plan, but the Bay of Pigs invasion failed after JFK called off air strikes on Cuba

• Soviet ships turned around at the last minute and Khrushchev removed its missiles from Cuba

• The Crisis ended as a victory for JFK, but it revealed how close the 2 sides came to nuclear

Dates

• 1962 - JFK commits the USA to a man on the moon

• 1969 - US lands on the Moon