Comprehensive Study Guide for the Presidency of John F. Kennedy

Overview of the 35th Presidency of the United States

• President: John F. Kennedy (JFK).

• Term of Office: 1961–1963.

• Course Context: US History-2, instructed by Scornavacco.

• Note Structure:

  • Part 1: Kennedy’s Election and Progress (Slides 1–7).

  • Part 2: Kennedy’s Cold War Foreign Policy (Slides 8–13).

  • Part 3: Kennedy’s Assassination (Slides 14–15).

• Primary Learning Target: Summarize and explain the course and accomplishments of Kennedy's historic presidency.

The 1960 Presidential Election

• The Candidates:

  • Democratic Party: John F. Kennedy.

  • Republican Party: Richard Nixon.

  • Independent: Harry F. Byrd.

• Election Dynamics:

  • Kennedy ultimately won the election, though the victory was marred by charges of voter fraud, specifically in the states of Illinois and Texas.

  • The campaign featured the historic Kennedy-Nixon Debates, which was a critical independent activity and observation point for the era.

• Election Statistics (1960):

  • Total Electoral Votes: $537$

  • Electoral Vote Distribution:

    • Kennedy (Democratic): $303$

    • Nixon (Republican): $219$

    • Byrd (Independent): $15$

  • Total Popular Votes: $68,836,385$

  • Popular Vote Distribution:

    • Kennedy (Democratic): $34,227,096$ ($49.7\%$\/)

    • Nixon (Republican): $34,107,646$ ($49.6\%$\/)

    • Minor Candidates: $501,643$ ($0.7\%$\/)

Domestic Policy and the "New Frontier"

• Presidential Agenda: Kennedy's collective domestic and legislative goals were known as the "New Frontier."

• Advisory Team: Kennedy surrounded himself with a group of advisors often referred to as "The Best and the Brightest."

• Tangible Legislative Successes:

  • Tax Reform: Passed cuts for both consumers and businesses to stimulate the economy.

  • Social Security Enhancements: Increased the minimum monthly benefit for seniors and disabled citizens from $33\,USD$ to $40\,USD$.

  • Minimum Wage Increase: Raised the federal minimum wage from $1\,USD$ per hour to $1.25\,USD$ per hour.

• Global Service and Aid Initiatives:

  • Peace Corps: Established on March 1, 1961, via Executive Order. The organization was designed to deploy American volunteers abroad to assist in developmental and humanitarian efforts.

  • Alliance for Progress: An aid program funded by Congress at Kennedy's urging. It targeted Latin America with the specific goal of improving education, health, and general economic conditions.

Cold War Foreign Policy: Cuba and the USSR

• Containment Context: Kennedy continued the policies of Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, who aimed to "contain" the spread of communism during the Cold War.

• The Problem in Cuba:

  • The 1959 Revolution: Communist revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban government.

  • Strategic Threat: Cuba quickly entered into an alliance with the USSR. Due to its close geographic proximity to the United States, a communist Cuba was viewed as a direct threat to national security.

• The Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 17, 1961):

  • The Plan: A covert CIA operation to train and equip 1,500 anti-Castro exiles to invade Cuba and spark an anti-communist revolution.

  • The Outcome: The invasion resulted in a humiliating defeat for the United States, attributed to difficult terrain and effective Cuban intelligence.

• The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962):

  • A critical standoff involving the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba.

  • Study of this event involves analyzing a "Letter to the White House" and various strategic options as outlined in the National Geographic: America Through the Lens textbook (Chapter 17, Lesson 1.3, pages 572–574).

• The Berlin Wall:

  • Context: Post-WWII division of Germany.

  • Construction: In August 1961, East German officials built a concrete wall to prevent migration from East Berlin to West Berlin.

  • Symbolism: The wall stretched for $27\,miles$ and became the definitive symbol of the Cold War and the divide between the West and the Soviet Bloc.

The Space Race

• Definition: A Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union to dominate space exploration, specifically the ability to travel in and collect data from space.

• Early Milestones:

  • The Soviets initiated the race with the launch of the Sputnik satellite.

  • President Eisenhower established NASA in response.

• Kennedy-Era Progress:

  • February 1962: American astronaut John Glenn achieved the historic feat of orbiting the Earth three times.

  • Spacecraft: This mission took place aboard the vessel Friendship 7.

The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

• The Incident (November 22, 1963):

  • President Kennedy was shot in the head while riding in an open motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas.

• Suspect:

  • Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder within hours of the shooting.

• Investigation:

  • The Warren Commission was assembled specifically to investigate the facts surrounding the tragic assassination.

• Societal Impact: The event had a profound and lasting impact on the morale and political atmosphere of both the United States and the world.

Questions & Discussion

• Warm-up Quote Analysis: "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country."

  • What attitudes or emotions does this quotation evoke?

  • What kind of President does this quotation suggest that Kennedy will be?

• Executive Leadership Activity: "Word Cloud Presidential Candidate"

  • Consider the qualities you are looking for in a presidential candidate given the current problems in the country and in the world.

• Foreign Policy Bellringers:

  • President Truman and Eisenhower wanted to contain communism during the Cold War.

  • Geography: Why would the emergence of communism in Cuba be a threat to the United States?

• Interaction with History: What impact did the assassination of Kennedy have on the country and on the world?