JFK’s Presidencychapter 22

1960 Election

• Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon

• The TV debates may have been the deciding factor. Kennedy looked better and more confident on TV

1960 Election cont.• Kennedy Wins the 1960 Election by one of the

narrowest margins in American history. • As a result, Kennedy has a weak mandate.

Domestic Policies

• “New Frontier” Improve the

economy, assist the poor, speed up the space program

• JFK wants: Tax cuts, medical care for the elderly, federal education funding

- ALL FAIL

• JFK wants: Housing Funding, and the Equal Pay Act

• ALL PASS!

Space Program

In response to Sputnik, we will attempt to put the first man in space.

The Russians beat us at this too.

And dog… And monkey…

JFK makes the long term goal of being the 1st nation to the moon.

Foreign policy

• Bay of Pigs Invasion – Castro takes Cuba,

seizes U.S. properties, and cozies up to the USSR.

Bay of Pigs cont.

• JFK learns of CIA plan to overthrow Castro w/Cuban refugees

• Goes ahead with plan, but not fully

Bay of Pigs cont.

• Invasion is a DISASTER!

• Makes JFK and U.S. look BAD!

Berlin Crisis

• Moscow wants division of Berlin to be permanent.

• JFK/Khrushchev talks fail

• JFK bulks up the military BIG TIME!

Berlin Crisis cont.• USSR responds

by building the Wall almost overnight.

• Crisis ends with the wall

• JFK/U.S. stand up to the Soviets

“Ich bin ein Berliner!”

Cuban Missile Crisis

• Soviets want nukes in Cuba b/c of Bay of Pigs Invasion

• US spy plane sees them

Cuban Missile Crisis cont.

• JFK can (1)negotiate, (2)invade, (3)blockade, or (4)bomb the sites

• JFK chooses to “quarantine” Cuba

Story goes public, people are scared.

Cuban Missile Crisis cont.

• Soviets call back their ships

• Khrushchev sends 2 notes to JFK, JFK responds to both, one publicly, one privately

Results of the Cuban Missile Crisis

• Hotline Established

• Limited test ban Treaty

• Kennedy and the Democrats look much tougher on Communism

Peace Corps

• Established by JFK to put educators, health workers and technicians in third world countries.

Kennedy Assassination• Kennedy was in

Dallas to bolster support among Texas Democrats.

• Newspapers published the parade route in advance, and many people lined the route

Kennedy Assassination

• Just after noon Kennedy was hit by and assassin’s bullet (s?)

• He was pronounced dead at 1:00pm

Kennedy Assassination

Lyndon Baines Johnson was sworn in at 2:35 while en route to DC with Jackie Kennedy and JFK’s body.

• The conspiracy theories about his death exist to this day.

• Most evidence has been sealed until the middle of this century.

• It could have been…

The CIA and Anti-Castro Cuban Exiles did it…(For the Bay of Pigs fiasco…)

The Three Tramps

Mafia and Hoover conspiracy

The Organized Crime and the CIA conspiracy

• Sam Giancana Frank Sinatra

Roscoe White

Cuban Conspiracy

LBJ conspiracy

JFK MOVIE QUESTIONS1. What was the plan to get rid of Castro in Cuba?2. Which of JFK’s advisors was “first in and last out”?3. What was the biggest crisis of the Cold War?4. What did JFK’s military advisors want to do at the beginning of

the Cuban Missile Crisis?5. What characteristics did Kennedy show during the Cuban

Missile Crisis?6. What struggle had Kennedy avoided in his administration?7. Advisors told JFK sending a Civil Rights Act to congress would

be a political __________________?8. When was JFK pronounced dead?9. Who did Jackie Kennedy model her husband’s funeral after?10.On whom did JFK’s legacy settle?