Kennedy and The Cold War

Chapter 20 Section 1

The Election of 1960

• John F. Kennedy v Richard Nixon

• Good looking v Experienced?

• Televised debate affects votes

• September 26, 1960

The Election of 1960

• Kennedy and Civil Rights

• Martin Luther King, Jr arrested

• Ike refused to intervene

• Nixon had no public opinion

The Camelot Years

• The Kennedy Mystique

• Public was fascinated

• The Best and the Brightest

• Team of advisors

• included his brother, Robert F, Kennedy as Attorney General

A New Military Policy

• Defining a military strategy

• Flexible Response - moved away from reliance on nuclear weapons

• increased defense spending to boost conventional forces

Crises over Cuba

• The Cuban Dilemma

• Fidel Castro came to power 1959

• welcomed aid from the Soviet Union

• Ike cut off diplomatic ties

Crises Over Cuba

• The Bay of Pigs 1961

• CIA trained army of revolutionaries

• Cubans backed by Soviets

• Kennedy looked foolish

Crises Over Cuba

• The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962

• Soviets began sending missiles to Cuba

• Kennedy responded with warning

• Began navy blockade

• Soviets backed off

Crises Over Cuba

• Kennedy and Khrushchev Take the Heat

• Soviet prestige went down

• JFK prestige went up

• Some thought he lost Cuba

Crisis Over Berlin

• The Berlin Crisis

• Huge flow of people from East to West Berlin

• Berlin Wall constructed 1961

Crisis over Berlin

• Searching for ways to ease tensions

• hot line established

• Limited Test Ban Treaty