John F. Kennedy

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John F. Kennedy
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Election of 1960

• John F. Kennedy (D-MA)
• Liberal (in favors Civil Rights)
• Catholic (this matters to a LOT of people)
• Northerner
• Picks Lyndon Johnson (D-TX) for VP

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Election of 1960

• Richard Nixon (R-CA)
• Conservative
• strict anti-Communist
• Supported by Eisenhower (outgoing Pres)

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Debate

• Kennedy
• Wears TV makeup
• LOOKS great
• Nixon
• Looks nervous
• Sweating
• People who WATCHED on TV KENNEDY
• People who LISTENED on radio NIXON

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Election of 1960

• Kennedy
• 303 electoral votes
• 22 states
• 34,220,984 votes
• Nixon
• 219 electoral votes
• 26 states
• 34, 108,157 votes

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Election of 1960
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Kennedy

• Youngest elected Pres.
• New Frontier Kennedys proposals to improve the
  economy, help the poor, and speed up the space
  program
• Expanded Social Security, raised minimum wage,
  funds for public housing, outlawed poll tax
• Peace Corps
• 1961
• Volunteers go overseas as educators, health
  workers, technicians to help developing nations
  around the world
• Why?

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Berlin Wall

• Berlin Blockade fails. What to do?
• Any East German who walks into West Berlin was a
  West German citizen. Flown to W. Germany, given
  a job, apartment, help getting started
• Average W. German professional made 4-7x times
  what same person in E. Germany.
• Also, lack of freedom in E. Germany

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Brain Drain

• Best brightest leaving E. Germany.
• Hundreds every day
• Country will collapse.

Brain Drain
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So

• They build a wall around West Berlin
• Cuts off East German Population from West Berlin
• Anti-Fascist Protection Wall

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• Relatives separated

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Baby Wall
Death Zone

• West Side

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• Tried to escape
• Got past baby wall
• Shot by E. Germans
• Left to die

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Meanwhile, across the Atlantic

• Cuba becomes Communist (1959)
• Fidel Castro Khrushchev are good friends
• Khrushchev understands USA has to respect USSR
  since they have atom bomb.
• Also knows USSR is VERY far behind USA in number
  and quality of missiles (arms race)

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Meanwhile, across the Atlantic

• USA has nuclear missiles pointed at USSR from
  bases in Europe and Turkey.
• 5-9 minutes to reach Moscow
• Many more missiles in USA that can reach USSR
• Khrushchev wants to catch up to Americans and
  make the threat more equal
• What would YOU do if you were Khrushchev?

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Meanwhile, across the Atlantic

• There is another problem for Khrushchev. US will
  do ANYTHING to get rid of Castro and end
  Communism in Cuba
• (90 miles from USA)
• New US President, seems weak to Khrushchev and he
  fears US military is really running things

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Bay of Pigs (Bahía de Cochinos)

• April 15, 1961US trained Cubans land in Cuba
• Almost immediately surrounded
• CIA Army tell Kennedy that military needs to
  invade Cuba, rescue them, and defeat Castro
• Kennedy refuses, and invasion is a disaster

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Khrushchev thinks 3 things about the Bay of Pigs

1. Americans wont stop trying to get rid of Castro,
   and will eventually invade
2. Kennedy is weak, has no guts for a real fight
3. USSR must protect Cuba

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Khrushchev thinks 3 things about the Bay of Pigs

1. Americans wont stop trying to get rid of Castro,
   and will eventually invade
2. Kennedy is weak, has no guts for a real fight
3. USSR must protect Cuba

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Khrushchev comes up with a plan

• USSR will deploy missiles into Cuba! WHY?
• Americans will NEVER invade Cuba if that risks
  the launch of these missiles and the loss of
  Washington DC, Philadelphia, Miami, etc. Castro
  Cuba will be saved!
• USSR could even the score by having missiles in
  Americas backyard. Just like the USA has
  missiles in USSRs backyard

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Missiles in Cuba

• Brilliant planIF he can get missiles into Cuba
  and operational before the USA figures out what
  is going on (thats the tough part)
• However, even if the USA finds out about it, what
  are they going to do? They wont go to war over
  them.
• RIGHT?

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Missiles in Cuba

• US has something that would ruin the Soviets
  secret plan
• The U2
• VERY high altitude plane with EXCELLENT cameras
• Took pictures that showed the Soviet secret

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US is in a tough spot

• Do nothing US looks weak.
• Bomb the missile sites what if we miss some?
• Bomb missile sites invade Cuba only way to
  ensure all missiles destroyed.
• What would USSR do? Invade Berlin? WWIII?
• There MUST be another option!

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A new idea

• Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara comes up
  with a new ideasblockade Cuba
• Use the US Navy to keep all ships away from Cuba
  until the USSR removes all missiles
• If USSR doesnt agree to remove missiles in a few
  days, invasion, bombing, WWIII will begin

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A new idea

• US military hates idea.
• Doesnt get rid of missiles
• Tells Russians when we will invade
• JFK decides it is the best option
• Blockade!
• We call it a quarantine
• Blockading a country is an act of
• war

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What happens?

• USSR eventually backs downdont have the same
  number of missiles as USA.
• If WWIII starts, US would have been hurt, but
  USSR would be destroyed
• If USSR pulls missiles out of Cuba, US will never
  invade Cuba or support an invasion. We SECRETLY
  agree to remove missiles in Turkey (that we were
  planning on removing anyway)
• Khrushchev tries to portray all of this as a
  Soviet victory, but no one buys it, even in USSR.
  MAJOR showdown of the Cold War, USSR has to back
  down

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Results

• USA USSR came very close to WWIII, USSR back
  down.
• Khrushchev knows USSR must catch up with USA
• Pump out missiles like sausages
• US responds and within 15 years, both sides have
  almost 50,000 nuclear weapons combined

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Results

• JFK is hailed as doing a great job, while
  Khrushchev is seen as the man responsible for
  getting the USSR into this mess
• Less than 2 years later, he is removed from power
  for health reasons
• Only Soviet leader to be removed as head of the
  USSR while still alive.