John F. Kennedy
Satvik Vasireddy
1960 election, New Frontier
Nixon runs for President on the a republican ticket. Kennedy runs as a Democrat.
- Nixon narrowly loses to Kennedy
- New Frontier was Kennedy's domestic reform policy
- attempts to cut taxes (most Democrats would increase taxes today)
- increased motivation to further Space Race and send a man on the moon
- Kennedy supported Civil Rights movements and would have passed a bill if he didn't die
- profound supporter of increasing funding and military support
Cold War Issues
Flexible Response
- a nuclear strategy Kennedy implemented
- would deal with enemies with other options that were different from the use of nukes
- attempts to treat problems safer
Vietnam War
- Kennedy supported policies that would benefit the increase of the South Vietnam Army
- This would later set the stage for Johnson's continued involvement in the war
- somewhat extended Eisenhower's policies dealing with Vietnam, with adjustments
Bay of Pigs Invasion
- Invasion to toss Castro out of power
- Bombers left to Cuba to invade the Bay of Pigs
- Castro strikes quickly with 20,000 troops
- The invasion fails as Castro keeps people captive and many are not released until a couple years
Cuban Missile Crisis
- Kennedy learned that nuclear weapons were being built in Cuba by the Soviets
- This created a potential threat of a nuclear war
- Kennedy stops the problem by creating a naval blockade in Cuba
- Soviets Retreat, all nukes are taken out
Berlin Crisis
- Continuation of ongoing West-East Berlin Struggle
- A wall was built in Berlin to separate the West and East side
- This was to prevent people from crossing and hopefully keep the Soviets out of the way temporarily
- War could have started again if no compromise was reached with the Soviets
Civil Rights
- Kennedy was a big supporter
- Many blacks voted for him due to the emphasis he placed in his campaign
- He was flexible and allowed Blacks to be in his Cabinet
- Wanted to create racial integration for blacks and eventually get rid of desegregation as a whole
- He emphasized agencies like the Civil Rights Commission and established Congress of Racial Equality for the sole purpose of Civil Rights
- Conceived the idea of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but it didn't happen until Johnson took over due to the assassination
Assassination
Kennedy was in a motorcade in Dallas
Lee Harvey Oswald shoots at Kennedy
Kennedy is rushed to Parkland hospital and passes away
Johnson becomes the president after taking his oath on Air Force One