John F. Kennedy
1960-1963
Election of Kennedy
- John F. Kennedy & Lyndon B Johnson - Democrat
- Richard Nixon & Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. - Republican
- Nixon-Kennedy Debates - Kennedy claimed Soviets had gained superiority over America; Nixon left to defend American prestige had not slipped
- Kennedy Victory 303 electoral votes to Nixon's 219
The Cold War
- "Flexible response" - strategy of developing an array of military options that could be matched to crisis at hand
- Bay of Pigs - 1.2k exiles, Kennedy against direct intervention in overthrowing of Castro - pushed Cuba to Soviets. Exiles forced to surrender
- Cuban Missile Crisis - discovery of Soviets secretly installing nuclear missiles in Cuba
Kennedy & Civil Rights
- JFK had won the black vote during campaign by stating he would pass civil rights legislation
- Kennedy & King family had overall good relations
- Martin Luther King, Jr. - led peaceful protest of 200k black and white demonstrators "March on Washington"
Kennedy's Assassination
- November 22, 1963
- Downtown Dallas, Texas
- Kennedy assassinated while riding in limousine
- Alleged gunman Lee Harvey Oswald