John F. Kennedy
35th President of the United States
The Election of 1960
- Democratic Party: John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
- Republican Party: Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
- Kennedy unpopular because of his Roman Catholic beliefs
- Cost him a huge amount of votes, especially in the Sun Belt
- Democratic stance: the US needed to step up its game as it had fallen behind
- Republican stance: the US was fine as it was and just needed a little more push
- Kennedy used the television to broadcast his views, became a popular image: Nixon used the radio, both became respectively popular in each area
- Kennedy barely won the majority vote, but had more electoral votes
- Johnson's influence in Texas helped sway over some states
- Youngest person to become the President of the United States at age 43
- Also appointed many new leaders into the government and Congress, including his younger brother Robert Kennedy
Democrat Electoral - 303 Popular - 34,220,984
Republican Electoral - 219 Popular - 34,108,157
The New Frontier
- coined by Kennedy in his acceptance speech to help support him
- became the name of the domestic and foreign programs that he helped support
- Foreign policies include: NASA, increased military, promoting democracy
- Domestic policies include: higher wages, better Social Security, more infrastructure
- Many domestic policies were shot down by Republicans and conservative Democrats
- Also tried very hard to cut down on inflation
Flexible Response: Vietnam, Cuba, and Berlin
“Flexible Response”
- Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara suggested this policy where the military could adapt to any situation at hand immediately.
- caused for more spending on the military.
Vietnam
- US decided not to get involved militarily
- President of south Vietnam was Ngo Dinh Diem, attained position unfairly
- took US aid and used for his own benefit
- Became a right-wing dictatorship contrary to US cries
- US encouraged coup and overthrew Diem
Cuba
- April 1961, 1,200 exiles arrive on the Bay of Pigs wanting help to defeat Fidel Castro
- US offers supplies and air support
- Air support never arrives as it's denied in Congress
- Exiles surrender, and Castro sides more with USSR
- Standoff occurs when US realizes USSR moves nuclear missiles to Cuba
- A week of quarantine is issued in response, beginning the Cuban Missile Crisis
- Khrushchev accepts agreement and removes weapons
Berlin Crisis
- USSR demands West Berlin be cleared of Western troops
- France, Britain, and US does not accept conditions
- USSR builds Berlin Wall around West Berlin in response
- Did not allow anyone in nor out
- Erected 1961, Destroyed 1989
Civil Rights
- Kennedy made promise to make civil rights acts
- Kennedy calmed violent protests by sending federal troops when local police refused to do their job
- friendly acquaintance of Martin Luther King Jr., a clergyman who is famous for the Montgomery bus boycotts
- King also led a peacful March on Washington to support Kennedy's civil rights proposal
- Proposed new civil rights movements before his death
Assassination
- Assassinated in Dallas, Texas while visiting
- November 22, 1963
- Killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, former US Marine and USSR defector
- Oswald never sent to trial as he was killed on the way by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner
- Conspiracy theories still exist as there is no hard evidence of why this happened