The Youthful, Millionaire Senator
President John F. Kennedy's Time in Office
Election of Kennedy
Election of 1960:
- Republican Party candidate: Richard M. Nixon
- Democratic Party candidate: John F. Kennedy
- Nixon seen as gifted party leader and ruthless opportunist
- Nixon also seen as seasoned statesman
- Nixon nominated unanimously in Chicago; Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. runs alongside him
- Kennedy won impressive victories in primary nominations
- Lyndon B. Johnson runs alongside Kennedy after Kennedy wins first-ballot in L.A.
- Kennedy's acceptance speech called for American people's sacrifices to achieve great potential - or the New Frontier
- Kennedy argued Soviets had more prestige and power than America with their Sputniks and nuclear arms
- Nixon determined America's prestige hadn't slipped
- Four debates earned Kennedy fans as he held his own against Nixon
- Kennedy won by pleasant margin of 303 votes to 219 and very close 118, 574 popular votes
- Kennedy ruled supreme ruling in large industrial centers
- Kennedy had firm support from workers, Catholics, and African-Americans
- Kennedy first Catholic to be president as well as youngest
The Cold War
"Flexible Response":
- Kennedy pushed for developing array of military "options"
- Options to be precisely matched to intensity of crisis currently at hand
- As a result, increased spending on conventional military forces
- Also strengthened Special Forces
Kennedy and Vietnam:
- Since 1954: Diem government ruled shakily in Vietnam
- As result, anti-Diem personnel threatened to destroy pro-American government from power
- Late 1961: Kennedy ordered sharp increase in 'military advisers' in South Vietnam
- November 1963: Kennedy administration encouraged for successful revolt against Diem
- Kennedy vowed to South Vietnamese it was "their war"; gave political aid nevertheless
- More than 15,000 Americans aided Vietnamese at time of Kennedy's death
Berlin Crisis/Construction of Berlin Wall:
- June 1961: Kennedy meets Soviet premier Khruschev at Vienna
- Khruschev threatened to make treaty with East Germany and cut off West's access to Berlin
- Kennedy issued Army Reserves and National Guard to protect Berlin
- August 1961: Soviets begin building Berlin Wall preventing economic exchange, tearing apart families
- 1962: Kennedy visited Berlin and paid tribute to Berliners wanting freedom
- Powerfully stated "I am a Berliner" and "For those who say communism is a better system, come to Berlin."
Cuba:
- 1961: Kennedy enacts Alliance for Progress - part of Marshall Plan for Latin America
- Primary goal to aid in closing gap between rich and poor while eliminating communist tensions
- Disappointing results: little alliance formed and little progress
- Kennedy inherited scheme to topple Fidel Castro by invading Cuba
- April 17, 1961: 12,000 exiles landed at Bay of Pigs - no match for Castro's air force
- Kennedy assumes responsibility for failure
- October 1962: aerial photographs reveal Soviets secretly installing nuclear missiles in Cuba quickly
- Soviets intended to blackmail U.S. with weapons in order to back down on Berlin, etc.
- October 22, 1962: Kennedy orders naval forces to removal weaponry immediately
- Kennedy recalled any attack on U.S. from Cuba would result in nuclear attack on USSR
- October 28, 1962: Kbruschev agrees to pull missiles from Cuba; U.S. agrees to return troops and not invade Cuba
Kennedy and Civil Rights
Freedom Riders Tragedies:
- May 1961: white mob torched Freedom Ride bus near Anniston, Alabama
- Attorney General Robert Kennedy's personal representative beat unconscious in anti-Freedom ride in Montgomery
- White Southern officials unwilling and unable to end violence, federal marshalls dispatched to protect Freedom Riders
Affairs with King:
- 1963: Martin Luther King Jr's phone tapped into by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to reveal if any communist affiliations
- Healthy relationship with King
- Kennedy financial backed SNCC and other civil rights groups in forming Voter Education Project
- August 1963: King led 200,000 black and white demonstrators on "March to Washington"
- At Lincoln Memorial, King delivers "I Have A Dream" speech
Difficulty Integrating Universities:
- October 1962: 29 year old air force veteran, James Meredith, encountered violent opposition in attempt to register for University of Mississippi
- Kennedy sent 400 federal marshals and 3,000 troops to aid Meredith in enrolling for first class
Other Actions:
- June 11, 1963: Kennedy committed personal and presidential prestige to find solution to segregation
- Kennedy called for new civil rights legislation to protect blacks
- September 1963: Explosion blasted Baptist church in Birmingham - killed four black girls
Kennedy's Assasination
- November 22, 1963
- Kennedy rode in open limousine in downtown Dallas when shot in the head by concealed riflemen
- Kennedy died within seconds
- Lee Harvey Oswald was alleged assassin and was shot to death in front of TV cameras by Jack Ruby
- Chief Justice Warren struggled to quiet doubts and theories about the murders
- As result, Johnson takes on as president - sworn in on flight to Washington with Kennedy's body