John F. Kennedy
35th President of the United States of America
Domestic Policy
NEW FRONTIER
Stimulating a Sluggish Economy
Equal Pay Act
required equal wages for equal work in industries engaged in commerce or producing goods for commerce
crucial step on the road to fair and equal employment practices
- tax credits to encourage business investment
- accepted "deficit spending" to stimulate the economy
- dramatic tax cuts for the middle class
OUTCOME= tremendous economic growth in the late 1960's
Civil Rights (after stimulating a sluggish economy)
remained largely passive on civil rights issues
In early 1963, Kennedy introduced a civil rights bill that demanded prosecution for voting rights violations and federal money to aid school desegregation
Space Race
Began with the USSR launching Sputnik I in 1957.
- Was won by the United States in 1969 when America became the first country to put a human on the moon
Cuban Missile Crisis
Foreign Policy
Cold War Strategies
1960 campaign stressed need for the US to move forward
Pointed to the new communist regime under Fidel Castro (in Cuba)
charged that there was a “missile gap”
Build up the nation’s armed forces.
- Supported programs that resulted in a $6 billion increase in defense spending.
Military in 3rd world
Gave increased funding to conventional forces & special forces
wanted to create a flexible defence policy and response so that the United States could fight in any conflict
made programs to aid 3rd world countries like peace corps
created Alliance for Progress to get us back on good terms with Latin America
Confronting Communism in Cuba
Bay of Pigs Invasion
April 17, 1961
failed invasion of Cba by CIA-led force of Cuban exiles
turned Cuban Americans against Kennedy
The Cuban Missile Crisis
conflict between the US and the Soviet Union resulting from the Soviet installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba
Kennedy’s effort to contain communism was threatened during this crisis
blamed Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet premier, for causing a “reckless and provocative threat to world peace”
Effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Soviet Union removes their missiles from Cuba
US removes their missles from Turkey
US and the Soviet Union avoid nuclear war
Kennedy and Khrushchev establish a “hot line” telephone system (between Moscow and Washington D.C.) to keep communication opens
1963: US, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union sign the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Kennedy Sends Troops to Vietnam!
Kennedy took a more aggressive stand against the communists in Vietnam
He sent Special Forces troops to South Vietnam
sent to advise the Army of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
Kennedy does NOT support the Diem
Kennedy administration concluded that South Vietnam needed new leadership
Americans plotted with anti-Diem generals to overthrow Diem’s government (Diem assassinated on November 1, 1963)
The Belin Crisis
Khrushchev and Kennedy met for a conference in Vienna in 1961 where Khrushchev demanded that the U.S. recognizes the formal division of Germany and end its military presence in West Berlin. Kennedy refused, the conference was intended ease the Cold War tension but only increased them.
After returning home both world leaders made moves that threatened the peace. Kennedy asked Congress to increase military spending. Khrushchev order the construction of the Berlin Wall between East and West Germany.
The Berlin Wall became a symbol of the reality of the two Germany’s being separate in the gulf between the communist East and the democratic West.