JFK 1960-1963 Flashcards
Was the presidential election of 1960 a close call or an easy win for Kennedy?
It was the closest of the century, only 119,000 votes (less than 0.2% of the popular vote) separated Nixon and JFK?
Why did Nixon lose the 1960 election? What strengths and weaknesses did he have?
Strengths - 13 years of experience in Congress, staunch anti-communist, non-privileged background
Weaknesses - Committed to visiting every state on his campaign but this made him exhausted and easily drawn into debate on the televised presidential debate
What strengths did Kennedy have in the 1960 election?
He was young, handsome and a war hero, he had strong support from Northern Democrats and appealed to African Americans. He could claim there was a “missile gap” and looked much better when debating
What type of people did Kennedy fill his administration with?
Young, like-minded people he could trust who believed they could take America into this “New Frontier” with him. The best of the best
What was Johnson’s role in the Kennedy Administration?
Vice President
Why was Johnson selected for his role in the Kennedy Administration?
He had 24 years of experience in Congress and balanced the Democratic ticket of North and South, experience and youth
What was Sargent Shriver’s role in the Kennedy Administration?
Director of the Peace Corps and part of the close knit group around Kennedy
Who was Sargent Shriver and why was he selected for his role?
Kennedy’s brother in law, Shriver was a trained lawyer and was the driving force behind the Peace Corps and was a devout Catholic
What was Robert McNamara’s role in the Kennedy Administration?
Secretary of Defensee
Who was Robert McNamara and why was he selected for his role?
He was headhunted from his success as president of Ford by Shriver. His previous career teaching accountancy at Harvard made him a devotee of statistical analysis. He was head of the Dep. of Defense and favoured military action. He was far more exuberant than Rusk and often overlooked the human side behind his numbers.
What role did Robert Kennedy have in JFK’s Administration?
Attorney General
Who was Robert Kennedy and why was he selected for his role?
JFK’s younger brother. He was credited for his efforts to do with civil rights and poverty
What role did Dean Rusk have in the Kennedy Administration?
Secretary of State
Who was Dean Rusk and why was he selected for his role?
Sec of state under jfk
Involved in foreign affairs for a long time but Kennedy knew he wanted a significant involve in foreign policy himself and they had a fractious relationship as he was often seen as a second choice and preferred using the Defense Department
What role did McGeorge Bundy have in the Kennedy Administration?
National Security Advisor
Who was McGeorge Bundy? What is he remembered for?
He was a former intelligence officer in WW2 and was involved in the Bay of Pigs decision but famous for advocating for escalating involvement in Vietnam
When does Kennedy introduce the idea of a “New Frontier” ?
After his nomination for the Democrat candidate for the 1960 election
What was a particularly large part of the “New Frontier” ?
Foreign Policy - having just gone through the U2 Crisis, losing the Space Race and rumours of the ‘missile gap’, it was a big worry.
“The whole world looks to see what we shall do”
Why did Kennedy call his liberal policies the “New Frontier”?
Because pushing for equality of opportunity was similar to pushing the frontier west in the nineteenth century
What were key provisions of the New Frontier?
- Housing Act that created 420,000 jobs
- $200 million spent on extra welfare benefits: School Lunch Act provided free lunch and milk to school children and the benefits system extended to cover 5 million more Americans
- A universal Healthcare Bill for the elderly was introduced, Medicare
- Millions of children were vaccinated through the Social Security Act of 1963
- $3.19bn spent on housing programmes, 100,000 new homes built
A new govt agency: Committee of Equal Employment Opportunity (CEEO) was established - Arranged for an extra $9bn to be given to NASA to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade
How did the new frontier compare to the new deal of Roosevelt?
More legislation approved and passed than any time since New Deal. 35 of 58 bills Kennedy had submitted for congressional approval had been approved by 1963
Why had Berlin started to become a problem by 1961?
- Khrushchev had issued an Ultimatum in 1958 which Eisenhower ignored
- It was scheduled to be spoken about at the 1960 Paris Peace Summit but didn’t go ahead.
- Kennedy met Khrushchev in Vienna in June 1961 but that was unsuccessful
Why and when was the Berlin Wall put up?
300,000 people had fled from East to West Berlin in July 1961 and on the 14th August, a barbed wire fence was put up
What was Kennedy’s reaction to the wall being put up?
An okay solution to a tricky situation - “a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war”
When did tensions come to boiling point in Berlin?
In October 1961 when Soviet and American tanks were involved in a 16-hour stand off at Checkpoint Charlie
What evidence is that the American support was popular with the West Germans?
In June 1963, Kennedy visited West Berlin and made his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” to 450,000 West Germans
Why was the Berlin Wall so significant?
It was a huge propaganda victory for the Americans, as the Soviets had to use walls to stop people fleeing their state. Also significant that conflict was avoided and that American support in Berlin was there to stay. It was Kennedy’s first major success with his New Frontier mindset and made up for the ‘failure’ of the Vienna Summit
How had the situation with Cuba worsened under Eisenhower?
IN Jan 1959, Castro deposed US-backed dictator, Batista. Cuba then accepted a trade agreement in February 1960 with the USSR and Eisenhower in response approved plans for the invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles trained by the CIA. At the end of his presidency, Eisenhower severed diplomatic relations with Cuba
Which decision on Cuba did Kennedy inherit when he became president?
Whether or not to proceed with Operation Zapata - the plan to launch an invasion of Cuba using CIA-trained Cuban exiles.
What was Kennedy’s decision with Operation Zapata?
He had criticised Eisenhower for ‘losing’ Cuba and was focussed on becoming a strong foreign policy president so he approved it. But he added strict limits such as the US would absolutely not add air support
What actually happened with Cuba in 1961?
The Bay of Pigs invasion became a huge fiasco, as 1400 Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs in April but were easily overcome, as poor US intelligence had overlooked coral reefs that punctured boats and the general support for the invasion which they assumed would have a large impact
What were the consequences of the Bay of Pigs invasion?
It gave a huge propaganda victory to Castro and Khrushchev and tied them closer together. It put Kennedy on the defensive but he salvaged some credibility when he took full responsibility for his actions.
When did the Cuban Missile Crisis start?
Crisis broke out on 15th Oct 1962 when a U-2 spy plane discovers evidence of nuclear missiles on Cuba. Immediately, Kennedy assembles a team of advisers: ExComm
What was Kennedy’s response to finding the missiles on Cuba?
Kennedy made the crisis public on 22nd October when he made a televised speech to the nation. He chose to put Cuba under “quarantine” because it was a balanced option and gave time for diplomacy
Why did Kennedy call it a “quarantine” not a blockade?
A blockade could be seen as an act of war
What events happened on October 27th 1962?
Khrushchev sent a second telegram to Kennedy, this time demanding that he would remove missiles off Cuba if missiles on Turkey were simultaneously removed. On this day, a U-2 plane was shot down and the pilot killed and some advisers were keen to retaliate. Kennedy publicly accepted Khrushchev’s first telegram whilst Bobby Kennedy secretly met with Dobrynin to take missiles out of Turkey
