JFK’s Foreign Policy

1960 Presidential Candidates

• John F. Kennedy– Wealthy– Powerful family– East Coast– Movie-star good looks

– Ease & authority in

presence– *Roman Catholic

• Richard Nixon– Self-made man– “Common man”– West Coast (CA)– Ties to 70-year old

Eisenhower

Election of 1960

• One of closest in history– Less than 120,000 votes separated the two

out of 69 million cast– Electoral 303-219 margin is not as wide

• JFK becomes YOUNGEST person elected and the FIRST Roman Catholic

• *Black vote helped JFK (MLK Jr. incident)

Era of Youth & Vitality

• JFK’s Advisors

– “Best & brightest”

– Young

– Closest advisor: JFK’s brother Robert (“Bobby”)

• Served as Attorney General

Castro & Cuba

• CIA– Eisenhower authorized the secret training of Cuban

exiles to invade Cuba & overthrow Fidel Castro

• Castro– Castro gave numerous anti-American speeches– He agreed to a trade arrangement with the USSR– Thus, the U.S. cut off economic & political ties

Bay of Pigs

• Miserably failed invasion of Cuba– It was reported 1 week prior to invasion– U.S. bombers failed to knock out Cuban Air

Force• Also revealed U.S. involvement

– Castro was prepared– 1200 surviving invaders sent to prison– 1962 JFK paid $52 million for their release

Berlin Crisis

• East vs. West Berlin

• Khrushchev (Soviet leader) used Berlin to test the U.S.

– JFK increased troops to West Germany

– Khrushchev responded with the Berlin Wall

• JFK proclaimed…– “A wall… is not a war”

• Berlin Wall (built 1961) divided families, neighborhoods, & streets

– It blocked East Germans from escaping to freedom in West Berlin

– Divided communist & democratic sectors

“I am a Berliner”

There are many people in the world who really don’t understand… the greatest issue between the free world & the communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe & elsewhere we can work with the communists. Let them come to Berlin… All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, & therefore as a free man I take I take pride in the worlds ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’

Cuban Missile Crisis

• Buildup in Cuba– Khrushchev pledged to defend Cuba– Soviets concerned about U.S. missiles in

Turkey– USSR upgraded Cuba’s defense with SAMs

(surface-to-air missiles)

Crisis Begins

• U-2 spy plane detected SAMs– Soviets claimed they were defensive missiles

but evidence suggests otherwise

• Ex Comm– Group of advisors– Most favored air strike & possible invasion of

Cuba– McNamara & R. Kennedy argued for naval

blockade

Crisis Continues

• Ex Comm– On TV, JFK warned the nation of the threat– Khrushchev sent JFK a letter offering to

remove missiles if U.S. pledged to never invade Cuba

– Next day, Khrushchev sent another demanding U.S. also remove missiles from Turkey

– JFK ignored 2nd & responded to 1st

• Later he secretly agreed to remove missiles too

Effects of C.M.C.

• *Closest the world has ever come to nuclear war!!

• A hotline was set up in 1963 for a direct connection between U.S. & USSR

• Both signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

JFK’s Foreign Policy

• Peace Corps– Volunteers to Africa, Asia & Latin America – Education, health care & agriculture

• Alliance for Progress– Billions of dollars to Latin America for schools,

hospitals, power plants…

• Flexible Response– Continued nuclear build up with other options just in

case…