Kennedy and the Cold War

Key Words

-Alliance for Progress -Bay of Pigs Invasion -Berlin Wall -Cuban Missile Crisis -Flexible Response -Hot Line -Nuclear Test Ban Treaty -Peace Corps

Objectives

-Explain the steps Kennedy took to change American foreign policy -Analyze the causes and effects of the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis -Assess the results of the Berlin Crisis and other foreign policy events of the 1960s

Bay of Pigs: April 1961

A failed attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. Kennedy's approval ratings slumped following the Bay of Pigs.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

After breaking diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961, the Eisenhower administration authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to plan an invasion of Cuba to overthrow Castro. The CIA recruited Cuban exiles and trained them in Guatemala. But when Eisenhower left office, the invasion plan was still that--an unexecuted, untried plan. Pressured by members of the CIA and his own aides, Kennedy decided to implement the plan. On April 17, 1961, a CIA-led force of Cuban exiles attacked Cuba in the Bay of Pigs invasion. This invasion was badly mismanaged. The poorly equipped forces landed at the site with no protective cover. All but 300 of the 1,400 invaders were killed or captured. Not only did the Bay of Pigs invasion fail, it probably strengthened Castro's position in Cuba. It also turned many Cuban Americans against Kennedy. Kennedy took personal responbility for the failed invasion. However, he emphasized that the United States would continue to resist "communist penetration" in the Western Hemisphere.

Berlin Wall

After returning home, both world leaders made moves that thretened the peace. Kennedy asked Congress to draatically increase military spending. Khrushchev ordered the constructin of a wall between East and West Berlin. The Berlin Wall became a visible symbol of the reality of the two Germanys and the gulf between the communist East and democratic West. Kennedy repsonded by sending 1,500 U.S. troops to West Berlin. For a time, Russian and American tanks moved within sight of each other. Yet, neither side could fully claim a victory.

The Results of the Crisis

During the Cuban missile crisis, Kennedy and Khrushchev stood on the edge of a nuclear war and then slowly backed away. In the Soviet Union, Khrushchev lost prestige and more hard-line leaders chipped away at his power. In the United States, Kennedy emerged as a more mature and thoughtful leader, one who had faced a frightening test and had remained calm and resolute. The crisis prompted both leaders to move toward detente. They installed a "hot line" telephone system between Moscow and Washington, D.C., to improve communication. In 1963, the year after the crisis, the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the first nuclear-weapons agreement, which ended aboveground nuclear tests. Thirty-six other nations soon signed the agreement.

Berlin Wall: August 13, 1961

East German Communists begin building the barricade which would become the Berlin Wall.

Building the Nation's Military/Flexible Response

Eisenhower's defense policy of "massive retaliation" had emphasized the construction of nuclear weapons. Although Kennedy did not ignore the possiblity of a nuclear war, he wanted to make sure that the United States was prepared to fight both conventional wars and conflicts against guerrilla forces. Kennedy therefore gave increased funding to conventional United States Army and Navy forces as well as to Army Special Forces, such as the Green Berets. He wanted a "flexible response" defense policy, one that prepared the United States to fight any type of conflict.

Kennedy Defeats Nixon in 1960

For eight years, President Dwight Eisenhower had presided a nation that had generally enjoyed peace and prosperity. But even so, there were a number of issues that caused Americans grave concern. The launch of Sputnik 1 showed that the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union was still intense. The U-2 spy plane incident demonstrated that the Cold War might heat up at a moment's notice. The Montgomery bus boycott provided clear evidence that the Brown decision had not ended racial discrimination in the land. Deep, unsettled problems remained--problems for a new decade and a new generation of political leadership.

Confronting Communism in Cuba

In 1959, Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro had succeeded in overthrowing the regime of Fulgencio Batista. Initially, the United States attempted to cultivate good relations with Castro. However, it soon became clear that the Cuban leader was determined to nationalist land held by private U.S. citizens, enforce radical reform measures, and adopt Soviety economic and military aid. Thousands of wealthy and middle-class Cubans fled their country, many settling in Miami and southern Florida. Proud of their heritage and deeply anticommunist, they made new lives for themselves and their families in the United States.

The Candidates--John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon

In the presidential election of 1960, Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon were quite similar in a variety of ways. For the first time in U.S. history, both candidates had been born in the twentieth century, Nixon in 1913 and Kennedy in 1917. Both had served in the navy during World War II. Both had been elected to Congress in 1946 and to the Senate in the early 1950s. Both were passionate about foreign affairs and supported the Cold War fight against communism. Young and energetic, intelligent and hard-working, both wanted to be the first of their generation to lead the country. Their differences, however, were as significant as their similarities. Kennedy was the son of a wealthy Boston businessman. His grandfather had been a state senator, and his father had served as the ambassador to Great Britain. Kennedy attended Harvard University. Although he was a Catholic and his religion was an issue in the election, he insisted that what church he attended should not be a factor. Nixon, born in California, did not enjoy the advantages of a wealthy upbringing. His father struggled to make a living. As a young man, Nixon had to balance his time between his school studies and work to help support the famly. Many voters, however, respected him for his experiences as Vice President under Eisenhower.

Kennedy Launches New Cold War Strategies

John Kennedy's 1960 campaign stressed the need for the United States to move forward with vigor and determination. Kennedy argued that during the Eisenhower years America had lost ground in the Cold War struggle against communism. He pointed to the new communist regime under Fidel Castro in Cuba and charged that there was now a "missile gap" that left the U.S. nuclear missile force inferior to that of the Soviet Union. The first goal of the Kennedy administration would be to build up the nation's armed forces. Nowhere was the difference between Eisenhower and Kennedy more evident than in two important 1961 addresses. In his Farewell Address, Eisenhower counseled caution in foreign affairs. "The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist," he said. As the first President born in this century, Kennedy proclaimed that a "new generation of Americans" was ready to meet any challenge. Kennedy issued a challenge to Americans: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

Kennedy Wins a Close Election

Kennedy not only looked better on television, he also demonstrated an ability to react more quickly to unexpected events. For example, several weeks before the election, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and a group of African American students were imprisoned during a protest in Atlanta, Georgia. Nixon said nothing publicly about the episode Kennedy, however, telephoned King's wife, Coretta Scott King, to express his concern. He also worked behind the scenes to obtain King's release on bail. Kennedy's actions attracted the strong support of African Americans in the election. The election of 1960 was the tightest presidential election since 1888. In an election that witnessed the largest voter turnout in the country's history, Kennedy won by less than 120,000 of the 68 million popular votes cast. Had a few thousand people voted differently in Illinois and Texas, the election would have gone to Nixon. Kennedy's electoral victory was more convincing. He carried enough states to give him 303 electoral votes to Nixon's 219.

The Cuban Missile Crisis/Nikita Khrushchev

Kennedy's efforts to contain communism were severely threatened during the Cuban missile crisis. In August and September of 1962 U.S. intelligence discovered that the Soviets were building nuclear missile sites in Cuba, apparently toprotect Castro from another American invasion. When the sites were completed, major East Coast cities and the Panama Canal would be in range of the missiles. Kennedy demanded the removal of the missiles. In a dramatic televison address on October 22, 1962, he blamed Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet premier, for causing a "reckless and provocative threat to world peace." He also announced that he had approved a naval quarantine (blockade) of Cuba to prevent the Soviets from completing the bases. Behind the scenes, however, Kennedy worked toward a diplomatic settlement. He indicated that he would remove U.S. missiles in Turkey and Italy if the Soviets removed thier missiles in Cuba. After six tense days when nuclear war seemed a real possibility, Khrushchev agreed to honor the blockade and remove the missiles. As Secretary of State Dean Rusk later told a reporter, "Remember, when you report this, that, eyeball to eyeball, they blinked first."

Peace Corps/Alliance for Progress

Like previous American leaders, Kennedy believed that democracy combined with prosperity wouuld contain or limit the spread of communism. Therefore, he initiated programs to economically and politically strengthen the Third World. The Peace Corps, created in 1961, sent American volunteer around the world on "missions of freedom" to assist developing countries. They worked to provide technical, educational, and health services. Other programs stressed purely economical development. The Alliance for Progress promised to resurrect America's Good Neighbor policy toward Latin America. During the 1950s, many Latin Americans had grown increasingly resentful of the United States, claiming that it had too much influence in their region. Kennedy hoped to change that view with this program. It promoted economic assistance to Latin America. Unlike the Peace Corps, the Alliance of Progress was not successful.

The Berlin Crisis

Since 1958, Khrushchev wanted to sign a peace treaty that would put the western zones of Berlin under control of East Germany. His actions were motivated by the steady flow of skilled East German workers into West Berlin. Desiring to show his strength, Kennedy stood firm on America's commitment to defending the rights of West Berliners and West Germans. At a conference in Vienna in June 1961, Kennedy and Khrushchev focused on Berlin as the key issue. Khrushchev called the present situatoin "intolerable." He demanded that the United States recognize the formal divison of Germany and end its military presence in West Berlin. Kennedy refused. He did not want to give up occupation rights he considered critical to defending Western Europee. In a tense atmosphere, Khrushchev said, "I want peace, but if you want war, that is your problem." Kennedy answered, "It is you, not I who wants to force a change." The meeting ended abruptly. The conference, meant to relax Cold WAr tensions, only increased them.

Pursuing New Initiatives in the "Third World"

The "Third World," as it was known at the time, was the developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that did not align with the United Staes or the Soviet Union. According to Soviet propaganda, Western capitalism created poverty and inequalities in the Third World, whereas communism promoted equality.

Televised Debates Make the Difference

The 1960 election highlighted the growing power and influence of television. The candidates agreed to four televised debates. During the campagain, Nixon was hospitalized with a knee infection. After getting out of the hospital, he committed himself to a grueling schedule of public appearances. By the time of the fist debate, held in September in Chicago and watched by about 70 million people, Nixon looked pale and exhausted. Nixon arrived at the television studio an hour early, but he refused the offer to have makeup applied to hide his newly-growing beard. By contrast, Kennedy, tanned from open-air campaigning in California, looked healthy and confident. His relaxed manner, easy charm, and quick sense of humor added to his appeal. In many ways, the debate boiled down to how the candidates looked and spoke, rather than what they said. Most Americans who listened to the debate on radio believed that Nixon had won. But the larger audience who watched the debate on television concluded that Kennedy was the clear victor. Although Nixon tried to change his image in the later debates, he was unable to significantly alter the country's initial impression of him. Kennedy's "victory" in the Chicago debate proved crucial in the election.

Cuban Missile Crisis: October 1962

The Soviet Union sends nuclear missiles to Cuba. These missiles had the capability of hitting U.S. cities. The U.S. navy blockades Cuba. Negotiations lead to the removal of the nuclear weapons from Cuba. The U.S. and the Soviet Union sign the Nuclear Test Ban treaty.