Aim: How did the Kennedy Administration impact American society?
Do Now:
On 26 September 1960, 70 million U.S. viewers tuned in to watch Senator John Kennedy of Massachusetts and Vice President Richard Nixon in the first-ever televised presidential debate. The Great Debates marked television's grand entrance into presidential politics. They afforded the first real opportunity for voters to see their candidates in competition, and the visual contrast was dramatic. In August, Nixon had seriously injured his knee and spent two weeks in the hospital. By the time of the first debate he was still twenty pounds underweight, his pallor still poor. He arrived at the debate in an ill-fitting shirt, and refused make-up to improve his color and lighten his perpetual "5:00 o'clock shadow." Kennedy, by contrast, had spent early September campaigning in California. He was tan and confident and well-rested. "I had never seen him looking so fit," Nixon later wrote. In substance, the candidates were much more evenly matched. Indeed, those who heard the first debate on the radio pronounced Nixon the winner. But the 70 million who watched television saw a candidate still sickly and obviously discomforted by Kennedy's smooth delivery and charisma. Those television viewers focused on what they saw, not what they heard. Studies of the audience indicated that, among television viewers, Kennedy was perceived the winner of the first debate by a very large margin. - THE KENNEDY-NIXON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES, 19601. What impact did the televised debates had on the Election of 1960?
2. Evaluate whether or not appearance should matter in politics.
I. How did Kennedy reshape the role of the President?
When John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon in 1960, the United States was at the apex of its postwar optimism.Kennedy embodied that early enthusiasm. The youthful president and his wife drew parallels to the magical time of King Arthur and Camelot.His New Frontier program asked the nation's talented and fortunate to work to eliminate poverty and injustice at home, while projecting confidence overseas. Although Congress blocked many of his programs, his confidence was contagious, and the shock of his untimely death was nothing less than devastating.
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. – JFK Inaugural Address, 1961
1. What challenges does Kennedy describe in this speech?
2. Evaluate the meaning of Kennedy’s statement, “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
Camelot and the Kennedy Family
One of Kennedy's most popular foreign policy initiatives was the PEACE CORPS. This program allowed Americans to volunteer two years of service to a developing nation. Applicants would be placed based upon their particular skill sets. English teachers would be placed where the learning of the language was needed. Entrepreneurs trained local merchants how to maximize profits. Doctors and nurses were needed anywhere.Kennedy thought the program was a win-win proposition. Third World nations received much needed assistance. The United States promoted goodwill around the world. Countries that received Peace Corps volunteers might be less likely to submit to a communist revolution. American participants obtained experiences that shaped well-rounded, worldly citizens.
“What is sad for women of my generation is that they weren't supposed to work if they had families. What were they going to do when the children are grown - watch the raindrops coming down the window pane?”“Even though people may be well known, they hold in their hearts the emotions of a simple person for the moments that are the most important of those we know on earth: birth, marriage and death.” – Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy
1. Why would Jackie Kennedy appeal to “modern women?”
2. Evaluate why Americans were so captivated by the Kennedy family.
II.Why did the Communist Revolution in Cuba lead to the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Like his predecessors, Kennedy made containment his chief foreign policy goal. Abandoning Dwight Eisenhower's heavy reliance on nuclear deterrence, Kennedy expanded defense spending. The United States needed a "FLEXIBLE RESPONSE" capability. To Kennedy, this meant a variety of military options depending upon the specific conditions. Conventional forces were upgraded. Included in this program was the establishment of special forces units similar to the Green Berets. Despite the expense, Kennedy believed communism was a menace that required maximal preparation.
In 1959, Fidel Castro came to power in an armed revolt that overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. The U.S. government distrusted Castro and was wary of his relationship with Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union.Before his inauguration, John F. Kennedy was briefed on a plan by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) developed during the Eisenhower administration to train Cuban exiles for an invasion of their homeland. The original invasion plan called for two air strikes against Cuban air bases. A 1,400-man invasion force would disembark under cover of darkness and launch a surprise attack. The brigade prisoners remained in captivity for 20 months, as the United States negotiated a deal with Fidel Castro.
The Cuban invasion force, known as Brigade 2506, landed at beaches along the Bay of Pigs and immediately came under heavy fire. Cuban planes strafed the invaders, sank two escort ships, and destroyed half of the exile's air support. Bad weather hampered the ground force, which had to work with soggy equipment and insufficient ammunition. The disaster at the Bay of Pigs had a lasting impact on the Kennedy administration.
1. Why did the U.S. help plan an attack on Cuba?
2. What was the result of the Bay of Pigs invasion?
In October 1962, the United States learned that the Soviet Union was about to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba. Kennedy found this unacceptable. He ordered aNAVAL "QUARANTINE" OF CUBAand ordered Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to turn his missile-carrying boats back to the USSR. Any Soviet attempt to penetrate the American blockade would be met with an immediate military response. The world watched this dangerous game of nuclear chicken unfold. Finally, Khrushchev acceded to Kennedy's demands, and the world remained safe from global confrontation. TheCUBAN MISSILE CRISISmarked the closest the United States and the Soviet Union came to direct confrontation in the entire Cold War.
1. How did the United States respond to nuclear missiles located in Cuba?
This Government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere. -John F. Kennedy: Cuban Missile Crisis Address to the Nation, October 1962
1. Why does Kennedy claim that the U.S. is threatened?
In the name of the Soviet Government and the Soviet people, I assure you that your conclusions regarding offensive weapons in Cuba are groundless…all the means located there have a defensive character. We are of sound mind and understand perfectly well that if we attack you, you will respond the same way...-Khrushchev’s message to Kennedy, October 11, 1962
You are disturbed over Cuba because it is 90 miles by sea from the coast of the United States. But Turkey adjoins us and you have placed destructive missile weapons literally next to us. Do you consider that you have the right to demand security for your own country and the removal of weapons from Cuba, but do not accord the same right to us? – Khrushchev’s message to Kennedy, October 12, 1962
1. How does Khrushchev reassure the United States in the first message? / 2. How does Khrushchev’s second message compare to the first? / 3. Evaluate the validity of Khrushchev’s argument.
Each of the parties to this Treaty undertake to prohibit, prevent, and not to carry out any nuclear test explosion:
(a) in the atmosphere of space or under water
(b) in any other environment that causes radioactive debris in territorial limits outside the jurisdiction - Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 1963
1. What is the purpose of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?
2. Evaluate why the U.S. and the Soviet Union would agree to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
III. How did Kennedy’s assassination impact American citizens?
President Kennedy was scheduled to speak at a luncheon in Dallas on November 22. The weather was bright and clear, and the President wished to wave to the crowds as his motorcade moved from the airport through the city. A protective covering was not placed over his convertible limousine. As the procession moved through Dealey Plaza, gunshots tore through the midday air. Within minutes President Kennedy was dead, and John Connally, the Texas governor was badly wounded. Kennedy was rushed to the hospital, but to no avail. The news rang out through the nation. Businesses and schools closed so grief-stricken Americans could watch the unfolding events.
Ask any American who was over the age of 8 in 1963 the question: "Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?" and a complete detailed story is likely to follow. On November 22, 1963, a wave of shock and grief swept the United States. While visiting Dallas, President Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullet. Millions of Americans had indelible images burned into their memories. The bloodstained dress of Jacqueline Kennedy, a mournful Vice-President Johnson swearing the Presidential oath of office, and dozens and dozens of unanswered questions.
ORIGINAL CAPTION: John F. Kennedy Jr., who turns three today, salutes as the casket of his father, the late President John F. Kennedy, is carried from St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, DC.
1. Evaluate the meaning of Kennedy’s statement. / 2. Evaluate why this would become an iconic image in American history.
1. Evaluate how this cartoon demonstrates the legacy of Kennedy’s assassination.