JFK and the Cold War

1. JFK and the Cold War

2. Flexible Response • Global instability • Soviet Union supported “wars of national liberation” • Kennedy felt Eisenhower relied too heavily on nuclear weapons • Flexible Response- aid to nations resisting communism • Build-up of troops • Build-up of conventional weapons • JFK expanded Special Forces, elite army unit to wage guerilla warfare in limited conflicts

4. Alliance for Progress • Latin Americans unfriendly towards US • US too involved in Latin Governments • US corporations seen as imperialists • Alliance for Progress- cooperative aid projects with Latin American governments to improve relations • Create a “free and prosperous Latin America” • More stability • Less likely to support Communist revolutions • US pledged $20 billion to help LA countries • Establish schools • Better housing • Health care • Land distribution • Worked in Chile, Columbia, Venezuela, Central American Republics • Other rulers used money to keep themselves in power (funded weapons, dictatorships, etc.)

6. Peace Corps • Started at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor • Peace Corps- Organization sent Americans to provide humanitarian services in less-developed nations • Training • Two years in countries that requested assistance • Laid out sewage systems • Trained medical technicians • Taught English • Built roads • Still active today- one of Kennedy’s most enduring legacies

8. Space Race • Yuri Gagarin, 1961 (USSR astronaut)- first person to orbit Earth • USSR beat US in Space Race again (Sputnik 1957) • US can’t allow world to think Communism is better than Capitalism • JFK sets goal to land on the moon by end of the decade • Increased space technology development • John Glenn, 1962- first American to orbit Earth • 1965, Apollo Missions begin • 1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins headed to the moon • Armstrong- first man to walk on the moon • “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind • Demonstrated US technological superiority over the Soviet Union

10. Bay of Pigs • Fidel Castro overthrows Cuban dictator, 1959 • Establishes ties with Soviet Union- Khruschev wants to strengthen Cuba’s military • Land reforms • Seized foreign-owned businesses (many American-owned) • Eisenhower ordered CIA to train Cuban exiles to invade Cuba • JFK approved invasion  April 1961 armed Cuban exiles invaded the Bay of Pigs (southern Cuba) • Disaster • Boats ran aground • Kennedy cancelled air support to keep invasion a secret • Castro’s forces killed or captured the invaders • Exposed US plan to overthrow neighboring government • Made US look weak and disorganized

12. Berlin Wall, June 1961 • Nikita Khruschev (USSR leader) wanted to stop East Germans (Soviet Zone) from leaving to go to West Berlin (US/French/British Zone) • Khruschev demanded Allies withdraw from Berlin because it was entirely in the Soviet Zone • Kennedy refused and reaffirmed West’s commitment to West Berlin • Khruschev built Berlin Wall through Berlin, blocked movement between East and West Berlin • Guards stationed along the wall, shot people trying to escape • Symbol of Cold War divisions

14. Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 • USSR place long-range missiles in Cuba • Cuba only 90 miles from Florida  dangerous threat • JFK orders: • Naval blockade to stop delivery of missiles • Existing missile sites dismantled • Warned against Soviet attack on US soil  full-scale response • Soviets didn’t meet Kennedy’s demands  fear of nuclear war • Secret negotiations between US and USSR • US secretly agreed to remove missiles from Turkey • US publicly promised not to invade Cuba • USSR removed missiles from Cuba • Forced US and USSR to consider consequences of nuclear war • 1963 Treaty between US and USSR banning nuclear testing • USSR seen as weak  Khruschev falls from power  dramatic military build-up in USSR to regain might