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Chapter 20. John F. Kennedy 35th President 1961-1963. Kennedy Family Tree. Joseph and Rose Kennedy (Irish born parents) Joseph Jr: (oldest son) killed in WW2 John: President; assassinated 1963 Robert: Democratic Presidential nominee 1968 (assassinated 1968)
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Chapter 20 John F. Kennedy 35th President 1961-1963
Kennedy Family Tree • Joseph and Rose Kennedy (Irish born parents) • Joseph Jr: (oldest son) killed in WW2 • John: President; assassinated 1963 • Robert: Democratic Presidential nominee 1968 (assassinated 1968) • Edward: Current U.S. Senator (7th term)
Kennedy Family Tree • Kit: Oldest daughter. Killed in plane crash • Eunice: mother of Maria Shriver • Pat: married to Peter Lawford • Rose Marie: lobotomy • Jean: married to Stephen Smith
JFK’s political experience • Graduated from Harvard 1940 • WW2 Naval Officer (injured PT boat sunk by Japanese destroyer) • House of Representatives (6 years) • U.S. Senate (8 years) 1952-1960 • Wrote “Profiles In Courage” 1955 Pulitzer Prize winner in history
Election of 1960 • Richard Nixon: Republican nominee, California, VP under Eisenhower • John Kennedy: Senator Massachusetts, age 42, Roman Catholic • Nixon was the clear “front runner” • First time candidates debated on TV
Kennedy-Nixon Debates • Four debates • Watched by 70 million viewers • Kennedy “looked good” • Nixon sweating, not feeling well
Kennedy-Nixon Debates http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfmulOFrgTs&feature=related
Presidential Debates 1960 • First time image was a factor in an election • People listening on radio said Nixon won the debate
Close Election • Kennedy won by 118,000 votes • Closest race since 1880 (Cleveland) • Youngest elected President (43) • First Roman Catholic • “ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”
New Frontier • Major issues in Election: • Spread of communism • Nuclear missile race • Space race • Poverty • Racism, prejudice, segregation • Recession (unemployment 8%)
Domestic Policy Highlights • Minimum wage raised to $1.25 hour • Pushed for Civil Rights bill (never passed through Congress until after his death) • Space Program: asked Congress for 9 Billion. Launching facilities-Cape Canaveral, Fl. Mission Control-Houston, Tx.
Space Program • May 1961-Alan Shepard • Feb. 1962-John Glenn orbits Earth 3x’s • July 1969-Lunar landing (Kennedy promise by end of decade
Peace Corps • Kennedy’s greatest legacy • Youth dedicated to service in underdeveloped countries • Latin America, Asia, Africa
Foreign Policy Highlights • Bay of Pigs Invasion: 1961 • Berlin Crisis: 1961 • Cuban Missile Crisis: 1962 • Vietnam Crisis: 1963 • Nuclear missile stockpiling (ICBM’s, SLBM’s)
Cuban Missile Crisis • CIA discovered nuclear missile sites in Cuba • Aerial photos detected at least 9 Soviet missile sites under construction • Sources report Soviet ships carrying nuclear warheads heading for Cuba
What are your Options? • Invade Cuba. Strong pressure on Soviet Premier Khrushchev to retaliate • Bomb the missile sites. Must be done quickly; less likely to escalate into war. Soviets still feel pressure to retaliate. Could launch missiles at U.S. cities
Options • Set up a Naval quarantine to prevent weapons from reaching Cuba. 2100 mile ring around Cuba to intercept any Soviet ships carrying weapons. Does not do anything about the weapons already in Cuba • Kennedy chose this option!
Results • Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba • Soviets must remove missiles in Cuba immediately • U.S. would remove missiles in Turkey (cannot make info. Public) • Sect. State Dean Rusk called the crisis “the most dangerous the world has ever seen,” ended without bloodshed
Aftermath of C.M.C. • “hotline” installed. Direct link from Washington to Moscow • Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed (banned testing in air, underwater, in space)
Change in Foreign Policy • Flexible Response: U.S. response to communism will depend on size and danger of problem. • Change from “brinkmanship”: Eisenhower’s policy to meet the challenges of communism with the threat of nuclear weapons and possibility of warfare
Kennedy’s Assassination • November 22, 1963: Dallas, Texas. • Texas a key electoral state. President and Mrs. Kennedy on a “fence mending trip” due to civil rights tensions. • Three shots fired from the Texas School Book Depository in Dealey Plaza at 12:30 pm.
Kennedy Assassination • President traveling in a Lincoln Continental. • Governor Connolly and his wife Nellie sat in front of Kennedy’s. • Thousands of people there to see the president. Parade route posted in newspaper. Most photographed assassination in history
Lee Harvey Oswald • 24 years old • 9th grade dropout • Dishonorably discharged from Marines • Interested in Marxism • Defected to USSR 1959
Warren Commission Report • Three shots fired from 6th floor of Texas School Book Depository • First shot missed • Second shot known as “single bullet theory”. Hit Kennedy in neck, Gov. Connolly in right shoulder, chest, shatters fifth right rib, right wrist, left thigh
Warren Commission Report • Third Shot: fatal blow; hit Kennedy in back of skull • Gun found at crime scene. 6.5 millimeter mannlicher-Carcano rifle and scope purchased by mail order for $21.45. Three ejected cartridges found on floor
Oswald’s Arrest • Oswald left crime scene and returned home briefly. • All points bulletin looking for him. • Police officer Tibbits stopped Oswald while walking and Oswald killed him • Oswald hid in Dallas Movie Theatre where he was apprehended
Bizarre Event • Two days following Oswald’s arrest, moved to another jail • Shot and killed by Jack Ruby, Dallas night club owner • Seen on TV
Why Did Ruby do it? • Wanted fame • Wanted to spare the nation and Mrs. Kennedy a long, drawn out trial • Wanted to silence Oswald at his upcoming trial??
Conspiracy Theories • CIA : (feared Kennedy would “sell out” to the reds) • Mafia: (pay back for crack down on mob) • KGB: (Oswald defected to S.U. in 1959) • FBI: (J. Edgar Hoover wanted Kennedy out) • Cuban Caper: (Castro wanted Kennedy dead)
The Zapruder Film • 8 mm home movie of presidential motorcade • Frame 150 shown • Sold to Life Magazine for $50,000