John F. Kennedy

1. John F. Kennedy By Lauren Miller and David Hunter

2. Key Terms • Election of 1960 • Trade Expansion Act • Peace Corps • Vietnam War • Alliance for Progress • Bay of Pigs • Nuclear Test Ban Treaty • Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

3. Outline • Life and Death • Change in Culture • Influence on US Economy • Military and National Security • Cuba and Soviet Union • Social Equality

4. Life • Born into a rich family • Was a Roman Catholic • Was the senator of Massachusetts prior to becoming president • Went to Harvard • Youngest man ever to be elected president

5. Death • Died on November 22, 1963 while riding in an open limousine in Dallas, Texas. He was shot in the brain and died within seconds. • He was allegedly killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. • After death, some accused Kennedy of being a “womanizer” and being involved in relations with organized crime figures.

6. Election of 1960 • Kennedy won the election with 303 electoral votes to 219 • He appealed to workers, Catholics, and African-Americans • Even though Kennedy won the electoral vote, he only won the popular vote by 118,574 votes out of over 68 million

7. Change in Culture • Had high expectations especially for youths • Influenced a sexual revolution, which was caused mainly due to the introduction of the pill • A culture based more around youths • The beginning of a feminist revolution during his presidency

8. Influence on Economy • Wanted to pass bills for medical assistance for elders and increased federal financial aid for education • Campaigned on revitalizing the economy and was against inflation • Kennedy negotiated a non-inflationary wage agreement in the steel industry • Stimulated economy by cutting taxes and putting more money in general public’s hands

9. Influence on Economy • Kennedy promoted the multi-billion dollar project of landing an American on the moon. This happened $24 billion later, but Kennedy was not alive. • Trade Expansion Act in 1962 cut tariffs by up to 50%. It promoted trade with Common Market countries. • JFK, in 1963, cut about $11.1 billion in taxes for individuals and corporations. These proved to beneficial for US economy.

10. Military and National Security • Deployed 1,000 FBI agents for “internal security” • JFK proposed the Peace Corps, in which the US sent an army of mostly youthful volunteers to bring American skills to third world countries • JFK increased spending on conventional military forces

11. Peace Corps • Program was established under Executive Order 10924 on March 1, 1961 • Purpose of the program was to provide technical assistance and to help people outside the US understand US culture and the US to understand the cultures of other countries. • The program worked towards social and economic development. • Opponents of JFK thought the Peace Corps would be used by Draft dodgers to avoid going to war.

12. The Vietnam War • Corrupt Diem government in Saignon had ruled since 1954 and was supported by American dollars. • Communists in Vietnam had begun to revolt against the democratic government • In 1961, Kennedy ordered an increased number of troops in South Vietnam to prevent a communist revolutionary government from taking over. • By his death, Kennedy had order 15,000 American troops to fight in Vietnam

13. Cuba and the Soviet Union • Kennedy proposed the 1961 Alliance for Progress with Cuba. • The goals of this was to narrow the gap between the rich and poor, to attempt to quite communists • JFK wanted Fidel Castro out of power in Cuba. To do this, JFK wanted the US to invade Cuban with anti-communist exiles. He believed this would trigger an uprising to get Castro out of power. However, this did not work out.

14. Bay of Pigs • The Bay of Pigs was created by the CIA and organized by Anti-Castro Cubans. • April 17th, 1961, 1,200 exiles landed at Cuba’s Bay of Pigs • This was a failure for the US because most exiles either died or were ransomed away for drugs. • JFK’s Bay of Pigs and attempted assassination of Castrol created high tensions between the US and Cuba. This caused Cuba to become closer with the Soviet Union.

15. Bay of Pigs • In October of 1962, American spies found that the Soviets had nuclear missiles in Cuba. • On the 22nd, JFK demanded Soviets leave Cuban and take their nuclear weapons away. • JFK stated that an attack on the US from Cuba was an attack from the USSR. • On the 28th, Khrushchev removed the weapons from Cuba. • As a result, the US removed some missiles from Turkey that were aimed at the USSR.

16. Soviet Union • August 1963, Kennedy and the Soviets signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This was an agreement to stop testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. • August 1963, a Moscow-Washington hotline was created to increase communication between the US and USSR • 1963, JFK gave a speech in an attempt to decrease tension. In his speech, he stated that he supported positive relations with the Soviet Union.

17. Civil Rights • JFK took 2 years to follow his promise of eliminating racial discrimination in housing. • JFK was fearful of stimulating a black revolution because it would lose him support from Southern Democrats. • Kennedy created a civil rights bill that was not passed until after his death.

18. Social Equality • JFK proposed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, but it did not pass until after his death. • The act shifted emphasis of immigration from European nations to Latin American and Asian countries. This allowed these immigrants to come to the US as easily as European immigrants. • The selection of immigrants was more based on reunifying families than meeting per country quotas.

19. Social Equality • JFK worked towards affordable housing and equal pay for women. • Promoted integration, but believed it should be done slowly in order to not enrage the South.