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Kennedy's Foreign Policy: Confronting Communism and the Space Race

Explore Kennedy's efforts to combat communism through programs like Alliance for Progress and Peace Corps, and his role in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also, learn about the race to the moon and America's achievement of putting a man on the moon.

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Kennedy's Foreign Policy: Confronting Communism and the Space Race

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  1. Chapter 29 Section 1 NotesFirst Half “Kennedy and Foreign Policy” Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev → ← US President JohnF. Kennedy

  2. Kennedy Confronts Communism • In 1961, his first year in office as President, Kennedy was able to get Congress to pass two programs that were designed to get 3rd World nations to have better relations with the U.S., in hopes that they would less likely become communist in the future • Alliance for Progress – aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America, and economic improvement with the help of U.S. financial aid • Peace Corps – a program to send young talented Americans to developing nations to assist in projects such as improved farming, education, health care, water, electricity, etc.

  3. Cuba’s new Communist leader Fidel Castro Bay of Pigs Invasion - 1959 - Cuban revolution that places Communist Fidel Castro in power • Jan. 3, 1961 (17 days before JFK took office) - Eisenhower broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba • US feared Cuba could be used by Soviet Union for an attack on the US • US makes plan to overthrow Communist govt. in Cuba without the appearance of US involvement Cuba, only 100 miles from tip of Florida

  4. - US began to train an army of Cuban exiles to overthrow the govt. - invasion began April 16 - Soviet Union accuses US of planning the invasion - Cuban exile forces defeated by the Cuban military - 1189 men were captured by Cuban govt. - JFK continued to deny involvement, but faced severe criticism Cuban exile invaders captured by Cuban Troops at Bay of Pigs

  5. The Building of the Berlin Wall - between the years of 1954 - 1960, East Germany suffered a “brain drain” - the following people left East Germany for West Germany - 4,600 doctors - 15,885 teachers - 738 university teachers - 15,536 engineers and technicians - 11,705 students - by 1961, 3 million people had left for West Germany

  6. Soviet leader Khrushchev threatens to take over West Berlin • Kennedy vowed to defend the city - East Germany had fortified border with West Germany, but not between East & West Berlin • Aug. 12-13, 1961 – Soviets & East Germans closed the border off with barbed wire • US sends troops to West Berlin, but no shots fired Building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 - Aug. 16 - barbed wire replaced with concrete blocks - by end of August, the wall was about 12 feet high

  7. Cuban Missile Crisis - Oct. 14, 1962 - a US U-2 spy plane detects nuclear missile sites being built in Cuba - JFK weighs 2 options: 1. military response (from air strikes on the missile bases to invasion of Cuba) 2. naval blockade of Cuba (called a quarantine to keep missiles out) - What option did JFK choose? Why that one? Detail of U2 Photos of Missile Site in Cuba

  8. - crisis kept secret until Oct. 22 when JFK informed the US in a televised address - Soviets responded by sending ships to break the blockade (quarantine) - US warns that they will fire upon any ship attempting to cross the quarantine line - Oct. 24 - Soviet ships turned back, and the nation breathes a sigh of relief President Kennedy speaks to nation about the Cuban crisis US ship that was part of quarantine of Cuba

  9. - Oct. 26 - JFK receives a letter from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev saying the USSR would remove missiles if US lifted the blockade and pledged not to invade Cuba - Oct. 27 - JFK received 2nd letter adding that the USSR wanted US missiles in Turkey removed - Oct. 27 - JFK ignores the 2nd letter and agrees to the terms of the first letter - Oct. 28 - Khrushchev agrees to remove missiles from Cuba and crisis ends US Ambassador Stevenson reports on Soviet missiles in Cuba to Security Council of the United Nations on Oct. 26, 1962

  10. - both Kennedy and Khrushchev were relieved that nuclear war was avoided and took steps to avoid another crisis that could lead to nuclear war: - “hotline” installed connecting the White House and Kremlin directly - Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed banning the testing of new nuclear weapons above ground, which signaled to the world that the two superpowers were trying now to get along US President John F. Kennedy Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev

  11. Race to Moon • At the beginning of the decade, Kennedy promised in his inauguration address that he believed the U.S. should try to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade (1960s) • Congress provided millions of dollars to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (N.A.S.A.) to achieve that goal • Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union became the first person to travel in space, and the first to orbit the Earth, in April of 1961 Yuri Gagarin – Soviet cosmonaut

  12. U.S. Catches Up in Space Race • In May 1961, Alan Shepard became the 1st U.S. astronaut in space • In 1962 John Glenn became the 1st American to orbit the Earth • N.A.S.A. then began Project Apollo, which had the goal of putting a man on the moon Alan Shepard

  13. Man on the Moon • On July 20, 1969, with millions watching worldwide on TV, the lunar module Eagle landed on the moon • U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the 1st to step on the moon • “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” – Armstrong • The Apollo program landed 5 more successful missions on the moon, and successfully avoided disaster in the Apollo 13 mission

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