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

John, Jackie, Carolyn, John Jr.

Election of 1960

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

Sergeant Shriver

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

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

Single Bullet Theory

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