20.1 "Kennedy and the Cold War" – Flashcards

35th president of the United States whose leadership was put to the test through several Cold War crisis. At the time, he was the second-youngest president in the nation's history. Assassinated in Dallas, TX

A policy, developed during the Kennedy administration, that involved preparing for a variety of military responses to international crises rather than focusing on the use of nuclear weapoons

Cuban revolutionary leader who overthrew the government of Cuba and aligned himself with the Soviets

A concrete wall that separated East Berlin and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, built by the Communist East German Government to prevent its citizens from fleeing to the West

A communication link established in 1963 to allow the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union to contact each other in times of crisis

The 1963 treaty in which the United States and the Soviet Union agreed not to conduct nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere

he believed that rather than shrinking from the danger, the United States should confront the "iron tyranny" of communism

1. the economy was in a recession 2. the USSR's launch of Sputnik Iin 1957 and its development of long-range missiles had sparked fears that the American military was falling behind that of the Soviets 3. further set-backs including the U-2 incident and the alignment of Cuba with the Soviet Union had Americans questioning whether the United States was losing the Cold War.

television and the civil rights issue

he was too inexperienced Americans also worried that having a Roman Catholic in the White House would lead either to influence of the pope on American policies or to closer ties between church and state

possessing personal charm that attracts devoted followers

the televised debate between Kennedy and Nixon

Kennedy expressed sympathy after police in Atlanta, Georgia, arrested the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.,and 33 other African-American demonstrators for sitting at a segregated lunch counter. Although the other demonstrators were released, King was sentenced tomonths of hard labor—officially for a minor traffic violation. The Eisenhower administration refused to intervene, and Nixon took no public position. Meanwhile, Robert Kennedy, his brother and campaign manager, persuaded the judge who had sentenced King to release the civil rights leader on bail, pending appeal. News of the incident captured theimmediate attention of the African-American community, whose votes would helpKennedy carry key states in the Midwest and South.

The Camelot Years

McGeorge Bundy, a Harvard University dean, national security adviser Robert McNamara, president of Ford Motor Company, secretary of defense DeanRusk, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, secretary of state. Robert Kennedy, his 35-year-old brother, attorney general

the Soviets were gaining loyalties in the economically less-developed third-world countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America communism was developing in Cuba, at America's doorstep.

during the Cold War, the developing nations not allied with either the United States or the Soviet Union

while the Eisenhower administration had relied on the policy of massive retaliation to deter Soviet aggression and imperialism, threatening to use nuclear arms over a minor conflict was not a risk Kennedy wished to take. Instead, his team developed a policy of flexible response

he increased defense spending in order to boost conventional military forces—non nuclear forces such as troops, ships, and artillery—and to create an elite branch ofthe army called the Special Forces, or Green Berets. he also tripled the overall nuclear capabilities of the United States

because of a revolutionary leader named Fidel Castro who overthrew Cuba and openly declared himself a communist and welcomed aid from the Soviet Union

a soldier who travels in a small group, harassing and undermining the enemy

democracy

Castro seized three American and British oil refineries, relations between the United States and Cuba worsened. Castro also broke up commercial farms into communes that would be worked by formerly landless peasants. American sugar companies, which controlled 75 percent of the crop land in Cuba, appealed to the U.S. government for help.

Soviet aid and on the political repression of those who didnot agree with him

government intimidation of those with different political views

In March 1960, President Eisenhower gave the CIA permission to secretly train Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba. The CIA and the exiles hoped it would trigger a mass uprising that would overthrow Castro. Kennedy approved the operation. On the night of April 17, 1961, some 1,300 to 1,500 Cuban exiles supported by the U.S. military landed on the island's southern coast at Bahia de Cochinos, the Bay of Pigs. Nothing went as planned. The Cuban media sensationalized the defeat. The disaster left Kennedy embarrassed. Kennedy negotiated with Castro for the release of surviving commandos and paid a ransom of $53 million in food and medical supplies. Although Kennedy warned that he would resist further Communist expansion in the Western Hemisphere, Castro defiantly welcomed further Soviet aid.

During the summer of 1962, the flow to Cuba of Soviet weapons—including nuclear missiles—increased greatly. President Kennedy responded with a warning that America would not tolerate offensive nuclear weapons in Cuba. Then, on October 14, photographs taken by American planes revealed Soviet missile basesin Cuba—and some contained missiles ready to launch. They could reach U.S.cities in minutes. On October 22, Kennedy informed an anxious nation of the existence of Soviet missile sites in Cuba and of his plans to remove them. He made it clear thatany missile attack from Cuba would trigger an all-out attack on the Soviet Union. For the next six days, the world faced the terrifying possibility of nuclear war. In the Atlantic Ocean, Soviet ships—presumably carrying more missiles—headed toward Cuba, while the U.S. Navy prepared to quarantine Cuba and prevent the ships from coming within 500 miles of it. In Florida, 100,000 troops waited—the largest invasion force ever assembled in the United States. The first break in the crisis occurred when the Soviet ships stopped suddenly to avoid a confrontation at sea.

The Soviets agreed to remove their missals from Cuba and the United States agreed to remove their missals from Turkey

it severely damaged Khrushchev's prestige in the Soviet Union and the world. some people criticized Kennedy for practicing brinkmanship when private talks might have resolved the crisis without the threat of nuclear war. Others believed he had passed up an ideal chance to invade Cuba and oust Castro.

many Cuban exiles blamed the Democrats for "losing Cuba" (a charge that Kennedy had earlier leveled at the Republicans) and switched their allegiance to the GOP meanwhile, Castro closed Cuba's doors to the exiles

proving to Khruschev his determination to contain communism

in the 11 years since the Berlin Airlift, almost 3 million East Germans—20 percent of that country's population—had fled into West Berlin because it was free from Communist rule. these refugees advertised the failure of East Germany's Communist government. their departure also dangerously weakened that country's economy

he threatened to sign a treaty with East Germany that would enable that country to close all the access roads to West Berlin

Kennedy's determination and America's superior nuclear striking power

Communist oppression

in 1963, he announced that the two nations had established a hot linebetween the White House and the Kremlin. This dedicated phone enabled the leaders of the two countries to communicate at once should another crisis arise. later that year, the United States and Soviet Union also agreed to a Limited Test Ban Treatythat barred nuclear testing in the atmosphere.