U6L5 Kennedy, Johnson, and Vietnam Flashcards
Why did many people vote against John F. Kennedy?
Experience
Many Americans voted against John F. Kennedy because they felt he did not have enough experience to be President.
Why did some people vote against Kennedy?
Religion
Others worried about Kennedy’s religion, Catholicism. No Roman Catholic had ever been President. Many Americans feared that Kennedy might be more loyal to the Roman Catholic Church than to the country. (Kennedy reassured voters that he believed in the separation of church and state.)
How did television turn the tide for Kennedy during the election?
In the first televised debates ever held in a presidential campaign, Kennedy appeared youthful and confident. While Nixon, recovering from a recent illness, looked tired and nervous. Kennedy won the election by a narrow margin.
What was different about Kennedy and the presidents before him?
John F. Kennedy took the presidential oath of office on January 20, 1961. At 43, he was the youngest man ever elected President and the first to be born in the twentieth century.
What is a superpower?
nations with enough military, political, and economic strength to influence events worldwide
What was Kennedy’s job as a leader of a superpower?
President Kennedy was given the task of negotiating the country’s way through Cold War crises.
What did Fidel Castro set up in Cuba?
In 1959, Fidel Castro led a revolution that set up a communist state in Cuba.
What did Cuban’s government take control over?
Castro’s government took over private companies, including many owned by American businesses.
Cubans from mainly which classes fled to the U.S.?
Thousands of Cubans, especially those from the upper and middle classes, fled to the United States.
Why was America worried with Cuba?
The Soviet Union began supplying Cuba with large amounts of aid. The growing ties between the Soviet Union and Castro’s Cuba worried American officials. Cuba lies just 90 miles off the coast of Florida.
What plan did President John F. Kennedy approve from Cuban exiles?
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy approved a plan to support Cuban exiles in an invasion of Cuba to overthrow Castro.
What are exiles?
Exiles are people who have been forced to leave their own country.
The invasion plan with Cuban exiles was called the Bay of Pigs invasion. How did it do?
A force of about 1,400 Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs on Cuba’s south coast. The invasion was badly planned. Castro’s forces outnumbered the invaders and quickly rounded them up and jailed them, killing about 100 of the invaders.
What effect did the Bay of Pigs invasion have on Cuba?
The Bay of Pigs invasion strengthened Castro in Cuba and embarrassed the United States.
After the Bay of Pigs invasion, what did the Soviet Union do?
After the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Soviet Union gave Cuba more weapons.
In October 1962, what did President Kennedy learn about Cuba?
President Kennedy learned that the Soviets were secretly building missile bases on the island. If the bases were completed, atomic missiles could reach American cities within minutes.
What did President Kennedy do when he heard the news about the missiles being built in Cuba?
Kennedy announced that American warships would be positioned around Cuba with orders to stop any Soviet ships carrying missiles.
When the Soviet Union heard about the U.S. blockade around Cuba, what did they do?
The world waited tensely as Soviet ships steamed toward Cuba. At the last minute, the Soviet ships turned back. “We’re eyeball to eyeball,” said Secretary of State Dean Rusk, “and I think the other fellow just blinked.”
Between the U.S. and Cuba, what did the U.S. blockade around Cuba cause?
Kennedy’s strong stand led the Soviets to compromise.
What comprise did the Soviet Union and the U.S. reach for Cuba?
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove Soviet missiles from Cuba. In turn, the United States promised not to invade the island.
How did the Cuban missile crisis shake up the U.S. and the Soviet Union?
The Cuban missile crisis had shaken both American and Soviet officials. In all the years of the Cold War, the world never came closer to a full-scale nuclear war.
What turned the tide for Kennedy in the presidential race?
televised debates
Who did President Kennedy decide to support in an invasion of Cuba?
Cuban exiles
What incident brought the United States and the Soviet Union close to nuclear war?
Cuban missile crisis
Describe Latin America’s struggle with economic growth.
A huge gap existed between the wealthy few and the majority of people. In most countries, rural people lived in desperate poverty. When the poor migrated to cities seeking work, they were often forced to live in shacks without heat, light, or water.
Why did poor Latin American counties think communism was the solution to their problems?
Communists called for land to be distributed to the poor and for governments to take over foreign corporations. Some noncommunists also supported this view.
What was the Alliance for Progress?
He urged Latin American countries to make reforms to improve the lives of their people. In return, the United States contributed aid to build schools and hospitals and to improve farming and sanitation services.
How well did the Alliance for Progress work?
The Alliance brought a few improvements, but it did not end the causes of poverty.
What was the Peace Corps?
Under this program, American volunteers worked in developing countries as teachers, engineers, and technical advisers. Volunteers lived with local people for two years, teaching or giving technical advice.
The United States was also a leading member of the Organization of American States (OAS). What did the OAS do?
Through the OAS, the United States promoted economic progress in the Americas by investing in transportation and industry.
To battle communism, what did the U.S. do to the Latin American armed forces?
The United States also gave military aid to train and arm Latin American military forces.
What did the United States speak up for in Latin America to lead it away from communism?
The United States spoke up for democracy and pressed governments to make reforms. Often, though, the United States ended up supporting military dictators because they opposed communism.
In 1957, Russia launched Sputnik I. How was this the first of its kind?
The world’s first artificial satellite.
When Sputnik I was launched, what did many Americans wonder?
Americans questioned whether Soviet rockets armed with atomic weapons could reach the United States.
The United States under President Kennedy’s leadership set up the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). What was NASA’s purpose?
Its mission was to direct an American space program to compete with that of the Soviets.
Describe President Kennedy’s assassination.
On November 22, 1963, Kennedy traveled to Dallas, Texas, on a political tour. As his convertible passed cheering crowds, shots rang out. The President slumped in his seat. Later, John F. Kennedy died.
After President Kennedy was assassinated, who became president?
That afternoon, Vice President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as President.
Who was suspected as to killing President Kennedy? What happened to the suspect?
Police caught Lee Harvey Oswald, the suspected gunman. However, after his arrest, Oswald himself was killed by another gunman.
