1960 Election

• Eisenhower had served two terms. He was limited by the 23rd Amendment.

• After much debate and a close contest the Republicans decided on Richard Nixon

• The Democrats fought off an attempt by Adlai Stevenson and nominated a VERY young Senator from Massachusetts…John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

•WW II Veteran

•Congressman

•Senator

•Very, Very wealthy family

•CatholicOf Irish descent, he was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1917. Graduating from Harvard in 1940, he entered the Navy. In 1943, when his PT boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, Kennedy, despite grave injuries, led the survivors through perilous waters to safety.

Back from the war, he became a Democratic Congressman from the Boston area, advancing in 1953 to the Senate. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953. In 1955, while recuperating from a back operation, he wrote Profiles in Courage, which won the Pulitzer Prize in history.

Richard Nixon•Lawyer from California

•WW II Veteran

•Congressman…HUAC

•Senator

•Vice-President under IKEBorn in California in 1913, Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law. In 1940, he married Patricia Ryan; they had two daughters, Patricia (Tricia) and Julie. During World War II, Nixon served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific.

On leaving the service, he was elected to Congress from his California district. In 1950, he won a Senate seat. Two years later, General Eisenhower selected Nixon, age 39, to be his running mate.

Issues and Differences

• Kennedy– Young, appealed to

younger voters– Handsome?– Charismatic– Catholic

• Very important issue…his Catholicism was seen as a negative

• NO President had ever been Catholic

• Nixon– Also young, but

seemed older– Experienced as VP– Very hard against

communism– Not as smooth or

polished as Kennedy

1960 featured first EVER Televised Debates!

Nixon vs JFK

•JFK had coaching form Hollywood stars

•Nixon looked dark, sick and uncomfortable

•TV viewers said JFK won

•Radio listeners said Nixon

CAMELOT•The young prince and princess (at least that’s how many saw them) were optimistically seen as symbolizing a bright future.

•Most popular Broadway musical that year was Camelot, musical adaptation of King Arthur…

•Kennedys were like Arthur and Gwynevere, hence Kennedy administration was called Camelot…

Jackie Kennedy

New Frontier

• Kennedy promised a bright future…the New Frontier

• Space Exploration• New Industries and

Jobs• An outreaching

America that would do good in the world

                                                                                      

PEACE CORPS

•Young Americans (college age) would VOLUNTEER

•Two years over seas in developing countries

•Help with irrigation, crops, technology and language skills

•Build schools and hospitals, etc.

•JFK and Sargent Shriver (brother in law) created it

•Upon return, students get free college or guaranteed student loans

•Hoped to improve USA image in world

•Critics called it Kennedy’s “Kiddie Corps”

JFK as President

• Space Race– Set as a goal…”land a man on the moon and

return him safely to earth by the end of the decade.”

• Economy– Failed in attempt to pass Tax Cut to stimulate

economy

•Civil Rights

•Failed in attempt to pass Civil Rights Act

Bay of Pigs

•April 1961 – CIA trained Cuban rebels to land in the Bay of Pigs and start revolution against Fidel Castro, communist dictator.

•Everything went wrong…massive failure…USA VERY embarrassed

•Castro on radio told the world USA had invaded

FIDEL CASTRO (above) took over Cuba

in 1959

JFK addressed the USA and world…took full responsibility.

BERLIN WALL•August 1961

•USSR and East Germans erected Berlin Wall

•Meant to stop East Germans from leaving…

•Symbol of communism, dictatorship, tyranny, etc.

Cuban Missile Crisis

• October 1962

• USA spy plans photograph UUSR building Nuclear Missile sites in Cuba

• Only 90 miles from Florida!

This was the closest the USA and USSR ever came to actual war…nuclear war!

Quarantine, escalation, cooler heads, hotline

Khrushchev, Kennedy, Castro

Vietnam

• The United States had gotten involved in Vietnam under Eisenhower

• Kennedy continued our involvement and committed 16,000 U.S. military “advisors” to Vietnam

• Kennedy also okayed the CIA assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, the leader of South Vietnam

November 22, 1963

John F. Kennedy Assassinated