1961- “It was a very mean year.”

• 1. Space Program

• 2. Bay of Pigs

• 3. Berlin Crisis

• 4. USSR Test Detonates 50 Atomic Weapons

• 5. US Detonates H-Bomb (Christmas Island)

1. Space Program• April 12, 1961• Yuri Gagarin (USSR) completes

first orbit of the Earth

• May 5, 1961• Alan Shepard is first American

into outer space

JFK Response – May 25, 1961

• “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but

because they are hard…”

2. Bay of Pigs-April 17, 1961

• JFK criticized Ike for being soft on Cuba

• Afraid Communism might spread

• Ike called for invasion worked in Guatemala

• JFK hoped that the invasion would foster a revolution

Bay of Pigs – April 17, 1961Operation Bumpy Road

• Cuban Exiles

• 1453 Troops

• Cubans

• 2500 Troops

• 200,000 Militia

Bay of Pigs cont.

• In 72 hours, the invasion was over

• CIA wanted to respond with air strikes, JFK said no-feared a strike against West Berlin

Results of the Bay of Pigs

• Unlike Ike, JFK took full responsibility

• Popularity rose to 83%

• JFK sent $53 million to Cuba for 1100 prisoners

• Cuba became top US priority

JFK Approves Operation Mongoose –November 30, 1961

• By 1975, 24 different attempts were made to take the life of Fidel Castro…

• $50 Million/Year spent of the project…

Berlin Crisis (June-August 1961)• Khruschev wants Berlin to

be a “free city”• “If JFK wants a war, he’ll be the

last President of the US”

• Real Problem-2000 people leaving Berlin every day

Berlin Wall – Pre August 13, 1961

Berlin Wall – After August 13, 1961

Results of Berlin Crisis

• Berlin Wall constructed by USSR

• Began August 13, 1961

• JFK- “A wall is a hell of a lot better than a war”

• Wall seen as a failure