Chapter 23 Introduction Section 2 JFK and the Cold War

Click on a hyperlink to view the corresponding slides. Chapter Objectives Section 2: JFK and the Cold War • Describe Kennedy’s plan for the armed forces.  • Explain how the Cold War influenced foreign aid and the space program.

Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Guide to Reading Main Idea As president, John F. Kennedy had to confront the challenges and fears of the Cold War. 

Key Terms and Names • flexible response  • Berlin Wall 

• Peace Corps  • Warren Commission • space race 

Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Kennedy Confronts Global Challenges • As President Kennedy entered the White House, the nation’s rivalry with the Soviet Union deepened.  • Kennedy felt that Eisenhower had relied too heavily on nuclear weapons.  • Instead, Kennedy supported a “flexible response” where he asked for a buildup of conventional troops and weapons.  • Kennedy also supported the Special Forces, a small army unit established in the 1950s to wage guerrilla warfare. (pages 724–726) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Kennedy Confronts Global Challenges (cont.) • To improve Latin American relations, Kennedy proposed the Alliance for Progress, a series of cooperative aid projects with Latin American governments.  • Over a 10-year period, $20 billion was promised to aid Latin America.  • In Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Central American republics, real reform took place.

(pages 724–726) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Kennedy Confronts Global Challenges (cont.) • In other countries, the governing rulers used the money to remain in power.  • The Peace Corps, created to help less developed nations fight poverty, trained young Americans to spend two years assisting in a country.  • The Peace Corps is still active today and has become one of Kennedy’s most important and withstanding legacies.

(pages 724–726) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Kennedy Confronts Global Challenges (cont.) • During this time of increased tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, the two countries engaged in a space race.  • Kennedy wanted Americans to be the first to reach the moon.  • On July 20, 1969, Neal Armstrong became the first human being to walk on the moon.

(pages 724–726) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Kennedy Confronts Global Challenges (cont.)

How did President Kennedy confront the global challenges he faced?

(pages 724–726) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. Kennedy Confronts Global Challenges (cont.)

Kennedy supported a “flexible response” where he asked for a buildup of conventional troops and weapons to allow the United States to fight a limited style of warfare. Kennedy also supported the Special Forces, a small army unit established in the 1950s to wage guerrilla warfare. To improve Latin American relations, Kennedy proposed the Alliance for Progress, a series of cooperative aid projects with Latin American governments. The Peace Corps was created to help less developed nations fight poverty. The United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a space race. Kennedy wanted Americans to be the first to reach the moon. On July 20, 1969, Neal Armstrong made that goal a reality.

(pages 724–726) Crises of the Cold War • Cuba and its leader, Fidel Castro, began forming an alliance with the Soviet Union and its leader, Nikita Khrushchev.  • During Eisenhower’s presidency, the CIA had secretly trained and armed Cuban exiles known as La Brigada.  • Kennedy’s advisers approved a plan to invade Cuba using La Brigada.  • On April 17, 1961, 1,400 armed Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba. (pages 726–728) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Crises of the Cold War (cont.) • Disaster struck as Kennedy cancelled air support for the exiles in order to keep United States involvement a secret.  • Most of the La Brigada were either killed or captured by Castro’s army.  • After meeting with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, Kennedy refused to recognize East Germany or to have the United States–along with Great Britain and France–withdraw from Berlin.

(pages 726–728) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Crises of the Cold War (cont.) • The Soviet leader retaliated by constructing a wall through Berlin, stopping movement between the Soviet sector and the rest of the city.  • For the next 30 years, the Berlin Wall symbolized the Cold War division between East and West.  • During the summer of 1962, American intelligence agencies discovered that Soviet technicians and equipment had arrived in Cuba, and that military

construction was in progress. (pages 726–728) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Crises of the Cold War (cont.) • Photographs proved that the Soviets had placed long-range missiles in Cuba.  • Kennedy ordered a naval blockade to stop the Soviets from delivering more missiles.  • Neither Kennedy nor Khrushchev wanted nuclear war.  • Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba and to remove missiles in Turkey.  • The Soviets agreed to remove missiles in Cuba. (pages 726–728) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Crises of the Cold War (cont.) • The Cuban missile crisis, as it became known, brought the world to the edge of a nuclear war.  • Both sides agreed to work out a plan to ease tension.  • In 1963 the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to a treaty banning the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere.

(pages 726–728) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Crises of the Cold War (cont.) • The missile crisis led to Nikita Khrushchev’s fall from power, and the new Soviet leadership was less interested in reaching agreements with the West.  • The result was a huge Soviet arms buildup.

(pages 726–728) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Crises of the Cold War (cont.)

Why was the Bay of Pigs a dark moment for the Kennedy administration?

The action revealed the American plot to overthrow a neighbor’s government. It made the United States appear weak and disorganized.

(pages 726–728) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. The Death of a President • On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was shot twice while riding in a presidential motorcade.  • He was pronounced dead a short time later.  • Lee Harvey Oswald, a Marxist, was accused of killing Kennedy and was shot and killed himself two days later by Jack Ruby.  • It was suspected that Ruby killed Oswald to protect others involved in the murder. (pages 728–729) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The Death of a President (cont.) • Chief Justice Warren concluded that Oswald was the lone gunman.  • The report of the Warren Commission left a few questions unanswered, and a conspiracy theory has persisted, although none has gained wide acceptance.  • Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon Johnson, set out to implement many of Kennedy’s programs.

(pages 728–729) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The Death of a President (cont.)

What was the result of the Warren Commission report?

Chief Justice Warren concluded that Oswald was the lone gunman. The report of the Warren Commission left a few questions unanswered, and a conspiracy theory has persisted, although none has gained wide acceptance.

(pages 728–729) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. Checking for Understanding Define Match the terms on the right with their definitions on the left. __B 1. refers to the cold War A. flexible competition over dominance response of space exploration capability B. space race __A 2. the buildup of conventional troops and weapons to allow a nation to fight a limited war without using nuclear weapons

Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answers. Checking for Understanding (cont.)

Explain the goals of the Alliance for Progress.

The goals were to create cooperative aid projects that helped establish better schools, improve housing, distribute land more equitably, and improve health care.

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Science and Technology What was Kennedy’s goal for the United States in the space race?

Kennedy’s goal was to beat the Soviets to the moon.

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Interpreting What was the role of foreign aid in the relations between the United States and Latin America?

Its role was to help governments stay in power and prevent Communist revolutions.

Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer. Analyzing Visuals

Analyzing Photographs Study the photographs on pages 726–727 in your textbook. Explain how space exploration has led to other innovations that have affected our daily lives and standard of living.

Space discoveries have provided new solutions to problems faced by the disabled as well as scientists.

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