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John F. Kennedy
Latin America and Communism
Arguing that "those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent
revolution inevitable," Kennedy sought to contain communism in Latin America by
establishing the Alliance for Progress, which sent aid to troubled countries in
the region and sought greater human rights standards in the region. He worked
closely with Puerto Rican Governor Luis Muñoz Marín for the development of the
Alliance of Progress, as well as developments on the autonomy of the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Peace Corps
As one of his first presidential acts, Kennedy created the Peace Corps. Through
this program, Americans volunteered to help underdeveloped nations in areas such
as education, farming, health care, and construction.
Vietnam
Kennedy used limited military action to contain the spread of communism.
Determined to stand firm against the spread of communism, Kennedy's policy
included political, economic, and military support for the unstable South
Vietnamese government, which included sending 18,000 military advisors and U.S.
Special Forces to the area. Kennedy also agreed to the use of napalm,
defoliants, free-fire zones and jet planes. U.S. involvement in the area
continually escalated until regular U.S. forces were directly fighting the
Vietnam War in the next administration. The Kennedy Administration increased
military support, but it was not working. By July 1963 Kennedy faced a crisis in
Vietnam. The Administration's response was to assist in the coup d'état of the
President of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem (LeFeber, "America, Russia and the
Cold War", p. 233). In 1963, South Vietnamese generals overthrew the Diem
government, by assassinating Diem. Kennedy sanctioned Diem's overthrow. One
reason for the support was a fear that Diem might negotiate a neutralist
coalition government which included Communists, as had occurred in Laos in 1962.
Dean Rusk, Secretary of State, remarked "This kind of neutralism...is tantamount
to surrender."
It remains a point of controversy among historians whether or not Vietnam would
have escalated to the point it did had Kennedy served out his full term and
possibly been re-elected in 1964.[2]
West Berlin Speech
On June 26, 1963, Kennedy visited West Berlin and gave a public speech
criticizing communism. While Kennedy was speaking, some people on the other side
of the wall in East Berlin were applauding Kennedy and showing their distaste
for Soviet control. Kennedy used the construction of the Berlin Wall as an
example of the failures of communism: "Freedom has many difficulties and
democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our
people in." The speech is known for its famous phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner".
Nearly 5/6th of the population were on the street when Kennedy said that famous
phrase. He remarked to aides afterwards: "We'll never have another day like this
one."
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Troubled by the long-term dangers of radioactive contamination and nuclear
weapons proliferation, Kennedy pushed for the adoption of a Limited or Partial
Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited atomic testing on the ground, in the
atmosphere, or underwater, but did not prohibit testing underground. The United
States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union were the initial signatories to
the treaty. Kennedy signed the treaty into law in August 1963.
Ireland
Further information: The Ireland Funds
On the occasion of his visit to Ireland in 1963, President Kennedy joined with
Irish President Eamon de Valera to form The American Irish Foundation. The
mission of this organization was to foster connections between Americans of
Irish descent and the country of their ancestry. Kennedy furthered these
connections of cultural solidarity by accepting a grant of armorial bearings
from the Chief Herald of Ireland.
He also visited the original cottage where previous Kennedys had lived before
emigrating to America, and said, "This is where it all began...."
Domestic policies
Kennedy called his domestic program the "New Frontier." It ambitiously promised
federal funding for education, medical care for the elderly, and government
intervention to halt the recession. Kennedy also promised an end to racial
discrimination. In 1963, he proposed a tax reform that included income tax cuts,
but this was not passed by Congress until 1964, after his death. Few of
Kennedy's major programs passed Congress during his lifetime, although, under
his successor Lyndon Johnson, Congress did vote them through in 1964-65.
Civil rights
The turbulent end of state-sanctioned racial discrimination was one of the most
pressing domestic issues of Kennedy's era. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in
1954 that racial segregation in public schools would no longer be permitted.
However, many schools, especially in southern states, did not obey the Supreme
Court's injunction. Segregation on buses, in restaurants, movie theaters,
bathrooms, and other public places remained. Kennedy supported racial
integration and civil rights, and during the 1960 campaign he telephoned Coretta
Scott King; wife of the jailed Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., which perhaps
drew some additional black support to his candidacy.
In 1962, James Meredith tried to enroll at the University of Mississippi, but he
was prevented from doing so by white students. Kennedy responded by sending some
400 federal marshals and 3,000 troops to ensure that Meredith could enroll in
his first class. Kennedy also assigned federal marshals to protect Freedom
Riders.
As President, Kennedy initially believed the grassroots movement for civil
rights would only anger many Southern whites and make it even more difficult to
pass civil rights laws through Congress, which was dominated by Southern
Democrats, and he distanced himself from it. As a result, many civil rights
leaders viewed Kennedy as unsupportive of their efforts.
On June 11, President Kennedy intervened when Alabama Governor George Wallace
blocked the doorway to the University of Alabama to stop two black students,
Vivian Malone and James Hood, from enrolling. George Wallace moved aside after
being confronted by federal marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas
Katzenbach, and the Alabama National Guard. That evening Kennedy gave his famous
civil rights address on national television and radio. [9] Kennedy proposed what
would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [10] [11]
Space program
JFK looks at the space craft Friendship 7, the spacecraft that made three earth
orbits, piloted by astronaut John GlennKennedy was eager for the United States
to lead the way in the space race. Sergei Khrushchev says JFK approached his
father, Nikita, twice about a "joint venture" in space exploration—in June 1961
and Autumn 1963. On the first occasion, Russia was far ahead of America in terms
of space technology. JFK later made a speech at Rice University in September
1962, in which he said, "No nation which expects to be the leader of other
nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space" and, "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."[12]. On the second approach to Khrushchev, the
Russian was persuaded that cost-sharing was beneficial and American space
technology was forging ahead. The U.S. had launched a geo-stationary satellite
and Kennedy had asked Congress to approve more than $22 billion for the Apollo
Project, which had the goal of landing an American man on the moon before the
end of the decade. Khrushchev agreed to a joint venture in Autumn 1963, but JFK
died in November before the agreement could be formalized. On July 20, 1969,
almost six years after Kennedy's death, the Project Apollo's goal was realized
when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to land on the moon.
Cabinet
Kennedy's Cabinet meets during the Cuban Missile Crisis
OFFICE NAME TERM
President John F. Kennedy 1961–1963
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson 1961–1963
State Dean Rusk 1961–1963
Treasury C. Douglas Dillon 1961–1963
Defense Robert S. McNamara 1961–1963
Justice Robert F. Kennedy 1961–1963
Postmaster General J. Edward Day 1961–1963
John A. Gronouski 1963
Interior Stewart L. Udall 1961–1963
Agriculture Orville L. Freeman 1961–1963
Commerce Luther H. Hodges 1961–1963
Labor Arthur J. Goldberg 1961–1962
W. Willard Wirtz 1962–1963
HEW Abraham A. Ribicoff 1961–1962
Anthony J. Celebrezze 1962–1963
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