President Kennedy inherited a peaceful country from DWIGHT EISENHOWER. The opportunities for progress seemed endless. Kennedy believed the United States would lead the world into the future. He liked brilliant technocrats and bold adventurers. He believed the future belonged to them. The "New Frontier" became the slogan of his new administration.
Kennedy saw "new frontiers" everywhere. He created the Peace Corps to spread American knowledge to underdeveloped countries. The Alliance for Progress was established to improve living conditions in the Americas. The space program was expanded to enlarge human knowledge. The White House Office of Science and Technology was created to further scientific research. The Green Berets were trained to bring knowledge and skill to warfare.
Kennedy proposed several programs to cure poverty in the United States. In 1962, Congress passed the Manpower Development and Training Act. It was intended to improve the skills of underprivileged Americans. Kennedy also proposed providing medical insurance and federal educational aid. In addition, he wanted to create an executive department of urban affairs. Most of the bills were defeated in Congress.
Cuba and the Bay of Pigs
President DWIGHT EISENHOWER authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to train and arm Cuban exiles. They planned to invade Cuba. They wanted to topple Fidel Castro's communist government. President Kennedy approved the invasion. On April 17, 1961, the 1,500-man exile army invaded Cuba. Most of them had been recruited from Miami, Florida. The exiles were trapped at the Bay of Pigs. They expected help from the U.S. military. It never arrived. Kennedy personally vetoed a rescue mission.
On April 20, 1961, the exiles surrendered to Castro's army. The episode became known as the Bay of Pigs. It was Kennedy's first embarrassing crisis as president. He accepted responsibility for the fiasco. In 1962, the United States sent Cuba $53 million in food and supplies. In exchange, the exiles were released. They returned to the United States. But angry Cuban exiles in Miami never forgot Kennedy's failure to aid their cause.
The Berlin Wall
In August 1961, the East German government built a wall dividing East Germany and West Germany. The communists in East Germany wanted to keep East Germans from escaping to the West. Even after the wall was built, some East Germans managed to escape. Others died attempting to escape. In 1963, President Kennedy delivered a speech at the Berlin Wall. He ended the speech saying, "Ich bin ein Berliner." ("I am a Berliner.") The wall became a universal symbol of communist repression.
The Peace Corps
President Kennedy wanted to improve U.S. relations with the Third World. In 1961, he created the Peace Corps. It was a volunteer agency in the State Department. Over the next 20 years, more than 80,000 Americans traveled to developing countries. For two years, they taught in schools. They provided technical assistance for economic development projects. In 1971, the Peace Corps became a part of Action, an agency for U.S. volunteer programs.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
The U.S. space program was created in 1958 when DWIGHT EISENHOWER was president. It was established after the Soviets launched the Sputnik aircraft into space. In 1961, President Kennedy supported additional funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He wanted to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. The same year, NASA sent the first U.S. astronaut into space. His name was Alan Shepard, Jr.
The Economy
President Kennedy inherited a stable economy from President DWIGHT EISENHOWER. But economic growth was stagnant. The unemployment rate was 7 percent. Kennedy needed to stimulate the economy. He proposed general income tax cuts, investment incentives for business, and a training program from the unemployed. Economic growth increased to nearly 6 percent.
Civil Rights
President DWIGHT EISENHOWER sent federal troops to protect black students in Arkansas. But racial segregation was still the law in much of the South when Kennedy became president. In 1962, James Meredith attempted to enroll in the University of Mississippi. Mississippi's governor was named Ross Barnett. He blocked the door to prevent Meredith from entering the university.
President Kennedy sent federal marshals to Mississippi to protect Meredith. (Kennedy did not send federal troops to the South. He resisted reviving southern memories of the federal occupation after the Civil War.) In 1963, George Wallace was governor of Alabama. He blocked the door to prevent blacks from enrolling in the University of Alabama. Kennedy forced Wallace to back down. But the ugly episodes in Mississippi and Alabama were publicized around the world.
In 1962, black college students demonstrated to desegregate the South. They marched in front of segregated movie theaters. They sat-in at lunch counters. They were often confronted by angry mobs of whites. White and black "freedom riders" took buses across the South. They tried to desegregate public facilities. They were attacked by white mobs in Birmingham, Alabama. Some of the freedom riders were seriously injured.
Kennedy's support for civil rights came slowly. He was guided by pragmatic concerns. In 1963, he made a televised appeal to the nation. He warned white Americans that racial segregation was bad for the country. The United States could not be a beacon of freedom around the world if segregation prevailed. In August of 1963, black and white Americans marched on Washington, D.C. The March on Washington was the largest civil rights demonstration in U.S. history. Kennedy did not address the gathering.
The Green Berets
President Kennedy once described himself as "an idealist without illusions." After taking office, he created a military unit in his own image. It was based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The soldiers were officially known as the Special Forces. They were popularly called the Green Berets. They were trained to be tough and smart. Their motto was "To Liberate from Oppression." The Green Berets were the soldiers of the "New Frontier." The president sent them to liberate Southeast Asia from communism.
Vietnam and Laos
President DWIGHT EISENHOWER approved the first U.S. military aid to the government of South Vietnam. President Kennedy inherited a worsening situation in Southeast Asia. In 1962, the United States and other nations guaranteed the neutrality of Laos. But Southeast Asia was complicated. Kennedy sent Green Berets to train the armies in Laos and Vietnam.
In his inaugural address, Kennedy had promised to "oppose any foe in order to assure the survival and success of liberty." He intended to support democracy in South Vietnam. But the Diem regime in South Vietnam was unpopular and corrupt. In 1963, South Vietnamese troops fired on Buddhist demonstrators. The shootings provoked outrage around the world. Kennedy supported a military coup against Diem's government. Diem was murdered in the coup.
Before he was assassinated, Kennedy enlarged the U.S. military presence in Vietnam. He sent more than 16,000 U.S. advisers to Southeast Asia. (Eisenhower had approved fewer than 1,000 military advisers.) On the other hand, Kennedy refused to commit regular U.S. ground troops to war in Vietnam. He was willing to expend U.S. resources to train foreign armies. But sending U.S. troops to fight in foreign wars was another matter. As he put it before his death: "In the final analysis, it is their war."
Cuba and the Missile Crisis
In 1962, President Kennedy learned that the Soviets had placed nuclear missile bases in Cuba. On October 22, 1962, he ordered a U.S. naval blockade of Cuba's ports. He called on the Soviets to dismantle the bases. After several tense days, the Soviets agreed. They removed the missiles. In exchange, the United States promised not to invade Cuba. The missile crisis ended.
Fidel Castro had come to power in Cuba while DWIGHT EISENHOWER was president. He headed a very repressive regime in Cuba. The Kennedy administration became obsessed with Castro. After the missile crisis was over, Kennedy still wanted him removed from power. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) plotted to assassinate Castro. The plots failed. Americans never learned what Kennedy knew about the CIA plots.
The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
After the Cuban missile crisis, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union eased. In 1963, President Kennedy approved a treaty ending nuclear weapons testing. More than 100 other countries eventually signed the treaty. The most important holdouts were France and the Peoples' Republic of China. Both refused to sign the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
JOHN KENNEDY AND HIS TIMES
The Presidential News Conference
Kennedy was the first U.S. president to hold regular news conferences on television. They were televised live. Kennedy's wit and poise were assets on live television. After he began the practice, American voters expected presidents to hold televised press conferences.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom
Kennedy created the Medal of Freedom in 1963. It is a civilian award. The medal is presented to U.S. citizens who contribute to world peace and to the welfare of the United States.
Kennedy's Assassination
Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. Oswald was a 24-year old former Marine. He had become a Marxist. For a time, he lived in the Soviet Union. After Kennedy was shot, Oswald was captured. But he was never brought to trial. Two days after the assassination, Oswald was killed in the Dallas county jail. He was shot by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner.
President LYNDON JOHNSON appointed a commission to investigate Kennedy's murder. The commission was headed by Earl Warren, the chief justice of the Supreme Court. It became known as the Warren Commission. After months of testimony, the Warren Commission issued a report. It concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy. The commission also decided that Oswald acted alone.
Many Americans believed Kennedy's assassination was part of a conspiracy. The Warren Commission report was criticized. Various conspiracy theories were publicized. The prime suspects in the alleged conspiracy were Fidel Castro, other communists, organized crime, right-wing anti-communists, Cuban exiles, and the CIA. The case for the conspiracy was never proved. After 30 years, the conspiracy theories were even less convincing.
Camelot
In 1963, Camelot was one of the most popular musicals on Broadway. The legend of Camelot was the tale of the dashing King Arthur and his knightly Round Table. After John Kennedy died, his short presidency was remembered as a "brief and shining moment." The line came from Camelot.
Shortly after Kennedy's assassination, his widow spoke with the American historian Theodore White. Apparently, she mentioned her husband's affection for the music from Camelot in one of their conversations. The symbol struck a chord. For many Americans, Camelot came to symbolize the Kennedy years. (President Kennedy would probably have laughed at the comparison.)
During roughly the same period, Jackie Kennedy was also interviewed by the author William Manchester. He was writing a book entitled The Death of a President. Mrs. Kennedy later regretted her conversations with Manchester. She had spoken freely to him. Some of what she told him in interviews appeared in his book. She went to court to stop publication of the book. She did not succeed. The Death of a President was published in 1967.
Robert Kennedy
Robert "Bobby" Francis Kennedy was John Kennedy's brother. He was the president's attorney general and chief political adviser. Early in his career, Robert Kennedy developed a reputation for ruthlessness. As a young lawyer, he worked for Senator Joseph McCarthy. He was later chief counsel to a Senate committee. It investigated labor racketeering. Robert Kennedy made powerful enemies in organized labor.
After the president was assassinated, Robert Kennedy stayed on briefly in President LYNDON JOHNSON's administration. They were bitter enemies. Robert Kennedy had not wanted his brother to choose Johnson as his running mate. In 1964, after Johnson refused to make Robert Kennedy vice president, Kennedy left the Johnson administration. In 1964, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from New York.
In 1968, Robert Kennedy had inherited much of his brother's political support. He considered challenging Johnson for the presidency. But running against a Democratic president violated the Kennedy ethic. Johnson was nearly defeated in the New Hampshire primary. He withdrew from the race. Kennedy announced his candidacy. In June, he won the California primary. That evening, Kennedy was fatally shot as he left a Los Angeles hotel. His assassin was Sirhan, an Arab immigrant.
When Kennedy died, the country went through a long period of national mourning. It was equaled only by the response to President Kennedy's death. A black-draped funeral train carried Robert Kennedy's body from his funeral in New York City to Washington, D.C. Thousands of people lined the railroad tracks. Millions of Americans watched on television. Robert Kennedy is buried near President Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
The Kennedy National Historic Site
Kennedy's birthplace is a national historic site. It is located in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Brookline is a suburb of Boston.) Kennedy's father purchased the house in 1914. John Kennedy was born there in 1917. In 1967, the Kennedy family restored the house. They donated it to the federal government. The historic site is administered by the U.S. National Park Service. It is open to the public.
The John F. Kennedy Library
The John F. Kennedy Library is located on Columbia Point in Boston, Massachusetts. It was dedicated in 1979. The library was designed by the noted architect, I.M. Pei. It contains research facilities and a museum. The "Hemingway Room" houses some of the original manuscripts of the American novelist Ernest Hemingway. The JFK Library was renovated and rededicated in 1993. The exhibits are open to the public.
The John F. Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is located in Washington, D.C. It is the national arts and performing center of the United States. The complex contains the (DWIGHT) EISENHOWER Theater, a concert hall, an opera house, and a movie theater. The Kennedy Center opened in 1971.
The John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government is part of Harvard University. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The JFK School offers graduate degrees in government and public administration. It is also a center for public forums. The JFK School opened in 1977.
The John F. Kennedy Exhibit and Memorial
The John F. Kennedy Exhibit and the John F. Kennedy Memorial are located in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. The Kennedy Memorial is white stone cenotaph. It was dedicated in 1970. The Kennedy Exhibit consists of a museum memorializing the assassination. It is located on the Sixth Floor of the old Dallas School Book Depository. Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots that killed Kennedy from this location. The exhibit covers 9,000 square feet. It is open to the public.
