| A | B |
|---|
| What were some of the concerns on American's minds as they approached the election in 1960? | recession, Sputnik, fears that US military was falling behind USSR, U-2 incident, USSR alignment with Cuba |
| What two factors helped put Kennedy over the top in the race? | TV, civil rights issues |
| What positives did Kennedy have going for him in the race? | Well-organized campaign; wealthy family; handsome; charismatic |
| What negatives did Kennedy have working against him in the race? | inexperienced; too young; Roman Catholic |
| What factors helped Kennedy "win" the debate against Nixon? | TV producers gave him tips so he looked and sounded better than Nixon during televised speeches |
| How did the arrest of Martin Luther King, Jr. tilt the election in Kennedy's favor? | Kennedy called King's wife to express his sympathy, he ended up getting the African American vote and won states in the Midwest and South (MLK Sr. said that the Kennedy's were ok |
| How close was the election? | Closest since 1884. Kennedy won by fewer than 119,000 votes. Nixon decided not to ask for a recount |
| Describe the new tone set by the Kennedy's at their inauguration and throughout his presidency? | Grace, elegance and wit |
| What was the Kennedy mystique? | Americans were facinated with the family |
| Who was Kennedy's most important advisor? | His younger brother Robert who became attorney general |
| What failings did Kennedy see in Eisenhower's foreign policy? | Soviet's were gaining loyalties in 3rd world countries because Eisenhower wasn't strict enough with them. Criticized them for allowing Cuba to turn to Communism. |
| How was a "flexible response" different from Eisenhower's policy of massive retaliation? | he didn't want to risk using nuclear weapons over a minor conflict, broadened the options by improving our ability to fight without nuclear weapons; Special Forces (Green Berets) special branch of the army created by Kennedy |
| Why did Eisenhower cut off ties to Cuba just before the inauguration of Kennedy? | Because Fidel Castro came to power as communist leader and welcomed aid from the Soviets |
| What actions did Castro take that led America and many Cubans to believe a new dictator had replaced an old dictator? | siezed 3 american and british oil refineries; broke up commerical farms into communes for previously landless peasants to work on |
| How did the results of the Bay of Pigs invasion affect Castro and the United States? | April 17, 1961, nothing went as planned; made the US look bad; Castro continued to welcome Soviet aid; recruited Cuban exiles and trained them; Kennedy got rid of aircover so they lost; exiles were captured |
| WHat did the Soviets and Cubans do in the summer of 1962 that precipitated the Cuban Missle Crisis? | the flow of nuclear weapons from USSR to Cuba greatly increased; in Oct 1962 missles were aimed at the US |
| What did Kennedy tell the American people on Oct 22, 1962? | existence of soviet missle sites aimed at Florida; plans to remove them; any attack from Cuba would mean an allout attack on the Soviets |
| What actions did the US take in order to stop Soviet ships? | US navy quarantined Cuba to prevent ships from getting within 500 miles of the United States |
| What was assembled in Florida? | 100,000 troops, largest invasion ever in the US |
| How was the crisis brought to an end? | Soviets stopped at sea because they didn't hwant to fight at sea; promised to remove the missles if the US promised not to invade Cuba; US agreed to remove missles from Turkey as well; The US overestimated the number of missles that could reach the US. |
| What criticism were leveled at Kennedy for his handling of the crisis? | criticized for handling brinkmanship instead of using private talks; some believed he passed up a chance to outst Castro |
| How did Cubans in America take out their anger with Kennedy's handling of the crisis? | blamed Democrats; switched alliances to GOP |
| What was the Berlin Wall? | a concrete wall with barbed wire that divided the city of Berlin in two parts |
| Why was Berlin an embarrassment for the communists? | East Germans fled (thousands every day) to West Germany and explained the failure of the communist government |
| What did Khrushchev want Kennedy to do concerning Berlin? | wanted him to give up US access to West Berlin, Kennedy refused |
| What prevented the Soviet leader from closing the air and land routes to West Berlin? | Kennedy's determination, US's superior nuclear power |
| What was the wall successful in doing, but at what cost? | succeeded in reducing the number of East German refugees, but it furthered Cold War tensions. It was a symbol of communism |
| How did the "hot line" ease tensions between the US and Soviet Union? | a separate phone line allowed them to communicate instantly if there was a crisis |
| What was the Limited Test Ban Treaty? | it barred nuclear testing in the atmosphere, but it was ok to test underground. |
