the kennedy years 1961-1963. kennedy’s predecessors harry s truman, 1945-1953 – party:...
TRANSCRIPT
The Kennedy Years
1961-1963
Kennedy’s Predecessors
• Harry S Truman, 1945-1953– Party: Democratic– Nickname: “Give ‘em Hell
Harry”– “I fired MacArthur because
he wouldn’t respect the authority of the president. I didn’t fire him because he was a dumb son of a b****, although he was, but that’s not against generals. If it was, half to three-quarters of them would be in jail.”
Kennedy’s Predecessors
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953-1961– Party: Republican– Nickname: “Ike”– “I just won’t get into
a pissing contest with that skunk (referring to Sen. Joseph McCarthy.”
The Election of 1960
John F. Kennedy-Relatively inexperienced-Born into a wealthyFamily-Young and charismatic-Catholic
Richard M. Nixon-Experienced politician-Ike’s Vice President*-Widely traveled andExperienced with foreignPolicy
*Eisenhower hesitated to endorse Nixon as the Rep. nominee
THE ELECTION OF 1960Who wins?
THE ELECTION OF 1960
Kennedy’s Challenges
• Khrushchev and the U.S.S.R.– Soviets had already shot down a U-2 spy plane
while Ike was in office.
• Botched Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba• A stalled civil rights agenda but most
importantly…• The Cuban Missile Crisis- more on this
tomorrow
The Kennedy “Mystique”
• Camelot
A New John F. Kennedy?