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?