Polsc 230chp11 - Lecture notes 8 PDF

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notes on president john f kennedy...

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Tasnia Ahmed Polsc 230 Professor Sari Krieger John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States and the youngest president to ever be elected as 43 years old. He was elected in 1960 to “get this country moving again” after the United States had settled in a combination of a sluggish economy, the civil rights movement, and the Soviet threat. Kennedy ran against Vice President Richard Nixon and he chose the theme of change and presidency in his campaign. Kennedy stated that the United States could not spare to have another president who was praised for things he didn’t do, disasters he prevented, and bills he vetoed. He declared the nation needs a president who “is the vital center of action in our whole scheme of government.” The Commander in Chief must be “willing and able to summon his national constituency at its finest hour,” alert the nation of dangers and opportunities, and demand necessary sacrifices. President Kennedy was assassinated on November 23, 1963, just 3 years after he took oath to become the president. He was shot in the neck and head by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas, and was pronounced dead after about half an hour. Of course, there have been many conspiracy theories about Kennedy’s assassination throughout the years. His death traumatized the nation, and he left behind a stoic young widow and two small children. Much like President Roosevelt, Kennedy displayed presidential qualities as he sought to inspire the nation to meet the challenges of the postwar era. He stated that Roosevelt’s New Deal was a promise of “security and succor to those in need.” However, more prosperous times called for a New Frontier that was a “set of challenges” instead of promises.

While Kennedy was a popular president during his brief time in the White House, a lot of his presidency was unsuccessful. For example, his administration was to blame for the disastrous invasion of Cuba on April 1961, by a brigade of fourteen hundred exiles from the communist regime of Fidel Castro. The rebels were crushed after 3 days of landing and their failure to overthrow Castro was a humiliating defeat for Kennedy after being in office less than one hundred days. Another fault of Kennedy’s was accelerating the deployment of nuclear missiles and the initiation of the ill-fated American involvement in Vietnam....