Foreign Policy in the Early 1960’s

                Bay of Pigs

¨       Castro over threw the US backed dictator Batista in 1959. Castro took over private property in Cuba including the holdings of US businesses

¨       The US broke diplomatic ties with Cuba and Cuba developed relations with the Soviet Union

¨       President Kennedy discovered a plan to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro

¨       The CIA had been training rebels Cubans in other Central American countries for the attempt

¨                   Thinking the Cubans would also assist in the overthrow of Castro, the attack was planned and attempted

¨                   The Bay of Pigs Invasion

¨       The invasion was doomed to failure by the inability of  the Air Force to disable the Cuban air force

¨       April 17, 1961 the US had to accept defeat and left Cuba

The Berlin Wall goes up

¨       Russia wanted to keep the city of Berlin totally under control of the Communistic ideals

¨       Kennedy feared Russia’s actions in Germany beginning of plan to take over all of Europe

¨       In 1961, after a meeting with Khrushchev, Kennedy authorized the increased number of draftees and activated the reserves as well as providing $200 million for construction of bomb shelters throughout the United States

¨       Russia wanted to stop the flow of Eastern Europeans from the communistic areas controlled by Russia to the city of West Berlin

¨       Beginning in August  1961, the Soviets in East Germany, started constructing a wall separating the East and West cities of Berlin

¨       In June 1963, while visiting West Berlin, Kennedy saying “…(US) will risk its cities to defend yours because we need your freedom to  protect ours…” I am a Berliner

¨       This wall has been a symbol for the Cold War ever since until its destruction in November of 1989

Cuba Missile Crisis

¨       In October 1962 photos showed the building of Russia missile sites in Cuba

¨       US demanded that the missiles be removed and construction stop

¨       Kennedy ordered a quarantine to be placed on Russia ships going into Cuba

¨       The crisis which nearly started the first nuclear war, ended with Russia asking for the US to lift the quarantine around Cuba and removing US missiles from Turkey

¨       We agreed with the first but ignored the second

¨       The threat of nuclear war lead the US and Russia to develop a hot line between the two countries so that they might be able to discuss such problems immediately in the future

¨       Limited Test Ban Treaty banned the testing of above ground  denotations

                        Alliance for Progress

Wanted to satisfy the basic needs of the North, Central, and South American people homes, work, land,  health, and schools

Some Central and South American countries saw this as attempt by the US to stop the spread of communism

Peace Corps

        Established volunteers from America to go to under privileged countries and help establish education, employment opportunities and self-reliant governmental projects to help the people of their countries