John F. Kennedy: Difference between revisions

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A youthful, glamorous and invigorating figure, along with his attractive wife Jackie and his young family Kennedy was seen as introducing a new and liberating era to American political and cultural life after the stifling and stuffy days of [[The Fifties]], and his time in office was dubbed "Camelot" soon after his death. Despite this, his short term was filled with crises and political upheaval, such as the C.I.A-directed 'Bay Of Pigs' invasion of communist Cuba, which went belly-up when Kennedy -- pissed at being left ignorant of some details of the invasion, which was a hold-over from the previous administration -- refused to support the invading Cuban exiles with air-support. Publicly, Kennedy took sole responsibility for the resulting failure, which dented his popularity, but privately he blamed the C.I.A and took measures to limit their power and influence -- something which, following the events of 1963, many conspiracy theorists would take note of.

This failed invasion soured relations with Cuba (never that strong to begin with) and eventually led in 1962 to the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] -- in response to this invasion attempt, the Soviet Union began supplying nuclear arms to Cuba, leading to a U.S-led blockade of Cuba. Tensions rose drastically, and it seemed very likely that [[World War Three]] was going to be declared any minute; fortunately for the human race, cooler heads on both sides prevailed, and the Russians withdrew (following secret negotiations during which Kennedy promised to remove missiles from Turkey).

This failed invasion soured relations with Cuba (never that strong to begin with) and eventually led in 1962 to the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] -- in response to this invasion attempt, the Soviet Union began supplying nuclear arms to Cuba, leading to a U.S-led blockade of Cuba. Tensions rose drastically, and it seemed very likely that [[World War Three]] was going to be declared any minute; fortunately for the human race, cooler heads on both sides prevailed, and the Russians withdrew (following secret negotiations during which Kennedy promised to remove missiles from Turkey). In the face of a major crisis, Kennedy showed firmness and resolve, and emerged as both a national and global hero. Before his death, it was President Kennedy's intention to reach a détente with Cuban Premier, Fidel Castro, and to withdraw all US military advisers from Vietnam.

Despite this international business, the [[Civil Rights Movement]] caught him off guard as activists like Martin Luther King Jr. and the Freedom Riders really starting to challenge racism throughout the South. Unfortunately, the South was the Democratic Party's power base so Kennedy was really leery of alienating the southern states until they started getting so brutish on TV, frantically trying to preserve White power that the White House had to respond.