Chapter 23 Introduction
Section 2 JFK and the Cold War
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Chapter Objectives
Section 2: JFK and the Cold War
• Describe Kennedy’s plan for the armed
forces. 
• Explain how the Cold War influenced foreign
aid and the space program.
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Guide to Reading
Main Idea
As president, John F. Kennedy had to confront the
challenges and fears of the Cold War. 
Key Terms and Names
• flexible response 
• Berlin Wall 
• Peace Corps 
• Warren
Commission
• space race 
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Kennedy Confronts Global
Challenges
• As President Kennedy entered the White
House, the nation’s rivalry with the Soviet
Union deepened. 
• Kennedy felt that Eisenhower had relied
too heavily on nuclear weapons. 
• Instead, Kennedy supported a “flexible
response” where he asked for a buildup
of conventional troops and weapons. 
• Kennedy also supported the Special
Forces, a small army unit established
in the 1950s to wage guerrilla warfare.
(pages 724–726)
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Kennedy Confronts Global
Challenges (cont.)
• To improve Latin American relations,
Kennedy proposed the Alliance for
Progress, a series of cooperative aid
projects with Latin American
governments. 
• Over a 10-year period, $20 billion was
promised to aid Latin America. 
• In Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, and the
Central American republics, real
reform took place.
(pages 724–726)
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Kennedy Confronts Global
Challenges (cont.)
• In other countries, the governing rulers
used the money to remain in power. 
• The Peace Corps, created to help less
developed nations fight poverty,
trained young Americans to spend two
years assisting in a country. 
• The Peace Corps is still active today
and has become one of Kennedy’s
most important and withstanding
legacies.
(pages 724–726)
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Kennedy Confronts Global
Challenges (cont.)
• During this time of increased tension
between the United States and the Soviet
Union, the two countries engaged in a
space race. 
• Kennedy wanted Americans to be the
first to reach the moon. 
• On July 20, 1969, Neal Armstrong
became the first human being to walk
on the moon.
(pages 724–726)
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Kennedy Confronts Global
Challenges (cont.)
How did President Kennedy confront the
global challenges he faced?
(pages 724–726)
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Kennedy Confronts Global
Challenges (cont.)
Kennedy supported a “flexible response” where he asked for
a buildup of conventional troops and weapons to allow the
United States to fight a limited style of warfare. Kennedy also
supported the Special Forces, a small army unit established
in the 1950s to wage guerrilla warfare. To improve Latin
American relations, Kennedy proposed the Alliance for
Progress, a series of cooperative aid projects with Latin
American governments. The Peace Corps was created to
help less developed nations fight poverty. The United States
and the Soviet Union engaged in a space race. Kennedy
wanted Americans to be the first to reach the moon. On July
20, 1969, Neal Armstrong made that goal a reality.
(pages 724–726)
Crises of the Cold War
• Cuba and its leader, Fidel Castro, began
forming an alliance with the Soviet Union
and its leader, Nikita Khrushchev. 
• During Eisenhower’s presidency, the CIA
had secretly trained and armed Cuban
exiles known as La Brigada. 
• Kennedy’s advisers approved a plan to
invade Cuba using La Brigada. 
• On April 17, 1961, 1,400 armed Cuban
exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs on the
south coast of Cuba.
(pages 726–728)
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Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
• Disaster struck as Kennedy cancelled air
support for the exiles in order to keep
United States involvement a secret. 
• Most of the La Brigada were either
killed or captured by Castro’s army. 
• After meeting with Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev, Kennedy refused to
recognize East Germany or to have
the United States–along with Great
Britain and France–withdraw from
Berlin.
(pages 726–728)
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Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
• The Soviet leader retaliated by
constructing a wall through Berlin,
stopping movement between the Soviet
sector and the rest of the city. 
• For the next 30 years, the Berlin Wall
symbolized the Cold War division
between East and West. 
• During the summer of 1962, American
intelligence agencies discovered that
Soviet technicians and equipment had
arrived in Cuba, and that military
construction was in progress.
(pages 726–728)
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Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
• Photographs proved that the Soviets had
placed long-range missiles in Cuba. 
• Kennedy ordered a naval blockade to
stop the Soviets from delivering more
missiles. 
• Neither Kennedy nor Khrushchev wanted
nuclear war. 
• Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba and
to remove missiles in Turkey. 
• The Soviets agreed to remove missiles in
Cuba.
(pages 726–728)
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Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
• The Cuban missile crisis, as it became
known, brought the world to the edge
of a nuclear war. 
• Both sides agreed to work out a plan to
ease tension. 
• In 1963 the United States and the Soviet
Union agreed to a treaty banning the
testing of nuclear weapons in the
atmosphere.
(pages 726–728)
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Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
• The missile crisis led to Nikita
Khrushchev’s fall from power, and the new
Soviet leadership was less interested in
reaching agreements with the West. 
• The result was a huge Soviet arms
buildup.
(pages 726–728)
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Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
Why was the Bay of Pigs a dark moment
for the Kennedy administration?
The action revealed the American plot to
overthrow a neighbor’s government. It
made the United States appear weak and
disorganized.
(pages 726–728)
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The Death of a President
• On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy
was shot twice while riding in a
presidential motorcade. 
• He was pronounced dead a short time
later. 
• Lee Harvey Oswald, a Marxist, was
accused of killing Kennedy and was shot
and killed himself two days later by Jack
Ruby. 
• It was suspected that Ruby killed Oswald
to protect others involved in the murder.
(pages 728–729)
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The Death of a President (cont.)
• Chief Justice Warren concluded that
Oswald was the lone gunman. 
• The report of the Warren Commission
left a few questions unanswered, and
a conspiracy theory has persisted,
although none has gained wide
acceptance. 
• Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon Johnson,
set out to implement many of
Kennedy’s programs.
(pages 728–729)
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The Death of a President (cont.)
What was the result of the Warren
Commission report?
Chief Justice Warren concluded that
Oswald was the lone gunman. The report
of the Warren Commission left a few
questions unanswered, and a conspiracy
theory has persisted, although none has
gained wide acceptance.
(pages 728–729)
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Checking for Understanding
Define Match the terms on the right with their definitions on
the left.
__
B 1. refers to the cold War
competition over dominance
of space exploration capability
__
A 2. the buildup of conventional
troops and weapons to allow
a nation to fight a limited war
without using nuclear
weapons
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A. flexible
response
B. space race
Checking for Understanding (cont.)
Explain the goals of the Alliance for
Progress.
The goals were to create cooperative aid
projects that helped establish better
schools, improve housing, distribute land
more equitably, and improve health care.
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Reviewing Themes
Science and Technology What was
Kennedy’s goal for the United States
in the space race?
Kennedy’s goal was to beat the Soviets
to the moon.
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Critical Thinking
Interpreting What was the role of
foreign aid in the relations between
the United States and Latin America?
Its role was to help governments stay
in power and prevent Communist
revolutions.
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Analyzing Visuals
Analyzing Photographs Study the
photographs on pages 726–727 in your
textbook. Explain how space exploration
has led to other innovations that have
affected our daily lives and standard of
living.
Space discoveries have provided new
solutions to problems faced by the
disabled as well as scientists.
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