Kennedy's Administration

The Kennedy Administration marked a new era at the White House with its energy and charisma.  Kennedy placed young and bright individuals to his advisory board including McGeorge Bundy as national security adviser, Robert McNamara as secretary of defense, Dean Rusk as secretary of state, and Robert Kennedy as attorney general.

His administration had focused on the Cold War and used flexible response in replacement of policy of massive retaliation as America’s policy towards the Soviet Union.  Then, he increased defense spending on military forces besides nuclear forces such as assembling an elite army called Special Forces. 

One of the most significant tests he encountered was America’s relation with Cuba.  Kennedy hesitantly decided to invade Cuba after deciding to overthrow Castro.  He and army officers ordered a group of Cuban exiles to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs on April 17, 1961 but the result was disastrous.  Castro’s troops with Soviet tanks and jet aircrafts defeated the Cuban exiles and captured them as prisoners, which damaged Kennedy’s administration.  Another incident that led to the brink of war with Soviet Union was the Cuban Missile Crisis where Kennedy informed the public about Soviet missiles in Cuba.  Fortunately, Kruschev agreed to remove the missiles in return for American pledge not to invade Cuba and demanded US secretly to remove missiles from Turkey.  Krushchev and Kennedy later set up a hot line between White House and Kremlin and agreed to sign the Limited Test Ban Treaty in order to ease the tensions of Cold War.

Domestically, Kennedy promised the nation to explore the New Frontier that included advancement in science, civil rights movement, and declination of the poverty rate.  However, Congress did not pass many of his proposals such as funding aids in education due to his lack of popular mandate.  However, he stimulated the economy by increasing government spending and lowering taxes, and created Peace Corps to give assistance to Asia, Africa, and Latin America.  In the science field, Kennedy funded NASA to prepare for a mission to the moon in order to surpass Soviet Union’s space race. 

Unfortunately, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963 after having been waving to a crowd in a car.  The nation was in grief and suspected Oswald assassinated Kennedy but conspiracy theories rose.  The Warren Commision in 1963 concluded that Oswald had shot the president but declared years later that Oswald was part of the conspiracy.

by Alvin