John Kennedy was the first American president born in the 20th century and his entire political career had taken place in the context of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. His inaugural address stressed the contest between the free world and the communist world and he pledged that the American people would "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty."
During the period between his election and inauguration, JFK was briefed on a plan drafted during the Eisenhower administration to train Cuban exiles for an invasion of their homeland. The plan anticipated that support from the Cuban people and perhaps even from elements of the Cuban military would lead to the overthrow of Castro and the establishment of a non-communist government friendly to the United States. Kennedy approved the operation and some 1,400 exiles landed at Cuba's Bay of Pigs on April 17. The entire force was either killed or captured. Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure of the operation.
In June 1961, Kennedy met with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna. (
See a memorandum outlining the main points of conversation between President Kennedy and Khrushchev at their first lunch meeting.) Khrushchev threatened to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany, effectively cutting off Allied access to Berlin. Kennedy was surprised by Khrushchev's combative tone. At one point, when the Soviet leader identified the Lenin Peace Medals he was wearing, Kennedy retorted "I hope you keep them." In August, in order to stop the flood of East Germans fleeing to West Germany, Khrushchev ordered the construction of the Berlin Wall, a massive structure of concrete blocks dividing the two parts of Berlin.
As a result of these threatening developments, Kennedy ordered substantial increases in American intercontinental ballistic missile forces. He also added five new army divisions and increased the nation's air power and military reserves. The Soviets meanwhile resumed nuclear testing and President Kennedy responded by reluctantly reactivating American tests in early 1962.
In May 1961, JFK authorized sending 500 Special Forces troops and military advisers, supplementing the 2,000 Americans already sent by the Eisenhower administration, to assist the pro-Western government of South Vietnam. In February, 1962, the president approved sending an additional 12,000 military advisers to support the South Vietnamese army. These forces arrived in the small southeast Asian nation by June.
In the summer of 1962, Khrushchev reached a secret agreement with representatives of the Castro regime in Cuba to supply nuclear missiles capable of protecting the island against another American-sponsored invasion. In mid-October, American spy planes photographed the missile sites while still under construction. Kennedy and his advisers agreed to place a naval blockade around Cuba while demanding the removal of the missiles and the destruction of the sites. Khrushchev, recognizing that the crisis could easily escalate into nuclear war, finally agreed to remove the missiles in return for an American pledge not to reinvade Cuba. The Soviet leader also decided to commit whatever resources were required for upgrading the Soviet nuclear strike force. His decision led to a major escalation of the nuclear arms race.
In June 1963, JFK spoke at the American University commencement in Washington, D.C. He urged Americans to critically reexamine Cold War stereotypes and myths and called for a strategy of peace which would make the world safe for diversity. In the final months of the Kennedy presidency Cold War tensions seemed to soften as the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was negotiated and signed. In addition, the "Hotline," a direct line of communication between Washington and Moscow, was established to help reduce the possibility of war by miscalculation.
Early in November, when the number of U.S. military advisers had reached 16,000, a military coup led to the overthrow of the American-supported government of South Vietnam. Seven weeks before the coup JFK had told an interviewer, "In the final analysis, it is their war. They are the ones who have to win it or lose it. We can help them, we can give them equipment, we can send our men out there as advisers, but they have to win it-the people of Vietnam against the Communists...But I don't agree with those who say we should withdraw. That would be a great mistake.... [The United States] made this effort to defend Europe. Now Europe is quite secure. We also have to participate--we may not like it--in the defense of Asia." In the final weeks of his life, JFK wrestled with the need to decide the future of the United States commitment in Vietnam-- and very likely had not made a final decision before his death.