The American Age
THE AMERICAN YAWP ،The Sixties
I. Introduction
Perhaps no decade is so immortalized in American memory as the 1960s.
Couched in the colorful rhetoric of peace and love, complemented by
stirring images of the civil rights movement, and fondly remembered for its
music, art, and activism, the decade brought many people hope for a more
inclusive, forward-thinking nation. But the decade was also plagued by
strife, tragedy, and chaos. It was the decade of the Vietnam War, inner-city
riots, and assassinations that seemed to symbolize the crushing of a new
generation’s idealism. A decade of struggle and disillusionment rocked by
social, cultural, and political upheaval, the 1960s are remembered because
so much changed, and because so much did not.
II. Kennedy and Cuba
The decade’s political landscape began with a watershed presidential
election. Americans were captivated by the 1960 race between Republican
vice president Richard Nixon and Democratic senator John F. Kennedy, two
candidates who pledged to move the nation forward and invigorate an
economy experiencing the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Kennedy promised to use federal programs to strengthen the economy and
address pockets of longstanding poverty, while Nixon called for a reliance on
private enterprise and reduction of government spending. Both candidates
faced criticism as well; Nixon had to defend Dwight Eisenhower’s domestic
policies, while Kennedy, who was attempting to become the first Catholic
president, had to counteract questions about his faith and convince voters
that he was experienced enough to lead.
,One of the most notable events of the Nixon-Kennedy presidential campaign
was their televised debate in September, the first of its kind between major
presidential candidates. The debate focused on domestic policy and
provided Kennedy with an important moment to present himself as a
composed, knowledgeable statesman. In contrast, Nixon, an experienced
debater who faced higher expectations, looked sweaty and defensive. Radio
listeners famously thought the two men performed equally well, but the TV
audience was much more impressed by Kennedy, giving him an advantage in
subsequent debates. Ultimately, the election was extraordinarily close; in
the largest voter turnout in American history up to that point, Kennedy
bested Nixon by less than one percentage point (34,227,096 to 34,107,646
votes). Although Kennedy’s lead in electoral votes was more comfortable at
303 to 219, the Democratic Party’s victory did not translate in Congress,
where Democrats lost a few seats in both houses. As a result, Kennedy
entered office in 1961 without the mandate necessary to achieve the
ambitious agenda he would refer to as the New Frontier.
Kennedy also faced foreign policy challenges. The United States entered the
1960s unaccustomed to stark foreign policy failures, having emerged from
World War II as a global superpower before waging a Cold War against the
Soviet Union in the 1950s. In the new decade, unsuccessful conflicts in Cuba
and Vietnam would yield embarrassment, fear, and tragedy, stunning a
nation that expected triumph and altering the way many thought of
America’s role in international affairs.
On January 8, 1959, Fidel Castro and his revolutionary army initiated a new
era of Cuban history. Having ousted the corrupt Cuban president Fulgencio
Batista, who had fled Havana on New Year’s Eve, Castro and his rebel forces
made their way triumphantly through the capital city’s streets. The United
States, which had long propped up Batista’s corrupt regime, had withdrawn
support and, initially, expressed sympathy for Castro’s new government,
which was immediately granted diplomatic recognition. But President
Dwight Eisenhower and members of his administration were wary. The new
Cuban government soon instituted leftist economic policies centered on
, agrarian reform, land redistribution, and the nationalization of private
enterprises. Cuba’s wealthy and middle-class citizens fled the island in
droves. Many settled in Miami, Florida, and other American cities.
The relationship between Cuba and the United States deteriorated rapidly.
On October 19, 1960, the United States instituted a near-total trade
embargo to economically isolate the Cuban regime, and in January 1961, the
two nations broke off formal diplomatic relations. The Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA), acting under the mistaken belief that the Castro government
lacked popular support and that Cuban citizens would revolt if given the
opportunity, began to recruit members of the exile community to
participate in an invasion of the island. On April 16, 1961, an invasion force
consisting primarily of Cuban émigrés landed on Girón Beach at the Bay of
Pigs. Cuban soldiers and civilians quickly overwhelmed the exiles, many of
whom were taken prisoner. The Cuban government’s success at thwarting
the Bay of Pigs invasion did much to legitimize the new regime and was a
tremendous embarrassment for the Kennedy administration.
As the political relationship between Cuba and the United States
disintegrated, the Castro government became more closely aligned with the
Soviet Union. This strengthening of ties set the stage for the Cuban Missile
Crisis, perhaps the most dramatic foreign policy crisis in the history of the
United States. In 1962, in response to the United States’ longtime
maintenance of a nuclear arsenal in Turkey and at the invitation of the
Cuban government, the Soviet Union deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba. On
October 14, 1962, American spy planes detected the construction of missile
launch sites, and on October 22, President Kennedy addressed the American
people to alert them to this threat. Over the course of the next several days,
the world watched in horror as the United States and the Soviet Union
hovered on the brink of nuclear war. Finally, on October 28, the Soviet
Union agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba in exchange for a U.S.
agreement to remove its missiles from Turkey and a formal pledge that the
United States would not invade Cuba, and the crisis was resolved peacefully.
THE AMERICAN YAWP ،The Sixties
I. Introduction
Perhaps no decade is so immortalized in American memory as the 1960s.
Couched in the colorful rhetoric of peace and love, complemented by
stirring images of the civil rights movement, and fondly remembered for its
music, art, and activism, the decade brought many people hope for a more
inclusive, forward-thinking nation. But the decade was also plagued by
strife, tragedy, and chaos. It was the decade of the Vietnam War, inner-city
riots, and assassinations that seemed to symbolize the crushing of a new
generation’s idealism. A decade of struggle and disillusionment rocked by
social, cultural, and political upheaval, the 1960s are remembered because
so much changed, and because so much did not.
II. Kennedy and Cuba
The decade’s political landscape began with a watershed presidential
election. Americans were captivated by the 1960 race between Republican
vice president Richard Nixon and Democratic senator John F. Kennedy, two
candidates who pledged to move the nation forward and invigorate an
economy experiencing the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Kennedy promised to use federal programs to strengthen the economy and
address pockets of longstanding poverty, while Nixon called for a reliance on
private enterprise and reduction of government spending. Both candidates
faced criticism as well; Nixon had to defend Dwight Eisenhower’s domestic
policies, while Kennedy, who was attempting to become the first Catholic
president, had to counteract questions about his faith and convince voters
that he was experienced enough to lead.
,One of the most notable events of the Nixon-Kennedy presidential campaign
was their televised debate in September, the first of its kind between major
presidential candidates. The debate focused on domestic policy and
provided Kennedy with an important moment to present himself as a
composed, knowledgeable statesman. In contrast, Nixon, an experienced
debater who faced higher expectations, looked sweaty and defensive. Radio
listeners famously thought the two men performed equally well, but the TV
audience was much more impressed by Kennedy, giving him an advantage in
subsequent debates. Ultimately, the election was extraordinarily close; in
the largest voter turnout in American history up to that point, Kennedy
bested Nixon by less than one percentage point (34,227,096 to 34,107,646
votes). Although Kennedy’s lead in electoral votes was more comfortable at
303 to 219, the Democratic Party’s victory did not translate in Congress,
where Democrats lost a few seats in both houses. As a result, Kennedy
entered office in 1961 without the mandate necessary to achieve the
ambitious agenda he would refer to as the New Frontier.
Kennedy also faced foreign policy challenges. The United States entered the
1960s unaccustomed to stark foreign policy failures, having emerged from
World War II as a global superpower before waging a Cold War against the
Soviet Union in the 1950s. In the new decade, unsuccessful conflicts in Cuba
and Vietnam would yield embarrassment, fear, and tragedy, stunning a
nation that expected triumph and altering the way many thought of
America’s role in international affairs.
On January 8, 1959, Fidel Castro and his revolutionary army initiated a new
era of Cuban history. Having ousted the corrupt Cuban president Fulgencio
Batista, who had fled Havana on New Year’s Eve, Castro and his rebel forces
made their way triumphantly through the capital city’s streets. The United
States, which had long propped up Batista’s corrupt regime, had withdrawn
support and, initially, expressed sympathy for Castro’s new government,
which was immediately granted diplomatic recognition. But President
Dwight Eisenhower and members of his administration were wary. The new
Cuban government soon instituted leftist economic policies centered on
, agrarian reform, land redistribution, and the nationalization of private
enterprises. Cuba’s wealthy and middle-class citizens fled the island in
droves. Many settled in Miami, Florida, and other American cities.
The relationship between Cuba and the United States deteriorated rapidly.
On October 19, 1960, the United States instituted a near-total trade
embargo to economically isolate the Cuban regime, and in January 1961, the
two nations broke off formal diplomatic relations. The Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA), acting under the mistaken belief that the Castro government
lacked popular support and that Cuban citizens would revolt if given the
opportunity, began to recruit members of the exile community to
participate in an invasion of the island. On April 16, 1961, an invasion force
consisting primarily of Cuban émigrés landed on Girón Beach at the Bay of
Pigs. Cuban soldiers and civilians quickly overwhelmed the exiles, many of
whom were taken prisoner. The Cuban government’s success at thwarting
the Bay of Pigs invasion did much to legitimize the new regime and was a
tremendous embarrassment for the Kennedy administration.
As the political relationship between Cuba and the United States
disintegrated, the Castro government became more closely aligned with the
Soviet Union. This strengthening of ties set the stage for the Cuban Missile
Crisis, perhaps the most dramatic foreign policy crisis in the history of the
United States. In 1962, in response to the United States’ longtime
maintenance of a nuclear arsenal in Turkey and at the invitation of the
Cuban government, the Soviet Union deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba. On
October 14, 1962, American spy planes detected the construction of missile
launch sites, and on October 22, President Kennedy addressed the American
people to alert them to this threat. Over the course of the next several days,
the world watched in horror as the United States and the Soviet Union
hovered on the brink of nuclear war. Finally, on October 28, the Soviet
Union agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba in exchange for a U.S.
agreement to remove its missiles from Turkey and a formal pledge that the
United States would not invade Cuba, and the crisis was resolved peacefully.
