JFK, His Advisors, And Everyone Else

The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. What was at stake in the crisis, and how do you assess President Kennedy’s response to Khrushchev’s provocation? Was Kennedy prudent or rash, suitably tough or needlessly belligerent?

Even before John Fitzgerald Kennedy began his presidency in 1961, he viewed foreign policy as one of the most important aspects of our lives. In one speech he said, “Foreign policy today, irrespective of what we might wish, in its impact on our daily lives, overshadows everything else. Expenditures, taxation, domestic prosperity, the extent of social sciences — all hinge on the basic issue of war or peace” (JFK Library). As the first president born in the 20th century, the youngest president to be elected to office, and the youngest president to die in office, John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s time in office was brief, but full of difficult challenges in foreign affairs. I feel that he

The Cuban Missile Crisis forever marked 1962 as the year the world almost witnessed a nuclear war. The Soviet Union, Cuba, and the United States were all teetering on the edge of a cliff that was crumbling from the weight of fear, tension, and secrecy. It also marked the official end of Americans innocent belief that they were safe in the glow of Lady Liberty’s torch. Yet amidst the dark shadow of nuclear threat one American president rose to this challenge and proved that peace through strength is the best strategy.

John F Kennedy begins his speech to the american people with an appeal to logic. He uses Logos to convince his audience by using facts or statistics. He tells his audience that there has been solid proof that the cubans had missiles that “include medium range ballistic missiles, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead for a distance of more than 1,000 nautical miles. Each of these missiles, in short, is capable of striking Washington, D. C., the Panama Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the southeastern part of the United States, in Central America, or in the Caribbean area.” Kennedy continues his speech by using an ethical appeal to convince the cuban leader of his character. “We have no wish to war with the Soviet Union -- for we are a peaceful people who desire to live in peace with all other peoples.” Kennedy tries to peacefully end this situation by telling the cuban leader that he is a man of his word, he has no plans of using those missiles to attack the soviets and wants to peacefully end this. Finally by the latter half of his speech, Kennedy uses pathos to persuade, the cuban leader, Fidel Castro, by appealing to his emotions. “I have watched and the American people have watched with deep sorrow how your nationalist revolution was betrayed -- and how your fatherland fell under foreign domination.” Once again Kennedy tries to find ways to end this crisis peacefully while at the same time showing his character

The biggest obstacle that the Soviets and Americans faced in dealing with this crisis was the added difficulty imposed by cross-cultural negotiations. This added burden further magnified the differences in thinking, feeling and behaving between the two countries. The table above illustrates the national style in negotiation faced by the United States and Soviet Union. Both the Americans and Soviets had to take into account each other style to eventually reach an agreement. Even though Cuba was at the center of this debate, it played a minor roll in the negotiations between the US and Soviet Union.

On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy “informed the world” that the Soviets were building secretive missile bases in Cuba, very close to Florida. President Kennedy decided to take the peaceful route in handling is major crisis. As

     Through out the course of history, America has seen great Presidents. These men all exhibited characteristics which helped them to be successful in their endeavor to become the nations leader. Among those characteristics are traits such as being a good spokesperson or leader and being fair towards all which makes for a good President.

During President John F Kennedy’s term in office, there was the Cuban missile crisis. This occurred in 1962 and had America not decided on the course of actions that it

John F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, 1917, the second of nine children. He was a US statesman and our 35th president. He came from a family with a history of good politics. As an infant he lived in a comfortable but modest frame house in that suburb of Boston. As the family got larger and the father's income and fortune increased, the Kennedys moved to larger, more impressive homes. Their first home was in Brookline, followed by the suburbs of New York City. John F. Kennedy had a happy childhood that was full of family games and sports. He attended many different private elementary schools, which were all non parochial. He later spent a year at Canterbury School in New Milford,

ohn F Kennedy and Lyndon B Johnson were thrown into the caldron of executive US politics on January 20th 1961 having been elected on a single presidential/vice presidential ticket. As progressive-liberals, their incumbency oversaw a period of substantial domestic and international change that has continued to shape America to this day. Historical assessments of each President are wide-ranging. Historians such as Robert Dallek, author of ‘J.F.K. - An Unfinished Life’, conclude that Kennedy’s premiership was one of ‘small successes and big failures’. Dallek laments JFK’s failed ‘New Frontier’ domestic program which promised federal funding towards education, medical care for the elderly, funding towards poorer state government and government intervention to aid the recession as leaving ‘a want of landmark legislation’. Conversely Public opinion of Kennedy remains very strong however. Lyndon Johnson on the other hand divides historical opinion to a broader extent. Whereas Dallek concludes that Kennedy was a man of ‘small successes and big failures’, Johnson was an exponent of ‘great achievement and painful failure, of lasting gains and unforgettable losses’. According to John Kentleton his domestic ‘Great Society’ left ‘something of Lincoln’s greatness within his grasp’ but believes that ‘Johnson’s presidency ended in failure’; a conclusion drawn from the military conflict in Vietnam and endless logistical problems with his domestic programs. This essay will argue that despite

John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States (1961-1963). He was born

After learning the American history in from 1960s to 1970s, During John F. Kennedy administration, the Cuban missile crisis is attractive for me, but only did because the Cuban missile crisis was a watershed in the Soviet-American relationship, but also the brinkmanship is a special military policy, which was created in the crisis. The Cuban missile crisis also was considered as John F. Kennedy’s finest hour. Since we are living in a world where so many potential and uncertain nuclear deterrence and threats surround us, we still should strengthen our awareness to study the Cuban missile crisis. After I did some researches about this topic, I found that during more than fifty years, the Cuban missile crisis has been one of the most intensely

While it may be true that Fidel Castro had a strong impact on the uprising of the crisis, it is crucial to consider John F. Kennedy as the person most at fault for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy, America's president at the time, is often been called the most to blame because he overreacted to the missiles in Cuba. The question is if it was an overreaction or just a precaution for the safety and security of the American people. After the CIA spotted the missiles in Cuba, they informed Kennedy and he immediately called for a “quarantine” on Cuba’s eastern coast, setting up a blockade of ships along the coastline. Although many perceive this as an act of safety and protection, it is also easy to say that it was in fact “an act of aggression”

In order to understand the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis in American history one must first understand the Cold War drama, Castro’s rise to power, and the American operations that set up the crisis. “The term Cold War refers

For this reason, I would like to investigate the extent to which John F. Kennedy’s decision-making process changed from the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the Cuban Missile crisis during his presidency. I chose the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis because the first is an event in John. F. Kennedy’s presidency before he gained experience from this job and the latter is an event from after he was acquainted with the presidential role.