The document provides context about JFK and early 1960s America. It describes the contradictions in American society and culture at the time including racism, sexism, suburban conformity versus individualism, and the influence of big business. It outlines key events like the Bay of Pigs invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis, both of which involved attempts to remove Fidel Castro from power in Cuba and confront Soviet influence. The document also summarizes the rise of youth and counterculture in the 1960s fueled by rock music, the sexual revolution, and consumerism.

1. JFK and the Early 1960s

2. America, 1960 Traditionally, our culture was segregated in many ways. By the 1960s, a shared national culture was emerging that threatened traditional segregated lifestyles. Everyone across the country was watching the same mass mediated TV programming. Old, traditional barriers that divided North from South and rural from urban were breaking down. The power of local elites was being usurped by a nationally connected, expert-oriented national elite and the Federal government. A centralized mass society had emerged. The Southern Jim Crow system was dependent upon localized power structures.

3. Symbols of 1960 Affluence The American car was a significant status symbol. Big powerful cars symbolized individual/societal power. Suburban homes symbolized stability, security, warmth. The family was also a haven of escapism in context of Cold War hostilities. Lots of new gadgets symbolized a new lifestyle of leisure and consumerism. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZL6RGkPjws The family vacation symbolized the new hedonism - that life should be fun. After all, these were good times. The 1960 Cadillac, stylized by the famous Harley Earl, was a symbol of power and elegance.

4. Suburbs The American Dream of affluence, security, comfort. The housing boom in the suburbs brought massive migration from the inner city by affluent whites. Suburbs were efficient and bland, but they were comfortable. They were a new melting pot for everyone who could afford it – and who were white. Suburbs united everyone as a consumer. Everyone in the suburb was participating in the new national shared culture, guided by mass mediated commercial television. It’s no surprise that suburbia would be a backdrop for romance, too. The wildly popular fictional novel Peyton Place (Grace Metalious, 1956) explored sex, adultery, abortion, and other taboos of the 1950s.

5. Early 60s Popular Culture California was symbolized as the promised land In the Beverly Hillbillies, this is where the Clampetts moved (away from the small town and toward suburban affluence) The new land of opportunity and prosperity Youth culture values emphasized By the early 60s, many Americans were celebrating a new style of living based on a search for what fits the self. Self fulfillment and self-expression were starting to become the “in” thing and California led the way. On to California!

6. Early 60s Popular Culture The Barbie doll (1959) taught girls conventional patriarchal values plus the new values of youthful consumerism. The pill (1959) encouraged the sexual revolution as well as feminism. It allowed sexual freedom for young women, along with a new sensual hedonism. The youth culture had developed its own styles, and advertising helped entrench these styles. Because youth culture borrowed from the Beats, anti-establishment expressions were becoming more common. With the pill, women gained control over reproduction. This fueled the sexual revolution. Most girls had Barbie dolls in the 1960s.

7. Early 60s Popular Culture Rock’n’roll broke down traditional barriers and taboos. Be sexual, not repressed Be free and expressive, not a blind conformist Be loose, not uptight Be yourself, not what your parents want you to be Be authentic, not a cookie-cut reproduction of what a repressive mass society wants you to be. Andy Warhol’s 1962 Campbell Soup featured the theme of mass reproduction.

8. Early 60s Popular Culture The Beatles Galvanized the new youth culture with their mop haircuts and challenging messages. The were the Pied Pipers – and everyone listened when they became more critical of the establishment. Ex: Eleanor Rigby, Paperback Writer, Nowhere Man The Beatles, along with Dylan and others, taught youth culture to question authority and be free. The Beatles arrived in the U.S. in 1964 and remained the premier rock music artists of the 1960s. http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Nowhere-Man-lyrics-The-Beatles/A47D370E54FB65B348256BC200138D54

9. Early 60s Popular Culture In context of the celebration of affluence, youthful self-discovery and freedom, American culture increasingly permitted youth to explore new lifestyles. However, for African Americans, frustration and anger increased. They had been denied these freedoms, and they were taking organized, direct action to change the establishment. Blacks trying to use a public pool have chlorine poured on them by a manager enforcing the Jim Crow system in the South. Rock music fueled hedonism, experimentation, and the sexual liberation movement.

10. American Contradictions, 1960 Despite the stereotypical “happy days” images conveyed in early 1960’s American television Racial segregation persisted, contradicting equality. Racism was most severe in the Jim Crow South. Gender polarization continued, contradicting equality. Polarization was heightened by the baby boom, which produced 3.8 children per household at its height. Women were expected to be the caregivers. U.S. foreign policy tolerated many right-wing dictatorships, contradicting values of freedom democracy, and sovereignty. The Third World was uncomfortable with both U.S. and USSR superpower status because both had used imperialism.

11. American Contradictions, 1960 In 1960 Eisenhower was the President, yet he too had contradictions. He belonged to a white males-only country club. This type of country club still exists today. What does this say about our progress toward equality? Phone booth stuffing was one of many fads of the early 1960s and was particularly popular among college students. There was little interest in places like Vietnam at that time.

12. American Contradictions, 1960 During the 1950s and early 60s, the prevailing ideology was that what was good for GM was good for the country. Yet Big Business was acquiring Big Brother influence. Widespread poverty contradicted notions of affluence. 20% of Americans lived in poverty. By 1960, 55% of the poor lived in cities. American inner cities becoming over-stressed. Unlike the rural poor, the urban poor were very visible. At the time this photo was taken, 1973, Chicago’s West Side had yet to recover from the ghetto riots of the 1960s.

13. Daniel Bell: The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism Post-WWII U.S. culture was caught between two contradictory sets of capitalist values: 1. early industrial values of hard work, thrift, moderation, discipline, and delayed gratification. 2. post-industrial values, with an emerging emphasis on hedonism, self-expression, consumerism, materialism, and instant gratification. Earlier values of thrift, moderation, discipline, and delayed gratification were giving way to wasteful, credit-based consumerism and instant gratification.

14. Summary of American Contradictions Racism and sexism contradicted equality. Suburbs were booming, inner cities were decaying. The U.S. touted sovereignty and democracy yet supported right-wing dictatorships. U.S. corporations provided material abundance, but acquired Big Brother influence. Widespread poverty contradicted notions of affluence. American consumerism contradicted earlier values. Suburban conformity contradicted individualism.

15. JFK By 1960, many Americans had begun to wonder if America had lost its way. They could see the contradictions. This was the backdrop to JFK’s inaugural speech “ask not what your country can to for you, ask what you can do for your country.” JFK promised a new purpose beyond the pursuit of self-pleasures. JFK inspired a new idealism, aimed at youth especially, that anything is possible. John Kennedy, or “Jack Kennedy” as many called him, had youthful charisma and was well liked within the youth culture.

16. JFK versus Nixon on Foreign Policy Both candidates were quite similar on foreign policy. Both were anti-communist Cold War politicians and saw communism as the key threat to national security. Both used strong rhetoric against communism. Both supported imperialist U.S. policies in the name of anti-communism. Both saw Castro’s Cuba as a key issue. Both supported the nuclear arms race, at least in 1960. Both were trapped by their Cold War rhetoric into a militaristic rather than a diplomatic approach to problems.

17. JFK versus Nixon on Domestic Policy JFK differed from Nixon somewhat on domestic policies. JFK was more liberal than Nixon. More sensitive to the needs of minority groups. More willing to use the Fed. Gov’t as a resource to help the poor and other social marginals. However, the Dixiecrats prevented JFK from embracing many policies that would bring significant domestic reforms. JFK did not focus very much on domestic policies until late in 1962 – after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

18. Kennedy-Nixon TV debate, 1960 Whereas radio listeners tended to think Nixon won the debate, TV watchers preferred JFK. JFK’s image: young, handsome, witty, intelligent, likeable. JFK was America’s first television President. Later, both Reagan and Clinton understood what this meant. This debate highlighted the importance of image in this Brave New World of mass media television. Political campaigns from now on would prioritize TV ads and TV images as crucial to winning, thus eroding trust and confidence in a political system based on images.

19. You Decide Nixon V Kennedy http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1960 How much does the media play a role in the common man’s vote for president?

20. JFK’s Foreign Policy JFK, like every president since Truman, prioritized foreign policy over domestic policy. JFK goal: expand the empire and protect against communism with a dual approach: 1. Peace Corps (reflected his idealism and inspired youth toward self-sacrifice). 2. Green Berets (reflected a realistic grasp of the grass roots nature of insurgency, but read by some generals as an attack on the reigning conventional military model). JFK’s foreign policy emphasized military containment of communism. He viewed Cuba as the key nearby Cold War battleground. In 1956 Soviet Premier Khrushchev seemingly claimed “We will bury you!” but the translation was off. A better translation is "Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will dig you in." In any event Americans felt deeply threatened by the USSR.

21. JFK and Cuba Concerned with Cuba as a nearby front of the Cold War. Fidel Castro represented the spread of communism in our own backyard (our own sphere of influence). Would the U.S. - a superpower - tolerate such an event? JFK, somewhat obsessed with Castro, secretly authorized the CIA to kill him. JFK also endorsed the pre-existing CIA plan for a covert invasion of Cuba using Cuban exiles. Fidel Castro visited the U.S. in 1959 seeking a meeting with the President. He had overthrown the U.S.-supported right-wing dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in January of that year. Castro was a fierce nationalist. Eisenhower rejected his views. He then visited Khrushchev and achieved a favorable reception. An alliance was forged.

22. Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) In January of 1959 Fidel Castro, leader of the nationalist guerillas, overthrew Fulgencia Batista – the U.S. supported right-wing dictator of Cuba. Castro and other Cuban nationalists attacked Batista as too friendly to the American corporate, political and mafia elite. The USSR scored a Cold War victory when Cuba went red, embarrassing the U.S. and setting in motion a response. In 1959, Eisenhower approved plans for a U.S. sponsored invasion of Cuba using Cuban exiles living in Miami. The CIA was over-confident from earlier similar successful overthrows in Guatemala and Iran. Batista placed himself in power (once again) in 1952 in a coup against a democratically elected leader. He suspended Cuba’s constitution and courted the Americans, who supported his right-wing dictatorship in this era of Cold War rivalry. When Castro ousted Batista, the U.S. set in motion efforts to remove Castro by force.

23. Bay of Pigs Invasion JFK endorsed the basic CIA invasion plan involving about 1500 Cuban exiles armed and covertly trained by the CIA. The CIA erroneously assumed that Castro was unpopular and unprepared for such an attack. They assumed native Cubans would rise up and join the 1500 exiles to displace Castro. The attack (April 15-17, 1961) was a disaster, embarrassing JFK, who had been in office only about three months. CIA director Allen Dulles, one of the planners, was forced to resign. The attack strengthened regional guerilla movements that claimed that the U.S. was imperialistic. “Yankee go home!” JFK went on U.S. television to admit his role in the failed invasion. “Victory has a hundred fathers but defeat is an orphan.” JFK continued covert operations against Castro, and the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis would be the next big confrontation.

25. Bay of Pigs Invasion The willingness of the U.S. elite to invade Cuba (note the moralistic fear of communism) despite their professed support for the sovereignty of other nations revealed contradictions that would haunt the idealistic youth of the early 1960s. Cuban counter-revolutionaries after their capture at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961. American policy makers underestimated the popularity of Castro, just as they misunderstood the significance of nationalism elsewhere across the globe among less developed nations and former colonies.

26. The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) Fidel Castro, coming to power and facing U.S. hostility, sought resources from the USSR. The Soviets obliged. Cuban and Soviet tensions with the U.S. were high. In April, 1962, Castro agreed to allow Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuban soil. They arrived in September. The Soviets knew that the U.S. had already installed nuclear missiles in Turkey (in the Soviet sphere of influence). The Soviets publicly denied they were installing missiles in Cuba. In October, U.S. spy planes discovered the missiles in Cuba. JFK decides to confront the Soviets and Cubans.

28. Cuban Missile Crisis Three military response options were debated by the U.S. National Security Council Air attack on the missile bases Full military invasion of Cuba Naval blockade of Cuba (quarantine) JFK opted for the naval blockade for the time being, but did not rule out the possibility of an invasion. On October 22, 1962, JFK announced the quarantine. Khrushchev claimed it was illegal and would cause a war. On October 24, about 19 Soviet ships were blocked as the U.S. and Soviets engaged in a furious standoff.

29. Cuban Missile Crisis The crisis deepened when neither side showed any signs they would back down. Castro was convinced a U.S. invasion was immanent and urged a hard line to Khrushchev. This was the closest the U.S. and USSR had ever come to nuclear war. Through difficult and awkward negotiations, the U.S. and Soviets worked out an arrangement. The Soviets would remove their missiles from Cuba and the U.S. would stop the quarantine and promise not to invade Cuba. The U.S. also privately agreed to remove their missiles from Turkey, pending NATO approval. Kennedy meets with advisors.

30. Cuban Missile Crisis Because it appeared in the public eye that Khrushchev had backed down, the outcome weakened Khrushchev and strengthened JFK. Khrushchev would remain in power only two more years. The Soviets resolved to escalate their nuclear weapons program. JFK’s image as a powerful world leader would rise and JFK learned some dangerous lessons (1) a macho foreign policy works and (2) the CIA and other secret agencies are essential programs. The U.S. military increased its hubris (military solution in Vietnam).

31. Cuban Missile Crisis Castro’s position in Cuba was strengthened. Both superpowers resolved to establish good communications with each other to avoid another similar confrontation. The U.S. and USSR created a direct-link “red telephone” system. Greater U.S. and Soviet diplomacy led to a SALT (Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty) agreement by 1963.

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