John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Birth-Death: (1917 - 1963 ) Term: (1961-1963 )

President Kennedy established the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps, using these vehicles to aid developing nations around the world. The threat of Communism to the United States Government was a central issue during his Presidency. The Cuban Missile Crisis increased tensions between the U.S. and Russia dramatically, but nuclear war was avoided when the Russians removed their missiles from Cuba.

Foreign Events of John Kennedy

    There were people in the United States of Cuban origins who wanted to take over Cuba and make it a part of the United states. On April 17, 1961 an invading force landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba without any air support and with little protection. They were soon killed and the United States was blamed for invading Cuba.

    As the cold war intensified after the U2 incident, there were many more U2 flights flown. One of these was over Cuba and the photos taken showed that the USSR was placing medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy demanded that the missiles be removed. He established a sea blockade of the island. After a five day stand-off, at a time when nuclear war was almost evident, Khrushchev promised the removal of all missiles from Cuba in return for the United States' promise not to invade Cuba again.