Background After WWII, the expansion of communism in the Western Hemisphere threatened the security and safety of the United States. Politicians and the American public actively sought to eliminate these threats by imprisoning communist activists within the United States and by controlling or removing sympathetic foreign leaders. John F. Kennedy was elected at a time when the ideals of both communism and democracy were competing for influence in countries that were threatened by insurrection or engaged in civil war and revolution. The Soviet Union and the United States sought to aid these struggling governments in an attempt to create a cooperative foreign administration and to gain a political advantage in the ongoing Cold War. |
Kennedy Speeches
Communist infiltration into the western hemisphere was a concern throughout John F. Kennedy's political career. Examine Kennedy's anti-communist rhetoric as a congressional candidate and as President of the United States.
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Khrushchev and KennedyThe relationship between the two leaders of the most powerful countries in the world was complicated. Upon the election of President Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev felt emboldened to build the Berlin Wall and to continue to send aid and nuclear missiles to Cuba. These actions threatened the western hemisphere. Early in Kennedy's administration he would need to challenge the more experienced Khrushchev, to keep the American countries free from the threat of communism.
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Cuban Missile CrisisAs diplomatic relations broke down between the United States and Cuba, the new regime increasingly sought aid and advice from the Soviet Union. The communist country was anxious to spread propaganda throughout the western hemisphere, as well as establish a military base that would house nuclear weapons aimed at the United States, just 90 miles away.
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