John Kennedy Presidency During The Cold War

On June 25,1950 North Korea Soviet and equipped army stormed across the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. The United Nation called for a cease fire . But the North Koreans continued their attack.On June 27 Truman announced:”I have ordered United States air and sea forces to give the South Korean government troops cover and support’’.That same day the UN decided to help South Korea “to repel the armed attack”.In the early battles MacArthur’s forces were driven back to the city of Pusan. Fierce fighting raged for six weeks before the UN troops turned the tide of the war with a surprise attacks.

By the spring 1952 the fighting in Korea settled into a violent stalemate. The UN forces had driven the North Koreans and Chinese back across the 38th parallel. But neither side seemed able to win the war.

Cold War tensions were running high as the Kenney presidency began in 1961. John F. Kennedy was committed to the Cold War policy of shopping the spread of Communism worldwide. He maintained strong military forces and expanded the nation's supply of nuclear weapons. He also sought nonmilitary ways to defeat Communism. American relations however. Another non military programs was more successful. Beginning in 1961 the Peace Corps sent volunteers to developing countries to help with projects such as digging well and building schools.

Much of kennedy’s attention in his early days as president involved confronting Communism with U.S. military forces. The first Cold War crisis during his administration took place in Cuba. In the late 1950s Cuban rebel Fidel Castro had led a revolution against an unpopular dictator. In 1959 he overthrew the dictator and soon established a Communist government allied to Soviet Union. Many Cubans who had opposed Castro fled to the United States. On April 17, 1961 about 1,500 Cuban exiles landed by boat at Cuba’s Bay of Pigs Castro forces quickly responded killing about 300 of the invaders and capturing the rest. May Americans criticized Kennedy for the disastrous invasion attempt. His administration was off to a shaky start.

The most serious and deadly event of the Cold War took place in Vietnam a country in Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese struggle against the domination of China for centuries. By the early 1880s all of Vietnam was combined Vietnam with neighboring Loos and Cambodia to create a colony called French Indochina. French leaders imposed harsh taxes and put limits on political freedoms.Vietnamese nationalists began a struggle for independence in the early 1900s.

One of the landing Vietnamese nationalists was Ho Chi Minh. Ho believe that only a Communist revolution could free the Vietnamese people. In 1956 North Vietnam became a Communist dictatorship led by Ho Chi Minh. South Vietnam had a Western style government led by Ngo Dinh Diem and supported by the United States. U.S. officials hoped Diem would win control of the country in the 1956 elections.

President Eisenhower sent aid , weapons, and military advisers to South Vietnam to aid Diem. Although they were not official combat troops the U.S. military advisers often accompanied the south Vietnamese army on combat missions. Some were killed in action.

By late 1963 about 16,000 U.S. military personnel were serving in Vietnam. The increased U.S. support did not help Diem who was becoming less and less popular in South Vietnam. Several attempts were made to overthrow his government all of which falled. In November 1963 a group of South Vietnamese army officers seized power and killed Diem and his brother. Only week later Kennedy was assassinated and Vice President Lyndon Johnson became president. Johnson immediately faced tough decisions about how to handle an increasingly unstable South Vietnam.