The 60s and American Society - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages As the current Vice President to outgoing President Dwight Eisenhower, Nixon would have gained some sense of what the job would entail and would wish to have the office for him, so that he would be able to enact his own vision for the American people moving forward. As the young Senator from Massachusetts and a member of one of the more prominent families in the United States at the time, John Kennedy would ultimately be guided by a desire for public service and a quest to help the average American. This would prove to be a crucial election for many reasons, some yet to be seen at this point in time. The ultimate outcome would see Kennedy overcome the opposition from Richard Nixon and be able to move on to the White House in January 1961.
Each political party would profess views for the betterment of the American public and the national ideals, with each differing in points and desired execution. With regard to the Republican Party, "Through the 1960s the emergent conservative wing, first witnessed in Barry Goldwater's 1964 candidacy, began to push out liberal Republicans," ("Profile", p.1). A political group that would, in many ways, wish to define themselves as a party that sought to protect conservative values and ideals. Thus, the Republicans would ultimately find themselves becoming a political party that would wish for such things as lower taxes and higher national defense. With regard to the Democrats, "In the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy challenged an optimistic nation to build on its great history. Kennedy proclaimed a New Frontier and dared Americans to put a man on the moon, created the Peace Corps, and negotiated a treaty banning atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons," ("The Democratic", p.1). Both political parties, through their public assertions and general action taken, would claim to be the party of the average citizen.
With every Presidency, events transpire that can not only shape the public itself but also, influence the trajectory of the President's administration. Impact the very decisions made by the chief executive, as they wish to serve the public for whom they were elected by, in such a manner that stays within the realm of the power of their office. For John Kennedy, two of the key events that would occur during the period of his administration, would be the Bay of Pigs in 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. Events that would involve the island of Cuba but despite that, would bring about differing circumstances that would force the young President to act and to act quickly, so that the world would be safe from eminent danger.
With its entrance early on in Kennedy's presidency, the Bay of Pigs would be one of many attempts made by the intelligence community, as they sought to invade the island of Cuba and ideally, remove the dictator in power. Subsequent events that would transpire, would ultimately lead to the declaration of the invasion being seen as a failure and as such, something that would be seen as a humiliation for the President. In the aftermath of the invasion, Kennedy would take what he learned and utilize it in future circumstances, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 that would find the American people pitted again the Soviet Union, with the island of Cuba being in the middle of this scenario.
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