Kennedy and Cuban Missile Crisis - Essay Example

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy never considered the option of doing nothing, he considered a full-scale invasion of Cuba on short notice as not feasible and air strikes as impossible (Goldfield et al. 803).  Kennedy, rather, demanded the removal of the missiles and imposed a blockade for the arrival of more missiles. The missiles were removed but on condition that the US does not invade Cuba (Goldfield et al. 805). The US pledge not to invade Cuba and also promised to remove missiles from Turkey. Kennedy responded to the Berlin issue by increasing military spending and considering an attack on West Berlin as an attack on the US. This he demonstrated by adding $3.25 billion to the defense budget and recruiting 200,000 troops to the military. He initially ignores the building of the Berlin Wall as long as free access from West to East Berlin continued. Kennedy, indeed, preferred the “wall” to war (Goldfield et al. 803). However, he shows his commitment to supporting West Berliners by sending in a convoy,  V.P.  Johnson and other military personnel, through West Germany. Kennedy exploited US entanglement in South Vietnam to assert US’s firm commitment to containment. The US assisted the anti-communist leader, Ngo Dinh Diem, of South Vietnam by increasing the military supply of weapons and sending 16,000 troops and military advisers (Goldfield et al. 804). When Diem's leadership lost the loyalty of the South Vietnamese, Kennedy tacitly approved a coup that killed Diem and his brother.  

Question 4. Mass production is the production of low-cost, standardized products on assembly lines. At Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford introduced mass production by turning out inexpensive Model T cars that can be afforded by workers (Goldfield et al. 668). This technological innovation coupled with managerial training reduces the cost of labor turnover and increases consumer purchasing power. At General Motors, Sloan introduced consumer credit that permits consumers to purchase goods on time (Goldfield et al. 670). Credits create a mass market for expensive automobiles. Given that mass production results in a large number of affordable goods and that credit enables consumers to purchase goods on time, the ultimate result of mass production and credits was mass consumption. These innovations did not only transform the automobile industry but also led to the establishment of extensive highways, filling stations and hamburger stands. Thus, mass production led to transformation of the American society.