The Influence Of Kennedy's Foreign Policy
As one of the most influential presidents that America has had, Kennedy was known for especially touching the hearts of the American people. One of the most critical aspects of his presidency was his foreign policy. Foreign policy in particular can be especially controversial, but despite this, Kennedy continued to feed into the controversy when he went against Eisenhower’s previous foreign policy. Despite people’s judgement, Kennedy proceeded to be bold by his secrecy when resolving the Cuban missile crisis. Kennedy also continued to make new and innovative decisions through his creation of the Special Forces. Since foreign policy deals with other countries, there is a larger audience as more of the world watches. As the president of one of the largest superpowers in the world Kennedy faced great judgement when it came to foreign policy, but this didn't hinder how he dealt with past lessons, took bold actions and took innovative and revolutionary actions. Once elected as president, Kennedy completely steered away from Eisenhower’s
…show more content…
previous foreign policy. Instead of taking Eisenhower’s policy as a lesson and building off of his ideas, Kennedy took foreign policy in his own direction. This is largely due to Kennedy believing “that under the administration of Eisenhower… the United States had lost its world leadership to the Soviet Union”(27). As one of his last messages Eisenhower pointed out that America had started to dramatically spend more money on its military and described it as the “new...American experience”and Kennedy “apparently took little note of the general’s parting remarks”(29). Throughout his Presidency Kennedy was not afraid to speak of America’s position as a world superpower, meanwhile Eisenhower had “spoken of America’s global deeds with great caution”(31). By dealing with foreign policy in his own way Kennedy not only expressed his independence but boldness, which Kennedy reflected on numerous occasions. Kennedy reflected his boldness once again through out the Cuban missile crisis.
In the 13 days that the Cuban missile crisis took place Kennedy showed boldness on countless occasions, including the time he placed Navy Ships to intercept the Soviet’s ships and blockade Cuba.
As a result of Kennedy’s bold action Americans made survival kits,”stayed by their radios”, “fled major cities and military and defense centers”, “and planned what they would do when the bombs came”(43). Eventually Kennedy and Khrushchev made a deal where Khrushchev promised to remove the missiles if the U.S never invaded Cuba and removed its nuclear weapons from Turkey. In this case Kennedy’s bold move was that he kept a portion of the deal a secret from the public. Kennedy let the people believe that he had won an “uncompromised victory” and was “painted… in heroic hues”, they simply believed “he had stood up to the Communists and forced them to back down(43).Kennedy was clearly bold throughout his presidency, but was also very
revolutionary. Kennedy proved to be revolutionary through his innovative actions such as the creation of the Peace Corps and Special Forces. Although the idea of these groups weren’t completely Kennedy’s ideas, he was the one that pushed it to “his administration’s front burner”(45). Adding the Special Forces to the U.S Military is a revolutionary idea that Kennedy was the first to really push on. Kennedy’s goal was to “ align Third World countries with American interests” he disguised under the idea of “confronting immense problems such as gross economic inequality, catastrophic medical and nutritional inadequacies”(45). Although this helped benefit the people of these developing nations, Kennedy was still taking advantage of them by using them for “American interests”(45). By promoting the Peace Corps and Special Forces, Kennedy was creating a revolutionary aspect of America’s Military that continues to be a great part of our modern military. Kennedy was the first president to be so public, he was the first to use TV and media to capture the hearts of the American People. With such prominent media exposure, Americans began to connect with him and his family on a more personal level. On various occasions Kennedy has been able to use the media to hide matters ranging from his personal illnesses to the Cuban missile crisis. Kennedy’s foreign policy appeared to be so successful because of the power of media. Every action Kennedy took was amplified through newspaper headlines, TV news shows, radio shows, etc. Kennedy’s foreign Policy may have had successes such as the Cuban Missile crisis, but also has faced failures such as the Bay of Pigs. These results were just dramatized with the help of the growing media industry that had not yet revealed to the public how easy it was to manipulate and lie with the media.
previous foreign policy. Instead of taking Eisenhower’s policy as a lesson and building off of his ideas, Kennedy took foreign policy in his own direction. This is largely due to Kennedy believing “that under the administration of Eisenhower… the United States had lost its world leadership to the Soviet Union”(27). As one of his last messages Eisenhower pointed out that America had started to dramatically spend more money on its military and described it as the “new...American experience”and Kennedy “apparently took little note of the general’s parting remarks”(29). Throughout his Presidency Kennedy was not afraid to speak of America’s position as a world superpower, meanwhile Eisenhower had “spoken of America’s global deeds with great caution”(31). By dealing with foreign policy in his own way Kennedy not only expressed his independence but boldness, which Kennedy reflected on numerous occasions. Kennedy reflected his boldness once again through out the Cuban missile crisis.
In the 13 days that the Cuban missile crisis took place Kennedy showed boldness on countless occasions, including the time he placed Navy Ships to intercept the Soviet’s ships and blockade Cuba.
As a result of Kennedy’s bold action Americans made survival kits,”stayed by their radios”, “fled major cities and military and defense centers”, “and planned what they would do when the bombs came”(43). Eventually Kennedy and Khrushchev made a deal where Khrushchev promised to remove the missiles if the U.S never invaded Cuba and removed its nuclear weapons from Turkey. In this case Kennedy’s bold move was that he kept a portion of the deal a secret from the public. Kennedy let the people believe that he had won an “uncompromised victory” and was “painted… in heroic hues”, they simply believed “he had stood up to the Communists and forced them to back down(43).Kennedy was clearly bold throughout his presidency, but was also very
revolutionary. Kennedy proved to be revolutionary through his innovative actions such as the creation of the Peace Corps and Special Forces. Although the idea of these groups weren’t completely Kennedy’s ideas, he was the one that pushed it to “his administration’s front burner”(45). Adding the Special Forces to the U.S Military is a revolutionary idea that Kennedy was the first to really push on. Kennedy’s goal was to “ align Third World countries with American interests” he disguised under the idea of “confronting immense problems such as gross economic inequality, catastrophic medical and nutritional inadequacies”(45). Although this helped benefit the people of these developing nations, Kennedy was still taking advantage of them by using them for “American interests”(45). By promoting the Peace Corps and Special Forces, Kennedy was creating a revolutionary aspect of America’s Military that continues to be a great part of our modern military. Kennedy was the first president to be so public, he was the first to use TV and media to capture the hearts of the American People. With such prominent media exposure, Americans began to connect with him and his family on a more personal level. On various occasions Kennedy has been able to use the media to hide matters ranging from his personal illnesses to the Cuban missile crisis. Kennedy’s foreign policy appeared to be so successful because of the power of media. Every action Kennedy took was amplified through newspaper headlines, TV news shows, radio shows, etc. Kennedy’s foreign Policy may have had successes such as the Cuban Missile crisis, but also has faced failures such as the Bay of Pigs. These results were just dramatized with the help of the growing media industry that had not yet revealed to the public how easy it was to manipulate and lie with the media.