History 474B

Devine

 

Kennedy Discussion Questions

 

David Farber, “The World as Seen From the White House”

 

  1. Despite being close to Nixon’s position on many of the issues during the 1960 campaign, Kennedy still sought to distinguish himself from the Eisenhower administration and the Republican party.  How did he go about doing this?  According to Kennedy, what was wrong with the Eisenhower/Nixon policies? What kind of “change” did he offer as an alternative?

 

 

  1. How did Kennedy’s approach to foreign policy differ from Eisenhower’s?

 

 

  1. Some historians refer to the Bay of Pigs Invasion as a “fiasco.”  Why did things go so wrong for the Kennedy administration?

 

 

  1. What caused the superpowers’ dispute over Berlin?  Why did JFK actually welcome the construction of the Berlin Wall?

 

 

  1. The Soviets and the US perceived the situation in Cuba very differently. Why? What was of most concern for each nation?  How did each nation view the outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis?  How did that crisis affect subsequent foreign policy making in the US?

 

 

  1. In what ways did the Peace Corps and the Green Berets typify Kennedy’s dual approach to the Third World?

 

 

Allen Matusow, “Politics and Principle: The Issue of Civil Rights”

 

  1. How were changes in the cotton economy, the experience of World War II, and the emergence of the Civil Rights movement related?

 

 

  1. Why was Kennedy initially reluctant to take a strong position in favor of Civil Rights?  What circumstances caused him to “go slow” on this issue?  If he wanted meaningful reform to succeed, was “going slow” the best available or most realistic strategy to pursue?

 

 

  1. Matusow suggests that if Kennedy “could have confined the civil rights issue to Washington [he] could probably have managed it.” (70)  What does he mean by this? What role did those outside of Washington – whites and blacks – play in forcing the President off his preferred track?

 

 

  1. The U.S. has a “federal” legal system. Why is this significant in the context of the Civil Rights struggle?

 

 

  1. Why did the demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama  (and Bull Connor’s reaction to them) prove a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement?

 

 

  1. As he attempted to push a Civil Rights bill through Congress, Kennedy concluded that liberals were “sons of bitches.”  Why did he believe this?  Was he right?

 

  1. In his recounting the legislative process that produced the Civil Rights bill, what does Matusow reveal about how laws are made?  How would you describe this process in light of the old cliché: “Politics is the art of the Possible”?

 

  1. What is your overall evaluation of the Kennedy brothers’ approach to Civil Rights?

 

 

Hugh Brogan, “Death and a Presidency”

 

  1. Why was JFK’s death “unacceptable” to the American public?  Why was the explanation that Oswald acted alone “unacceptable”?

 

  1. Why are conspiracy theories regarding JFK’s death so durable, even in the absence of corroborating evidence?

 

  1. According to Brogan, what is the “meaning” of JFK’s assassination? (211)

 

  1. How might Kennedy’s and Oswald’s lives be read as “the negative and positive of the same image”?

 

  1. How has the legacy of John Kennedy affected subsequent presidencies?