For a start, I'll let you in on something that's likely to warm your hearts. One of my classes at UK requires a weekly posting somewhat like these assignments. This week I sat down to do my homework and decided to post directly to blackboard instead of typing the assignment first on Word. You can guess the rest, and, yes, I was about finished when tragedy struck. I was mad at myself but had to grin when I thought of the times I'd warned you about the exact same thing.
Now on to your assignment. Of all the modern presidents none has captured the imagination of the US and world quite like John Kennedy. He was the first of his generation to be elected as president - the World War II generation, sometimes called the "greatest generation". Later Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush Sr would be elected from that generation, an unprecedented accomplishment that is unlikely to be equalled in the future.
Kennedy was to face several challenges upon assuming the presidency. The Cold War was in full gear and its effects were causing concern about nuclear war and increased commitment to Vietnam, among other things. Twice the US came to the brink of all-out war with the Soviet Union, and both events centered on the island of Cuba. In 1959, a year before Kennedy's election, Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban government and assumed dictatorial powers. Amazingly, today, more than 50 years later, Castro is still in power, though his younger brother Raul governs the country.
As Castro came to power the Cuban army and many business elites of the country fled to the US - 30,000 of them were given citizenship in a single day, in fact, and their political and cultural influence is still powerful today, especially in parts of Florida. These Cuban-Americans despise Castro and were intent on staging a counter-revolution based in the US to regain control of their home country. This and other events caused the new Cuban government to reach out to the Soviets for support, which of course the communists were more than happy to supply. Ironically, the US CIA had actually assisted Castro in his revolution in order to get rid of the corrupt regime of Cuban President Batista. Almost accidentally a new communist country came into existence only 90 miles from the shores of south Florida - not a pleasing prospect for the US during the Cold War!
The first major confrontation came with the Bay of Pigs invasion, in which US-assisted Cuban-Americans invaded Cuba with disastrous results. The second was the "Cuban Missile Crisis" in which the US discovered that the Soviets were placing powerful inter-continental ballistic missiles - nuclear bombs - in Cuba, and they were going to be capable of destroying any US city. The world watched and waited as the Soviet ships bearing the missiles were intercepted by US naval vessels and a stand-off occurred. For thirteen days, no one knew if nuclear war would occur.
On both of these occasions many of Kennedy's advisors urged him to attack Cuba and use the nuclear capabilities of our armed forces. Instead, Kennedy chose to listen to a group of young advisors, many of them in their 20s and 30s, most important being his younger brother Robert (whom he'd appointed to be his Attourny General), and their advice kept the US from precipitating Word War III. I'd like you to chose one of these events and analyze Kennedy's abilities as president. Was he a good leader? Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time? Should he have acted differently?
For information about the Bay of Pigs Invasion, go to http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/JFK+in+History/JFK+and+the+Bay+of+Pigs.htm
For information about the Cuban Missile Crisis, go to http://www.jfklibrary.org/jfkl/cmc/cmc_intro.html
If there are other events in Kennedy's administration that you'd prefer to research, you may begin at the Kennedy Presidential Library homepage: http://www.jfklibrary.org/
Please note that the 4th quarter bonus opportunity will be posted sometime this week. God bless!
The Cuban Missile Crisis - 1962
ReplyDelete1) Was he a good leader? Yes, I think that he was a good leader in that instance. I don't think I really could have done better. He kept our country from nuclear confrontation with the Soviets. I think that showed excellent leadership.
2.) Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time? I think that he did make the correct choice, especially given what he knew at the time. I think that he made the decision that would work out best if we were trying to avoid conflict. So, I really agree with and approve of his decisions and don't really have that much more to say about them.
3.) Should he have acted differently? Well, I think I have already stated that I don't think he should have done anything different. I mean, I don't think invading Cuba, or starting a full-fledged nuclear war in attempt to destroy the Soviet Union would have been a great idea for the American people, unless we wanted to lose a chunk of our nation. And, if the missile base was planned to be used offensively against us, it is a good thing that we were able to have it removed. So, I am pretty much all for Kennedy's decision.
1) Was he a good leader?
ReplyDeleteI think JFK was a great leader. Not only was he young, lively and popular, he was a smart politician from what I can tell. Doing all that and being so active while also secretly having chronic back pain is a feat. He also went through many hard decisions in his presidency which further strengthens my belief that he was a strong president.
2)Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
I think he definitely made the right choice. There was so much going on and so much to still recover from. America was till recovering from WWII money wise and had other things to deal with. Also, don't forget, we are in Vietnam right now in '62 when this occurred. And we all know how bad the Vietnam war got in the coming years. I cannot imagine fighting a full-fledged war in Vietnam and with the massive Soviet Union. The amount of money, troops, supplies and stress that would have been on America and especially Kennedy would have been unbearable in my opinion.
3) Should he have acted differently?
No, I think not. Like I said previously, going to war with the USSR would have just been stupid. We are already in Vietnam and it would have been too much. I probably would have just given up if that has happened.
Colby, I read your post. I agree wiht you on pretty much everything that you said. I had similar answers in my essay, and also think that John F. Kennedy made very good decisions in this event. Good post, I don't know if I could agree with you much more on the particular subject. Peace out \/.. lol.
ReplyDeleteoops...that was supposed to look like a peace sign.
ReplyDeletehow do u delete comments? A peace sign isn't controversial now that we have finished the Vietnam section, right?
ReplyDeleteThe Bay of Pigs- 1961
ReplyDelete1. Was he a good leader?
JFK was an excellent president for the time he served. However the Bay of Pigs demonstrated a weakness JFK had in leadership. He sometimes buckled under pressure, which is understandable for a man with so much on his shoulders. He manifested that he had moved from this weakness in the Cuban Missile Crisis and his smooth handling of it.
2. Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
JFK deserted the Cuban Rebellion forces and left them to be lambasted by the Cuban military resulting in 100 killed and 1200 surrendered. JFK in my own opinion made a very poor decision leaving the cubans out to dry. He could have followed through with the initial plan and supported the counter revolutionaries effectively ending the Casto regime.
3. Should He Have Acted Differently?
ABSOLUTELY!! JFK left those he PROMISED TO HELP!! People's lives were at steak and a young, indecisive president didn't respond the way he should have. JFK could have handled this very effectively if only he could have used the resources at his disposal effectively.:(
Here's the link for my extra credit interview.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EjpwsG6Epg
Though Kennedy was a very popular president and is still well known today, so far I’m not so sure about how I feel on the subject of whether or not he was really a good leader. In the Bay of Pigs event, it seems like he was much too hasty to follow through with what Eisenhower set up previously, and I don’t know if he really thought through what he was doing very well. He listened to a group of young advisors for one thing. Also, to rely on the population to rise up and help take action may not have been wise since the population did not. Now, the idea in itself was not a bad one, to try and bomb the areas in Cuba where communism was trying to be spread Yet, they failed to destroy the main planes and left Fidel Castro still intact. I realize that just because a plan failed under a presidency does not mean that it was because the president was a bad leader and made the wrong decision. However, in this case, I believe that maybe the U.S should have acted differently instead of using old bombers and relying too much on poor intelligence. I don’t understand why Kennedy decided to stop the bombing the second day but still send troops over there to fight, when it was all basically a mess. Fidel Castro captured them and then in order to fix it we sent baby food and drugs over to Cuba because that’s what the country needed at the time and that’s what it took for him to set the captives free. Sounds like one of those cheesy cartoons to me. I’d hate to blame Kennedy for all of this, because he did just listen to his advisors and do what he thought was right. But then maybe he should have had his advisors double check their sources of intelligence.
ReplyDeletethe cuban missile crisis-
ReplyDelete1) ok at this point lets think about what Americans at home were going through while a political world war was taking place. not just millions of combat soldiers lives were at stake but millions of American citizens on a scale and in a setting that no one had ever seen or could imagine in America, not europe or asia like wars past. our very future was at stake.
2) was jfk a good leader? ...as a whole i would say he by far is not the worst president, he lead with boldness and a persona that captured the hearts of millions of Americans and earned the respect of those who did not aprove of him as president. now as relates to the cuban missile crisis i definately think he was an outstanding diplomatic leader because he could see the potential destruction on his shoulders if he was to fail.
3)i can answer the last two questions in one point. Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time? Should he have acted differently? ...to the first question. i believe he made the correct choice in that he didnt start pushing buttons and watchin millions of people die and seeing the world ending. the second question: i say no, when relating to the cuban missile crisis, i could say yes to many other events in his career, but on this point he handled the situation with a carefulness and gentleness that was absolutely neccessary to the preservation of our nation and millions of others around the world.
http://www.jfklibrary.org/jfkl/cmc/cmc_intro.html
Cuban Missile Crisis
ReplyDeleteWas he a good leader?
Yes, John F. Kennedy was a good leader even though he was the youngest elected President. He did have the help and support of his Cabinet to make decisions, but he kept the world from basically being obliterated by nuclear missiles. In the end, he gained the respect of people from both political parties which is amazing to me.
Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
Yes, he did make the correct choice given what he knew at the time. That was an extremely hard decision for a person to make. If he had decided to attack then millions of people would have died, and World War III would have probably been started. Since he decided to stay back, he saved the world from total destruction, and later he and Khrushchev signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which was a start in the long process of stopping nuclear missiles.
Should he have acted differently?
No, he handled it the way it should have been handled by staying back instead of attacking. He knew that attacking would just end up in the death of millions of people. He made the right decision.
http://www.jfklibrary.org/jfkl/cmc/cmc_intro.html
1) Was he a good leader?
ReplyDeleteI don't think JFK was a bad leader necessarily, but I don't think he did much leading himself in a military aspect. To the contrary, he focused all of his attention on domestic America and completely abandoned the military, establishing himself as a weak pacifist whether he meant to or not.
2.) Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time? That depends on which choice you're talking about. In the Cuban Missile crisis, I think we could have nuked Cuba so quickly and strongly that it would have been nothing but a sand-flavored potato chip floating off the coast of Florida. However, the aftermath of this might have been the USSR sending their missiles our way. Even if they didn't hit the US, they would ruin our peace of mind and the whole we-don't-fight-on-our-own-turf mentality. However, at the Bay of Pigs, JFK abandoned the army. That was really really weak of him in my opinion. I understand that he didn't want to go all our against Cuba, but he should have still went in and saved the men he could. That is the least he could have done for these men that were willing to die to support the country he was running.
3.) Should he have acted differently?
I have already answered this in question 2. I think in the Cuban Missile crisis, he acted in about the only rational way. But in the Bay of Pigs, he set men up for failure, then abandoned them. Their deaths are all on his hands.
1) Was he a good leader?
ReplyDeleteI think JFK was a great leader. He had to overcome many great challenges in his life from his constant poor health, to the great pressure put on him by his family. And his presidency was no different; he had many huge decisions to make, and had to deal with many difficult situations. The Cuban Missile Crisis for example, but throughout it all in my opinion he was a great leader for our country.
2) Did he make the correct choice based on what he knew at the time?
He absolutely made the right choice based on what he knew at the time. The biggest reason I think this is because he kept us out of war. And we managed to work things out with our counter parts without serious confrontation. If we would have gone to war with Russia it would have been a world changing event based on both of our nuclear capabilities. JFK wasn't perfect, but in my opinion he handled that situation as close to perfect as possible.
3) Should he have acted differently?
No, absolutely not, he did everything he could to settle the whole thing without going to war with the Soviet Union, which was probably the most important thing he did while he was president. I support his decisions and actions 100%.
JFK and the Cuban Missile Crises
ReplyDeleteWas he good leader?
Yes I think that John F. Kennedy was a good leader. It is almost like he had a sixth sense or something. Even though all his advisors were telling him to drop the bomb he knew that it was wrong. And when they asked to invade he said no. but despite that, he was loved by Americans and respected (although sometimes questioned). Some thought that he was too young and inexperienced to be a good leader, but he turned out to be just what America needed most.
Did he make the right choice given what he knew?
Yes, in this case he most certainly did. By not dropping the bomb he kept us out of nuclear warfare, and possibly World War lll.
Should he have acted differently?
No, I honestly don’t think that there was any other way that he could have responded (besides dropping the bomb. But we all know where that would have gotten us). He knew that Cuba had bombs that were capable of reaching extremely long distances in just a matter of minutes. And that if we did get involved at that point (like I said) it could get ugly. I’m not a mind reader, but I’m pretty sure that he also had in mind that fact that Cuba could be “talked” out of any kind of violence.
My source was http://www.jfklibrary.org/jfkl/cmc/cmc_intro.html
Bay of Pigs (oink)
ReplyDelete1) Yes, I think that John Fitzgerald Kennedy was a great president and leader for the tough times he dealt with. I can’t imagine the stress of being president at that time. He had a lot of obstacles to hurdle. He wasn’t a perfect leader, a prime example of some weakness being the Bay of Pigs situation.
2) This will include question three as well. No, I do not think he made the right choice. In fact, I believe that he made a terrible decision. JFK should have not deserted the Cuban-Americans. He should have supported the counter revolutionaries like he promised. I think that he shouldn’t have cancelled the second attack. We could have aided them with our military might, and in doing so end Castro’s regime. Obviously, the outcome of the invasion would have been a whole lot better if we assisted them. This definitely is a black eye for the Kennedy Administration. But, like I said earlier, he was a good president. He just goofed up a bit here.
Colby, you made a good point in your essay. John F. Kennedy was a young and smart politician. He made some really good decisions during the few years that he was President. Some of which would be pretty hard for the average person to make, but he kept his cool and went through with the major decisions. Good essay, Colby.
ReplyDeleteJosh, you had an excellent essay. Some of your remarks I liked. John F. Kennedy might have made some mistakes in some things but that goes to show that he was human. He did have many great obstacles to battle such as the Vietnam War which was still going on at the time. Some of the stress and pain that he had to go through must have been unbearable every now and then, but he dealt with it. I know that the stress that he went through would have made me just go crazy. In the end, he might have made some mistakes, but he was an overall good President. Good essay, Josh.
ReplyDeleteWhen i brought up the assignment to my mother she immediately started telling me her memory of the Bay of Pigs. She said her father, my grandfather, talked about President Kennedy with disgust. He felt that President Kennedy had betrayed the trust of the Cuban people. She told me that she didn't remember him talking about politics often, but remembered how frustrated he was with the Kennedy administration. He felt that President Kennedy had frozen up when things started to go wrong and sis not follow through in his leadership. My grandfather was borne in L.A. in 1912. The Presidents that were his heroes were Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Regan. I'm curious about the military knowledge between Eisenhower and JFK. Eisenhower had led D-Day JFK was in the war as a lieutenant, junior grade P.T. boat commander.
ReplyDeleteAs the role of a president there is no room for mistakes. I know it happens and no one is perfect, but if there had not been a mistake in the weather report and time zone calculations(which should have not happened especially for the army of the United States of America im sorry that's just pathetic) 100 lives would have been saved and and 1,200 men would have not been imprisoned. I think Kennedy should have regrouped after the first air attack instead of quieting.
1)Was JFK a good presedent?
ReplyDeleteJFK was the youngest ever elected presedent. he delt with alot of communist issues once in office.and on top of that he had alot of health problems during his presedency that he kept from us citezens,one of those problems being chronic back pain that he had trouble with every day.Even with all of these problems JFK still managed to be a great presedent.
2)Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
I do think that JFK made the wright decision at the timeto try to avoid conflict with the soviets,beacouse at the time we were still in vietnam,and on top of that we were still recovering from the financial issues from WWII
3)Should he have acted differently?
I do not think that JFK should have acted differently beacouse at the time we were still in vietnam. and it would have been way to difficult to go to war with the soviets becouse our troops would have been spread way to thin and financially impossible.
The Bay of Pigs invasion.
ReplyDeleteBefore President Kennedy was inaugurated, he was informed of a plan the CIA had created for the Eisenhower administration. They were distrustful of Fidel Castro and wary of his relationship with the Soviet Premier. The plan was to train cubans that had defected to the united states to return to cuba and overthrough the communist government. They trained them in guerilla fighting and assault landing tactics. The government tried to keep it quiet, but it soon became common knowledge in miami. Castro of course found out too. After his inauguration, JFK ok'd the plan on the condition that it the U.S.'s support would be hidden. The landing spot was decided to be the Bay of Pigs, a remote place on the southern base of the island.
There were suppost to be two air strikes, and a 1400 man invasion force. Paratroopers were suppost to drop in to place to block of the cuban forces. The main force would then advance to Matanzas establish a defensive perimiter.
On April 15, 1961, Eight B-26 bombers bombed cuban airfields, but failed to destroy all the planes. The CIA had used old WWll bombers, and had repainted them to look like cuban planes. Pictures of the planes were leaked, and JFK cancelled the second airstrike. The cuban exile force landed on April 17, and was immediately under heavy fire. The planes that were not destroyed by the airstrike strafed them, and destroyed some of the landing ships. The landing forces were hampered by bad weather, and small ammounts of amuniton. After many more failures, the end result was 100 of the invaders were killed and 1200 were captured.
I think that overall, JFK was good a leader. I think that he made a good decision with the current situation. But I think that it should have been kept more secret.
ok. so i did this last night and the computer shut off right as i finished and i lost the entire thing. so i'm going to try this one more time.
ReplyDeleteso we have been talking about JFK and Johnson and all those other guys. JFK, was he a good leader? although he was young, i believe he was a great leader. His skills at leadership, his comfortability, his patience. all these qualities and many more make up a good leader. i think JFK wasnt only a good leader, i do think he was excelent. especially when the Cuban missile crisis occurred. JFK was pressured by all of his advisors to drop the bomb, and did he?? NO SIREE he didn’t!! a great leader stands out. he doesn’t follow someone else, he makes his own path. this upset his advisors a little but everything turned out just dandee.
given the circumstances I think that JFK made the decision that he thought would best suit this country. and I suppose it was the right one. we didn’t have any bombs dropped on us or anything.
should he have acted differently?? I think he acted the best way he possibly could have. I mean im sure if he were still alive he would have wanted to change things. there are things I did today that I would change. I think that he did what he did to the best of his ability.
Was JFK a good leader?
ReplyDeleteYes, JFK was an incredible leader, but remember so was Adolph Hitler. (I say this to make the point that people can be great leaders but not really be great people.) Kennedy, however, was much different than Hitler. He was a powerful, charismatic, charming person who, I believe, truly loved his country and wanted what was best for it. He was a person who cared for the people, and the country. Even with his physical ailments and weaknesses he presented himself as strong and unshakable.
Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
Yes and no. Seeing missile launch bases in another country is intimidating. I am sure President Kennedy was somewhat shaken up, so based on what he had to go with I think he made a good decision. (The fact that he wanted to get the missiles out of Cuba is a good thing in itself.) Plus, he did not react irrationally and start dropping bombs everywhere.
Should he have acted differently?
Again, yes and no. In some situations, yes he should have acted differently. He should not have abandoned the troops at the Bay of Pigs. There are still many, many other decisions he made that were smart and logical.
hannah, i wrote my essay and saw yours and thought....well..we agreed on absolutely everything!! ha!! JFK was pretty darn good though. i think that there really is TOO YOUNG of an age to become a leader. look at some of our younger students in the school. they are becoming leaders slowly but surely. JFK was the definition of a good young leader
ReplyDeletebiggin, i think that its really cool that u included your grandfather and his opinion during this assignment. i would be curious to know what he thinks about our current president. many people dont realize how wise grandparents can be. they have been through a very long period of time and have seen almost everything we have in some form or fashion. interesting essay biggin
ReplyDeleteMady, I enjoyed reading your essay and I liked the way you worded what you said about Kennedy. You brought up the fact that he was a good leader that truly wanted the best for his country even though he was weak physically he definitely put his best effort forth as a president. I also liked the way you put that yes and no, he did make the right choices but could have done it differently. My essay was pretty much based only on what I had researched for the Bay of Pigs, so it was good to read someone with a positive outlook on Kennedy, meaning that even though he shouldn’t have abandoned his troops in the Bay of Pigs, there were many other decisions he made that were good ones.
ReplyDeleteHannah, when you mentioned that some thought Kennedy was too young and inexperienced to be a good leader, I agree with you that he may have been just what America needed at the time. Though he made some mistakes(and who doesn’t) I don’t believe that being young makes the difference necessarily. Dude, the bible is full of examples of young people that made a big stand for God and set examples to others. I don’t think Kennedy made the best personal decisions from what I heard in class, but he still had his good points about him.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a unpleasant test of Kennedy’s ability to lead and to do so wisely. When the American people see that there is a high possibility of terror or hurt for them, we become very scared. As president, Kennedy had to make sure, as every president should, that he did what was best for this country and for this people.
ReplyDeleteWas he a good leader?
We all have our political views and opinions, but putting all that aside we must look at the leadership quality itself. John Kennedy was a great leader and the Cuban Missile Crisis really tested that. One thing I admire about the way he handled the situation. He thought the issue through and did things rationally. I’m not a fan of jumping into things too quickly and Kennedy looked at the results of his actions if he were to handle the situation in a very impulsive way. He might have not acted as quickly as people would have liked, but he did not do something so quick that it actually hurt the country in the end.
Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
This really goes back to what I was just talking about. Yes, he took what he knew and thought through it. He weighed the pros and cons of the decisions he could make, and made his decision to what he knew would not lead the country into a greater war or an escalating situation.
Should he have acted differently?
This was a tough one for me. Some may be able to look at his choice and see everything that should have been changed, but I don’t. I see that the choice he made might have saved us from a greater war with more death and destruction.
Mady, I really liked what you said at the beginning of your essay. A person may be a fantastic leader and be an awful person. It is a great point to bring up especially in today’s time. We look around and see these young energetic leaders that can lead, yes, but their motives and proposals are not what we, as a people, are looking for. Very good point.
ReplyDeleteAnna, you say that you are undecided as to whether or not Kennedy was a good leader, and I see why. We look at the people in power today and when they mess up, it is a lot easier for us to see that, than to see all of their good points. I think, when forming our opinions about a person’s ability to lead, we must look at how they lead and what the results of their choices are, and then make the decision about their capability to lead the entire great nation of America.
ReplyDeleteDid JFK make the correct choice? His choices kept us from nuclear war so he defiantly made good choices. If they were the best choices, probable not, but they were good enough. People don’t understand what could have happened. The world could have been destroyed in nuclear winter. Was he a good leader? This is hard to tell because he was not in office for a full term. Honestly, I think he was. He accomplished a lot while he was in office. He inspired the nation to go to the moon. That was ridicules at that time. His speeches were good and inspirational. He did something that Abraham Lincoln did. He chose a VP that was completely opposite of himself. Should JFK have acted differently? Here comes the controversial part. He had some problems. I do not criticize him for the ridiculously amount of medication he was on. He was a sickle man. That is what we do to sickly people. For other things he could have been more faithful. He was a man though. He was not perfect. He did some things which he should not have done but he is only human. Also he was under presser. He probably dealt with a lot of stress as president.
ReplyDeleteThe Bay of Pigs:
ReplyDeleteWas he a good leader?
I believe the JKF was a good leader. Like all men he did make some pretty big mistakes. I belive he tried to make decisions that he thought would be good for the country. This didn't always turn out to great, then again sometimes he did a great job.
Did he make the right choice given what he knew at the time?
The invasion of the bay of pigs I believe was not one of his better choices. I can't say whether the invasion itself was or was not a bad decision but i think that he should have given it a bit more consideration to start with and secondly he should not have abandonded the forces in need of help. He did what he thought was good for this country but it may have not been the right decision. In the Cuban Missle Crisis i think he did a great job in handling that. So i would say he was a good leader but like any leader he made decisions that were not so good for his country.
Should he have acted differently?
Yes he probably should have from the beginning. I think he should have given this some more thought and consideration and if they did decide to go through with it they probably should have had a better plan becaus eobviously this one was not good at all considering the amount of men that were killed or taken prisoner of war. So yes i think he could have acted differently for the betterment of the whole idea and decision.
The Cuban Missile Crisis-
ReplyDelete1) I think that Kennedy was a good leader. Of course, he wasn’t perfect but he avoided involving the US in more global conflict. He tried to help those less fortunate, for example, by founding the Peace Corps to help developing nations with education, health care, etc.
2) I think he did make the right choice. Instead of attacking Cuba during the standoff like he was being pressured to, he worked it out with Khrushchev and possibly saved thousands of lives if a nuclear war had been declared. Afterwards, the Limited Test Ban Treaty was agreed upon by the US, Soviet Union, and Great Britain.
3) In my opinion, any problem that can be solved without fighting should be solved that way. There’s no sense in going to war if the dilemma can be talked out and a solution can be found. I definitely think that Kennedy made the right choice when he talked with Khrushchev and they reached a peaceful solution.
1) I think that JFK was a good leader. He definitely had the respect of his peers. He also kept us out of a major war with Cuba, although the Bay of Pigs was rather embarassing.
ReplyDelete2) He definitely made the correct choices at the time he was required too. He had excellent advisors around him, like his brother Bobby Kennedy and his advisor Ted Sorenson. He also made choices that would benefit the country. He also knew how to make decisions that were well thought-out.
3) No I do not think that he should have acted differently. As I said in my second paragraph, he made decisions that were well thought-out and thorough. Actually, he could have made one decision change: the Bay of Pigs. It was extremely embarassing for the country.
Was he a good leader? I think Kennedy was a pretty good leader. Not the best we’ve ever seen, but he had some idea on how to run the country. He did, however, show some weakness in the Bay of Pigs being indecisive and somewhat impulsive. He should have listened to his older, wiser, more experienced advisors more too.
ReplyDeleteDid he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time? In the Bay of Pigs, I would say he didn’t. I think that decision was all about who he listened to, though. Like I said before, he should have listened to his older, wiser, and more experienced advisors and attacked Cuba. What he actually did made us look weak in my opinion.
Should he have acted differently? I would say the only decision of his presidency he should have acted differently on was the Bay of Pigs. We should have attacked Cuba and not backed out at the last second.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
ReplyDelete1) Was he a good leader?
I think Kennedy was a good leader. He was, at the very least, charismatic. He did a bunch of really good things for a country which I believe qualify him as a good leader. He established the Peace Corps; he also initiated the start of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He also, on multiple occasions, kept the U.S. out of nuclear conflict. I think the fact that in such a tense time as the Cold War it was best to have a president who was doing the most he could to keep us out of nuclear conflicts. In the case of the Bay of Pigs Invasion I think he needed to be more decisive as a leader.
2) Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
I think it’s hard to say, but I have to go with no. I’m going to start to sound very repetitive but the main problem to be was his being indecisive. I’m not sure which would’ve been better to go all out or leave those U.S. trained Cubans on their own, but he needed to go one way or the other; not try to hit the middle. I’m sure he was also being pressured by both sides, the older advisors and the younger advisors.
3) Should he have acted differently?
Well in the earlier stages the plan should’ve been kept quiet. Who knows how things would’ve played out had Castro had no knowledge of the attack. The invasion and work to get ready for it seemed sloppy and unorganized. I mean planes arrived because of what was late most likely time zone confusion. This was a serious situation and people were messing up what time they were supposed to get there; that just blows my mind. Like I said before, I think really he should’ve gone full force or nothing at all. The indecisiveness is what made this such a failure, in my opinion.
I chose to report on the Cuban Missile Crisis and how President Kennedy handled this particular situation. While no one even can accurately portray his overall ability as President, this was a pivotal and dangerous point in American history that could have sent all of humanity into a new, dark, nuclear world.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, a “good leader” cares about putting forth time and effort to protect and govern what he has been given leadership over. He is patient in ordering actions, but yet never lets it slip his mind that he may have to. He is on top of any situation that arises, giving it personal attention. Among the plethora of other characteristics, this short summary is enough to say that I believe John F. Kennedy was that type of man during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Being a good leader means making the best possible decision you can at the time, based upon what you know. John F. Kennedy knew one thing above all else, which was that nuclear war should be averted. He knew about the existence of offensive missile bases and even the stockpile of missiles, yet he chose to remain silent to Russian officials, playing dumb, but offering warnings. His advisors gave him two possibilities, air strike on the missiles, in conjunction with a land invasion of Cuba or a naval blockade of nuclear supplies.
The second of course was chosen, in what could be one of the most historically significant decisions to be made since the early days of our nation. In my line of thought, a blockade is strong and shows determination, yet is defensive more so than hostile, thereby accurately portraying our feelings. We would fight, but we would rather avoid it. This proved to be an amazingly important decision, because decades later, it would be revealed that Russia had been more than ready to begin nuclear war and in fact had missiles ready to fire if America invaded Cuba. Kennedy helped us avoid a dark, nightmarish future, with a history of nuclear war and fallout. To me, he should have acted no differently and he saved the world as we know it. Now that’s a good leader.
chose to do my report on the Bay of Pigs (http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/JFK+in+History/JFK+and+the+Bay+of+Pigs.htm):
ReplyDeleteWas he a good leader?
There are many ways you could answer this. You could say that he was a bad leader for not supporting the Cubans that they had spent time and effort to train for battle. Then you could say that he was a good leader for not getting into World War 3 with the Soviet Union.
I do think that he should have helped the Cuban refugees when they landed on the beaches of Cuba; but then again he may have saved more lives by not helping the Cuban refugees thus starting WW3.
Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
Yes, I believe he made the correct choice. JFK knew that Fidel Castro was another pawn controlled by the Soviet Union. And upon kowing this he decided not to help the Cuban refugees attack their homeland. Because if he had it is more than likely that he would have started WW3 and this way he saved more lives by not listening to his milatary advisors.
Should he have acted differently?
We all want to save the world. And if I had been JFK in this situation that probably what I would have done, I would have probably wanted to rid the world of Communism once and for all. But Kennedy knew that this wouldn't work and would more than likely kill more innocent people than save them.
ZiaBeth
ReplyDeleteI really liked your duel perspective on the questions that were presented. It helped keep your opinions open and as accurate as they could be with the information that you had access to. However, I think that your essay could have been much more interesting if you mentioned unicorns. It is a little known fact, but unicorns actually supported JFK in the the 1960 election. Unicorns make up a vast silent majority of the United States. (obviously they're silent. Even though they are enchanted, majestic, powerful beasts, they still only speak Latin which some say is the language of the gods.) But as I said, this is not common knowledge.
Excellent Essay, it was very well written and clear.
Roberto:
ReplyDeleteI really liked your essay in contrast to ZiaBeth's. You had strong, well rounded, certain opinions that made the issue seem very clear cut. Obviously you understand a great deal about the subject. One thing about his advisers, the older generation that Kennedy refused to listen to were in fact, unicorns. As you can imagine, the population of unicorns in the United States were appalled by his reckless counsel. Soon after his assassination, they went into hiding and never voted in another election again.
Great essay, it had a lot of thought and effort put into it. unlike this comment.
Morgan, good essay.I agree with you that the Bay of Pigs was probably not one of his greatest achievements, but seing that we are all human and are prone to mistakes he made the decision he thought was best for the country at that time.
ReplyDeleteOn the paragraph about whether or not he should have made a different decision, I don't think that we can judge that. I mean he probabbly had access to information that we didn't so on that I think with the situation he did a prety good job.
Guffey, good essay. I agree with you that he didi keep us from going deeper into war with the Soviet Union; we were already involved with them in a Cold War and any further action on our part would highten the possibilty of being hit with a nuclear missel. And I also think that if you can solve a problem without goin into war and having innocent people (the soldiers) fight for a cause they didn't start is great. Even though diplomatic reasoning doesn' always work in this case it did and I am quiet glad of t. I mean can you imagine th world tody iof we had gotten into WW3 with the Sovets? I don't think we would have as many beautiful landscapes as we do; in fact I'm pretty sure we would not. So I think for the options he was given he chose the right one.
ReplyDeleteRobbie, you had a pretty good essay. I agree with you that the Bay of Pigs wasn’t his best decision. It did bring some of his weaknesses to light. I also agree with you that Kennedy should have listened to his older, wiser advisors. Like you said, he shouldn’t have backed out at the last second.
ReplyDelete1) Was JFK a good leader? -
ReplyDeleteAside his affairs, I guess he was a good President. It's really important to me that for a man to be President, he must first be a good christian father, husband, and just as an individual all together. A leader could be great in the office but if he messes up in those areas I mentioned, he will not recieve my full support. The man is suppost to be the spiritual leader. If he can't be a good leader in that way, than how in the world is he going to lead the country correctly?
2) Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time? -
Yes, I do think he made the right choice. Although The Bay of Pigs didn't work, I think it was a good idea. And then in the Cuban missile Crisis, he made a good choice then also. If he had decided to attack, it would have been disastrous. So in both instances, I think he made good decisions.
3) Should he have acted differently? -
No, I don't think he should have acted differently. I kinda already answered this in the previous paragraph. He made good decisions, he kept the U.S. safe by making that decision with the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI completely and totally agree with you on what the "qualifications" of a president should be. I absolutely love it. This may be slightly off the subject, but I have heard so many people say we do not need Christian leaders in America. They can just be good people or even other religions as long as the good of the country is the goal. This is so wrong, especially if you are a Christian yourself. Like it or not, America has a Judeo-Christian heritage, and we need leaders who repspect and uphold that.
David,
You have an interesting point about Kennedy "landing somewhere in the middle" so to speak. It made me think in a way that he compromised to a degree. While compromise is not always a bad thing, it is something we have to be very careful when dealing with. If you compromise, or land in the middle, with the wrong people, bad things will happen. Anyways, I do not know if you meant it exactly like that, that is just what I inferred. Good essay.
Stotts, your essay was pretty good. I agree with you that JFK was a great leader. He possessed the qualities of a solid leader. I think you are right in saying that he made the best decision in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Like you said, he was a good leader because he wasn’t a follower. He did what he felt was right for the country.
ReplyDeleteMaxwell, you had a very similar essay to mine. I agree with what you said about his whit and smarts as a young president. You made a point very close to mine when you talked about a possible WWIII. I think that was very possible if they were to attack and signing the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is a large step forward to what the US has been wanting; the disarmign of nuclear missles.
ReplyDeleteEmily, you make an excellent point. The fact that Kennedy was slow to act was both good and bad. Good because it really saved our butts by not attacking and jumping into the battle right away, instead he sat back and analyzed the situatuion to make what I thought was an very fair choice. So we have similar views on this aswell. Good essay.
ReplyDeleteThe Bay of Pigs: 1961
ReplyDelete1. Was he a good leader?
In my opinion John F. Kennedy was a great man. He had his faults; his sins and temptations, but he was still wise, but at the Bay of Pigs I believe that he had major flaws. He led these people back to their land to regain it, but left them anyway.
2. Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
JFK could have made the right decision, but decided not to. He had a choice to stand beside the Cuban Rebellion forces, but he didn’t. I think he had some better decisions up his sleeve.
3. Should He Have Acted Differently?
Absolutely. He should have stayed there right beside those people that he PROMISED to help. But no he left them out to die. He should have stayed and fought with them, instead of letting them die. He had a lot of decisions to make, and some could have been the right ones. At first he promised to help these people regain their land, and then he turned his back on these people. I believe he could have acted a lot better than he did.
Was JFK a good Leader?
ReplyDeleteYes. I think JFK was a good leader. He got things done they way he thought they should be done. He took advice from his advisors , but always got opinions.
Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
Most of the time yes. Everything depended on him. If he didn't make the right decisions nuclear warfare could have broken out. So thinking about that I would say he made great decisions for the circumstance and what he knew about the situation.
Should he have acted differently?
No. I think he did everything that he could at the time. If he would have provoked the communists at all nuclear warfare would have broken out. He got a lot of advice, and made all of the right decisions except in his personal life.
1) Was he a good leader?
ReplyDeleteHe was decent. Not the best "conservative". Definitely better then Ted. He brother was a wacko. At the time, JFK was good for his purpose.
2.) Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
Yes, he was a conflict avoider. A "pacifist". Basically he hated war. He did anything and everything he could to avoid conflict. That hardly ever works though.
3.) Should he have acted differently?
Everyone can learn from his or her own past. So yes, I believe he would probably go back and change things to be a bit less pleasing to the masses, and more esteeming to himself
Maxwell, I agree with you that Kennedy was a good leader. Although he was young he seemed to have very good judgment when he decided to keep cool about things and not attack. Very good essay.
ReplyDeleteMadyson, I found your point about leadership interesting, and you are right. I’d never thought of it like that before but great leaders aren’t always great people. But fortunately Kennedy WASN’T Hitler and he led our country very well.
I liked what Emily said. The Cuban missile crisis was a good time to be scarred. At any moment everything could disintegrate. It is always better to walk carefully through something than to rush by it and make mistake. Ultimately he got us through it without a single city being vaporized. It could not have turned out better. People should always look at both sides of the argument before making a decision. Most people would stick to what they already believe and ignore the cons. I wonder if some of those missiles are still buried on Cuba.
ReplyDeleteI liked what Charity said. JFK was only human. He is not some glorious figure that some people hold him up to be. He made mistakes and so has every human. Honestly, he should have helped the invaders, but it would have meant war on Cuba. Cuba would have undoubtedly been destroyed. Plus, Cuba is very close to our mainland. I don’t know that war on Cuba would have been a good idea.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I liked your thoughts on the question "Should he have acted differently?" I think like you, President Kennedy should have kept more hands on in the nature of secrecy during the Bay of Pigs. I understand he was handed off the situation by former president Eisenhower. But being such a serious situation where in involved lives that is another thing. Whenever you are dealing with a socialistic or Muslim culture indecisiveness is never a good rule.
ReplyDeleteMadyson, I appreciated how you felt President J.F. Kennedy was a man who cared for the people and the country. I know the pressures in being president and i cant imagine what it would be like to be the son of Joseph Kennedy. To me in that family there must have been more than the normal pressure to succeed. Everybody comments on how president Kennedy though shaken, he did not react in fear, though men were telling him to drop a bomb. He refrained himself for the good of the nation.
Ashley, your essay was great. I especially liked the first section where you discussed how a leader must have good morals. And I completely agree with that. A leader is someone who, above all else, is supposed to set an example that all people will be glad to follow. And when someone doesn't set those good examples, I also will not support them.
ReplyDeleteVanessa, you had an awesome essay. I really liked the first section about how you discussed some of the qualities a leader must have. Like how they must think out decisions and know what their consequences might be, or if this decision they make will be right for the country in the scope of things. That's why good leaders are so hard to find. They have to be able to make decisions on the fly AND make decisions that will be good for the country. Tough job.
ReplyDeleteJacob,
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts, pretty decent analysis. Really, you chose both topics, which is pretty cool. You’re right though; he learned and improved as he gained experience, which is what a real person does. It shows that he was indeed a real man and that he made mistakes like the rest of us. The important part is learning from it, which he did. This was an early failure as you say, but good observation that he “grew up” so to speak.
Maxwell,
You chose the same subject as me, and we really arrived at the same conclusion. Must mean you were right. Haha. Good observations on his decisions and the wisdom behind them. Nice job throwing in the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. There was a lot of good information deeper within those links, which were spread out over several pages. Nice digging, sir. Very good analysis, good thoughts. Thanks for sharing!
Was he a good leader?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion John F Kennedy was a great leader. He was not only our youngest president but one of the smartest and best politicians we have seen as a President that is in my opinion. He also was a strong President not just mentally by making many of big decisions and making them well but physically with his chronic back pain and still being able to handle everything.
Did he make the correct choice given what he knew at the time?
I think Kennedy mad e the right choice. With everything America was going through with Vietnam it would have been such a loss to fight a full on war we loss our numbers of troops and not only that the cost and money
We would have lost would have been unbearable considering the debts we were still trying to pay off from WWII. Kennedy's decision was the best possible for America in my opinion.
Should he have acted differently?
No, I do not think that Kennedy should have changed anything; America going to war with the USSR would have been the dumbest thing possible at the time. With most of our army being in Vietnam, trying to fight two wars at the same time would have been a ridiculous thing to consider.
Cody, even though our responses were the complete opposite, I really enjoyed your essay. It was short and right to the point, but you made sure that your point was out there. I lovveeedd it.
ReplyDeleteAshley you said, “It's really important to me that for a man to be President, he must first be a good christian father, husband, and just as an individual all together.” I think that is an awesome point to make. If a man is not a spiritual leader then he is no leader at all. I loved that first paragraph and your essay as a hole was very well written also.
Mady, pointing out that Hitler was also a good leader was a smart thing to do because it shows that your opinion on his leadership skills don’t reflect on your opinion of him. You did go on to say that he always presented a strong image. I think you, whether it was on purpose or not, showed how image oriented Kennedy was which would influence his Presidency. People thought Kennedy showed weakness earlier in his presidency so he made sure strength was shown in every decision he made from then on. Mady, you said he had hits and misses in his decisions and I agree, but I think that we would say the same about any President.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I agree with on just about everything you said. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a terrible test Kennedy had to face and it was so soon in his presidency that Kennedy did the best he could to solve. He was patient, like you said, and so he made, in my opinion, the better decision of his two main options. When you said some people can see where he could’ve made a better choice, but I don’t think anyone can say what would’ve truly played out better. It’s counterfactual history and there’s no way to tell the way the events would’ve played out. Just think of the Ray Bradbury short story “A Sound of Thunder.”
I agree with Ryan The Adams John F Kennedy was great for his time but put him in the President position today (I think he would do better than what we got) but in situations such as the war in Iraq I don’t know if he would be able to handle the situations as they needed to be but during his era he was the best we could have asked for in his choices and way he fought through mental and physical pain.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ashley that Kennedy couldn’t have made a better choice, as she said the Bay of Pigs didn’t work, but the Cuban Missile Crises did, I agree with her saying if he had chosen to attack it would have went down as one of the worst mistakes made by a United Sates President, but by choosing not to do so it is known as one of his best choices he made.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete