October 28 - The Cuban Missile Crisis Ends

This Day in History: 28 October 2020

 

28 October 1962

 

58 years ago, today, the Cuban Missile Crisis came to an end when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev agreed to remove Russian missiles from Cuba, in exchange for an American promise to respect Cuba's territorial sovereignty. This agreement ended nearly two weeks of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union that was close to provoking a nuclear conflict. The crisis was initiated in response to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, and the discovery of American missiles in Italy and Turkey, when Khrushchev placed nuclear missiles in Cuba to prevent a future invasion. A naval blockade was ordered by President Kennedy to prevent further missiles from entering Cuba in retaliation.

 

The consequences of the crisis varied. Relations between the communist nations of Cuba and the Soviet Union were insecure for some time after Khrushchev removed the missiles, as Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader, accused him of deserting the Cuban revolution. European allies of the United States were also angered, but not due to the American stance, but because Kennedy's administration kept them virtually in the dark about ongoing negotiations that may have led to a devastating nuclear war. Inside the Soviet Union, hard-liners were disgusted by Khrushchev's withdrawal of weapons. He was removed from power two years later.

 

Want to find out more about the Cuban Missile Crisis? Click here for more information, or here for an animated video about the crisis.

September 12 - Marriage of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier

This Day in History: 12 September 2020

 

12 September 1953

 

67 years ago, today, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy, the future president, married Jacqueline Bouvier in St Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Seven years later, the two would become the youngest president and first lady in American history. Jackie wore an ivory silk gown that had been made by Ann Lowe, an African-American designer. Around 750 guests attended the Catholic mass, and an additional 450 people joined the wedding reception held at Hammersmith Farm. The couple danced to the Meyer David Orchestra's version of 'I Married An Angel'. David had also performed at Jackie's parents' wedding and at Kennedy's inaugural ball.

Jackie was born into a prominent family in 1929 and grew up as a horsewoman and reader. In 1951, after graduating from George Washington University, she took a tour of Europe, before she began her first job as the 'inquiring camera girl' for the Washington Times-Herald. Soon afterwards, she met John Kennedy at a dinner party in Georgetown. They began to date for the next two years, during which Jackie feared she would marry a man allergic to horses, something she never thought to consider. In 1953, the two were engaged when Kennedy gave Jackie a diamond-and-emerald ring from Van Cleef and Arpels.

Want to find out more about the marriage of John and Jackie? Click here for more information, or here for more about the life of Jaqueline.

JFK

On this Day: 22 November 1963

 

56 years ago, today, American President, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated while driving in Dallas among a motorcade, during a campaign visit. The motorcade was turning past the Texas School Book Depository at Dealey Plaza as crowds watched lined upon on the streets, and suddenly Kennedy was shot dead. The driver immediately raced to the nearby Parkland Memorial Hospital, but because the shots were in the neck and head, Kennedy was pronounced dead half an hour after the events unfolded. Kennedy would later be remembered by Americans and the rest of the world for the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, two events that took place in the height of the Cold War that caused mass tension around the world.

 

Later in the day, Marxist Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested as a suspect for JFK’s assassination. However, only two days later would Oswald be murdered by local nightclub owner Jack Ruby at an extremely close range, on live TV.

 

Want to find out more? Visit https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/jfk-assassination for further details

Does accuracy matter in historical drama?

An interesting debate in the BBC News History Magazine on the Kennedys programme regarding historical accuracy. Definitely worth watching, the Kennedys tells the story of John F Kennedy's background and rise to power covering issues such as his relationship with his domineering father and his wife Jackie. It is very controversial in the States and was pulled by many of the major channels, supposedly under pressure from the Kennedy family. Does it matter that dramas take liberties with history? Would anyone ever watch historical drama if it didn't? How true do you think their interpretation is?
Here is the link to the programme on BBCIPlayer and here a link to the Kennedy Home movies - a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes and also a special debate on the Culture Show. Enjoy.

JFK's Inaugural Speech

President John F Kennedy delivered his famous inaugurual speech 50 years ago today. It includes the famous line "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" and many other impressive pieces of rhetoric. Kennedy ordered his aide to analyse all the previous inaugural speeches, plus other famous speeches such as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, to try to understand the key to what made a particular phrase memorable and successful. As this interesting article from the BBC shows, the speech is full of contrasts, as shown in the example above, 3 part lists, and alliteration, such as "Let us go forth to lead the land we love". The research paid off, and JFK, despite his comparative youth, was able to establish himself and set his agenda both with his domestic audience and the rest of the world. You can see video of the speech, and annotations of its highlights, here.

JFK and the Art of Politics

Andrew Marr has written an article and will be presenting a programme on Sunday to mark the 50th anniversary of John F Kennedy's successful presidential campaign. Kennedy has become iconic because of his youth, great speeches and tragic early death. Marr argues that if you study his campaign closely, the truth is rather more murky. Kennedy's political team (which included Ted Sorensen, who died recently) pulled every trick they could in order to secure victory. "It is a tale of soaring and risk-taking rhetoric..." writes Marr, "but also big money, smears, bribes, wire-pulling and bottomless cynicism." Marr believes this set the template for the modern political campaign, linked very clearly to the rapidly- developing world of advertising and PR as seen in "Mad Men". The most well known aspect of the campaign was the television debates (which we have blogged about before). One interesting fact was that Kennedy asked for a "comfort break" with a minute to go before transmission, and only reappeared with seconds to go. This clearly unsettled his opponent, Richard Nixon, who went on to deliver a rather flustered and unsteady performance. Let us know what you think of the programme.

Ted Sorensen

Ted Sorensen, John F Kennedy's speech writer, has died. He cooperated with JFK to write such famous lines as "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" from the President's inaugural speech. His close relationship with Kennedy was particularly important during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when he drafted with Bobby Kennedy a letter to Nikita Khrushchev. This careful piece of diplomacy ignored some of Khrushchev's harsher comments but agreed to remove missiles from the US base in Turkey, persuading the Soviets to withdraw their missiles from Cuba. "That's what I'm proudest of," he once said. "Never had this country, this world, faced such great danger. You and I wouldn't be sitting here today if that had gone badly." You can read more about Sorensen here, plus his comments on Kennedy's inaugural speech here.

Prime Ministerial Debates

Should Gordon Brown take part in a televised debate? Sky News has announced that it will hold one before the next elections, and David Cameron and Nick Clegg have agreed to take part. However, Brown knows there are considerable risks involved - this Economist article gives as an example the debate between Kennedy and Nixon in 1960. Radio listeners thought that Nixon was the better debater that night, but television viewers (of which there were many millions more) thought Nixon looked sweaty and shifty, whilst JFK came across as calm and reasonable.

However, if Brown doesn't take part, Sky says they will go ahead anyway and leave an empty chair to represent him - perhaps they will be tempted to follow Have I Got News for You who once represented Roy Hattersley with a tub of lard when he was unable to turn up...