Explanation: January 20, 1961
John F. Kennedy inaugurated
John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the thirty-fifth President of the United States.
January 20, 1961
John F. Kennedy inaugurated
John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the thirty-fifth President of the United States.
March 1, 1961
Temporary Peace Corps created
Kennedy, fulfilling a campaign pledge, issues an executive order creating a temporary Peace Corps and asks Congress to authorize the program permanently. He appoints Sargent Shriver to head the organization.
March 1, 1961
Temporary Peace Corps created
Kennedy, fulfilling a campaign pledge, issues an executive order creating a temporary Peace Corps and asks Congress to authorize the program permanently. He appoints Sargent Shriver to head the organization.
April 12, 1961
Yuri Gagarin becomes first in space
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space.
April 12, 1961
Yuri Gagarin becomes first in space
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space.
April 15, 1961
Bay of Pigs
A U.S.-sponsored invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs fails. With inadequate support and facing an overwhelming force, the CIA-trained brigade of anti-Castro exiles is defeated in a few days. Kennedy takes responsibility for the disaster.
Bay of Pigs Invasion Begins
On April 17, 1961, a brigade of about 1,500 Cuban exiles landed at Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on the southern coast of Cuba. Their mission was to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro by inciting revolt among the Cuban people. Funded and supplied by the United States, this invasion ended in absolute failure with some of the exiles killed and many captured by Castro's army. Although President John F. Kennedy wanted American involvement in the operation to remain covert, signs of CIA sponsorship of the brigade were obvious. In addition, the President's decision not to provide American air support for the invasion made him appear weak. The disastrous invasion stands out as one of the major mistakes of Kennedy's presidency.
The plan for a covert invasion of Cuba originated in the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Supported by both President Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon, CIA Director Allen Dulles and Richard Bissell, CIA deputy for planning, had trained anti-Castro forces in Guatemala in preparation for an invasion. Dulles and Bissell briefed Kennedy on the operation shortly after his election victory in November. Kennedy chose to reappoint Dulles to head the CIA in his administration.
Some in the administration warned Kennedy not to follow through with this attack. Liberals in the administration such as Chester Bowles, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and John Kenneth Galbraith felt that a Democratic administration should not carry out this kind of “adventurism.” In addition, some foreign policy experts, such as Dean Acheson, feared that the operation as planned was too small and would not succeed. Still, most of the President's advisers maintained that this operation would work and rid the United States of a Communist dictatorship 90 miles of the coast of Florida.
President Kennedy wanted to blur any connections between the American military and the Cuban operation. The American press threatened the secrecy of the mission, however, when they reported on the training of exiles and an impending invasion. Kennedy chose not to authorize any air strikes by American planes during the mission, fearing that a downed plane would expose the American role in the plan. The operation was limited to one round of air strikes in disguised planes followed by the CIA-trained exiles landing at the Bay of Pigs to invade Cuba.
the coast of Florida.
