èßäAV

John F. Kennedy was inaugurated the 35th President of the United States in 1961 after narrowly defeating the Republican candidate, Vice President Richard Nixon. He was, at age 43, the youngest man ever elected President. He brought youth, glamor, and optimism to the White House, but he took office during a challenging time for the country.

Kennedy’s foreign policy was shaped by the Cold War, an intense political hostility with the Soviet Union and its allies. Since both countries were armed with nuclear weapons, the Cold War triggered two crises in Cuba and the escalation of America’s involvement in Vietnam but it also led Kennedy to negotiate the landmark Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the Soviet Union. Against this backdrop, Kennedy created the Peace Corps and dramatically expanded the space program.

At home, Kennedy’s time in office was shaped by the struggle for social, political, and economic equality for Black Americans. Although criticized for being slow to enact change, Kennedy enforced the integration of colleges in Mississippi and Alabama, met with Martin Luther King Jr. and leaders of the March on Washington, and brought legislation to Congress that would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.