Triumph and Tragedy: JFK and American Foreign Policy

In the light of his martyrdom and the aura of his Camelot, a legend grew—though it prospered only briefly— that the international record of President John F. Kennedy was sturdy. He held fast over Berlin. He bravely accepted responsibility for the Bay of Pigs fiasco. He showed his true mettle during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He won, for the world, a reprieve in the 1963 limited Test Ban Treaty. But against this line runs another argument centered on this reality: By November of 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated, sixteen thousand U.S. military "advisors" were assigned to South Vietnam; nearly 500 American soldiers had been killed. Join us as for the Discoveries Lecture Series’ The 60’s: A Critical Retrospective, as David Mayers addresses the questions, how well does the Kennedy record hold when placed under close scrutiny? What is the legacy?