A Time For Greatness: The Alternate Presidency of John F. Kennedy and beyond
- Thread starter PickledFish
- Start date
I still do not want Nixon to win. Brown was right about the solution there, though the comparison might have been better left off.
Servicemen's Readjustment and Protection Act of 1962- great act, shame about the end date, and that racism still crept into combat personnels provisions!
Latin America is going to turn into a right running nightmare here. Wonder if a consumer goods/coke/spending cash on the locals approach might produce results compared to just boots on the ground?
Justice Hastie- good move, esp if he is not of the same liberal tradition.
Breaking up the Diem family seems like a good move to me considering how corrupt they seem to have been.
Servicemen's Readjustment and Protection Act of 1962- great act, shame about the end date, and that racism still crept into combat personnels provisions!
Latin America is going to turn into a right running nightmare here. Wonder if a consumer goods/coke/spending cash on the locals approach might produce results compared to just boots on the ground?
Justice Hastie- good move, esp if he is not of the same liberal tradition.
Breaking up the Diem family seems like a good move to me considering how corrupt they seem to have been.
The Salamina Massacre, The Black Veterans of Cuba, and Moonshot
The Massacre at Salamina
On August 17th, 1962, US ground forces in made contact with a number of LALF combatants in the town of Salamina, Caldas.Fighting was fierce, and during the course of the battle, several civilians were caught in the crossfire.
Shortly after the battle had finished, one soldier named Ernest Medina, found a family attempting to care for and hide an LALF soldier who had been wounded during the fighting.
He responded by executing the soldier, along with the entire family. This act of barbarity caused neighbours nearby to confront Medina, including one man who was said to have brandished a knife.
Medina responded by opening fire on them as well.
Suddenly, US soldiers began firing indiscriminately at civilians, believing the whole town to be under the control of the Latin American Liberation Front.
The killing continued for nearly an hour. Local policemen who tried to defend civilians were shot and killed as well.
It was only halted by the interference of a second group of American soldiers conducting patrols in the jungles nearby, who received word of “heavy fighting” at the nearby town of Salamina.
It was only when the second group, led by Lt. Pete Dawkins, raised their weapons at Medina and the others did they back down.
-- A soldier in Dawkins' unit, speaking on anonymity to the Washington Post and quoted in their front page story on the massacre
The military leadership overseeing operations in Latin America made an effort to cover up the crimes committed.
However, it was no use – there were simply too many witnesses to the killing of over 80 Colombian civilians.
On August 24th, 1962, a major piece in the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo (in English “The Times”) detailing the crimes committed.
The American news media would report on events shortly after, causing a major headache for the Kennedy administration.
The President was reported saying “Let’s just get Che and then get the hell out of Latin America”.
Not only did this spark domestic outrage, but international outrage as well. The Soviet Union was quick to criticise “US Imperialism” and Che Guevara used the incident as evidence of the evils of American soldiers, and the necessity of a Latin American Liberation Front.
In a press conference the next day, Kennedy addressed the claims made in the newspaper directly:
-- President John F. Kennedy on a press conference, discussing the alleged Massacre at Salamina
The situation in Latin America was rapidly becoming a quagmire and President Kennedy hoped he could get out as soon as possible.
Black American Veterans of Cuba
On August 28th, 1962, the first meeting of the Black American Veterans of Cuba took place.The organization had its origins at the March of the 4th of July, after which a group of black veterans banded together and agreed to campaign for their rights both as soldiers and African Americans.
But more than that, as trained and hardened soldiers, they offered to protect other peaceful civil rights protestors, black and white.
Their first test came during the Albany Movement, shortly after Martin Luther King left the Georgia city.
The Black Veterans of Cuba (BVOC) traveled down to Albany, some in uniform and some not in uniform, to bolster the demoralized protestors.
However, virtually all members of the BVOC were armed. Some had managed to smuggle rifles back from the war, others used weapons bought locally inside the United States.
This was a stark departure from the nonviolent student proctors that many cops and counter-protestors were used to.
While they came with no violent intentions and preached a message of peace and equality, these men were hardened killers who had survived the harsh jungles of Cuba. They would not endure or take the abuse that others might.
Their presence emboldened a protest movement that many segregationists hoped would soon fizzle out.
As Attorney General Bobby Kennedy received news of their presence, he feared that armed violence was soon to break out in Albany.
Those fears were nearly realized on September 5th, 1962, when armed BVOC members raised their weapons at a group of KKK members who had tossed bottles and rocks at a group of black protestors during a march.
The situation became immediately tense and devolved into an armed stand off between local police and black war veterans.
The local police chief, Laurie Pritchett, was conscious not to be seen as the aggressor against the civil rights protestors and ordered his men to shoot only if shot at first.
Similarly, the Black Veterans of Cuba had agreed of a code of ethics that dictated they would only shoot in response to deadly violence used against them.
However, it would only take one slip up, or agitator with a gun, and the situation would fall apart.
The Kennedy administration had been watching the situation like a hawk and worked quickly to federalize the Georgia National Guard and restore order.
The protestors and police were quickly separated, and both backed down.
John Doar, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, met with the Mayor of Albany and city officials. He attempted to negotiate a compromise that would end the situation.
A compromise was reached – the City Commission agreed to phase out all city ordinances mandating segregation and would open up integrated public spaces on a trial basis over the coming months, once media attention shifted from Albany.
It was not everything the civil rights activists had wanted, but it was still on impressive victory for their many months of work.
In accordance with the deal, the activist agreed to disperse and the BVOC left Albany. However, they promised to return if the Albany City Commission failed to follow through on their end of the agreement.
Still, the White House could breathe a little easier.
A major domestic crisis had been averted, but the struggle for an end to segregation was far from over.
Moonshot
-- John F. Kennedy’s Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort
At Rice University, Kennedy gave what would become one of the great enduring speeches of his Presidency.
Kennedy’s speech was designed to give the American public an optimistic view of the future, in light of recent tension in foreign affairs and the civil rights movement.
Furthermore, Kennedy sought to motivate the American public to further the Space Race. He hoped to maintain the lead in space that had come from Alan Shepard and John Glenn’s successful spaceflights.
Considering the tension between the US and Soviet Union, Kennedy chose to omit the section about the possibility of a joint mission between the two nations.
He was privately disappointed, but as long as tensions remained high, negotiating with the Soviet Union on seemingly anything was impossible.
Kennedy had put down the gauntlet for America to reach the Moon. He hoped to see it through before his Presidency was over.
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Deleted member 146578
Is Marilyn Monroe still alive or does she still die from the drug overdose?
Well I hope they throw the whole legal library at the solider responsible for Salamina - that was one thing JFK did not need.
Why do I get the feeling the Black Veterans of Cuba is going to make a key difference in the civil right movement?
The Moonshot announcement might see an up swing in popularity of sci-fi magazines and comics! Lets hope the Space Race continues long past its OTL end point. USSR needs to sort its rockets out asap! I am sure the butterfiles have flapped enough to make it happen....
Why do I get the feeling the Black Veterans of Cuba is going to make a key difference in the civil right movement?
The Moonshot announcement might see an up swing in popularity of sci-fi magazines and comics! Lets hope the Space Race continues long past its OTL end point. USSR needs to sort its rockets out asap! I am sure the butterfiles have flapped enough to make it happen....
August 1962 Flashback: The Fate of Marilyn Monroe
Flashback: The fate of Marylin Monroe
On August 5, 1962, Marylin Monroe was found dead in her LA home.An inquest by police revealed her death was “caused by a self-administered overdose of sedative drugs and that the mode of death is probable suicide.”
By 1961, Monroe was in the throes of depression and had lived in relative seclusion in her Brentwood, Los Angeles, home. She had become addicted to a cocktail of drugs that included sedatives, soporifics, tranquilizers, opiates, “speed pills,” and sleeping pills.
These drugs that she used to cope with her demons would ultimately claim her life.
Her body was found by her psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson.
She leaves behind a legacy as one of the most recognizable stars in Hollywood and an icon of American pop culture.
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Just answered that question for you. Sorry for not doing so at the time.
Most certainly, but they're nowhere near mainstream enough to be a major influence on events.
Race to the moon, Justice Arthur Goldberg, Sonny Liston, a new era in Vietnam, and Ole Miss riot of 1962
The race to the moon
-- Kruschev’s Speech on the Soviet Lunar Mission.
Kruschev announced the Soviet Lunar Mission mere days after Kennedy’s speech at Rice University.
In responding to Kennedy’s speech, Kruschev had acknowledged the Soviet’s own intentions to reach the moon before the end of the 1960s and doing so before the United States.
Kruschev had been desperate to reclaim the prestige of the Soviet space program, which had fallen behind the Americans following the disaster that had been the flight of the Vostok 1.
In doing so, he hoped to not only lift interest in the Soviet space program, but to bolster support for his leadership in the wake of numerous errors and mistakes on his part.
Not only had the Soviet leadership fallen behind in the Space Race, but Cuba had been lost to the Americans, West Berlin was going strong despite the construction of the Berlin Wall and the detonation of the Tsar Bomb had damaged the reputation of the Soviet Union abroad.
But more than that Kruschev had alienated many within the Politburo, bypassing the Presidium and the Central Committee to do what he believed was right. And this method was not seeing positive results – agriculture and industry were underperforming.
In response to his many failures, Kruschev surrounded himself with sycophants, including family members. He was praised constantly in the media and seemed to exist in his own little bubble where the protection of his ego came before anything else.
His enemies, of which there were many, were virtually set on deposing him. It was just a matter of finding the right opportunity to do so.
Justice Arthur Goldberg
On September 25, 1962, Arthur Goldberg was confirmed to the Supreme Court.A vacancy had arisen, following a stroke by Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter the previous month.
Given the seat’s unofficial title as “the Jewish seat”, Kennedy recognized the importance of appointing another Jewish person.
Kennedy trusted Goldberg’s competency, though he was concerned that Goldberg’s position as Secretary of Labor would encourage partisan dissent.
It did not. Unlike the nomination of William H. Hastie, the nomination of Goldberg was relatively uncontroversial.
The United States Senate confirmed Goldberg in a voice vote on September 25, 1962.
Kennedy had successfully appointed his second Supreme Court justice.
The champion nobody wanted
That very night, Sonny Liston had his long-awaited chance to fight for the heavyweight championship of the world.Liston was an imposing figure, standing at 6 foot 1 and possessing a each of 84 inches, he’d gone undefeated 9 years since losing a split decision in his 8th professional fight, where he went the8 round distance despite breaking his jaw.
He had stopped 9 of his last 10 opponents, including KOing Zora Folley inside of 3 rounds when Floyd Patterson had a back and forth ten round battle with the same man.
However, despite this impressive career, Liston was a man with few supporters – his tough background, prison sentence for armed robbery and Mafia connections had seen to that.
Few seemed willing to give the challenger his due.
Former champions James J. Braddock, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win.
However, the rising contender Cassius Clay picked Liston to KO the champion inside of 5 rounds.
Clay’s proclamation would end up being true.
The two men stood across from each other in the ring. Liston looked at Patterson, stone faced and poised as could be.
Patterson, by comparison, could not even meet the challenger, eye-to-eye.
The fight was a brutal one-sided affair for the short amount of time it lasted.
Liston battered Patterson across the ring. That telephone pole jab Liston had been so famous for slammed into Patterson’s face, again and again.
Almost mercifully, Liston stopped him at 2:06 of the first round with a left hook to the jaw.
Sonny Liston had become the Heavyweight champion of the world.
In preparation for his return home, he had a speech prepared for the crowd he was sure would be waiting for him.
But when he returned to Philadelphia airport, there was no one there to meet him. Merely a few reporters and public relations staff.
Writer Jack McKinney said of the event:
Larry Merchant, a writer for the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote:
Liston may have been the Heavyweight champion of the world, but he was also the champion that nobody wanted.
A new era in Vietnam
Things had changed in Vietnam since President Kennedy decided to play hardball with Diem.Most notably, Ambassador Hillsman had a far greater say in the running of South Vietnamese affairs than any Ambassador had previously.
Due to his input, the Strategic Hamlet Program was significantly altered from how Diem and Ngô had sought to implement it.
Rather than relocating the populations of entire villages to predetermined areas, instead, existing communities would be modified to fit the purpose of the program.
Each strategic village was protected by a ditch and a fence of barbed wire, as well as one or more observation towers. The area immediately around the village was be cleared for fields of fire and the area approaching the clearing, including the ditch, was be strewn with booby-traps and other obstacles to make approaching difficult.
Likewise, US and South Vietnamese soldiers began training the local peasantry to defend themselves from aggression, while simultaneously re-enforcing the evils of the communist system.
This group of trained local defenders was also responsible for enforcing curfews, checking identity cards, and cracking down on communist infiltrators and sympathizers.
When it was necessary to relocate Vietnamese peasants on the outskirts of villages to somewhere more defendable, they were financially compensated by the government.
Hillsman hoped with these changes that the newly modified Strategic Hamlet Program, there would be real progress in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, the AR-15s supplied to ARVN soldiers proved to be a highly effective killing machine.
Military advisors relayed the ARVN were impressed by the weapon’s “lightness in weight, reliability, balance and grip, and freedom from recoil and climb on full automatic”.
Kennedy and Defence Secretary Nitze were heartened by the news.
They also watched closely as new land reforms were undertaken that closely mirrored the ones undertaken by the communist North Vietnam, as well as efforts in Latin America.
When it came to the land reform, none other than former President Harry Truman sparked the idea during a call with President Kennedy.
The two men had become close after initially frosty relations during the Democratic primary, in large part due to Kennedy’s pick of Stuart Symington as Vice President. With Symington in a position of power, Truman was able to expand his influence and even give advice to his young Democratic successor.
One such phone call would prove fateful in the development of Vietnamese policy.
-- A phone conversation between President Kennedy and former President Truman on Vietnamese land reforms
This conversation sparked in Kennedy the idea of land rights for Vietnamese peasant farmers. Trying to force loyalty onto the South Vietnamese peasantry was one thing, but if Diem could offer prosperity, then they would follow him willingly.
As such, Kennedy consulted with a number of experts including former Truman administration Agriculture Secretary Charles F. Brannan to develop a comprehensive plan for empowering the Vietnamese farmer.
It essentially gave land rights and financial assistance to Vietnamese peasant farmers, allowing them to feed their families and hopefully would increase rice production. Former landowners would be provided financial compensation.
The Brenan Plan for Vietnam was approved by Congress, at a cost of $325 million to the American taxpayer. But when it came to containing communism, concerns about “government spending” and the federal deficit seemingly melted away.
With any luck, South Vietnam would become its own self sustained country by the end of Kennedy’s second term.
Ole Miss riot of 1962
James Meredith, inspired by John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech, had applied at the University of Mississippi, intending to effectively integrate the university himself.After several attempts to enrol, that saw him physically blocked and even once arrested, Meredith’s efforts had gained national attention.
The Kennedy Administration, led by Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, eventually negotiated with the state’s governor, Ross Barnett, to allow Meredith to enrol himself.
On September 30th, Meredith was accompanied by 24 federal marshals to his dormitory at the University of Mississippi.
They were accompanied by the 70th Army Engineer Combat Battalion from Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Meanwhile, local police established barriers to prevent the entry of all except for students and faculty.
The retired General and far right activist, Edwin Walker, led a crowd of one thousand white agitators – mostly students – to violently protest Meredith’s admission.
Highway patrol quickly abandoned the federal officers, by the order of State Senator George Yarbrough. As they left, they dismantled all barriers, allowing even more agitators into the space.
However, another force had been waiting nearby to interject if things got out of hand – The Black Veterans of Cuba.
They sprang into action and brandished weapons at the crowds of white rioters, only firing when bricks and Moltov cocktails were thrown at them.
When word got out that black veterans had armed themselves and were shooting white rioters, Governor Barnett ordered that state police return to the site – to deal with the Black Veterans.
The situation devolved into utter chaos.
Mississippi’s police were actively working with white rioters to battle the Black Veterans of Cuba on the edges of the university campus, while these same white rioters fought against federal troops inside the campus.
In response to the bedlam, Kennedy had no choice but to federalize the Mississippi national guard and bring in additional troops from the 503rd, 716th, and 720th Military Police Battalions, as well the 2nd Battle Group, 2nd Infantry Division, the 31st Helicopter Company and 1,500 marines from the 1st Marine Division.
A total of 26,500 soldiers descended upon the University of Mississippi by 11:30 PM.
Upon being confronted by US troops, the BVOC immediately dispersed.
However, the white agitators were not as quick to de-escalate.
It was only after teargas was used, the wounded were evacuated, and rioters began being arrested in droves that the situation began to calm down.
By the time the rioting had been quelled, a total of 11 people had died, including one French journalist, a white student onlooker, 1 member of the Black Veterans of Cuba and 8 white agitators.
Hundreds more had been injured in the melee and shootout.
The Black Veteran of Cuba who had died, Riley L. Pitts, died as a result of being shot by an unknown member of the mass of white rioters who were attacking the BVOC – some speculate it was an armed citizen, others believe it was a member of the state police.
Pitts had received several awards during the War in Cuba, including the Medal of Honor, 2 purple hearts and a silver star. He war hero in the truest sense of the word who died as a result of standing up to discrimination at home.
He would become a symbol for the Civil Rights Movement.
In the aftermath of the event, Southern politicians reacted in horror at the prospect of armed black men killing whites. However, an inquest into the deaths revealed that the whites who died were killed well away from where the BVOC were operating – 2 had died by being trampled accidentally, and 3 died when a Moltov cocktail fell short of its intended target and hit a group of white agitators who died from their wounds.
On October 1st, James Meredith became the first African American student to be enrolled at the University of Mississippi. Hundreds of troops would continue to guard Meredith 24 hours a day for some time.
Meredith’s enrollment first integration of a public educational facility in Mississippi, but the riot that proceeded it would be a grim reminder of the extent to which southern reactionaries would go to maintain segregation.
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