The Age of Lodge

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Part 1:1960-1963



Richard Nixon was considered to be easily elected president but the charisma and energy of John F. Kennedy kept the race tight. Kennedy was almost elected too but his running mate Lyndon B. Johnson was recorded using racist epithets when talking about black people. It swung outraged whites and blacks to Nixon allowing him to narrowly win the election. Losing the election would prove to be a blessing in disguise for Kennedy.

Richard Nixon's inaugural address focused on fighting communism,the Space Race, and maintaining high economic growth. He accomplished this with sweeping tax cuts dropping the top rate from as high as 90 percent to 60% and cuting business taxes by half. His first budget included increases in military spending and NASA. The opportunity to fight communism would come in the form of a secret CIA plot to overthrow the Castro government in Cuba. This plot would lead to Nixon's eventual demise.

The plan was to use Cuban exiles to take over Castro's compound. The plan immediately went wrong and Nixon was forced to send in jets to provide air support. They overtook Castro's compound and killed him as Castro joined his troops in holding his compound. Nixon later deployed more troops after getting a declaration of war following the attack on Guantanamo Bay. The Soviets didn't provide backup to Cuba,so the U.S pushed resistance back into the jungle quite quickly.

Nixon's approval soared and allowed his party to do well in the Senate elections. His party picked up 5 seats in the senate. He used these gains to push through the creation of the Cuban Reconstruction Department. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. pushed the president to pass civil rights legislation as black voters gave them the White House. Nixon agreed and worked with pro-civil rights activists and senators. The day he was scheduled to unveil the law to the public would be his last day as Lee Harvey Oswald a Castro sympathizer shot Nixon in the head killing him instantly. Many black activists had been invited to watch the president speak but instead saw him die. They quickly found Oswald and beat him to near death. White's had anger in their hearts following the killing of Nixon and for the first time blacks and whites were united in their anger towards Oswald. Vice-President Lodge was quickly sworn in as president.
 
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