The Kennedy doctrine refers to the foreign policy diplomatic initiatives that were advanced by the thirty-fifth president of America John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Like his predecessors’ doctrines that sought to suppress communism by containment by offering military, economic and other forms of assistance to the countries that resisted it Kennedy's doctrine was no different, but he also advocated for flexible response to issues. His doctrine was, however, more inclined towards curbing the spread of communism in the Latin America in the 1960s when the cold war was ongoing and on reversing the impacts communism had in the Western hemisphere. The most notable of his diplomatic decisions was during 1962 when it was discovered that the Soviet Union was placing armed nuclear missiles in Cuba that had the potential of killing eighty million Americans. The Kennedy administration had the option of launching a military attack to force them to remove the missiles or put a naval blockade to force them to remove the missiles. After deliberations and an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each action, the blockade was implemented.
The way Kennedy handled the crisis is termed as one of the most successful diplomatic resolutions in American foreign policies (Berkin, Miller, Cherny & Gormly, 2016) . The Soviets had planned to bring weapons of mass destruction into Cuba which included missiles, bombs and nuclear weapons which would have killed millions of people had they been launched. The Soviet Union’s actions came as a result of the bays of pig invasion carried out by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group of Cuban exiles who wanted to overthrow Fidel Castro (Beschloss, 2016) . The Soviets claimed that the weapons were there to protect Cuba in the case of further attacks. The relationship between Cuba and the United States was strained after the coup which exiled President Carlos Prio who was an American ally and further after the Cuban revolution which led to the nationalization of American’s investments in Cuba (Kawashima, 2017) . Fidel Castro allied with the Soviet Union who were enemies of America in the cold war after the revolution which made the situation very delicate and mishandling it would have had escalated the conflict.
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The Kennedy doctrine of flexible response to issues had a huge impact on both the United States and the rest of the world (Beschloss, 2016) . The peaceful negotiations led to saving of lives which would have been lost had Kennedy favored the military deployment approach. The war that would have ensued would have resulted in the death of millions considering that there were weapons of mass destruction involved. The diplomatic action, therefore, saved American and Cuban lives and those of their allies who would have joined the war to support them (Brinkley, Giggie & Huebner, 2016) . The diplomatic action also restored the Americans faith in the Kennedy government. John F Kennedy had little experience in political office when he was elected which made Americans doubt his ability to lead the nation (Berkin et.al., 2016) . Their fears were reinforced by the Bay of Pigs invasion which resulted in the defeat of the CIA supported paramilitary which reflected poorly on the Americans and Kennedy's leadership.
The diplomatic doctrine also inspired the ratification of the partial nuclear ban treaty which sought to prohibit the testing of weapons of mass destruction an act which was influential in the aversion of a nuclear war (Kawashima, 2017) . The signatories agreed to protect the environment from nuclear contamination by agreeing to desist from testing their weapons on land, air or water and all tests were to be done from underground. The diplomacy created room for peace talks between President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in which the Soviet Union agreed to dismantle and remove their nuclear weapons from Cuba (Brinkley et.al., 2016) . The United States promised not to launch any attacks on Cuba unprovoked and also agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey. The Kennedy doctrine also inspired patriotism with the establishment of the Peace Corps in 1961 a program aimed at facilitating young Americans to go out and help people in other countries in education, farming, health care, and construction sectors (Berkin et.al., 2016). They have made an impact on the lives of the people particularly they serve mostly in third world countries. The Kennedy doctrine also influenced the American response to the building of the Berlin war. After the Second World War, Germany was divided into West and East Germany with the communists and the Soviets controlling the East. People fled to West Germany which prompted the government to give orders of shoot to kill for anyone fleeing East Germany (Beschloss, 2016). President Kennedy in 1963 traveled to West Germany where he addressed the Germans ensuring them that the American government stood in solidarity with them and was their ally in fighting the communists.
The Kennedy doctrine was also characterized by the advancement, survival, and success of liberty not only in America but also throughout the world and the Kennedy administration was ready to pay any price to liberate the people (Berkin et.al., 2016). The effects of the doctrine on this front were the improvement of people's living standards and liberation from poverty through reforms like increased unemployment benefits, building public infrastructures like roads and aid to improve housing. Legislations were passed like the water pollution control act anti poverty laws were also passed which included the setting of the minimum wage, increased social security benefits, crop insurance and extension of credit to farmers (Kawashima, 2017). The most notable of the Kennedy Doctrine liberation effects was the end of racial segregation in public institutions and neighborhood too. Kennedy played a significant part in abolishing racism, advance equal treatment without bias based on race, religion or creed and in promoting equality in all American sectors. Kennedy also advanced the equal pay act which ended the income disparity based on sex a milestone that was key in women empowerment and transforming the American households a wave that was emulated by other countries too (Brinkley et.al., 2016). Therefore, the effects of the Kennedy Doctrine were not only felt political, but they also extended to the social scope of the American society.
The Kennedy doctrine had both advantages and disadvantages both in America and abroad (Beschloss, 2016). The doctrine made a huge contribution to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed in 1963 which averted a possible world war. The treaty checked the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction in large-scale, particularly by the Soviet Union. The doctrine also played a role in stopping the Soviets' aggression which would have intensified had they continued to manufacture the nuclear weapons and bring them into Cuba (Berkin et.al., 2016). The doctrine’s emphasis on the role Americans had to play in making the world a better place led to the establishment of the Peace Corps in 1961 which saw Americans volunteer to help third world countries. However, the doctrine also had its shortcomings the most notable one being the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba (Kawashima, 2017). It failed terribly as the paramilitary forces that had been trained by the CIA were defeated, and the Cuban government later joined forces with the Soviet Union who brought nuclear weapons that could kill millions into Cuba.
In sum, the Kennedy doctrine was based on fighting communism and reversing its effects on the Western Hemisphere. It was also grounded on liberating Americans from poverty and discrimination and emphasized on the role America had in shaping world events. As such the Kennedy administration was involved in the civil rights movement, creation of the Peace Corps, condemnation of the erection of the Berlin war, intervention in Cuba and in the ratification of the treaty that averted a third world war. However, the Bay of Pigs was one of their failures since the paramilitary forces they supported were defeated and the Soviets resulted in bringing nuclear weapons into Cuba.
References
Berkin, C., Miller, C. L., Cherny, R. W., & Gormly, J. L. (2016). Making America: a history of the United States . Australia: Cengage Learning.
Beschloss, M. R. (2016). The crisis years: Kennedy and Khrushchev, 1960-1963 . New York, NY: Edward Burlingame Books.
Brinkley, A., Giggie, J. M., & Huebner, A. J. (2016). The unfinished nation: a concise history of the American people . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Kawashima, M. (2017). American history, race, and the struggle for equality: an unfinished journey . Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.
