John F. Kennedy
- Elected 35th President after Eisenhower's two terms
- Wins 1960 election, begins 1961 with Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson
- Defeats Richard Nixon
- Youngest President at 43
- First and only Catholic President
- Advocate of the Space Race (setting the goal of going to the moon)
- "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country"
The U-2 Incident, 1960
- USSR shoots down American spy plane known as a U-2 (Pilot Gary Powers taken prisoner)
- High altitude planes had flown over Russia taking pictures for years
- With introduction of Rocket missiles they were able to shoot one down
- Russians walk out of a Summit conference in Paris
- began a period of suspicion rather than what was supposed to be peaceful coexistence
Summary
In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected the 35th President of the United States. Kennedy was the youngest ever President (43 years old), as well as the only Catholic President. One of JFK's famous quotes are, "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."