1960s Timeline

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4 days ago

Rockefeller Heads West

Mar. 27, 1963 - New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller will head West next week in quest of support for his 1964 Presidential candidacy. As he moves into the old Republican heartland of Kansas and Nebraska, the tireless, debonair Governor will attempt to impress upon party leaders the fact that he is the one man who can defeat John F. Kennedy in next year’s Presidential election. He will contend that Mr. Kennedy is vulnerable on both the domestic and international fronts and th

4 days ago

LBJ: Vice Presidency No “Comedown”

Mar. 26, 1963 - Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson said tonight he has no plans to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for the Presidency in 1964. Speaking on an ABC-TV news interview, the Vice President said who will be nominated in 1964 “will depend on the delegates” to the nominating convention. Speaking for himself, he said he is a “great admirer of the President’s leadership, and I have been for a long time.” “I would certainly hope that the delegates who are elected wo

5 days ago

FDR Jr. Takes Oath as Undersecretary of Commerce

Mar. 26, 1963 - With President and Mrs. Kennedy looking on, Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. took the oath of office today as Undersecretary of Commerce. The ceremony took place in the White House Cabinet Room before a crowd of friends, relatives, and members of Congress. Mr. Kennedy said he was delighted to welcome Mr. Roosevelt and his family back to the White House and commented that the Undersecretary came from a family distinguished for public service. Mr. Roosevelt replied tha

7 days ago

President Attends Mass at Camp David

Mar. 24, 1963 - Bright, pleasant weather lured President Kennedy out of doors today at Camp David, where he is spending the weekend. After attending 11:00 a.m. Mass at the Marine-guarded Presidential retreat near Thurmont, Maryland, Mr. Kennedy took a ride around the base. The Rev. John J. McAnulty said the Mass in the recreation hall at Camp David. The priest visits Camp David weekly for one Mass for Navy and Marine personnel. The recreation hall is within walking distance o

Mar 23

President Kennedy Pushes Tax Cut

Mar. 23, 1963 - President Kennedy told the nation today the unemployment rate will climb “steadily and swiftly” to 7% — even without a recession — unless taxes are cut to speed economic growth. Mr. Kennedy flew to Chicago for ceremonies marking the formal dedication of O’Hare International Airport, the aerial crossroads of America and the busiest airport in the world. Mr. Kennedy told his airport audience the U.S. plans to develop airliners capable of traveling 3 times the sp

Mar 21

Highlights from President Kennedy’s Press Conference

Mar. 21, 1963 - Following are some highlights from President Kennedy’s news conference this evening: Latin America — Mr. Kennedy returned from his meeting with Central American presidents in Costa Rica “with increased confidence that we will continue to live in a hemisphere of independent, firm, and faithful friends.” Test Ban — He offered no new reasons to hope for agreement with the Soviet Union on ending nuclear tests. But he reiterated our interest in an agreement, predic

Mar 21

JFK Reports on Cuban Situation

Mar. 21, 1963 - President Kennedy declared today that 3,000 Soviet troops have been removed from Cuba in recent weeks but added that he hopes more will be withdrawn by the end of the month. He reported on the Cuban situation at a press conference one day after his return from a meeting in Costa Rica with presidents of five Central American countries and Panama. “We are waiting to see whether more will be withdrawn, as we would hope they would be,” the President said. “The mon

Mar 21

President Kennedy Hopes To Visit Berlin Later This Year

Mar. 21, 1963 - President Kennedy said today he hoped to visit Communist-encircled Berlin during his trip to West Germany later this year. The President’s statement at his news conference came at a time when State Department officials were preparing for talks with Russia on the status of the troubled city. The issue of Berlin, which several times has brought the two great nuclear powers to the brink of war, was sidetracked last fall by the Cuban crisis. U.S. diplomats prepari

Mar 20

JFK: Soviets Must Leave Cuba

Mar. 20, 1963 - President Kennedy (pictured in Costa Rica with presidents of Central American nations) said today the U.S. could not accept “a yielding up” of Cuban sovereignty to the Russians. He said the Western Hemisphere “can never be secure” until the Soviet Union leaves Cuba, and “indeed it must and will.” The President spoke at the University of Costa Rica at the end of his three-day visit with the heads of six other Latin American governments. White House officials de

Mar 19

President Kennedy Pledges Aid to Central America

Mar. 19, 1963 - President Kennedy tonight pledged the U.S. to aid Central America in its efforts toward economic and social progress and to strengthen the area against subversion by Communist Cuba. The pledge was set forth in a Declaration of Central America, signed by Mr. Kennedy together with the presidents of Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The declaration said representatives of the six Central American nations will meet in April to “p

Mar 19

JFK Polling Well Ahead of Goldwater

Mar. 19, 1963 - President Kennedy runs well ahead of Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) in a nationwide test of the two men’s political appeal. Goldwater’s share of the vote — in a Gallup Poll “trial heat” contest — is somewhat smaller than that polled by New York’s Governor Nelson Rockefeller when he is matched against the highly popular Chief Executive. Those polled were asked: “Suppose the Presidential election were being held today. If Barry Goldwater were the Republican c

Mar 19

President Kennedy Tours Costa Rica

Mar. 19, 1963 - In Costa Rica today, President Kennedy expressed his satisfaction with the beginnings of the Alliance for Progress and the state of political democracy in Latin America. Speaking in the warm afternoon sun at El Bosque, a housing project financed by the Alliance, Mr. Kennedy warned against any temptation to become disheartened “by the immensity” of the task involved in raising the hemisphere’s economic levels and living standards. After his speech, Mr. Kennedy

Mar 18

President Kennedy Welcomed to Costa Rica

Mar. 18, 1963 - President Kennedy was welcomed to Costa Rica today by the largest turnout within Costa Ricans’ memory. He promised that his three-day visit would increase the hemisphere’s capacity to prevent infiltration of Cuban agents, money, and propaganda. Opening his conference with the Presidents of six Latin American countries, Mr. Kennedy declared that “we will build a wall around Cuba — not a wall of mortar or brick or barbed wire, but a wall of dedicated men determi

Mar 16

President Kennedy Has Young Pen-Pal

Mar. 16, 1963 - A 10-year-old boy asked President Kennedy about the “little people.” Today the President’s reply (right) was received by Mark Perdue (left) in Fremont, Calif. “This is really a thrill in my heart,” Mark said. “I did not expect it would get through to the President, and he might not have time to read it if it did. But now that he did — I guess I’m the luckiest kid in town.” On March 5, apparently thinking of St. Patrick’s Day, Mark wrote: “Dear President Kenned

Mar 16

President Prepares for Costa Rica Conference

Mar. 16, 1963 - President Kennedy combined a yachting cruise today with homework for his three-day meeting that starts Monday in Costa Rica with the presidents of the six Central American republics. Mr. Kennedy, who flew to Palm Beach yesterday, brought along two large volumes of “position papers” and background data prepared by the State Department and other agencies for the sessions in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital. He studied the volumes while cruising aboard the yacht Ho

Mar 15

President Kennedy Soaks Up Florida Sun

Mar. 15, 1963 - President Kennedy got an early start today on a weekend in the Florida sunshine where he will prepare for his third venture in personal diplomacy in Latin America next week. Mr. Kennedy left Washington shortly after noon, accompanied by his brother Robert and two of the Attorney General’s sons. Less than two hours later, they stepped from the Presidential jet into bright sunshine and 80-degree temperature. The President drove in an open white convertible to th

Mar 14

GOP Faces Tough Task Beating Kennedy in ‘64

Mar. 14, 1963 - One of the problems faced by the GOP high command today is to build up confidence among their own rank and file that the Kennedy-Johnson ticket can be defeated in 1964. Although a number of Republican Party leaders have said they think the President is “beatable,” GOP voters across the nation do not share their optimism. Six out of ten Republicans interviewed by the Gallup Poll concede as of today that Mr. Kennedy will be re-elected in 1964. Although there see

Mar 11

Bay of Pigs Pilots Recruited by CIA During Eisenhower Administration

Mar. 11, 1963 - The Chicago Sun-Times said today most of the American pilots who volunteered for the Cuban Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 were recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency before President Kennedy took office. (Pictured below is a B-26 shot down by Cuban defense forces during the invasion.) In a dispatch from Thomas B. Ross of the newspaper’s Washington bureau, the Sun-Times said a partial timetable shows the Eisenhower Administration was formally committed to t

Mar 9

Nixon Hits JFK on Cuba

Mar. 9, 1963 - Former Vice President Richard M. Nixon criticized President Kennedy last night as having failed to take sufficiently decisive steps to eliminate “the Communist cancer from Cuba.” At the same time, he promised that Republicans would “join a bipartisan support” of any strong action that President Kennedy would take. Mr. Nixon asked for a Cuban policy that included an oil blockade, removal of Soviet troops, on-site inspection of missile installations, and denial o

Mar 8

JFK Speaks Out on Public Defenders

Mar. 8, 1963 - President Kennedy urged Congress today to authorize the use of government-paid public defenders in federal courts for individuals too poor to hire lawyers in criminal cases. In submitting a bill that would create the public defender system, the President said it would “diminish the role which poverty plays in our federal system of criminal justice.” “Whenever the lack of money prevents a defendant from securing an experienced lawyer, trained investigator, or te