Episode 3: A Distant Corner of Asia
03/14/21 • 19 min
As the 1964 election season begins to heat up, the Kennedy administration’s “limited” involvement in propping up the repressive government of Vietnam becomes increasingly unglued, undermined by coups within the Vietnamese military and pressure by North Vietnam and its Communist allies, Russia and China. Kennedy dithers on a decision to begin involving American forces directly, but finally acts in response to domestic political concerns. Whether his actions will backfire very much remains to be seen.
Length: 19:25
Next Episode: March 28, 2021
As the 1964 election season begins to heat up, the Kennedy administration’s “limited” involvement in propping up the repressive government of Vietnam becomes increasingly unglued, undermined by coups within the Vietnamese military and pressure by North Vietnam and its Communist allies, Russia and China. Kennedy dithers on a decision to begin involving American forces directly, but finally acts in response to domestic political concerns. Whether his actions will backfire very much remains to be seen.
Length: 19:25
Next Episode: March 28, 2021
Previous Episode
Episode 2: Civil Rights Stalemate
In December 1963, the proposed legislation that John F. Kennedy thinks will be his crowning achievement—the Civil Rights Act—is coming to a head in Congress. But just when he needs to throw his back into the push to get it passed, the start of his re-election campaign, derailed by the failed assassination attempt in Dallas the month before, diverts his attention. Within the movement itself, the public face of the Civil Rights Movement begins to shift from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to other leaders, especially Stokely Carmichael. This will have profound consequences for the African-American liberation struggle down the road.
Length: 20:44
Next Episode: No Later Than March 14, 2021
Next Episode
Episode 4: The 1964 Election
As Kennedy’s re-election campaign gets going in earnest, three main challengers on the Republican side duel each other, with varying degrees of commitment, for the nomination to oppose him. Each of them—Rockefeller, Goldwater and Lodge—is hobbled by a different problem that makes them unattractive to a crucial segment of the Republican party they need to win. Meanwhile, Kennedy’s serious health issues begin to impinge on the campaign, and civil rights leaders, disillusioned by his lack of leadership on advancing their goals, fall out with one another, with some wondering if traditional politics has reached the limits of its effectiveness.
Length: 21:31
Next Episode: April 11, 2021
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