JFK🇺🇸 Kennedy Meets Nikita Khrushchev Vienna Summit WATCH 1961 SENATORS Ticket

Description: 🇺🇸 JFK Completely Unprepared for His Summit w/ Khrushchev JUNE 3, 1961 | VIENNA, AUSTRIA On Saturday, June 3, 1961, just 5 days after JFK's 44th birthday & only six weeks after his botched Bay of Pigs Invasion, the US President stumbled head-first into another international disaster: his first and only summit with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. "Worst thing in my life," Kennedy told a NY Times reporter. "He savaged me!" The Vienna Summit was an important event during the Cold War as it was intended to improve relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, it did the opposite. The Vienna Summit set the stage for future confrontations between the United States and Soviet Union, including construction of the Berlin Wall beginning in August 1961 (just 2 months after the failed summit), and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. According to most journalists and political historians, the main problem was that the 44-year-old Kennedy, who had been US President for just over 4 months, wasn’t properly prepared to take on the more experienced Khrushchev at the June 3, 1961 Vienna Summit. “This man is very inexperienced, even immature,” Khrushchev told his interpreter. “Compared to him, Eisenhower is a man of intelligence and vision.” "He just beat the hell out of me," Kennedy said Meanwhile, back in Washington, the Athletics were playing the Washington SENATORS at Griffith Stadium, just 4 miles down Constitution Ave. from the White House. JFK had just thrown out the 1st pitch on Opening Day at Griffith Stadium weeks prior for the newly inaugurated SENATORS team. Of course, Griffith Stadium would later be renamed DC Stadium, and then RFK Stadium, in honor of JFK's younger brother, Bobby. This ticket, between the Washington SENATORS and Kansas City Athletics, commemorates this date in history when President John F. Kennedy meets with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna, Austria for the first and only time. Saturday, June 3, 1961Kansas City Athletics at Washington SENATORSGriffith Stadium - Washington, DC President Kennedy ignored warnings from his advisors not to do things like, say, debate communist ideology with the 67-year-old Soviet leader. This got JFK stuck in time-wasting discussions about Marxism, where he was totally out of his league. Kennedy also made admissions that played right into the Soviet Premier’s hands. To the horror of his Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kennedy told Khrushchev that he considered Sino-Soviet forces and U.S.-Western European forces to be fairly equally balanced. This disclosure “sent Khrushchev into near ecstasy,” writes Michael Beschloss in "The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev"... “For the rest of his life he boasted that at this summit the leader of the United States had finally acknowledged that there was rough parity between the two great powers.” One can only assume, as USC professor Richard Reeves puts it, "Like Putin now, Khrushchev wanted to be seen as equals with the United States". "Like Putin now, Khrushchev wanted to be seen as equals with the United States" Again, the Vienna Summit was supposed to help improve Cold War relations between the US & the USSR, coming on the heels of both the botched Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961 of Soviet ally Cuba, and the Gary Powers U-2 Spy Plane incident in May of 1960, in which a US high-altitude spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory and its US pilot Gary Powers captured by the Soviets. The U-2 Spy Plane incident erupted into an international crisis for the Eisenhower administration. The main topics of discussion at the Vienna Summit were nuclear weapons, disarmament, and the status of Berlin, which was a divided city at the time. The Soviet leader sought to test Kennedy’s resolve and push for concessions on Berlin. The meeting was characterized by a tense atmosphere and difficult negotiations. Khrushchev was known for his strong and confrontational style, while Kennedy sought to maintain a firm but diplomatic approach. Despite efforts to find common ground, the summit did not result in any major agreements or breakthroughs. Instead, the Vienna Summit is notable for setting the stage for future confrontations between the United States and the Soviet Union, including construction of the Berlin Wall beginning in August 1961 (only 2 months after the failed summit), and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. In the wake of the failed summit, Kennedy won congressional approval for an additional $3.25 billion in defense spending, a tripling of draft calls, a call-up of reservists and a beefed-up civil defense program.

Price: 399.95 USD

Location: Bourbonnais, Illinois

End Time: 2024-12-16T00:20:28.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD