Jfk And The Cold War

The Cold War (1945-1991) was basically an ideological standoff between the ideas of Communism supported by the Russians and Democracy/Capitalism supported by the Americans. Communism is a political ideology which has the central principle of ¡§communal or communist ownership¡¨ of all property and therefore the abolition of private property. Democracy is a form of government in which the people vote, have a representative government and via these representatives ¡§govern themselves¡¨. During the period between 1961 to 1963, Nikita S. Khrushchev represented Communism and ruled Russia, while John F. Kennedy embodied democracy and lead America. The two leaders differed in their foreign policies as is evident by the Berlin Wall incident and the Cuban missile crisis, but both were somewhat radical in their domestic policies.

Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was first secretary of the Soviet Communist party from 1953 to 1964 and effective leader of the USSR from 1956 (premier from 1958) to 1964. He was born on April 17th, 1894, in the village of Kalinovka, Kursk province. As a young boy, Khrushchev worked long hours in the coal mines. Khrushchev seemed to be a revolutionist from a young age as he organized several strikes and in 1918 he joined the Bolshevik party and fought in the Civil War. Afterward, he was sent by the party to a technical institute to learn more about Marxism.

Khrushchev rose steadily up the party ladder, always combining his talents as an administrator with his technical training. After assignments in the Ukraine, he became head of the Moscow regional party committee, and in 1934 he became a member of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist party. In these positions he directed the construction of the Moscow subway. Although increasingly influential, Khrushchev was never an intimate associate of Joseph Stalin; he concentrated on technical rather than political accomplishment. After World War II he was brought back to Moscow, where he became ¡¥one of stalin¡¦s top advisers¡¦. When Stalin died in 1953, Khrushchev used his wit to thrust all his opponents for leadership, including Malenkov. He became both Party Secretary and controlled the government through his associate Marshal Bulganin, who he named Premier. He ruled from 1956 to 1964.

John F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, On May 29, 1917. He graduated from Harvard in 1940 and ¡¥turned his senior thesis into a best selling book, Why England Slept¡¦. He then became a War hero in World War II, when he led the survivors of his boat, (which had been hit be a Japanese torpedo), through ¡¥perilous waters to safety¡¦.