All language subtitles for Kennedy.2023.S01E07.720p.WEBRip.x264-GalaxyTV_Subtitles01.ENG

af Afrikaans
ak Akan
sq Albanian
am Amharic
ar Arabic
hy Armenian
az Azerbaijani
eu Basque
be Belarusian
bem Bemba
bn Bengali
bh Bihari
bs Bosnian
br Breton
bg Bulgarian
km Cambodian
ca Catalan
chr Cherokee
ny Chichewa
zh-CN Chinese (Simplified)
zh-TW Chinese (Traditional)
co Corsican
hr Croatian Download
cs Czech
da Danish
en English Download
eo Esperanto
et Estonian
ee Ewe
fo Faroese
tl Filipino
fi Finnish
fr French
fy Frisian
gaa Ga
gl Galician
ka Georgian
de German
el Greek
gn Guarani
gu Gujarati
ht Haitian Creole
ha Hausa
haw Hawaiian
iw Hebrew
hi Hindi
hu Hungarian
is Icelandic
ig Igbo
id Indonesian
ia Interlingua
ga Irish
it Italian
ja Japanese
jw Javanese
kn Kannada
kk Kazakh
rw Kinyarwanda
rn Kirundi
kg Kongo
ko Korean
kri Krio (Sierra Leone)
ku Kurdish
ckb Kurdish (Soranî)
ky Kyrgyz
lo Laothian
la Latin
lv Latvian
ln Lingala
lt Lithuanian
loz Lozi
lg Luganda
ach Luo
mk Macedonian
mg Malagasy
ms Malay
ml Malayalam
mt Maltese
mi Maori
mr Marathi
mfe Mauritian Creole
mo Moldavian
mn Mongolian
sr-ME Montenegrin
ne Nepali
pcm Nigerian Pidgin
nso Northern Sotho
no Norwegian
nn Norwegian (Nynorsk)
oc Occitan
or Oriya
om Oromo
ps Pashto
fa Persian
pl Polish
pt-BR Portuguese (Brazil)
pt-PT Portuguese (Portugal)
pa Punjabi
qu Quechua
ro Romanian
rm Romansh
nyn Runyakitara
ru Russian
gd Scots Gaelic
sr Serbian
sh Serbo-Croatian
st Sesotho
tn Setswana
crs Seychellois Creole
sn Shona
sd Sindhi
si Sinhalese
sk Slovak
sl Slovenian
so Somali
es Spanish Download
es-419 Spanish (Latin American)
su Sundanese
sw Swahili
sv Swedish
tg Tajik
ta Tamil
tt Tatar
te Telugu
th Thai
ti Tigrinya
to Tonga
lua Tshiluba
tum Tumbuka
tr Turkish
tk Turkmen
tw Twi
ug Uighur
uk Ukrainian
ur Urdu
uz Uzbek
vi Vietnamese
cy Welsh
wo Wolof
xh Xhosa
yi Yiddish
yo Yoruba
zu Zulu
Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:05,543 --> 00:00:09,835 - James Meredith had talked about taking on 2 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:14,126 this whole barrier of white supremacy, 3 00:00:14,251 --> 00:00:15,543 but it's a whole nother thing different, 4 00:00:15,668 --> 00:00:17,376 going through this entire process 5 00:00:17,501 --> 00:00:19,918 to integrate the University of Mississippi. 6 00:00:20,043 --> 00:00:24,085 - So a full-scale riot breaks out. 7 00:00:24,210 --> 00:00:27,918 - Kennedy was very hesitant to take bold action. 8 00:00:28,085 --> 00:00:32,126 - We've discovered missiles in Cuba. 9 00:00:32,293 --> 00:00:34,876 - The Joint Chiefs of Staff are unified 10 00:00:35,001 --> 00:00:37,376 that we should bomb and we should invade. 11 00:00:37,543 --> 00:00:41,376 - Kennedy was not convinced that a blockade would lead 12 00:00:41,460 --> 00:00:43,543 to the Soviets withdrawing their missiles, 13 00:00:43,668 --> 00:00:46,210 but he recognized that he had no better options. 14 00:00:46,335 --> 00:00:48,126 - Good evening, my fellow citizens. 15 00:00:48,251 --> 00:00:52,043 Unmistakable evidence has established the fact 16 00:00:52,168 --> 00:00:55,751 that a series of offensive missile sites 17 00:00:55,876 --> 00:00:59,668 is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. 18 00:01:02,501 --> 00:01:04,876 - To lead us to a fruitful America, 19 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:06,793 from the state of Massachusetts, 20 00:01:06,918 --> 00:01:09,751 John F. Kennedy! 21 00:01:09,876 --> 00:01:12,626 - John F. Kennedy lived a life 22 00:01:12,710 --> 00:01:15,043 that would help define an entire generation. 23 00:01:15,210 --> 00:01:16,585 [soft sweeping music] 24 00:01:16,710 --> 00:01:19,501 - Together we shall save our planet, 25 00:01:19,585 --> 00:01:22,210 or together we shall perish in its flames. 26 00:01:22,376 --> 00:01:23,918 - What was it about that guy? 27 00:01:24,085 --> 00:01:28,376 - Looks, style, empathy. 28 00:01:28,501 --> 00:01:30,376 He was incredibly charming. 29 00:01:30,501 --> 00:01:32,460 - Intellectual and progressive. 30 00:01:32,585 --> 00:01:36,710 - He was the future. He was next. 31 00:01:36,835 --> 00:01:39,043 narrator: President for just over 1,000 days, 32 00:01:39,210 --> 00:01:41,751 Kennedy navigated events and crises 33 00:01:41,918 --> 00:01:43,876 that changed the world. 34 00:01:44,001 --> 00:01:44,960 - Kennedy is feeling the pressure 35 00:01:45,085 --> 00:01:46,460 from civil rights activists. 36 00:01:46,585 --> 00:01:51,210 - This was a country on nuclear war footing. 37 00:01:51,335 --> 00:01:53,001 - This could be the last mistake 38 00:01:53,126 --> 00:01:56,585 that anybody makes, politically. 39 00:01:56,751 --> 00:01:59,585 - He changed us in the process of his own growth. 40 00:01:59,710 --> 00:02:02,418 - We choose to go to the moon in this decade 41 00:02:02,543 --> 00:02:06,210 and do the other things, not because they are easy, 42 00:02:06,335 --> 00:02:09,543 but because they are hard. 43 00:02:09,710 --> 00:02:11,876 narrator: 60 years after his assassination, 44 00:02:12,043 --> 00:02:16,001 we are still fascinated by the triumphs and flaws 45 00:02:16,085 --> 00:02:18,210 of the youngest president ever elected. 46 00:02:18,376 --> 00:02:21,293 - I ask you to join us 47 00:02:21,418 --> 00:02:23,543 in all the tomorrows yet to come, 48 00:02:23,710 --> 00:02:26,793 in building America, moving America, 49 00:02:26,918 --> 00:02:30,668 taking this country of ours up and sending it into the '60s. 50 00:02:30,751 --> 00:02:37,543 ♪ ♪ 51 00:02:39,793 --> 00:02:43,210 - Having now confirmed and completed our evaluation 52 00:02:43,293 --> 00:02:45,668 of the evidence and our decision 53 00:02:45,793 --> 00:02:49,293 on a course of action, this government feels obliged 54 00:02:49,418 --> 00:02:54,543 to report this new crisis to you in fullest detail. 55 00:02:54,710 --> 00:02:58,043 The purpose of these bases can be none other than 56 00:02:58,210 --> 00:03:01,043 to provide a nuclear strike capability 57 00:03:01,126 --> 00:03:04,543 against the Western hemisphere. 58 00:03:04,668 --> 00:03:08,251 narrator: On October 22nd, 1962, 59 00:03:08,376 --> 00:03:11,335 President Kennedy addressed the waiting nation 60 00:03:11,460 --> 00:03:15,460 about the Soviet arms buildup in Cuba. 61 00:03:15,585 --> 00:03:17,126 People listened around the country 62 00:03:17,251 --> 00:03:19,543 and across the globe. 63 00:03:19,626 --> 00:03:22,251 All eyes were now on Cuba, 64 00:03:22,418 --> 00:03:26,376 and nuclear war was on the world's doorstep. 65 00:03:26,460 --> 00:03:28,460 - I thought he was nervous. 66 00:03:28,585 --> 00:03:30,001 I wouldn't say scared, but I could tell. 67 00:03:30,126 --> 00:03:31,710 I just, uh--his tone of voice. 68 00:03:31,876 --> 00:03:34,835 And I was sitting five feet from him. 69 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,335 - Several of them include medium-range ballistic missiles 70 00:03:38,460 --> 00:03:41,543 capable of carrying a nuclear warhead 71 00:03:41,751 --> 00:03:45,668 for a distance of more than 1,000 nautical miles. 72 00:03:45,793 --> 00:03:48,876 Each of these missiles, in short, is capable 73 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,751 of striking Washington, D.C., the Panama Canal, 74 00:03:52,876 --> 00:03:56,710 Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city 75 00:03:56,793 --> 00:04:00,585 in the southeastern part of the United States. 76 00:04:00,751 --> 00:04:04,335 - That's the only time I felt as though I could-- 77 00:04:04,460 --> 00:04:06,335 it could be over. 78 00:04:06,460 --> 00:04:09,543 But everybody in the country was feeling that. 79 00:04:09,710 --> 00:04:15,793 That kind of absence of air in the room 80 00:04:15,918 --> 00:04:20,126 was all over the world. 81 00:04:20,251 --> 00:04:25,501 And I remember our parents being given the option to, 82 00:04:25,626 --> 00:04:28,418 when the sirens went off, to have us run home 83 00:04:28,585 --> 00:04:30,335 and be with them for the end 84 00:04:30,501 --> 00:04:35,376 or to take cover at the school. 85 00:04:35,543 --> 00:04:37,543 - Kennedy really threatens nuclear war in that speech. 86 00:04:37,626 --> 00:04:40,710 He says that we will regard any attack from Cuba 87 00:04:40,793 --> 00:04:42,501 as an attack by the Soviet Union 88 00:04:42,585 --> 00:04:44,376 on the United States, 89 00:04:44,501 --> 00:04:47,418 and we will respond quickly and forcefully. 90 00:04:47,543 --> 00:04:49,543 So it's--he now has upped the ante. 91 00:04:49,626 --> 00:04:53,335 The temperature's really gone up. 92 00:04:53,418 --> 00:04:55,376 narrator: With Kennedy's go-ahead, 93 00:04:55,460 --> 00:04:58,543 United States Naval vessels made their way 94 00:04:58,668 --> 00:05:02,585 to form a wall-like blockade around the island of Cuba, 95 00:05:02,751 --> 00:05:06,001 intending to force out the Soviet troops and missiles 96 00:05:06,085 --> 00:05:10,710 and stop additional weapons from arriving. 97 00:05:10,835 --> 00:05:12,918 - Kennedy and his advisors were trying to be careful 98 00:05:13,085 --> 00:05:15,376 in the language that they were choosing. 99 00:05:15,543 --> 00:05:18,918 In particular, they called the blockade a "quarantine," 100 00:05:19,085 --> 00:05:21,876 because "blockade"-- this is a declaration of war 101 00:05:22,001 --> 00:05:24,710 in the international law. 102 00:05:24,793 --> 00:05:27,585 But everyone got the message, 103 00:05:27,710 --> 00:05:29,751 "Okay, probably the war is coming." 104 00:05:29,918 --> 00:05:32,710 [suspenseful music] 105 00:05:32,793 --> 00:05:39,626 ♪ ♪ 106 00:05:44,710 --> 00:05:47,043 narrator: It wasn't long before Kennedy received 107 00:05:47,168 --> 00:05:49,001 a new threat from Khrushchev. 108 00:06:08,918 --> 00:06:11,376 [propellers whirring] 109 00:06:11,501 --> 00:06:14,085 narrator: With the massive blockade now in effect, 110 00:06:14,210 --> 00:06:18,376 Khrushchev made it clear: if Soviet ships were sunk, 111 00:06:18,418 --> 00:06:21,210 or the Americans attempted an invasion, 112 00:06:21,293 --> 00:06:23,460 it would be war. 113 00:06:23,585 --> 00:06:26,710 - Khrushchev ordered all his ships 114 00:06:26,835 --> 00:06:29,960 with military equipment that were not yet close 115 00:06:30,085 --> 00:06:32,168 to Cuba, turn back. 116 00:06:32,293 --> 00:06:35,043 narrator: On the Cuban shores closest to Florida, 117 00:06:35,168 --> 00:06:39,043 waves of missile sites and nuclear-armed submarines 118 00:06:39,210 --> 00:06:41,876 were at the ready. 119 00:06:42,043 --> 00:06:46,376 - We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the course 120 00:06:46,501 --> 00:06:49,543 of worldwide nuclear war, in which 121 00:06:49,668 --> 00:06:53,251 even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth. 122 00:06:53,418 --> 00:06:54,960 But neither will we shrink from that risk 123 00:06:55,126 --> 00:06:59,210 at any time it must be faced. 124 00:06:59,335 --> 00:07:01,293 - When I think about Kennedy and the Missile Crisis, 125 00:07:01,418 --> 00:07:03,126 I think about a president who, frankly, 126 00:07:03,251 --> 00:07:06,876 is really good at stalling, who's really good at delaying, 127 00:07:07,043 --> 00:07:09,043 trying to hope that a solution will arise 128 00:07:09,126 --> 00:07:14,793 that will not lead to being boxed into a nuclear box. 129 00:07:14,918 --> 00:07:17,501 - I have directed the armed forces to prepare 130 00:07:17,585 --> 00:07:19,710 for any eventualities. 131 00:07:19,835 --> 00:07:22,751 It shall be the policy of this nation 132 00:07:22,876 --> 00:07:25,876 to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba 133 00:07:26,043 --> 00:07:28,876 against any nation in the Western hemisphere 134 00:07:29,001 --> 00:07:31,418 as an attack by the Soviet Union 135 00:07:31,585 --> 00:07:33,335 on the United States, 136 00:07:33,418 --> 00:07:36,376 requiring a full retaliatory response 137 00:07:36,501 --> 00:07:39,876 upon the Soviet Union. 138 00:07:40,043 --> 00:07:42,668 narrator: Local Soviet commanders in Cuba had been 139 00:07:42,751 --> 00:07:47,668 given approval to fire nuclear weapons if necessary. 140 00:07:47,835 --> 00:07:49,501 - Nikita Khrushchev had not only deployed 141 00:07:49,626 --> 00:07:51,085 nuclear weapons into Cuba, 142 00:07:51,251 --> 00:07:53,835 he had actually deployed operational control 143 00:07:53,918 --> 00:07:56,710 of those weapons down to the battlefield commanders. 144 00:07:56,835 --> 00:07:58,751 What does that mean in English? 145 00:07:58,918 --> 00:08:00,585 That means the first moment that marines hit the beach, 146 00:08:00,710 --> 00:08:05,710 mushroom clouds start going off. 147 00:08:05,751 --> 00:08:07,960 Total annihilation. 148 00:08:08,085 --> 00:08:09,543 Every time I study the Cuban Missile Crisis, 149 00:08:09,668 --> 00:08:13,460 I get more afraid. 150 00:08:13,585 --> 00:08:15,626 narrator: Tensions had come to a head. 151 00:08:15,751 --> 00:08:17,543 - I don't want to be critical, but the problem is, 152 00:08:17,710 --> 00:08:19,543 when you say further action's gonna be taken, 153 00:08:19,668 --> 00:08:21,293 then they all say, "What action?" 154 00:08:21,418 --> 00:08:23,085 And it moves this escalation up 155 00:08:23,251 --> 00:08:25,168 a couple of days when we're not ready for it. 156 00:08:25,251 --> 00:08:27,085 - Yeah. I-I'm sorry-- 157 00:08:27,210 --> 00:08:29,376 - So therefore, you have to be goddamn careful. 158 00:08:29,501 --> 00:08:31,043 We gotta get this under control. 159 00:08:31,168 --> 00:08:33,918 [airplane engine roaring] 160 00:08:55,876 --> 00:08:59,043 narrator: On October 27th, at the height of the Crisis, 161 00:08:59,168 --> 00:09:02,710 American U-2 pilot Major Rudolf Anderson was 162 00:09:02,918 --> 00:09:05,585 shot down and killed over Cuba 163 00:09:05,751 --> 00:09:08,085 while on a surveillance mission. 164 00:09:08,251 --> 00:09:11,918 The order was given by a Soviet lieutenant general, 165 00:09:12,085 --> 00:09:16,043 without the authorization of his commanding general. 166 00:09:16,168 --> 00:09:20,001 Anderson's death signaled a turning point-- 167 00:09:20,085 --> 00:09:22,501 a turn for the worse. 168 00:09:22,668 --> 00:09:24,960 - And once an American pilot has been shot down, 169 00:09:25,085 --> 00:09:27,918 American blood has been spilt, you know, 170 00:09:28,085 --> 00:09:31,168 that changes the nature of the calculations 171 00:09:31,251 --> 00:09:33,751 for American politicians. 172 00:09:33,918 --> 00:09:37,710 - Against his orders, Khrushchev's commanders 173 00:09:37,835 --> 00:09:43,085 ordered to shoot down a U-2 plane over Cuba. 174 00:09:43,251 --> 00:09:46,626 That is another layer of complexity and danger 175 00:09:46,751 --> 00:09:49,210 associated with the Crisis like that. 176 00:09:49,251 --> 00:09:51,543 There is also people on the ground 177 00:09:51,668 --> 00:09:54,210 who very often make their own decisions. 178 00:09:54,335 --> 00:09:56,251 And they become, at the end, 179 00:09:56,418 --> 00:09:59,668 deciders of whether there would be a conflict or not, 180 00:09:59,751 --> 00:10:03,668 whether there would be a nuclear war or not. 181 00:10:03,793 --> 00:10:05,210 narrator: That same day, a group 182 00:10:05,418 --> 00:10:07,876 of U.S. Navy destroyers were positioned above 183 00:10:08,001 --> 00:10:10,710 the Soviet submarine B-59. 184 00:10:10,876 --> 00:10:13,293 To force the submarine to the surface 185 00:10:13,418 --> 00:10:15,085 for identification, 186 00:10:15,251 --> 00:10:17,835 the navy began dropping small explosives 187 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,668 called signaling depth charges. 188 00:10:21,751 --> 00:10:23,960 The captain of the Soviet submarine, 189 00:10:24,085 --> 00:10:29,126 Valentin Savitsky, mistook the depth charges for bombs. 190 00:10:29,251 --> 00:10:31,043 - So they could have been forgiven for thinking 191 00:10:31,210 --> 00:10:35,001 that the-- the real conflict had begun. 192 00:10:35,126 --> 00:10:37,918 narrator: What the Navy did not know at the time 193 00:10:38,043 --> 00:10:41,543 was that the B-59 had nuclear weapons on board. 194 00:10:41,626 --> 00:10:44,543 Thinking that the war had started, 195 00:10:44,668 --> 00:10:46,710 Savitsky gave the order 196 00:10:46,835 --> 00:10:50,043 to launch one of the nuclear torpedoes. 197 00:10:54,418 --> 00:11:00,543 narrator: Black Saturday, October 27th, 1962. 198 00:11:00,626 --> 00:11:03,001 While Kennedy was deciding how to respond 199 00:11:03,168 --> 00:11:05,626 to Major Rudolf Anderson's death, 200 00:11:05,751 --> 00:11:08,293 Russian submarine B-59 prepared 201 00:11:08,418 --> 00:11:11,001 to fire a nuclear torpedo, 202 00:11:11,085 --> 00:11:14,751 believing the war had started above them. 203 00:11:14,918 --> 00:11:16,835 However, in order to fire the weapons, 204 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:18,918 the decision had to be unanimous 205 00:11:19,043 --> 00:11:21,168 between all officers. 206 00:11:21,251 --> 00:11:27,043 - They all three had to say, "Yes, let's fire back." 207 00:11:27,085 --> 00:11:29,960 narrator: All on board were in favor of the nuclear attack, 208 00:11:30,043 --> 00:11:32,626 except for the second-in-command officer 209 00:11:32,751 --> 00:11:37,835 named Vasili Arkhipov... 210 00:11:37,918 --> 00:11:41,168 who convinced the B-59 crew to halt the launch 211 00:11:41,335 --> 00:11:43,251 of the nuclear missile. 212 00:11:46,501 --> 00:11:48,751 The submarine rose to the surface 213 00:11:48,918 --> 00:11:51,668 and would soon head back to the Soviet Union 214 00:11:51,793 --> 00:11:55,126 without incident, thanks to Arkhipov. 215 00:11:57,168 --> 00:12:02,251 - He talks the captain out of that decision, 216 00:12:02,376 --> 00:12:07,710 which surely would have led to a nuclear war. 217 00:12:07,835 --> 00:12:10,793 - The real risk of war, I think, 218 00:12:10,918 --> 00:12:13,251 during the Missile Crisis, came from the fact 219 00:12:13,418 --> 00:12:14,876 that neither side really understood 220 00:12:14,918 --> 00:12:16,751 what the other side was doing, 221 00:12:16,876 --> 00:12:20,335 and there was a lot of room for misinterpretation 222 00:12:20,460 --> 00:12:23,126 and miscommunication between the two sides. 223 00:12:26,001 --> 00:12:30,210 On the 27th of October, which was widely regarded 224 00:12:30,376 --> 00:12:32,001 as the most dangerous day of the Crisis-- 225 00:12:32,085 --> 00:12:34,543 it was later called Black Saturday-- 226 00:12:34,710 --> 00:12:36,918 the two sides were very close 227 00:12:37,043 --> 00:12:39,876 to the early stages of a nuclear war. 228 00:12:43,335 --> 00:12:45,376 - One of my best friends is Clint Hill. 229 00:12:45,460 --> 00:12:47,543 He was Mrs. Kennedy's agent. 230 00:12:47,710 --> 00:12:49,418 And he went to Mrs. Kennedy, and he said, "Mrs. Kennedy, 231 00:12:49,585 --> 00:12:52,835 I've gotta take you down to see the bomb shelter." 232 00:12:52,918 --> 00:12:56,793 And she said, "No, I won't use it, Mr. Hill." 233 00:12:58,710 --> 00:13:01,085 [sniffles] 234 00:13:01,251 --> 00:13:04,043 [gentle music] 235 00:13:04,126 --> 00:13:09,501 ♪ ♪ 236 00:13:09,585 --> 00:13:15,460 And he said, uh, "At some point you're gonna have to go inside, 237 00:13:15,585 --> 00:13:19,585 and you're gonna have to take the children there." 238 00:13:19,751 --> 00:13:24,210 And she said, "Mr. Hill, 239 00:13:24,376 --> 00:13:27,168 "if it comes to that, 240 00:13:27,293 --> 00:13:30,960 "I will take little John-John and Caroline, 241 00:13:31,085 --> 00:13:35,710 "and we'll go out to the South Lawn, 242 00:13:35,876 --> 00:13:38,501 "and we will face the music. 243 00:13:38,626 --> 00:13:45,335 We'll face the danger along with the American people." 244 00:13:49,418 --> 00:13:52,876 - On that day, when an American U-2 is shot down, 245 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,168 it looks like this crisis is spiraling out of control. 246 00:13:56,251 --> 00:14:02,085 Kennedy decides this is the time for diplomacy. 247 00:14:02,210 --> 00:14:05,876 - Truly, only the president can make a major decision. 248 00:14:06,001 --> 00:14:10,751 And no matter how many advisors he has in the room 249 00:14:10,876 --> 00:14:14,501 or out of the room, only he can make that final decision. 250 00:14:14,585 --> 00:14:18,918 And in that sense, it's a very lonely process, 251 00:14:19,043 --> 00:14:23,626 no matter how crowded the environment may be. 252 00:14:23,751 --> 00:14:26,793 narrator: Behind closed doors, negotiations were conducted 253 00:14:26,876 --> 00:14:30,043 between the White House and the Kremlin. 254 00:14:30,126 --> 00:14:33,460 Khrushchev presented his final terms for withdrawal 255 00:14:33,585 --> 00:14:35,418 to the Kennedy administration. 256 00:14:35,501 --> 00:14:38,376 He declared that in order for the Soviets 257 00:14:38,501 --> 00:14:41,585 to remove their weapons, the United States must pledge 258 00:14:41,710 --> 00:14:44,460 to never invade Cuba again. 259 00:14:44,585 --> 00:14:48,251 Khrushchev also demanded the American Jupiter missiles 260 00:14:48,335 --> 00:14:52,876 aimed at the Soviet Union be removed from Turkey. 261 00:14:53,043 --> 00:14:55,293 - Kennedy decides, if I have to, 262 00:14:55,418 --> 00:14:59,710 I'm gonna trade away the security of Turkey. 263 00:14:59,835 --> 00:15:01,960 I'm gonna trade that away briefly 264 00:15:02,043 --> 00:15:04,585 and give the Soviets what they want to end this. 265 00:15:04,710 --> 00:15:06,626 We can't have this continue, 266 00:15:06,751 --> 00:15:09,876 because we're not any longer in control of the situation. 267 00:15:10,043 --> 00:15:12,043 And there, Kennedy leads. 268 00:15:12,210 --> 00:15:14,376 In fact, most of Kennedy's advisors 269 00:15:14,501 --> 00:15:17,710 are against the trade, trading Turkish missiles 270 00:15:17,793 --> 00:15:19,543 for the Soviet missiles in Cuba. 271 00:15:19,626 --> 00:15:22,418 And you can hear on tape John Kennedy saying to them, 272 00:15:22,585 --> 00:15:24,918 "How can I explain to the American people 273 00:15:25,043 --> 00:15:26,543 "that I didn't take this offer? 274 00:15:26,710 --> 00:15:28,960 "If they ever learn that it was on the table, 275 00:15:29,085 --> 00:15:32,376 "that I could have avoided what happens next, 276 00:15:32,501 --> 00:15:34,751 "how could I ever explain to them, or history, 277 00:15:34,918 --> 00:15:37,710 that I couldn't take this deal?" 278 00:15:37,835 --> 00:15:41,293 That's where Kennedy is the leader. 279 00:15:41,460 --> 00:15:43,960 narrator: The United States agreed to both terms, 280 00:15:44,043 --> 00:15:46,418 but insisted that it be allowed to remove 281 00:15:46,585 --> 00:15:51,710 the Jupiter missiles covertly over the next few months. 282 00:15:51,835 --> 00:15:54,293 As Kennedy had stated days before, 283 00:15:54,418 --> 00:15:59,043 he was determined that peace would prevail. 284 00:15:59,168 --> 00:16:01,543 - Our goal is not the victory of might, 285 00:16:01,668 --> 00:16:03,710 but the vindication of right, 286 00:16:03,793 --> 00:16:06,293 not peace at the expense of freedom, 287 00:16:06,418 --> 00:16:11,043 but both peace and freedom here in this hemisphere. 288 00:16:11,168 --> 00:16:14,710 And we hope around the world, God willing, 289 00:16:14,835 --> 00:16:17,168 that goal will be achieved. 290 00:16:17,251 --> 00:16:20,793 Thank you and good night. 291 00:16:20,876 --> 00:16:22,876 narrator: With nuclear weapons aimed at Washington, D.C. 292 00:16:23,043 --> 00:16:24,876 and ready to fire, 293 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:30,043 the night of October 27th was fraught with tension. 294 00:16:30,168 --> 00:16:31,960 While eating dinner in the White House 295 00:16:32,085 --> 00:16:35,293 with his friend David Powers, Kennedy commented, 296 00:16:35,418 --> 00:16:39,460 "Anybody would think that it was your last meal." 297 00:16:39,543 --> 00:16:42,793 - Probably one of the most tense evenings of the-- 298 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:48,418 of the Cuban Missile Crisis, because it's a big unknown. 299 00:16:48,543 --> 00:16:50,585 narrator: Having responded to Khrushchev's terms, 300 00:16:50,751 --> 00:16:54,460 the United States could only wait for a final decision 301 00:16:54,585 --> 00:16:56,001 from Moscow. 302 00:17:00,543 --> 00:17:00,710 [gentle piano music] 303 00:17:01,460 --> 00:17:03,876 narrator: On October 27th, 1962, 304 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:05,376 Kennedy had agreed 305 00:17:05,460 --> 00:17:07,876 to Khrushchev's terms for withdrawal. 306 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:11,418 The fate of the country was uncertain as Kennedy awaited 307 00:17:11,543 --> 00:17:17,376 the final response from Moscow. 308 00:17:17,501 --> 00:17:20,626 After 13 days of tense negotiations, 309 00:17:20,751 --> 00:17:24,793 Khrushchev finally conceded on October 28th. 310 00:17:24,918 --> 00:17:26,918 It was 6:00 p.m. in Moscow 311 00:17:27,085 --> 00:17:30,585 and 9:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C. 312 00:17:53,876 --> 00:17:57,418 narrator: The Cuban Missile Crisis was over. 313 00:17:57,543 --> 00:18:00,126 In standing firm against engaging the Soviets 314 00:18:00,293 --> 00:18:03,376 militarily and choosing to deliberate, 315 00:18:03,501 --> 00:18:05,376 Kennedy helped bring the world back 316 00:18:05,460 --> 00:18:08,460 from the brink of nuclear war. 317 00:18:08,585 --> 00:18:10,001 - No matter how many advisors you have, 318 00:18:10,126 --> 00:18:11,501 frequently they are divided, 319 00:18:11,585 --> 00:18:13,668 and the president must finally choose. 320 00:18:13,835 --> 00:18:17,335 No easy matters will ever come to you as president. 321 00:18:17,460 --> 00:18:18,918 Those that come to you as president are always 322 00:18:19,085 --> 00:18:20,168 the difficult matters, the matters which carry 323 00:18:20,293 --> 00:18:24,626 with them large implications. 324 00:18:24,751 --> 00:18:27,043 - John Kennedy had an ability during 325 00:18:27,126 --> 00:18:29,210 the Cuban Missile Crisis 326 00:18:29,376 --> 00:18:34,085 to not just get swept up in the passion of the moment, 327 00:18:34,210 --> 00:18:37,918 but to step back and to see the risks 328 00:18:38,085 --> 00:18:41,501 and the opportunities. 329 00:18:41,585 --> 00:18:48,501 ♪ ♪ 330 00:18:48,585 --> 00:18:51,710 - So in the spring of 1963, the Cuban Missile Crisis 331 00:18:51,793 --> 00:18:54,085 having happened about eight months earlier, 332 00:18:54,251 --> 00:18:57,710 John F. Kennedy is thinking about the great scourge 333 00:18:57,835 --> 00:18:59,835 that faces mankind in the proliferation 334 00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:01,626 of nuclear weapons. 335 00:19:01,793 --> 00:19:05,543 And he thinks, "What can I do to find a way through? 336 00:19:05,626 --> 00:19:09,376 How can I change the channel?" 337 00:19:09,460 --> 00:19:11,918 narrator: Kennedy decided to address the Cold War 338 00:19:12,043 --> 00:19:14,585 in a way he had never done before. 339 00:19:14,710 --> 00:19:17,376 - There is no treaty of any sort 340 00:19:17,460 --> 00:19:19,918 between the United States and the Soviet Union. 341 00:19:20,043 --> 00:19:24,210 And so the idea emerges of a nuclear test ban treaty. 342 00:19:24,376 --> 00:19:27,376 That spring, Kennedy wants to give 343 00:19:27,543 --> 00:19:33,210 that idea public expression in a formal, eloquent way. 344 00:19:33,335 --> 00:19:36,751 The speech as an instrument of public policy 345 00:19:36,918 --> 00:19:42,001 is very important to JFK, and he has in Ted Sorensen 346 00:19:42,126 --> 00:19:45,210 about the finest speechwriter a president could have. 347 00:19:45,251 --> 00:19:48,043 They have worked together since 1953. 348 00:19:48,126 --> 00:19:49,876 They've been together ten years. 349 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:55,585 They want to make an overture to Khrushchev. 350 00:19:55,710 --> 00:19:58,251 narrator: On June 10th, 1963, 351 00:19:58,418 --> 00:20:00,376 Kennedy would pour his experience 352 00:20:00,460 --> 00:20:03,376 navigating the chaos of the Bay of Pigs, 353 00:20:03,460 --> 00:20:05,751 neutralizing the Cuban Missile Crisis 354 00:20:05,918 --> 00:20:07,710 and the friction in Berlin, 355 00:20:07,793 --> 00:20:12,418 into a commencement address for American University. 356 00:20:12,543 --> 00:20:14,251 - What's important to know about the peace speech is, 357 00:20:14,376 --> 00:20:18,210 it doesn't get any kind of exposure 358 00:20:18,335 --> 00:20:20,460 in the arteries of government. 359 00:20:20,585 --> 00:20:24,585 Kennedy does not want what he's going to say to get out, 360 00:20:24,751 --> 00:20:28,335 because he is going to speak to the Russians 361 00:20:28,460 --> 00:20:31,543 with a generosity and a sense of conciliation 362 00:20:31,668 --> 00:20:33,876 that no president has shown the Russians 363 00:20:33,918 --> 00:20:38,251 since Franklin Roosevelt was an ally of Joseph Stalin. 364 00:20:38,376 --> 00:20:41,626 narrator: Suddenly, it was showtime. 365 00:20:46,710 --> 00:20:50,335 - I have therefore chosen this time and place 366 00:20:50,460 --> 00:20:53,626 to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds, 367 00:20:53,751 --> 00:20:57,501 and the truth too rarely perceived. 368 00:20:57,626 --> 00:21:02,085 And that is the most important topic on Earth, peace. 369 00:21:02,210 --> 00:21:04,418 - He has been a cold warrior, 370 00:21:04,543 --> 00:21:09,793 and important to note, between 1961 and 1963, 371 00:21:09,918 --> 00:21:13,335 has presided over the largest military buildup 372 00:21:13,501 --> 00:21:16,251 in American peacetime history. 373 00:21:16,376 --> 00:21:18,501 So when Kennedy is coming around 374 00:21:18,585 --> 00:21:22,460 to speaking about peace, what does it mean? 375 00:21:22,585 --> 00:21:26,043 - I am talking about genuine peace, 376 00:21:26,210 --> 00:21:30,418 the kind of peace that makes life on Earth worth living, 377 00:21:30,543 --> 00:21:33,293 and the kind that enables men and nations to grow, 378 00:21:33,418 --> 00:21:35,835 and to hope, and build a better life 379 00:21:35,918 --> 00:21:37,668 for their children, 380 00:21:37,751 --> 00:21:40,460 not merely peace for Americans, 381 00:21:40,585 --> 00:21:43,376 but peace for all men and women, 382 00:21:43,543 --> 00:21:48,085 not merely peace in our time, but peace in all time. 383 00:21:48,210 --> 00:21:50,251 [applause] 384 00:21:50,418 --> 00:21:51,876 narrator: He was a different leader 385 00:21:52,001 --> 00:21:54,876 than the man newly elected in January 1961, 386 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,835 who asked the country to bear any burden 387 00:21:57,918 --> 00:22:01,418 against Soviet and Communist might. 388 00:22:01,585 --> 00:22:05,710 The speech he delivered now was grounded in stark reality, 389 00:22:05,835 --> 00:22:08,793 examining America's moral responsibility 390 00:22:08,918 --> 00:22:12,710 to support a strategy of peace. 391 00:22:12,835 --> 00:22:16,376 - First, examine our attitude towards peace itself. 392 00:22:16,460 --> 00:22:18,543 Too many of us think it is impossible. 393 00:22:18,710 --> 00:22:21,710 Too many think it is unreal. 394 00:22:21,918 --> 00:22:25,501 But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. 395 00:22:25,585 --> 00:22:30,543 It leads to the conclusion that mankind is doomed, 396 00:22:30,626 --> 00:22:34,543 that we are gripped by forces we cannot control. 397 00:22:34,710 --> 00:22:36,543 We need not accept that view. 398 00:22:36,668 --> 00:22:39,376 Our problems are man-made. 399 00:22:39,585 --> 00:22:43,501 Therefore, they can be solved by man. 400 00:22:43,626 --> 00:22:46,043 narrator: Kennedy announced the United States would stop 401 00:22:46,210 --> 00:22:48,501 atmospheric nuclear testing 402 00:22:48,626 --> 00:22:52,876 if a treaty could be agreed upon with the Soviets. 403 00:22:53,001 --> 00:22:55,418 In the Soviet Union, a full translation 404 00:22:55,543 --> 00:22:57,543 of Kennedy's speech was broadcast 405 00:22:57,668 --> 00:22:59,668 and printed in the press. 406 00:22:59,751 --> 00:23:04,001 Khrushchev himself was deeply impressed. 407 00:23:04,085 --> 00:23:08,793 Soon after, American diplomat Averell Harriman traveled 408 00:23:08,918 --> 00:23:12,210 to Moscow to negotiate a test ban treaty. 409 00:23:12,335 --> 00:23:17,210 Kennedy said this was not his ideal solution of disarmament, 410 00:23:17,335 --> 00:23:20,043 but it was a step toward achieving it. 411 00:23:20,126 --> 00:23:21,876 - And within six weeks, 412 00:23:21,918 --> 00:23:23,793 he's in the situation room in the White House 413 00:23:23,876 --> 00:23:26,710 and getting drafts of the agreement. 414 00:23:26,793 --> 00:23:28,835 - Our most basic common link 415 00:23:28,918 --> 00:23:33,251 is that we all inhabit this small planet. 416 00:23:33,376 --> 00:23:36,168 We all breathe the same air. 417 00:23:36,293 --> 00:23:38,501 We all cherish our children's future. 418 00:23:38,585 --> 00:23:41,043 Confident and unafraid, 419 00:23:41,168 --> 00:23:43,710 we must labor on, 420 00:23:43,918 --> 00:23:46,585 not towards a strategy of annihilation, 421 00:23:46,751 --> 00:23:48,960 but towards a strategy of peace. 422 00:23:49,085 --> 00:23:51,085 [cheers and applause] 423 00:23:56,501 --> 00:23:59,001 narrator: In the summer of 1963, 424 00:23:59,085 --> 00:24:01,543 while Kennedy was focused on working towards 425 00:24:01,668 --> 00:24:04,501 international arms control and diplomacy, 426 00:24:04,626 --> 00:24:09,126 a fire was smoldering in the American South. 427 00:24:09,251 --> 00:24:15,668 Soon it would once again burst into raging flames. 428 00:24:15,751 --> 00:24:20,585 In May 1963, the city of Birmingham, Alabama, 429 00:24:20,710 --> 00:24:22,710 called the most segregated city in the country 430 00:24:22,793 --> 00:24:25,710 by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 431 00:24:25,793 --> 00:24:29,335 became the new epicenter of the civil rights movement. 432 00:24:29,460 --> 00:24:31,376 Hundreds of Black students, 433 00:24:31,501 --> 00:24:34,168 some as young as seven years old, 434 00:24:34,251 --> 00:24:36,126 were recruited to join a series 435 00:24:36,210 --> 00:24:41,376 of nonviolent demonstrations promoting racial equality. 436 00:24:41,501 --> 00:24:43,001 - Being a teenager at the time, 437 00:24:43,085 --> 00:24:44,460 I was just learning. 438 00:24:44,585 --> 00:24:46,876 I wanted to be a part of the change, yeah, 439 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:48,543 because we can't keep on living like this. 440 00:24:48,668 --> 00:24:50,210 It's got to be better. 441 00:24:50,293 --> 00:24:53,126 - ♪ Who's that writing? ♪ 442 00:24:53,251 --> 00:24:55,751 narrator: In a courageous effort, activists emerged 443 00:24:55,876 --> 00:24:58,418 from the 16th Street Baptist Church 444 00:24:58,585 --> 00:25:00,876 and took to the streets for two days, 445 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,710 marching shoulder to shoulder through downtown Birmingham 446 00:25:04,835 --> 00:25:08,793 and singing songs like "We Shall Overcome." 447 00:25:08,918 --> 00:25:11,585 As the children marched peacefully 448 00:25:11,751 --> 00:25:13,835 through the streets, the Birmingham Commissioner 449 00:25:13,918 --> 00:25:19,001 of Public Safety, Bull Connor, decided to respond. 450 00:25:19,126 --> 00:25:20,918 - Connor snapped. 451 00:25:21,043 --> 00:25:23,543 Just turned out the full force of the police 452 00:25:23,668 --> 00:25:25,710 with fire hoses and dogs, 453 00:25:25,835 --> 00:25:29,668 attacking these young protesters. 454 00:25:29,751 --> 00:25:34,001 - ♪ Oh, who's that writing? ♪ 455 00:25:34,085 --> 00:25:38,126 - Somebody started singing, "We are not afraid." 456 00:25:38,251 --> 00:25:42,501 That gave me the-- the encouragement that I needed 457 00:25:42,626 --> 00:25:45,835 to remain in the line and to be arrested. 458 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,543 - [vocalizing] 459 00:25:51,460 --> 00:25:53,043 narrator: When Kennedy saw the photos 460 00:25:53,168 --> 00:25:56,626 coming out of Birmingham, he was disgusted. 461 00:25:56,751 --> 00:25:58,376 Robert Kennedy sent 462 00:25:58,501 --> 00:26:00,793 Assistant Attorney General Burke Marshall 463 00:26:00,918 --> 00:26:03,210 to facilitate negotiations between 464 00:26:03,335 --> 00:26:04,876 civil rights protesters 465 00:26:05,043 --> 00:26:07,876 and Birmingham city business leaders 466 00:26:08,001 --> 00:26:11,543 to desegregate businesses and end the demonstrations. 467 00:26:11,668 --> 00:26:14,668 - John Kennedy, he had the type of heart 468 00:26:14,793 --> 00:26:17,710 that when he saw all of this happening to children, 469 00:26:17,835 --> 00:26:22,085 he said, "No more," and I-- for that, I respect him. 470 00:26:22,251 --> 00:26:24,960 [soft music] 471 00:26:25,126 --> 00:26:28,126 narrator: On May 10th, an agreement was reached. 472 00:26:28,251 --> 00:26:30,793 The demonstrations were a success and led 473 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:33,710 to new efforts in Birmingham to integrate 474 00:26:33,793 --> 00:26:35,876 and improve job opportunities 475 00:26:36,043 --> 00:26:39,043 for African-American residents. 476 00:26:39,126 --> 00:26:43,085 But Kennedy's involvement wasn't enough. 477 00:26:43,251 --> 00:26:46,793 The violence in Birmingham brought worldwide attention 478 00:26:46,918 --> 00:26:49,876 and scrutiny to the Kennedy administration's response 479 00:26:50,001 --> 00:26:52,751 to the civil rights movement. 480 00:26:52,876 --> 00:26:54,751 - Those images are spread internationally. 481 00:26:54,876 --> 00:26:56,335 So Kennedy is feeling the pressure 482 00:26:56,418 --> 00:26:58,085 from internally, from the civil rights activists, 483 00:26:58,251 --> 00:27:02,710 and then externally from his allies around the world. 484 00:27:02,793 --> 00:27:04,710 narrator: As protests and violence continued 485 00:27:04,751 --> 00:27:07,793 in the South, pressure mounted on Kennedy 486 00:27:07,918 --> 00:27:10,543 to take decisive legislative action 487 00:27:10,585 --> 00:27:15,710 in support of the civil rights movement. 488 00:27:15,793 --> 00:27:20,876 Now it was June 11th, 1963, just one day after 489 00:27:21,043 --> 00:27:25,251 Kennedy's peace speech at American University. 490 00:27:25,376 --> 00:27:28,126 The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa was one 491 00:27:28,251 --> 00:27:30,876 of only a handful of universities yet 492 00:27:31,001 --> 00:27:33,793 to be desegregated. 493 00:27:33,876 --> 00:27:36,960 The civil rights group the NAACP, 494 00:27:37,085 --> 00:27:39,543 the National Association for the Advancement 495 00:27:39,710 --> 00:27:42,418 of Colored People, tried to arrange 496 00:27:42,543 --> 00:27:45,960 for two Black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, 497 00:27:46,126 --> 00:27:48,251 to integrate the university. 498 00:27:48,376 --> 00:27:52,710 Filmmaker Robert Drew was given the rare opportunity 499 00:27:52,793 --> 00:27:55,418 from the Kennedy administration to capture 500 00:27:55,543 --> 00:27:59,710 the behind-the-scenes events of the attempted integration. 501 00:27:59,793 --> 00:28:02,876 - Why do you want to go to the University of Alabama 502 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,293 specifically, and not some other university? 503 00:28:05,418 --> 00:28:08,876 - The school that I was previously attending 504 00:28:09,043 --> 00:28:12,876 became unaccredited in December of 1961, 505 00:28:13,001 --> 00:28:15,168 and the University of Alabama is accredited. 506 00:28:15,293 --> 00:28:16,876 narrator: The governor of Alabama, 507 00:28:17,001 --> 00:28:19,918 staunch segregationist George Wallace, 508 00:28:20,085 --> 00:28:23,876 wanted to show his opposition on a public stage. 509 00:28:24,001 --> 00:28:28,376 - And I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, 510 00:28:28,460 --> 00:28:30,418 and segregation forever. 511 00:28:30,585 --> 00:28:33,335 [raucous cheering] 512 00:28:35,460 --> 00:28:37,001 - So Wallace says, "The federal government"-- 513 00:28:37,126 --> 00:28:38,835 he made them the bad guys-- 514 00:28:39,001 --> 00:28:40,418 "Come down here and tell us how to live our lives, 515 00:28:40,543 --> 00:28:42,043 "tell us what to do. 516 00:28:42,210 --> 00:28:45,126 I will stand in the schoolhouse door." 517 00:28:45,251 --> 00:28:50,751 - The Kennedys see him as a pugnacious, theatrical, 518 00:28:50,918 --> 00:28:54,460 jumped-up Southern politician 519 00:28:54,626 --> 00:28:59,876 who is going to force his day 520 00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:03,501 onto the national stage with his stunt. 521 00:29:03,585 --> 00:29:06,043 Well, eight months before, the University of Mississippi 522 00:29:06,210 --> 00:29:07,668 has gone through the same thing, 523 00:29:07,751 --> 00:29:12,168 and Kennedy had to order in 25,000 troops 524 00:29:12,251 --> 00:29:16,960 to put down a riot that went on 26 hours, 525 00:29:17,085 --> 00:29:20,293 killed two people, injured hundreds. 526 00:29:20,418 --> 00:29:22,960 The Kennedys had lost control of that situation 527 00:29:23,085 --> 00:29:27,126 and Kennedy said, "That's never gonna happen again." 528 00:29:27,251 --> 00:29:29,960 narrator: This time, they would be adequately prepared. 529 00:29:30,085 --> 00:29:32,460 Anything that could have been used as a weapon 530 00:29:32,585 --> 00:29:35,876 was removed from campus. 531 00:29:36,043 --> 00:29:39,210 - Every rock on campus was removed. 532 00:29:39,335 --> 00:29:42,043 Every Coke bottle 533 00:29:42,126 --> 00:29:44,418 in the Coke machine was removed. 534 00:29:44,585 --> 00:29:49,043 There were sharpshooters on all the buildings. 535 00:29:49,168 --> 00:29:51,210 narrator: When Malone and Hood arrived at the university 536 00:29:51,335 --> 00:29:55,710 for their first day, on June 11th, 1963, 537 00:29:55,876 --> 00:29:57,418 they were escorted to the school 538 00:29:57,585 --> 00:30:00,626 by Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, 539 00:30:00,751 --> 00:30:02,251 who reported directly 540 00:30:02,418 --> 00:30:04,293 to the Attorney General Robert Kennedy 541 00:30:04,376 --> 00:30:06,543 throughout the day. 542 00:30:06,668 --> 00:30:09,293 - He's had this opportunity and should let 'em go through. 543 00:30:09,418 --> 00:30:12,126 Or otherwise, we're gonna have to take other steps, 544 00:30:12,251 --> 00:30:13,626 because these students are going to attend 545 00:30:13,751 --> 00:30:17,501 the University of Alabama. 546 00:30:17,585 --> 00:30:19,460 narrator: George Wallace blocked the entrance 547 00:30:19,585 --> 00:30:24,001 to the school, flanked by Alabama state troopers. 548 00:30:24,126 --> 00:30:27,710 - He says, "I will bar the admission 549 00:30:27,876 --> 00:30:29,210 "of James Hood and Vivian Malone, 550 00:30:29,335 --> 00:30:31,210 if I have to do it physically," 551 00:30:31,335 --> 00:30:34,710 from this citadel of white supremacy, 552 00:30:34,835 --> 00:30:36,876 the University of Alabama. 553 00:30:37,043 --> 00:30:39,626 - Governor George Wallace of Alabama has stood 554 00:30:39,751 --> 00:30:41,251 in the schoolhouse door. 555 00:30:45,460 --> 00:30:45,626 [tense piano music] 556 00:30:46,793 --> 00:30:49,626 narrator: On June 11th, 1963, Governor George Wallace 557 00:30:49,751 --> 00:30:52,043 stood firmly in the schoolhouse door, 558 00:30:52,126 --> 00:30:54,043 blocking Malone and Hood 559 00:30:54,126 --> 00:30:57,043 from entering the University of Alabama. 560 00:30:57,210 --> 00:30:59,960 On orders from Attorney General Bobby Kennedy 561 00:31:00,043 --> 00:31:01,543 to resolve the situation, 562 00:31:01,668 --> 00:31:04,710 Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach 563 00:31:04,793 --> 00:31:08,876 approached the governor and demanded he step aside. 564 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,710 - And I've come here to ask you now 565 00:31:12,793 --> 00:31:15,043 for an unequivocal assurance 566 00:31:15,251 --> 00:31:17,043 that you will permit these students, who, after all, 567 00:31:17,251 --> 00:31:19,293 merely want an education at the great university-- 568 00:31:19,418 --> 00:31:20,876 - Now you make your statement, but we don't need 569 00:31:21,085 --> 00:31:22,460 for you to make a speech. 570 00:31:22,585 --> 00:31:24,043 narrator: Interrupting, 571 00:31:24,126 --> 00:31:26,043 Wallace pulled out a written statement, 572 00:31:26,126 --> 00:31:28,293 which he delivered to the crowd. 573 00:31:28,418 --> 00:31:30,710 - The unwelcomed, unwanted, unwarranted, 574 00:31:30,835 --> 00:31:33,585 and force-induced intrusion upon the campus 575 00:31:33,710 --> 00:31:35,210 of the University of Alabama 576 00:31:35,293 --> 00:31:36,960 today of the might of the central government 577 00:31:37,085 --> 00:31:39,085 offers frightful example 578 00:31:39,251 --> 00:31:40,876 of the oppression of the rights, privileges, 579 00:31:41,001 --> 00:31:42,876 and sovereignty of this state 580 00:31:43,001 --> 00:31:44,210 by officers of the federal government. 581 00:31:44,335 --> 00:31:45,835 narrator: Back at the White House, 582 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:47,376 Kennedy listened attentively 583 00:31:47,543 --> 00:31:50,668 while Bobby briefed him on the situation. 584 00:31:50,751 --> 00:31:55,710 - They were ready to carry Wallace away if they had to. 585 00:31:55,835 --> 00:31:57,876 - Then, uh, if he still doesn't move, 586 00:31:58,001 --> 00:32:00,210 then we'll try to get by him. 587 00:32:00,376 --> 00:32:01,376 - Pushing? 588 00:32:01,501 --> 00:32:04,668 - Pushing a little bit. 589 00:32:04,751 --> 00:32:07,876 Uh, or just having somebody... - Trying to walk around him. 590 00:32:08,001 --> 00:32:10,043 - And try to walk through the three doors. 591 00:32:10,168 --> 00:32:11,918 We're gonna try to have somebody inside 592 00:32:12,085 --> 00:32:13,835 who will open up the other-- one of the other doors, 593 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,168 so they can't cover all three doors, 594 00:32:16,251 --> 00:32:18,043 and just have the girls and the boys just try 595 00:32:18,126 --> 00:32:20,085 to go through another door. 596 00:32:20,210 --> 00:32:22,043 Anyway, that's gonna be up to Nick Katzenbach, 597 00:32:22,126 --> 00:32:26,001 as to how far we can go with that. 598 00:32:26,126 --> 00:32:27,543 - Governor, I am not interested in a show. 599 00:32:27,668 --> 00:32:30,460 I don't know what the purpose of this show is. 600 00:32:30,585 --> 00:32:33,085 I am interested in the orders of this court being enforced. 601 00:32:33,210 --> 00:32:35,710 That is my only responsibility here. 602 00:32:35,793 --> 00:32:37,543 narrator: When Wallace announced 603 00:32:37,668 --> 00:32:39,460 he wasn't going to step aside, 604 00:32:39,585 --> 00:32:43,876 the president federalized the Alabama National Guard, 605 00:32:44,001 --> 00:32:47,376 calling upon them to enforce federal law. 606 00:32:47,501 --> 00:32:51,293 Kennedy was now their commander, over Wallace. 607 00:32:51,418 --> 00:32:54,710 - They were so worried about the thing exploding 608 00:32:54,793 --> 00:32:56,335 at the University of Alabama, 609 00:32:56,460 --> 00:32:59,918 as it had at the University of Mississippi. 610 00:33:00,085 --> 00:33:02,418 narrator: In Tuscaloosa, 100 guardsmen arrived 611 00:33:02,585 --> 00:33:04,793 and thousands more stood at the ready 612 00:33:04,918 --> 00:33:07,043 if violence broke out. 613 00:33:07,085 --> 00:33:08,876 Marching up to the door, one of the guardsmen, 614 00:33:09,001 --> 00:33:12,126 General Henry V. Graham, demanded 615 00:33:12,251 --> 00:33:16,418 that Governor Wallace step aside. 616 00:33:16,543 --> 00:33:18,501 Bobby and his team at the Justice Department 617 00:33:18,585 --> 00:33:21,251 in Washington listened in anticipation 618 00:33:21,376 --> 00:33:24,626 over a telephone line from the scene. 619 00:33:24,751 --> 00:33:28,210 - It was, in effect, a single defiant man 620 00:33:28,376 --> 00:33:34,376 holding with strength to the weak mores of the past. 621 00:33:34,501 --> 00:33:39,918 - Change is about to occur, and we can feel the ground. 622 00:33:40,043 --> 00:33:42,126 Uh, it's trembling. 623 00:33:46,335 --> 00:33:48,043 narrator: After a tense buildup, 624 00:33:48,168 --> 00:33:51,376 the governor finally stepped aside, 625 00:33:51,543 --> 00:33:57,085 allowing the students to register at the university. 626 00:33:57,251 --> 00:33:59,543 - The stand at the schoolhouse door 627 00:33:59,710 --> 00:34:04,085 was an important event because it finally got Kennedy to say, 628 00:34:04,251 --> 00:34:06,668 "I'm not gonna be afraid of the issue of race in America. 629 00:34:06,793 --> 00:34:10,876 I'm gonna speak out on it. I'm gonna speak out on it." 630 00:34:11,085 --> 00:34:13,085 narrator: The question on Kennedy's mind was 631 00:34:13,210 --> 00:34:15,126 whether or not he would deliver an address 632 00:34:15,251 --> 00:34:18,501 on civil rights that evening, using Birmingham 633 00:34:18,585 --> 00:34:22,210 and the University of Alabama integration as a backdrop. 634 00:34:22,335 --> 00:34:24,085 - There have been demonstrations and riots 635 00:34:24,210 --> 00:34:26,876 in a number of American cities since Birmingham, 636 00:34:27,043 --> 00:34:29,460 and Kennedy understands that. 637 00:34:29,585 --> 00:34:32,126 - Across the United States, pressures are rising 638 00:34:32,251 --> 00:34:34,210 for the president to speak out for racial equality 639 00:34:34,376 --> 00:34:36,293 as a moral issue. 640 00:34:36,460 --> 00:34:39,168 But a strong speech could cost the president Southern support 641 00:34:39,335 --> 00:34:40,918 for new civil rights legislation 642 00:34:41,043 --> 00:34:42,043 he would like to have. 643 00:34:42,168 --> 00:34:44,376 - Okay, let's get started now. 644 00:34:44,501 --> 00:34:46,460 - The president must decide whether or not 645 00:34:46,585 --> 00:34:50,210 to speak out anyway in a nationwide TV address. 646 00:34:58,918 --> 00:35:00,585 - I think it's a reason to do it. 647 00:35:00,751 --> 00:35:02,585 I think you could talk about the legislation 648 00:35:02,751 --> 00:35:07,293 and talk about employment and talk about education. 649 00:35:07,418 --> 00:35:09,876 narrator: Kennedy, like the presidents before him, 650 00:35:09,918 --> 00:35:14,710 had never addressed civil rights as a moral issue. 651 00:35:14,835 --> 00:35:17,168 Most of Kennedy's inner circle was opposed 652 00:35:17,293 --> 00:35:19,710 to a televised address about civil rights 653 00:35:19,835 --> 00:35:22,126 on the evening of June 11th. 654 00:35:22,293 --> 00:35:23,876 They felt the time wasn't right 655 00:35:24,043 --> 00:35:26,585 and would push too far, too quickly, 656 00:35:26,751 --> 00:35:31,126 alienating the South from the administration. 657 00:35:31,251 --> 00:35:33,335 The only person on Kennedy's side 658 00:35:33,418 --> 00:35:35,585 was his brother Bobby. 659 00:35:35,751 --> 00:35:39,501 Together they decided that enough was enough. 660 00:35:39,585 --> 00:35:42,585 Kennedy chose to speak to the nation that evening, 661 00:35:42,710 --> 00:35:46,751 against the recommendation of his trusted advisors. 662 00:35:46,918 --> 00:35:50,001 - That's the big decision that John Kennedy makes, 663 00:35:50,085 --> 00:35:54,293 um, that is really the basis for his reputation as someone 664 00:35:54,460 --> 00:35:57,460 who, in the end, supported civil rights 665 00:35:57,585 --> 00:36:00,335 in a legitimate and a real way. 666 00:36:00,418 --> 00:36:03,710 - And it's then that JFK turns to Ted Sorensen, 667 00:36:03,793 --> 00:36:06,376 who never had a speech he couldn't write for JFK, 668 00:36:06,460 --> 00:36:09,876 and says, "It's time tonight to give that speech." 669 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:12,210 And Sorensen says, "What speech?" 670 00:36:12,335 --> 00:36:13,668 JFK says, "And by the way, 671 00:36:13,793 --> 00:36:17,210 I've booked the networks for 8:00 p.m." 672 00:36:17,293 --> 00:36:20,043 narrator: There was little time to draft a speech. 673 00:36:20,126 --> 00:36:23,376 At air time, it was incomplete. 674 00:36:23,543 --> 00:36:26,043 Kennedy went forward nonetheless, 675 00:36:26,168 --> 00:36:30,168 improvising the final portion. 676 00:36:30,293 --> 00:36:33,126 At last, with Kennedy positioned at his desk 677 00:36:33,251 --> 00:36:37,751 in the Oval Office, the cameras turned on. 678 00:36:37,918 --> 00:36:39,168 - Ladies and gentlemen, 679 00:36:39,293 --> 00:36:40,418 the president of the United States. 680 00:36:44,501 --> 00:36:45,501 - Good evening, my fellow citizens. 681 00:36:45,626 --> 00:36:47,168 This nation was founded by men 682 00:36:47,293 --> 00:36:49,710 of many nations and backgrounds. 683 00:36:49,793 --> 00:36:53,543 It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, 684 00:36:53,585 --> 00:36:56,710 and that the rights of every man are diminished 685 00:36:56,835 --> 00:37:01,210 when the rights of one man are threatened. 686 00:37:01,335 --> 00:37:04,210 We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. 687 00:37:04,335 --> 00:37:06,293 It is as old as the scriptures 688 00:37:06,418 --> 00:37:09,793 and is as clear as the American Constitution. 689 00:37:09,918 --> 00:37:13,501 The heart of the question is whether all Americans are 690 00:37:13,668 --> 00:37:18,626 to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, 691 00:37:18,751 --> 00:37:20,501 whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans 692 00:37:20,626 --> 00:37:22,710 as we want to be treated. 693 00:37:22,835 --> 00:37:26,376 - At the 11-minute mark, if you watch it, 694 00:37:26,460 --> 00:37:29,168 you see that Kennedy is beginning to ad-lib. 695 00:37:29,335 --> 00:37:31,626 He's speaking extemporaneously. 696 00:37:31,751 --> 00:37:34,043 - We have a right to expect that the Negro community 697 00:37:34,210 --> 00:37:37,043 will be responsible, will uphold the law, 698 00:37:37,126 --> 00:37:40,543 but they have a right to expect that the law will be fair, 699 00:37:40,626 --> 00:37:42,460 that the Constitution will be colorblind, 700 00:37:42,585 --> 00:37:44,960 as Justice Harlan said at the turn of the century. 701 00:37:45,085 --> 00:37:46,585 This is what we're talking about, 702 00:37:46,751 --> 00:37:49,251 and this is a matter which concerns this country 703 00:37:49,376 --> 00:37:51,668 and what it stands for, and in meeting it, 704 00:37:51,793 --> 00:37:54,210 I ask the support of all of our citizens. 705 00:37:54,335 --> 00:37:57,418 Thank you very much. 706 00:37:57,543 --> 00:37:59,210 narrator: Kennedy's speech marked 707 00:37:59,376 --> 00:38:02,501 a historic turning point in American history. 708 00:38:02,585 --> 00:38:06,251 However, racial hatred continued to haunt America. 709 00:38:06,418 --> 00:38:07,876 Hours later, 710 00:38:08,043 --> 00:38:11,793 prominent NAACP Mississippi field secretary 711 00:38:11,918 --> 00:38:16,960 Medgar Evers was assassinated outside of his home. 712 00:38:17,126 --> 00:38:19,001 His murder shocked the nation 713 00:38:19,168 --> 00:38:21,001 and illustrated the urgent need 714 00:38:21,126 --> 00:38:25,126 for civil rights legislation. 715 00:38:25,251 --> 00:38:28,710 Within a week, Kennedy sent his sweeping civil rights bill 716 00:38:28,918 --> 00:38:30,918 to Congress. 717 00:38:31,043 --> 00:38:34,126 The bill would unilaterally ban racial discrimination 718 00:38:34,251 --> 00:38:36,876 in public places, including restaurants, 719 00:38:37,001 --> 00:38:39,543 hotels, and stores. 720 00:38:39,668 --> 00:38:41,418 Another provision would increase 721 00:38:41,585 --> 00:38:44,751 the attorney general's speed and ability to assist 722 00:38:44,835 --> 00:38:48,126 with the integration of public schools. 723 00:38:48,293 --> 00:38:50,043 - It's robust. 724 00:38:50,126 --> 00:38:53,251 It directly forces the state to not adhere to states' rights, 725 00:38:53,418 --> 00:38:55,126 that the federal government will intervene 726 00:38:55,293 --> 00:38:59,085 if you do not actually enforce federal law, 727 00:38:59,210 --> 00:39:03,460 things that folks have been asking him to do for years. 728 00:39:03,585 --> 00:39:05,710 narrator: Kennedy's administration began a series 729 00:39:05,835 --> 00:39:08,918 of private White House meetings and conferences 730 00:39:09,043 --> 00:39:12,293 with more than 1,000 people from around the country, 731 00:39:12,418 --> 00:39:16,668 representing education, women's organizations, 732 00:39:16,793 --> 00:39:19,835 the South, and religious institutions. 733 00:39:19,918 --> 00:39:23,085 The goal was to discuss the proposed civil rights bill 734 00:39:23,210 --> 00:39:26,793 and Kennedy's expectations for how these groups 735 00:39:26,876 --> 00:39:29,251 could responsibly adhere to the bill 736 00:39:29,376 --> 00:39:33,251 and reliably carry out its values. 737 00:39:33,418 --> 00:39:34,710 - He really had no choice. 738 00:39:34,835 --> 00:39:37,376 Morally and politically, he had no choice 739 00:39:37,460 --> 00:39:40,626 but to introduce a civil rights bill. 740 00:39:56,085 --> 00:39:58,543 narrator: With talks underway about the Civil Rights Act, 741 00:39:58,710 --> 00:40:00,460 Kennedy embarked on the eighth trip 742 00:40:00,585 --> 00:40:05,710 of his presidency in late June 1963. 743 00:40:05,835 --> 00:40:09,501 His travel schedule included a visit to West Berlin, 744 00:40:09,626 --> 00:40:11,710 a meeting in England with his good friend, 745 00:40:11,751 --> 00:40:14,501 British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, 746 00:40:14,585 --> 00:40:16,210 and a long-awaited visit 747 00:40:16,293 --> 00:40:18,376 to his ancestral home of Ireland. 748 00:40:18,501 --> 00:40:21,376 [dramatic music] 749 00:40:21,501 --> 00:40:23,210 ♪ ♪ 750 00:40:23,335 --> 00:40:27,335 This would be Kennedy's final international trip. 751 00:40:27,418 --> 00:40:33,210 ♪ ♪ 752 00:40:33,376 --> 00:40:35,543 When Kennedy arrived in Germany, 753 00:40:35,710 --> 00:40:38,043 he made his long-awaited visit to the Berlin Wall 754 00:40:38,168 --> 00:40:42,793 on June 26th, 1963. 755 00:40:42,918 --> 00:40:47,668 - He sees the Berlin Wall for the first time. 756 00:40:47,751 --> 00:40:53,210 You could almost feel Kennedy finally understanding, 757 00:40:53,335 --> 00:40:56,043 on a whole different, deep level, 758 00:40:56,168 --> 00:40:58,210 what the Cold War meant 759 00:40:58,335 --> 00:41:00,876 by seeing the Berlin Wall. 760 00:41:01,043 --> 00:41:03,168 [cheers and applause] 761 00:41:03,293 --> 00:41:09,001 ♪ ♪ 762 00:41:09,126 --> 00:41:13,960 And so he said, "For people who don't understand what is 763 00:41:14,085 --> 00:41:20,960 this Cold War conflict, come here, come look at this." 764 00:41:21,085 --> 00:41:22,918 narrator: Nearly half a million Berliners 765 00:41:23,043 --> 00:41:27,376 stood outside to hear Kennedy speak. 766 00:41:27,543 --> 00:41:30,918 ♪ ♪ 767 00:41:31,085 --> 00:41:34,210 It was a larger crowd than he had ever seen. 768 00:41:34,376 --> 00:41:37,210 - Thank you. 769 00:41:37,335 --> 00:41:41,001 There are many people in the world 770 00:41:41,168 --> 00:41:46,085 who really don't understand, or say they don't, 771 00:41:46,251 --> 00:41:50,418 what is the great issue between the free world 772 00:41:50,543 --> 00:41:53,585 and the Communist world. 773 00:41:53,710 --> 00:41:56,543 Let them come to Berlin. 774 00:41:56,751 --> 00:41:59,751 [cheers and applause] 775 00:42:06,168 --> 00:42:09,168 - As a free man, I take pride in the words 776 00:42:09,251 --> 00:42:13,043 "Ich bin ein Berliner." 777 00:42:13,168 --> 00:42:16,668 - There were no doubts left about his leadership. 778 00:42:22,460 --> 00:42:24,001 [sweeping orchestral music] 779 00:42:24,168 --> 00:42:27,376 - The last 60 years has been America wishing 780 00:42:27,501 --> 00:42:29,251 they could rewrite sad history. 781 00:42:29,418 --> 00:42:32,501 [siren wails] 782 00:42:32,585 --> 00:42:35,501 - Parkland Hospital has been advised to stand by 783 00:42:35,626 --> 00:42:38,210 for a gunshot wound. 62160

Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.