All language subtitles for Kennedy.2023.S01E05.720p.WEBRip.x264-GalaxyTV_Subtitles01.ENG

- We stand today on the edge
of a new frontier,

the frontier of the 1960s.

[dramatic music]

- Somebody once asked him,

why do you want to run
for president?

And his answer,
that's where the action is.

- What's notable is
the lead that Kennedy takes

in insisting on a strong
civil rights plank.

- Black people lined up
behind Kennedy.

- The candidates need
no introduction.

- It was neck and neck
all night.

all: We want Kennedy!
We want Kennedy!

We want Kennedy!

♪ ♪

- So now my wife and I prepare
for a new administration

and for a new baby.

Thank you.

[cheers and applause]

- To lead us
to a fruitful America,

from the state
of Massachusetts,

John F. Kennedy.

- John F. Kennedy lived a life
that would help define

an entire generation.

- Together we shall
save our planet,

or together we shall
perish in its flames.

- What was it about that guy?

- Looks, style, empathy.

He was incredibly charming.

- Intellectual
and progressive.

- He was the future.
He was next.

- President
for just over 1,000 days,

Kennedy navigated
events and crises

that changed the world.

- Kennedy is feeling
the pressure

from the civil rights
activists.

- This was a country
on nuclear war footing.

♪ ♪

- This could be
the last mistake

that anybody makes politically.

♪ ♪

- He changed us in the process
of his own growth.

- We choose to go to the moon
in this decade

and do the other things,
not because they are easy,

but because they are hard.

♪ ♪

- 60 years after
his assassination,

we are still fascinated
by the triumphs and flaws

of the youngest president
ever elected.

- I ask you to join us in all
the tomorrows yet to come,

in building America,
moving America,

taking this country of ours up
and sending it into the '60s.

♪ ♪

- You,
John Fitzgerald Kennedy,

do solemnly swear...

- I, John Fitzgerald Kennedy,
do solemnly swear...

- That you will
faithfully execute

the Office of President
of the United States...

- That I will
faithfully execute

the Office of President
of the United States...

- So help you God.
- So help me God.

[cheers and applause]

- On the frigid morning
of January 20, 1961,

John F. Kennedy took
the oath of office,

becoming the 35th president
of the United States.

At 43 years old, he was
the youngest man ever elected.

- He's very young
and he doesn't fit the mold

and he's very glamorous.

He caught our imagination.

And he gives this terrific
inaugural address.

- It's one of the great
speeches in history.

- Fellow citizens,
we observe today

not a victory of party,

but a celebration of freedom,

symbolizing an end,
as well as a beginning,

signifying renewal,
as well as change.

- So a lot of politicians
use their inaugural address

to just almost list policies
and check boxes.

And he didn't do that.

- Let the word go forth,
from this time and place,

to friend and foe alike
that the torch has been passed

to a new generation
of Americans,

born in this century,
tempered by war,

disciplined by a hard
and bitter peace.

[cheers and applause]

- His words were amplified
across the National Mall

and beamed to millions
watching on their televisions.

- And so my fellow Americans,
ask not

what your country can do
for you.

Ask what you can do
for your country.

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

- He's very optimistic
in this address

in terms of what America
can potentially be

and what it really should be.

- He had risked his life.

His brother had lost his life.

So he had great credibility
giving a speech

in which he was asking
Americans to sacrifice.

♪ ♪

- In the early 1960s,
the United States

was experiencing
a civil rights crisis

and a daunting Cold War
with the Soviet Union.

♪ ♪

Outgoing President Eisenhower
considered

the incoming president
callow and unprepared.

On the day
before the inauguration,

the two met
at the White House.

Eisenhower warned Kennedy

about foreign policy
challenges,

including the spread of
Communism in Southeast Asia,

mounting tension in Cuba,
and the ongoing struggle

between the U.S.
and the Soviet Union.

- I think he was scared.

How would Kennedy do
confronting Soviet leaders?

And how would he do
on the world stage,

given he was so young
and inexperienced?

- [speaking Russian]

- There was a sense of threat,
very much a sense of threat.

It is our freedom
that's at stake.

If we don't stop
the spreading of Communism,

other countries may fall
like dominoes,

and we'll lose out
in this global competition

for influence in the world
and for military power.

- Eisenhower was dropping

an enormous
geopolitical challenge

in the new president's lap.

- He was instantly overwhelmed
by it,

the sheer number of concerns
that were piled onto his plate.

And they were urgent issues.

There were crises mounting.

- He understood
this was not just

any old moment
in the march of time,

but a moment
when the United States had

an unusually large capacity

to shape
the international environment

and the course
of humankind's history.

- But he had never been
in charge of that much before.

So he had a lot to learn.

♪ ♪

- As Kennedy prepared
for the challenges ahead,

he ensured he had allies
in his corner.

He appointed his brother Bobby
as attorney general

and filled his cabinet
with mostly young men

who, like him, had
both liberal

and conservative ideas.

Work began immediately
in the White House.

On March 1, 1961,
the new president created

a progressive program
that he believed

would combat Communism

and promote democracy
worldwide.

- I have today signed
an executive order

providing for the establishment
of a Peace Corps.

- The Peace Corps was
charged with providing

socioeconomic support

to isolated developing parts
of the world.

- That's a very noble,
optimistic idea.

Following up on his message
in the inaugural,

he's now taking that
a step further and saying,

what can we do for the world?

- Members of the Peace Corps
will work

in three different areas,
first as teachers,

secondly as agriculturalists,

and third,
they will work on health.

- Kennedy understood
that global poverty was

not simply
a humanitarian concern.

It was also
a national security concern,

that these nations were either
going to be vulnerable

to exploitation by Communists,
or they were going

to collapse
into a kind of disorder

that was going to ultimately
require a response.

- We don't just fight
the Cold War through weapons,

but we're going
to fight the Cold War

by doing good overseas.

- I hope that from it will come
renewed understanding

by people all over the world
of a common desire for peace.

♪ ♪

- Despite a promising start
to his presidency,

Kennedy would soon face
an alarming matter in Cuba

that threatened to destabilize
his political agenda.

[crowd shouting]

April 1961, just 90 miles
off the Coast of Florida,

the island nation of Cuba
was now run

by dictator Fidel Castro.

Castro had overthrown
the old regime

in a daring revolution.

After he took power,
Castro's regime began

a courtship
with the Soviet Union.

His politics began
to follow suit.

- He started with a lot
of anti-American rhetoric.

And then he started
jailing people

who had the temerity
to speak up against him.

He started acting
like a totalitarian.

♪ ♪

- I never understood
why a leader of a country

can be as cruel and as bad.

- The relationship between
the United States and Cuba

soon deteriorated.

- As Castro became

closer and closer
to the Soviet Union,

they worried
that Castro was a Communist.

And the idea of having
a Soviet satellite

within 90 miles
of the United States

was intolerable.

- The administration
viewed Castro's actions

as a direct threat
to American national security.

With the Cold War
now in America's backyard,

the growing tensions with Cuba
would need to be addressed.

[tense music]

- In early 1961,
as Kennedy stepped

into the presidency,
he was briefed

on the festering situation
with Cuba

and the plan
he would be inheriting.

Several months earlier,

the CIA under Eisenhower
had created a plan

to overthrow
the Castro regime.

- It wasn't about Cuba
in and of itself.

It was about the fate
of that region,

a region that we did not want
to lose to the Communists.

- Starting in March 1960,
the CIA had begun

to train Cuban exiles
to conduct an invasion.

These exiles would
ideally put up a fight

that would inspire
the Cuban people to rise

and help topple Castro
in a coup d'état,

replacing the dictatorship
with a democratic government.

- I was 16 at the time.

Sometimes, people ask me,
you know, how at that age,

you know, you make a decision
to go into a fight.

It's not like an obligation
or a duty.

I consider it a gift
that somebody was offering me

training and armaments
to go and fight

to liberate my country.

- So it was
a very easy decision.

You know, we have to fight
for the country.

And it didn't take too much
time for me to realize that.

- Kennedy was unsure
about authorizing

the complex invasion.

He was worried,
if it became public,

that the Soviets would see
the American intervention

in Cuba, their ally,
as an official act of war.

- The CIA was telling him
that Castro was

about to get
a large shipment of arms

from the Soviet Union,
including MiG fighter jets.

And once Castro got these,
it would be

almost impossible
to get rid of him.

So it was kind of now or never.

He felt compelled
to go forward with it.

He knew it was a bad idea,

but he did not know
how to undo it.

- On April 16,
Kennedy reluctantly agreed

to the plan
with one major exception.

If the operation foundered
for the Cuban exiles,

the U.S. military
would not intervene.

- We were moved
from Guatemala.

That was where
the training camps were.

We went to Nicaragua.

We arrived there
in the afternoon

on the 16th of April.

We were going to win.

There was no doubt
that that was going to happen.

♪ ♪

- On the morning
of Monday, April 17,

the exiles had landed
near the Bay of Pigs,

and the invasion had begun.

♪ ♪

- It was such
a magnificent feeling.

We're here,
and we're going to do it.

And a few minutes later,
we hear this other airplane

shooting at us.

♪ ♪

- By Tuesday, April 18,
the Cuban exiles were caught

between Castro's
overwhelming forces

and the sea,
with nowhere to go.

- These are 1,400 men.

Castro's army is 25,000.

The real story here
is these desperate men

on the beach watching
their chances go away

and back in the White House,
Kennedy suffering mightily

with what to do about this.

- As the disaster
was unfolding,

it soon became clear
that CIA officials had

misled the president,
secretly hoping

they could sway him
to involve the U.S. military

when the situation
became dire.

When the United States
involvement in the invasion

became public knowledge,
the Soviet Union warned him

against taking
any further steps in Cuba.

- He feels terrible
about what's happening.

But on the other hand,
he doesn't want to start

World War III over it.

- Kennedy felt cornered
by those

he thought he could trust.

Facing threats of nuclear war,
Kennedy decided to back away,

refusing requests
to send in the U.S. military

to save the Cuban exiles.

With that, the mission met
its tragic end.

More than 1,000
U.S.-backed Cuban exiles

were captured by Castro's army
and thrown into prisons

with deplorable conditions.

Over 100 members
of the brigade perished.

♪ ♪

Kennedy fell
into a state of despair.

His wife Jackie would
later recall him

with his head in his hands,

weeping that evening
in his bedroom.

- Whether he received
the bad advice or not,

still, he's a president.

He took the action.

He took the decision,

and the result was
a total disaster.

- He walked around
the White House,

ashen-faced, saying,

how could I have been
so stupid?

- The Bay of Pigs was
a mistake,

and Kennedy knew it.

Meeting with him
at Camp David,

Kennedy remarked
to Eisenhower,

"No one knows
how tough this job is

until after he's been in it
for a few months."

"Mr. President,"
Eisenhower replied,

"if you'll forgive me,

I think I mentioned that
to you three months ago."

- What's interesting
about Kennedy is,

it becomes
a learning experience.

Some presidents double down
on mistakes.

But for him,
this is instantly a lesson

about the limits
of military advice.

- This administration intends
to be candid about its errors.

For as a wise man once said,

an error doesn't become
a mistake

until you refuse
to correct it.

- The Bay of Pigs forged
a lasting skepticism

in Kennedy of the CIA
and military leaders.

He had to be careful
who he trusted

and use the presidency
to lead,

not be led by others
who wished to influence him.

Kennedy was astonished
when a new Gallup poll

following the failure
announced

that 83% of the people
in the country

were standing by
their new president.

But not all Americans agreed
that Kennedy was living up

to the expectations he set

during his
presidential campaign.

- At the time
that Kennedy came in,

quite a few
Black people thought

that he represented change.

But as soon as he was elected,

all of the things that he said
he was going to do,

none of it happened.

- African Americans are
asking the federal government

to do its job,
which is force states

to enforce the Constitution.

They're fighting
for full-class,

first-class citizenship.

- In spring 1961,

the civil rights movement
raged on.

Although Kennedy was slow

to move ahead
with legislation,

soon, a situation in the South
would demand his attention.

[dramatic music]

- On May 4, 1961,
13 civil rights activists,

including Congress of Racial
Equality leader James Farmer

and future Representative
John Lewis,

took a Greyhound bus
from Washington, D.C.,

to the Deep South.

A provocative
and historic campaign

was beginning that would be
known as the Freedom Rides.

Their goal was to test
a Supreme Court ruling

which banned
racial discrimination

on Interstate highways.

- The goal was to sit
Black and white constituents

on the bus and seated together
throughout the entire bus,

not in segregated spaces,
and then travel the South.

- The Freedom Riders traveled
from city to city

in Virginia, North Carolina,
South Carolina,

Georgia, and Alabama.

As the trip went on and word
of the Freedom Riders spread,

conditions became
more dangerous.

The protesters were
increasingly targeted

by white supremacists.

- Well, I know it was
something we had to do.

It was always a possibility

of us losing our life
or getting hurt.

♪ ♪

- They do run into some trouble
in Virginia and South Carolina,

but nothing like
what they found in Alabama.

- Dr. King said,
"Look, the things I'm hearing

"from Alabama
are really frightening.

"It may be suicidal
to go on, frankly,

because the Klan is planning
quite a welcome for you."

♪ ♪

- Dr. King was proven right.

Once in Alabama, the Riders
were met with violence,

instigated
by the Ku Klux Klan,

who were supported by white
supremacist police forces.

[explosion]

A bus was firebombed
in Anniston,

and riots followed
in Birmingham and Montgomery.

The Freedom Riders looked
to the new presidential

administration for support.

- We are asserting
our rights as citizens,

and we expect
that you will support

these kinds of campaigns.

Because we're not taking
an aggressive action.

It's just riding the bus.

- Focused primarily
on the escalating Cold War,

President Kennedy
was irritated

by the situation in Alabama.

- You have Kennedy trying
to walk this tightrope.

How do I manage the Cold War
but also adhere

to the real dilemma that
African Americans are facing?

He delegates down
to the attorney general,

his brother,
who actually is the liaison

between
the civil rights movement

and the Kennedy
administration.

- Attorney General
Robert Kennedy

deployed 400 federal marshals
to protect the Riders

and urged Alabama Governor
John Patterson

to send in
the Alabama National Guard.

♪ ♪

Once order was restored,
Bobby issued a statement

calling for a cooling off
period.

But the Freedom Riders
did not abandon their cause

and continued on
to Mississippi.

- With Bobby and John Kennedy,
if you don't have

the Freedom Rides, they don't
start moving to a position

where they are
going to support

the civil rights movement.

Basically, the Freedom Rides
forced them to choose.

You're either with us,

or you're with
the white supremacists.

And we think
that you'll choose

to uphold the Constitution
and uphold civil rights.

And they were right.

♪ ♪

- While the Freedom Riders
continued to fight for justice

domestically,
Kennedy was locked

into an ongoing competition
with the Soviet Union

for supremacy in space.

- Russian cosmonaut
Yuri Gagarin

had orbited Earth three times
in his spacecraft the Vostok.

- Even though it was long
expected that the Soviets

would beat the U.S.
to this milestone

in sending the first person
into space,

there was a shock to the system
when it actually happened.

Kennedy's
policymaking process,

when it comes into space,
goes into total overdrive.

The nation
that was ahead in space

seemed to be the nation
that could

do anything technologically
and therefore militarily.

♪ ♪

- Less than a month later,
a breakthrough would advance

the space program
like nothing before.

- The transfer trailer that
brought astronaut Alan Shepard

to his rendezvous with history
arrived at Launch Complex 5,

Cape Canaveral,
at 5:00 on Friday morning,

the 5th of May.

Reporters and cameramen
focused on America's

first manned spacecraft,

poised and ready
for all the world to see.

♪ ♪

Liftoff.

And the great white rocket
with its human cargo

rose higher, higher, higher.

♪ ♪

- In a scientific triumph,
Alan Shepard became

the first American in space
on May 5, 1961.

"What a beautiful view,"
Shepard remarked,

while looking
at the world below.

- The dramatic achievements
in space which occurred

in recent weeks should have
made clear to us all

the impact of this adventure

on the minds
of men everywhere.

I believe that this nation
should commit itself

to achieving the goal
before this decade is out

of landing a man on the moon

and returning him safely
to the Earth.

No single space project
in this period

will be more impressive
to mankind or more important

for the long-range
exploration of space,

and none will be so difficult
or expensive to accomplish.

- You need a president
who has vision

and can set what appear to be
unrealistic goals.

Sometimes they become
realistic.

To me, that was Kennedy
and the space program.

- Never one to rest
on his laurels,

Kennedy knew this was only
a momentary progression

in a much more crucial race.

Advances toward the stars
could have

dire consequences on earth.

Rapidly evolving technology
meant

that political differences
could soon end

in total annihilation.

[dramatic music]

- By the summer of 1961,
Kennedy had been in office

less than six months.

He had already endured
the Bay of Pigs failure

and made great strides
in the space race.

But now there was a new crisis
escalating in Europe.

- Following World War II,
Germany was divided

among the Allied forces.

By 1961, the U.S.,
Great Britain, and France

occupied West Germany,
while the Soviet Union

occupied East Germany.

The capital, Berlin,
though located

within the Soviet zone,
was also split

into a Western side
and a Communist Eastern side.

- Berlin is something
that the United States

and the Soviet Union inherited
from a much happier times,

from the times
of the Second World War,

when they were allies,
and there was a belief

that they could actually share
the city.

But as World War II made way
to the Cold War,

sharing became, really,
an impossibility.

- East Germans began
to flee Communism

by crossing into West Berlin,
hoping to find an improved

quality of life,
better job opportunities,

and the chance to continue
onward to Western Europe.

- The Soviet Union's
eastern empire was in trouble.

East Germany was
hemorrhaging people

who were going to the west
via Berlin.

And Khrushchev was
very nervous

that East Germany,
which was the jewel

of the Soviet crown,
if you will,

in Eastern Europe,
would fall away.

- The Soviet leader wanted
the West out of West Berlin.

- For Kennedy,
losing West Berlin

meant losing Europe as a whole
to Soviet Communism.

It simply wasn't an option.

- Over time, Khrushchev's
demands for West Berlin

became more threatening
and more urgent.

A European summit was planned,
giving Kennedy the opportunity

to meet Khrushchev
face-to-face to discuss

the future of Berlin.

♪ ♪

He embarked
on a week-long journey,

with stops in Paris,
London, and Vienna

for the summit
with Premier Khrushchev.

♪ ♪

Kennedy began his journey
in France,

making a grand entrance
in Paris on June 1, 1961.

♪ ♪

People lined the streets,
screaming and cheering

as he and Jackie rode by.

- The coverage in the press
was triumphant.

[applause]

♪ ♪

- Though the trip started out
bright and celebratory

in France,
it was about to take on

a far more serious tone.

♪ ♪

Kennedy was finally
going to meet

face-to-face
with Nikita Khrushchev.

♪ ♪

Vienna, June 4, 1961.

- Kennedy knew
the world was watching,

and this conversation
would determine

the future of the nation.

If an agreement could not be
reached with the Soviet Union,

the ongoing tensions
between the two superpowers

could reach a boiling point.

♪ ♪

Before their meeting,
Kennedy and the Soviet premier

posed for a photo.

♪ ♪

The president was tense
but eager to stand his ground.

- The idea that a young man
who came from privilege

could possibly have
the toughness to operate

on a global scale
vis-à-vis Khrushchev

made Khrushchev laugh.

- Khrushchev was unyielding

in his demands
for West Berlin.

- Kennedy knew the one thing
he could not negotiate

was Berlin.

There was no price

the United States was
willing to pay.

- Kennedy says, "We are
not leaving West Berlin.

"And if you interrupt

"freedom of access
to West Berlin,

"freedom of daily life
in West Berlin,

that is grounds for war."

- With both Kennedy
and Khrushchev

unwilling to relent,
Kennedy warned the premier,

"Then, Mr. Chairman,
it will be a cold winter."

[dramatic music]

- No advantage or concession
was either gained or given.

No major decision was
either planned or taken.

No spectacular progress was
either achieved or pretended.

- Kennedy's meeting
with Khrushchev in Vienna

ended without
a clear resolution.

The administration
had to calculate

their next steps carefully.

A wrong move could have
catastrophic results.

Shortly after
Kennedy's return,

his secretary found
a slip of paper

on which he had written...

- "I know there is a God,
and I see a storm coming.

If he has a place for me,
I believe I am ready."

I mean, that's ominous.

So he's clearly
coming back thinking

he's going to face
a historic moment

for all the wrong reasons.

- Kennedy comes out
of Vienna worried

because the Soviets are
pushing on the one thing

that he can't negotiate.

He's thinking,
if the Soviets are really

serious about this ultimatum,
and I can't give in on this,

then we're headed towards war.

- Are the Soviets going
to send in the troops

like they have before?

Are we going to have
to respond?

Like, this could
spiral out of control.

- Robert Kennedy thought
there was a 1 in 5 chance

of nuclear war igniting

from the confrontation
in Berlin.

President Kennedy encouraged
the nation to prepare

by whatever means necessary.

- Now,
in the thermonuclear age,

any misjudgment on either side

about the intentions
of the other

could rain more devastation
in several hours

than has been wrought in all
the wars of human history.

♪ ♪

- That summer,
numerous fallout shelters

were built around the country,

and new nuclear war
public service announcements

were created.

In drills across the country,
children were taught

to seek shelter
underneath their desks

in case of an attack.

- In the event of an attack,
the lives of those families

which are not hit
in a nuclear blast and fire

can still be saved if they can
be warned to take shelter

and if that shelter
is available.

We owe that kind of insurance
to our families.

- There were dog chains
that kids had.

The reason they had it
was to identify

the charred remains of kids

if there had been
a nuclear war.

They watched a thing
called Bert the Turtle,

which was a cartoon
that played in schools,

which taught you
duck and cover drills.

And he was a character
like Bugs Bunny,

but it wasn't about comedy.

It was about how to prepare
for nuclear war.

This was a country
on nuclear war footing.

The idea we could get
into a nuclear war

during the '60s was very real.

- These actions will require
sacrifice on the part

of many of our citizens.

More will be required
in the future.

They will require
from all of us

courage and perseverance
in the years to come.

- Both the U.S.
and the Soviet Union

prepared for the worst,

increasing
their defense spending

and building up
their militaries.

♪ ♪

- On Saturday night,
August 12,

suddenly the East Germans
shut down the border in Berlin.

♪ ♪

- After weeks of escalation,
on August 13,

Khrushchev laid out
the foundation

of what would be
the Berlin Wall,

a towering physical boundary
dividing the city.

- Over 1,000 East Germans
were fleeing from East Berlin

to West Berlin every day.

And finally,
the Soviets agreed

to the East German
government's request,

close down access
to West Berlin.

And they did,
building the Berlin Wall.

♪ ♪

- In building the wall,
Khrushchev conceded

that for now, he wasn't going
to overtake West Berlin.

The two sides were
now divided,

effectively defusing tensions

between the U.S.
and the Soviet Union

and ending
the 1961 nuclear scare.

♪ ♪

But the Berlin Wall had
devastating effects as well,

keeping many people trapped
in Communist territory

and separating them from
their friends and families.

- When Kennedy found out
the next day,

he ultimately said
to his advisors,

"You know, it's not nice,

but a wall is a hell of a lot
better than a war."

♪ ♪

- Though conflict had been
narrowly avoided,

things were far from over

between the United States
and the Soviets.

One letter, one announcement,
or one misstep

could lead to war,
and Kennedy treaded lightly

in the political minefield.

- And we in this hall
shall be remembered

either as part
of the generation

that turned this planet
into a flaming funeral pyre

or the generation
that met its vow

to save succeeding generations
from the scourge of war.

[dramatic music]

- As the threat of war
began to die down,

calm gradually returned
to the Kennedy White House.

Everyone fell back
into their daily routines,

including
the Kennedy children:

the shy Caroline, almost four,

and John Jr., nicknamed
John-John by a reporter,

who was almost one year old.

Whether playing
with the family dogs,

running around
the White House grounds,

or going to school,

Jackie made sure
the children grew up

with a sense of relative
normality and privacy.

♪ ♪

Though they seemed like
the perfect family,

there were cracks
in the romantic façade.

When Kennedy came into office
in January 1961,

he continued
his sexual escapades

under the nose
of White House staff,

Secret Service agents,
and Jackie herself.

- Well, Kennedy's many
relationships and dalliances

and affairs with women,
I think, in almost all cases,

were simply about the sex.

- Part of it was just
this was a Washington

in the early 1960s
where womanizing was common.

♪ ♪

- Franklin Roosevelt had
an affair with Lucy Mercer.

Did Dwight Eisenhower have
an affair with Kay Summers?

Yes, he did.

Did Bill Clinton? Yes, he did.

Lyndon Johnson boasted,
"I've had more women

than John F. Kennedy
ever did."

It isn't to justify
that behavior.

But I think what historians
have done is said,

yes, these are flawed people.

- It was reckless.

It's really extraordinary

that there wasn't
somebody there

to put the brakes on him,
to say, no, no,

you're in the White House now.

- Jackie responded
by distracting herself,

regularly going on trips
for days at a time.

Despite this,
the two still maintained

an intimate relationship.

The Kennedy family member
later described it

as a marriage of its time,
saying, at the end of the day,

Jack came back to Jackie,
and that was it.

♪ ♪

- In 1961, the world relations
of this country

have become tangled
and complex.

One of our former allies
has become our adversary.

The names of cities
changed overnight.

We increase our arms
at a heavy cost,

primarily to make certain
that we will never use them.

We must face up
to the chance of war

if we are to maintain
the peace.

- Kennedy certainly had
a rocky first year.

There's no question.

- Of course it was tough.

And they didn't have
many successes to report then.

But they were not discouraged.

They just thought,
we have to do better.

We'll do more and do better.

- In the final days of 1961,
Kennedy was informed

that reporters were
considering writing a book

about his first year
in the White House.

Kennedy responded,
"Who would want to read

a book about disasters?"

♪ ♪

Throughout his first year,
Kennedy had learned

the dangers of putting
his trust in the wrong people.

- Bobby Kennedy, of course,
became a real right-hand man

for John Kennedy.

- Joe Kennedy told the boys
when they were growing up,

stick together.

When Jack became president
and in the aftermath

of the Bay of Pigs,
this stick together doctrine

became something
that Jack lived.

He stuck together with Bobby.

And whenever he had
a foreign policy challenge,

he most valued Bobby's advice.

- A year full of mistakes
and lessons learned

came to a close.

As the civil rights movement
called on Kennedy

to be more active
and Cold War threats loomed

over Washington,
Kennedy accepted the past

and kept his eyes
on the horizon,

determined to lead his country
to a better 1962.

- Let us go forth
to lead the land we love,

asking His blessing
and His help,

but knowing that here on Earth,

God's work must truly be
our own.

♪ ♪

- I realized
I could get killed out here

because of so many bullets
are flying around.

- Kennedy's national security
advisor knocks on his door

and says, "We've discovered
missiles in Cuba."

- This country will do
whatever must be done

to protect its own security.

- The first thing
that I think about

when I think about
the Cuban Missile Crisis is

how much worse
the situation was

than the people
at the time knew.

- Nuclear weapons had become
exponentially more powerful.

These weren't
city killers anymore.

♪ ♪

These were country killers.