JFK, the Cold War and African nationalism
William Bradley
John F. Kennedy ascended to the presidency at a time in which the ‘ wind of change ’ 1 was sweeping across the African continent, replacing European colonial governments with independent African governments. These indigenous struggles for independence culminated in 1960, often referred to as the ‘Year of Africa’ , in which seventeen African nations gained independence. At the same time, the continent was beginning to face the realities of post-colonial violence. Thus, Africa became the epicentre of a period of intensifying change and conflict in race relations, with the replacement of non- violent protests with armed insurgencies against white rule in Angola and apartheid South Africa. 2 In this essay I will demonstrate that despite his tragically brief time in office, Kennedy became the first, perhaps only, American president to make a concerted effort to court African nationalism instead of Cold W ar considerations. However, in most cases in which Kennedy’s desire to support African nationalism were pitted against strong Cold War considerations, these considerations triumphed. Kennedy’s handling of Katanga’s secession from the Congo and the resulting civil strife within the country exemplified a change in attitude and policy towards African independence which separated Kennedy from his predecessor President Eisenhower. Kennedy d id not pursue a ‘royalist’ 3 doctrine like the Eisenhower administration, by refusing to support the Katanga secessionists led by Moise Tshombe who were in turn backed by wealthy Belgian interests eager to maintain control of the wealthiest Congolese province. 4 Kennedy further refused to back Colonel Mobutu, who had staged a military takeover of the Congo in September 1960 and who was heavily supported by the CIA and the Eisenhower administration. 5 Kennedy instead initially supported former Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, describing him as the ‘ George Washington of the Congo ’ . 6 Backing Lumumba was a bold idea for Kennedy, as not only was Lumumba critical of the Eisenhower administration’s backing of Belgian interests; he had also accepted heavy military and financial aid from the Soviet Union. Kennedy accepted the realities of the struggle for African independence and thus viewed Lumumba as a genuine nationalist and not a socialist. This showed that Kennedy was not prone to seeing the struggles of African independence through the Cold War lenses that had constrained his predecessors and was able to value African nationalism over these considerations.
When Lumumba was brutally murdered by Colonel Mobutu’s men, Kennedy found other ways of supporting the interests of Congolese nationalists. In his State of Union address, he called for UN support in the Congo and at his first press conference he indicated the U.S. would send much-needed
1 Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, The Wind of Change Speech, 3 Feb. 1960. 2 Borstelmann, T. (2000) ‘” Hedging our Bets and Buying Time ” : John Kennedy and Racial Revolutions in the American South and Southern Africa’, Diplomatic History Vol.24: 435-463. 3 Muehlenbeck, P. (2012) Betting on the Africans: John F. Kennedy's Courting of African Nationalist Leaders . Oxford. 4 Mahoney, R. (1983) JFK’s ordeal in Africa . Oxford. 5 Ibid. 6 Weisak M. (2022) America’s Last President: What the world lost when it lost John F. Kennedy.
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