{"id":{"repo_id":"cambridge","oai_identifier":"oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/347796"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cambridge/oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/347796","repository":{"repo_id":"cambridge","name":"Cambridge University","base_url":"https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"John F. Kennedy and the Summer of Peace, 1963","abstract":"In August 1963, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. But that was only half the story: To be enacted, the Test Ban had to be ratified by the U.S. Senate. President Kennedy was pessimistic. He confided in aides that getting this “controversial treaty” through the Senate was “almost in the nature of a miracle.” And yet, two months later, the Test Ban was ratified by an overwhelming majority. So, what happened? This thesis gives the answers. It provides the first analytical narrative of the campaign for ratification Kennedy and his allies waged in the summer of 1963. It not only examines White House strategy and Senate proceedings, but also grassroots activism, thereby drawing attention to domestic imperatives in the enactment of the treaty. Ultimately, this thesis argues, Kennedy’s campaign achieved more than its legislative objective. It made peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union a popular position and engendered the Summer of Peace; a political atmosphere where many, be they hawks or doves, thought the Cold War was nearing its end. Kennedy, in turn, used the momentum of the Summer of Peace to engineer a rapprochement with the Soviet Union. The endgame: to end the Cold War. But Kennedy died in November 1963, just as he was making headway. By identifying a distinct moment in the Cold War—which lasted another three decades—when peace beckoned, this thesis emphasises the importance of contingency in history.","abstract_html":"In August 1963, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. But that was only half the story: To be enacted, the Test Ban had to be ratified by the U.S. Senate. President Kennedy was pessimistic. He confided in aides that getting this “controversial treaty” through the Senate was “almost in the nature of a miracle.” And yet, two months later, the Test Ban was ratified by an overwhelming majority. So, what happened? This thesis gives the answers. It provides the first analytical narrative of the campaign for ratification Kennedy and his allies waged in the summer of 1963. It not only examines White House strategy and Senate proceedings, but also grassroots activism, thereby drawing attention to domestic imperatives in the enactment of the treaty. Ultimately, this thesis argues, Kennedy’s campaign achieved more than its legislative objective. It made peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union a popular position and engendered the Summer of Peace; a political atmosphere where many, be they hawks or doves, thought the Cold War was nearing its end. Kennedy, in turn, used the momentum of the Summer of Peace to engineer a rapprochement with the Soviet Union. The endgame: to end the Cold War. But Kennedy died in November 1963, just as he was making headway. By identifying a distinct moment in the Cold War—which lasted another three decades—when peace beckoned, this thesis emphasises the importance of contingency in history.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Zenou, Theo"],"institution":"University of Cambridge","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Preston, Andrew"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-11-23","date_published":"2022-11-23","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:33:11Z","subjects":["American history","Cold War"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.95213","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Preston, Andrew"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Zenou, Theo"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2022-11-23"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cambridge"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby.uri","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/347796"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["American history","Cold War"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/"]},{"key":"dc:rights.embargodate","label":"Dc Rights Embargodate","values":["2027-05-03"]},{"key":"dc:rights.embargotype","label":"Dc Rights Embargotype","values":["embargo"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.17863/CAM.95213"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/d7408f2c-8c1f-4775-8080-97452ae918d0/download"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In August 1963, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. But that was only half the story: To be enacted, the Test Ban had to be ratified by the U.S. Senate. President Kennedy was pessimistic. He confided in aides that getting this “controversial treaty” through the Senate was “almost in the nature of a miracle.” And yet, two months later, the Test Ban was ratified by an overwhelming majority. So, what happened? This thesis gives the answers. It provides the first analytical narrative of the campaign for ratification Kennedy and his allies waged in the summer of 1963. It not only examines White House strategy and Senate proceedings, but also grassroots activism, thereby drawing attention to domestic imperatives in the enactment of the treaty. Ultimately, this thesis argues, Kennedy’s campaign achieved more than its legislative objective. It made peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union a popular position and engendered the Summer of Peace; a political atmosphere where many, be they hawks or doves, thought the Cold War was nearing its end. Kennedy, in turn, used the momentum of the Summer of Peace to engineer a rapprochement with the Soviet Union. The endgame: to end the Cold War. But Kennedy died in November 1963, just as he was making headway. By identifying a distinct moment in the Cold War—which lasted another three decades—when peace beckoned, this thesis emphasises the importance of contingency in history."]},{"key":"dc:format.checksum.md5","label":"Dc Format Checksum Md5","values":["dcf3d51f2f081d7231676904b24a8a1e"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["John F. Kennedy and the Summer of Peace, 1963"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Preston, Andrew"],"dc:creator":["Zenou, Theo"],"dc:date.issued":["2022-11-23"],"dc:description.abstract":["In August 1963, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. But that was only half the story: To be enacted, the Test Ban had to be ratified by the U.S. Senate. President Kennedy was pessimistic. He confided in aides that getting this “controversial treaty” through the Senate was “almost in the nature of a miracle.” And yet, two months later, the Test Ban was ratified by an overwhelming majority. So, what happened? This thesis gives the answers. It provides the first analytical narrative of the campaign for ratification Kennedy and his allies waged in the summer of 1963. It not only examines White House strategy and Senate proceedings, but also grassroots activism, thereby drawing attention to domestic imperatives in the enactment of the treaty. Ultimately, this thesis argues, Kennedy’s campaign achieved more than its legislative objective. It made peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union a popular position and engendered the Summer of Peace; a political atmosphere where many, be they hawks or doves, thought the Cold War was nearing its end. Kennedy, in turn, used the momentum of the Summer of Peace to engineer a rapprochement with the Soviet Union. 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