The American Odyssey

1. The American Odyssey Chapter 21 – The Kennedy and Johnson Years Section 1 – New Frontier and Great Society

2. Main Idea of the Section • The optimistic message of John F. Kennedy helped propel the nation into a new political era of social reform, both under Kennedy and his successor Lyndon B. Johnson.

3. Key Vocabulary Terms • Mandate • Coalition • Pragmatist

4. The Kennedy Years (p. 701-704)

5. The Kennedy Years (p. 701-704) • In the eyes of most historians, Kennedy’s abruptly-ended term hardly amounted to a finished political record. • He came into office with such a narrow margin of victory that he could not claim a mandate. • He also faced a strong conservative coalition in Congress.

6. The Kennedy Years (p. 701-704) • Kennedy was the first Catholic President. • Under the circumstances, Kennedy began his term in caution, rather than boldness.

7. The Kennedy Years (p. 701-704) • Kennedy may not be remembered for sweeping legislative accomplishments. • However, he instilled Americans with renewed idealism called the New Frontier.

8. The Kennedy Years (p. 701-704) • Despite the romantic aura surrounding Kennedy, he saw himself more as a pragmatist. • What does this mean? • To help him find practical solutions to the nation’s most pressing problems, Kennedy surrounded himself with what one journalist called “the best of the brightest.” • Camelot and Jacqueline Bouvier

9. The Kennedy Years (p. 701-704) • Kennedy’s interests centered on foreign policy. • The Cold War and containment of communism • In a speech reaffirming his support for West Berlin after Communists built a wall between East and West Berlin. • Kennedy stated “Ich bin ein Berliner”

10. The Kennedy Years (p. 701-704) • In August 1961, the Soviets constricted the Berlin Wall. • The Soviets were trying to stop East Berliners from fleeing to the West • This was a stunning sign communism was failing. • Kennedy underlined this when he noted that while democracy was not perfect – he did not need to build a wall to keep people in.

11. Kennedy in Berlin

12. The Kennedy Years (p. 701-704) • Domestically, Kennedy did manage to perk up the economy. • Funding for NASA and increased defense spending poured billions of dollars into government contracts, which in turn boosted employment .

13. The Kennedy Years (p. 701-704) • Kennedy feared that the United States was trailing the Soviets in the space race. • In 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit earth. • Kennedy responded 9 months later by setting a goal for a man on the moon by 1970. • The Apollo Project • John Glenn orbited the earth in 1962 • Neil Armstrong first man on the moon in 1969.

14. The Kennedy Years (p. 701-704) • Kennedy established the Peace Corps during his Presidency. • Sends volunteers to developing countries. • The volunteers live with locals and help with education and rural development.

15. Hopes Cut Off(p.704-706) • REVIEW: • Bay of Pigs • Cuban Missile Crisis • Vietnam • In 1963 JFK assisted in the coup d'état of Ngo Dinh Diem’s government in South Vietnam. • He sent 16,000 soldiers to S. Vietnam to assist the new government.

16. Hopes Cut Off(p.704-706) • Also, in 1963 Kennedy negotiated the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty • Banned all nuclear testing except underground and in outer space. • Initially, signed by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. • In 1963 JFK assisted the Baath Party in Iraq’s coup d'état, which enabled Saddam Hussein to come to power.

17. Hopes Cut Off(p.704-706) • Kennedy’s hope to achieve a greater mandate for his programs in the 1964 election were ended by an assassin’s bullet in Dallas, Texas. • He was assassinated on November 22, 1963. • He was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald

18. Hopes Cut Off(p.704-706) • Lee Harvey Oswald was assassinated by nightclub owner Jack Ruby . • This hampered the investigation of the assassination. • Some people felt the Warren Commission reached its conclusion too quickly and that perhaps Oswald had not acted alone, as the commission said.

19. Hopes Cut Off(p.704-706) • The nation grieved as much for the President that John F. Kennedy might have become as for the leader he had been. • They mourned the unfinished promises – as well as the glamour – that had suddenly disappeared. • After the assassination of Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson became President.

20. Kennedy’s Assassination in Dallas

21. Lyndon B. Johnson

22. Johnson’s Great Society(p. 706-709) • Lyndon B. Johnson carried forward Kennedy’s vision of New Frontier. • He went beyond Kennedy’s domestic programs to launch his vision the Great Society. • JFK was charming, but cautious and hesitant. • LBJ was “rough around the edges”, but very confident and decisive.

23. Johnson’s Great Society(p. 706-709) • LBJ was great at building coalitions and at talking (or bullying) people into supporting his plans. • Johnson had none of the uncertainties of Kennedy – he was determined to do great things.

24. Johnson’s Great Society(p. 706-709) • Johnson fused the ambition with a genuine desire to wipe out the hardships described in Michael Harrington’s book, The Other America. • On March 16, 1964, Johnson told Congress that he intended to wage war on poverty.

25. Johnson’s Great Society(p. 706-709) • Johnson launched his war on poverty with the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA). • The most ambitious attempt to aid the poor in the nation’s history. • It established Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) and funded Project Head Start.

26. Johnson’s Great Society(p. 706-709) • LBJ saw education as the greatest cure for poverty. • He provided federal money to public school districts, especially poor districts. • Head Start • Helps poor children attend preschool so they can prepare for elementary school. • VISTA • Provides volunteer services in poor neighborhoods.

27. Johnson’s Great Society(p. 706-709) • Additional significant legislation passed by LBJ: • Medicare • Health care for the elderly • Medicaid • The companion program to Medicare – it provides health care for those of whom are too young for Medicare. • He added the Housing and Urban Development Dept. to the Presidential Cabinet. • Model Cities Act of 1966 • Federal funding provided to poor cities, also helped with their comprehensive planning.

28. Johnson’s Great Society(p. 706-709) • Civil Rights and LBJ: • Civil Rights Act of 1964 • It banned segregation in all public places. • Voting Rights Act of 1965 • Guaranteed that all Americans had the right to vote. • Immigration also became more lenient – he did away with the nation’s quota system, which has existed for more than 50 years.

29. Johnson’s Great Society(p. 706-709) • The Great Society is often compared to the New Deal, but the two main goals of the two programs were somewhat different. • The Great Society • Sought far reaching social and political reform. • The New Deal • Provided relief to the unemployed and the poor to stimulate the economy.

30. Johnson’s Great Society(p. 706-709) • The Great Society, as it turned out, was more successful in creating legislative programs than running them. • Part of the reason was the funding and energies that were increasingly redirected into the Vietnam War. • Vietnam destroyed the Great Society and LBJ’s Presidency.