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JFK’s New Frontier. Election of 1960. Senator John F. Kennedy vs. Vice President Richard M. Nixon Kennedy Young (43 years old) Young family (wife and two children) Irish-Catholic from Massachusetts Wealthy background Outgoing, relaxed, optimistic, energetic Nixon Quaker from California
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Election of 1960 • Senator John F. Kennedy vs. Vice President Richard M. Nixon • Kennedy • Young (43 years old) • Young family (wife and two children) • Irish-Catholic from Massachusetts • Wealthy background • Outgoing, relaxed, optimistic, energetic • Nixon • Quaker from California • Financial hardship • Stiff, older • More experience
Election of 1960 • Major Issues • Economy- boost • Cold War- stop the spread of communism • Television Debates • Television advertising for campaigns • Influenced election outcome • First time Presidential debates were televised • Nixon looked sweaty and nervous • Kennedy appeared calm, collected, and relaxed • Kennedy Wins
New Frontier • New Frontier- Kennedy’s Domestic AgendaHoped to: • Increase aid to education • Provide health insurance to the elderly • Create Department of Urban Affairs • Difficult to pass new programs- little support from Congress • Victories • Invested in defense and space exploration • Raised minimum wage • Area Redevelopment Act • Housing Act
Women’s Rights • Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, 1961 • Federal action against gender discrimination • Right of women to equal pay • Equal Pay Act, 1963 • Inspired similar groups at state levels • Study the status of women • Women worked in important positions in Kennedy Administration • Esther Peterson- Assistant Secretary of Labor, Director of the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor
People with Disabilities • President’s Panel on Mental Retardation, 1961 • Fund research • developmental disabilities • educational and vocational programs for people with disabilities • Residential (instead of institutional) treatment centers • Grants for prenatal services for women in low-income groups • Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963 • Grants for research centers • Funds for training educational personnel • Grants for construction of mental health centers
People with Disabilities • Eunice Kennedy Shriver, JFK’s sister • Camp Shriver, 1962- home day camp for children with developmental disabilities • Offered people with disabilities a chance to compete physically • Later became the Special Olympics program • First Special Olympics Games held in Chicago, 1968