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The New Frontier & the Great Society Chapter 17. Section 1. Election of 1960. On September 26, 1960, the first televised presidential debate aired. Clip Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon . The campaign centered on the economy and the Cold War. Kennedy V. Nixon.
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Election of 1960 • On September 26, 1960, the first televised presidential debate aired. Clip • Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon . • The campaign centered on the economy and the Cold War.
Election of 1960 2. Kennedy worried about a suspected “missile gap” (U.S. lagged behind the Soviets in weaponry) • Kennedy’s Catholic faith became an issue, but he still won a narrow victory. • Many Americans had been taken by his youth and optimism.
Kennedy Takes Office 1. President Kennedy’s agenda became known as the New Frontier. ●He convinced Congress to invest more funds in defense and space exploration. • He asked businesses to hold down prices and labor leaders to hold down pay increases.
Kennedy Takes Office -convinced Congress to raise the minimum wage - Area Redevelopment Act and a Housing Act (created jobs & built low income housing in poor areas). -In 1961 Kennedy created the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women (federal action against discrimination, equal pay). - The commission proposed the Equal Pay Act, which Kennedy signed in 1963.
Kennedy Takes Office - Responding to the President’s Panel on Mental Retardation, Congress enacted the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963.
Kennedy Takes Office • Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s day camp for children with developmental disabilities later grew into the Special Olympics.
Warren Court Reforms 1. In 1953 President Eisenhower nominated Earl Warrento be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. • The Warren Court required states to reapportion electoral districts along the principle of “one man, one vote,” so that all citizens’ votes would have equal weight.
Warren Court Reforms • In a series of rulings, the Supreme Court began to use the 14th Amendment to apply the Bill of Rights to the states. • This amendment states that “no state shall…deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” • The reading of the Miranda rights to persons accused of crime also became a law during these court cases. • The Supreme Court handed down decisions that reaffirmed the separation of church and state.