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The Cold War

Explore the pivotal era of the 1960s, from the Kennedy-Nixon election to the Civil Rights movement, and the impact of the Cold War on politics and social change.

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The Cold War

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  1. The Cold War New Frontiers: Politics and Social Change in the 1960s

  2. They were the best of times and they were the worst of times. . . Kennedy-Nixon

  3. The New Frontier • Election of 1960 • Nixon vs. Kennedy • Nixon- “Tricky Dick” • As VP- reputation as statesman (travels), man to stand up to NK (“kitchen debate” over capt’lism vs. comm’ism) • From CA, experience, exposure, tough campaigner (personal attacks) • JFK • From MA, Harvard, glamour, wealthy family, NO nat’l prominence, no political distinction. . .but energy, grace, ambition • “We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier- the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils- a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats.”

  4. Campaign Turning Point • TV = decisive factor in election • Nixon vs. Kennedy debate (47-43) • 4 debates total • Nixon- weak from illness, sweaty, “five-o-clock shadow”, haggard, uneasy, sinister • Kennedy- cool, poised, seemed equal/superior in fitness for office •  Kennedy popularity • Issues • JFK attack on Ike admin.- Soviets leading arms race (“missile gap”, Sputnik) • Nixon carried heavy Protestant areas, Kennedy took cities (religion)

  5. Results • Kennedy + Johnson • Closest election since 1888 (R-Harrison v. D-Cleveland) • Won by 118k votes, EC 303-219

  6. The New Administration

  7. Domestic Policy • JFK youngest elected, Catholic • Cabinet = youthful, “best and the brightest” minds, tough, vigorous outlook into gov. affairs • Robert McNamara (Ford)- bring managerial “magic” to DOD • McGeorge Bundy (Harvard)- special asst. for nat’l sec. affairs • Dean Rusk (diplomat, Rhodes scholar)- SOS • Robert Kennedy- attorney-general • Inauguration- tone of youth, elegance = “Kennedy style” • “Let every nation know, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country.”

  8. New Frontier Programs • Call for: aid to education, federal support of health care, urban renewal, civil rights • Problem? Congress • Dem. majority, but conservative Southern coalition • Economy- win over steel execs on inflationary price increase, econ. growth from defense spending, space exploration • Other wins • Housing Act- $5 bil. For urban renewal/4 years • Raise min. wage • Increase SSA benefits • Peace Corps launched (education, tech. service)

  9. Approval by Congress of foreign aid programs • “Alliance for Progress” with Latin America • Tax-reduction bill • For economic growth • Not passed until ‘64 (after death) • Trade Expansion Act- 1962 • Tariff cuts (35% avg) b/t US and Europe

  10. The Warren Court • 1960s SC under Chief Justice Earl Warren • Civil Liberties • Mapp v. Ohio (‘61) • Illegally seized evidence can’t be used in court against accused • Gideon v. Wainwright (‘63) • Every felony defendant be provided a lawyer regardless of ability to pay • Escobedo v. Illinois (’64) • Person accused of crime must be allowed to consult lawyer before interrogation • Miranda v. Arizona (‘66) • Any accused person in police custody must be informed of basic rights (remain silent, know anything said can be used against you in court, to a defense attorney during interrogation), rules for police in informing suspects of rights

  11. Freedoms of . . . • Extended rights of First Amend. to protect radical actions of demonstrators, students; freedom of press; ban religious activities from schools; guarantee adults’ rights to use contraceptives • Yates v. United States (‘57) • Protects radical/revoluntionary speech (Comm. Included) unless a “clear and present danger” to safety • Engel v. Vitale (‘62) • State laws requiring prayer/Bible in public schools violate separation of church & state (First Amend) • Griswold v. Connecticut (‘65) • State can’t prohibit use of contraceptives (right to privacy) • Much defense of unpopular groups, rights of “accused criminals”  call for impeachment of Warren

  12. Civil Rights Expansion

  13. JFK & Civil Rights • At first, reluctant to challenge southern Dems, not personally committed (Robert) • Conscience moved by grassroots movement led by MLK

  14. Sit-ins & Freedom Riders • MLK & “militant non-violence” spread to other states to challenge Jim Crow through direct action • Lawsuits to desegregate schools • Momentum  Greensboro/Woolworth, 2/1/60  mass movement in 54 cities, 9 states • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) + SCLC spread sit-ins • “Kneel-ins” at churches, “wade-ins” at pools • Music- “We Shall Overcome”

  15. 1960-1961 • 3,600 black & white activists in jail, beaten w/ clubs, cattle prods, hit with rocks, cigarette burns, verbal abuse • 1961 • Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sent “freedom riders” to test federal ruling to ban segregation on buses/trains • AL- mobs attack travelers, burned bus, assault on observers • Demonstrators persist  nat’l attention, support for cause • Work to integrate public places, register blacks to vote

  16. Federal Intervention • 1962 • MS- Gov. Ross Barnett refuse James Meredith enrollment @ Univ. of MS • God made “the Negro different to punish him.” • Robert Kennedy- federal marshals sent to enforce law, met by violent white mob • Federal troops intervene, Meredith registered after 2 deaths, injuries • 1963 • MLK demonstrations in B’ham met by Police Comm. Eugene “Bull” Connor • Connor sends police w/ dogs, tear gas, electric cattle prods, fire hoses • Seen by millions on TV • MLK arrest, jailed for “illegal demonstrations”

  17.  Letter from a Birmingham Jail • Defense of nonviolent strategy • “One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.” • Shift in strategy • Before- emphasis on need to educate southern whites about injustices of segregation • Now- gain federal enforcement & new laws by provoking racists to display violent hatred • J. Edgar Hoover outraged- saw MLK as “the most dangerous Negro of the future in this nation.”  order agents to follow MLK, wiretaps, rumors circulated to discredit MLK

  18. Much opposition to integration • 1963- AL Gov. George Wallace • Stands in doorway to Univ. of AL to block enrollment of black students • Federal marshalls step aside • Same night, NAACP official Medgar Evers shot to death in Jackson, MS • August 28, 1963 • 200k blacks, whites marched down Mall in DC to Lincoln Memorial • “We Shall Overcome” • Largest civil rights dem. in US history • MLK address in front of Lincoln’s statue • “Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. . .one day. . . The sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.”

  19. September, 1963 • Bomb in B’ham church kills 4 young black girls • Value of MLK • Converts won across nation- whites forced to confront myth of virtue and innocent vs. brutal reality of racial hatred • JFK persuaded by Robert to seek new legislation on civil rights • Robert greater conviction, compassion, vision • 1963- racial discrimination “has no place in American life or law” • Endorse civil rights bill to end discrimination in public facilities, desegregate public schools, protect black voters • Bill blocked by southern Dems

  20. Foreign Frontiers

  21. Foreign Progress • Peace Corps (‘61)- youth to bring tech. aid to developing nations • Third World= • Alliance for Progress (‘61)- land reform, econ. development in LA • Trade Expansion Act of ‘62- tariff reductions w/ Euro. Econ. Community (W. Euro)

  22. Early Setbacks • Bay of Pigs- 4/17/61 • Massive failure- invasion force taken down in 2 days, 1000+ men captured • The US “looked like fools to our friends, rascals to our enemies, and incompetents to the rest.” -NYT • June- JFK + NIK in Vienna • Threats to limit access to Berlin, but JFK refused to remove troops •  Berlin Wall erected by Soviets/GDR Aug. 13, 1961 • - 1989 • US Reserves mobilized, tanks face off in city, BUT no move to stop wall • ‘63- JFK to West Berlin for support • “Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put up a wall to keep our people in. . . As a free man, I take pride in the words, ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’”

  23. Cuban Missile Crisis • October 14, ’62- US recon. planes find underground sites for launching missiles • NK grant Castro request for weapons vs. US invasion • Balance of US missiles in Turkey • JFK respond w/ “quarantine” on Oct. 22 • Why? Blockade = act of war • End when weapons removed • Fear of Soviet ships challenging blockade  nuclear war • Oct. 28- negotiation reached (SOS Dean Rusk) • Soviets withdraw missiles for US public statement not to invade Cuba

  24. Also, invitation by NK to “continue the exchange of views on the prohibition of atomic and thermonuclear weapons, general disarmament, and other problems relating to the relaxation of international tension.” • US sell surplus wheat to Soviets • “hot line” between Washington & Moscow • Removal of old US missiles from Turkey • US + USSR + GB + . . . = Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (‘63) • Stop pollution of atmosphere by nuclear testing • No restriction to underground testing • “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” –Confucious

  25. Kennedy and Vietnam

  26. Growing Conflict • Policy? • Flexible response- NOT massive retaliation/nukes • Increase $$ to conventional arms, mobile military forces, special forces • Laos neutral/independent by ‘54 Geneva Accords • Power struggle b/t Communist Pathet Lao insurgents (Soviet backed) vs. Royal Laotian Army • Options? • “You might have to go in there and fight.” = direct intervention • Decision to back formation of neutral coalition gov. – May ‘61 • Would include reps from Pathet Lao • no military intervention, no Pathet Law victory = WIN

  27. Meanwhile, back in N. Vietnam. . . • HCM Trail open through E. Laos to supply Viet Cong • South Vietnam struggles • Ngo Dinh Diem repressive tactics to retain control , no democracy, no social/political reform, action vs. Buddhists, Communists • 1961- US sends emissaries to Saigon • Walt Rostow, Gen. Maxwell Taylor • Proposition? Increase in US military presence • JFK refused, sends more advisers • 1961- JFK into office, 2k US troops • 1963- 16k troops, none committed to battle

  28. Worst enemy? Diem regime by mid-’63 • Public discontent w/ regime visible- Buddhist monk demonstrations in streets vs. “iron-fisted rule” of Diem • Fall ‘63- Diem = “lost cause” • SV generals launch coup d’etat on Nov. 1 & seize gov., murder Diem •  successive coups by military leaders

  29. Kennedy’s Assassination

  30. 1,000 days • Shadow of Vietnam situation • Nov. 22, 1963- Dallas, TX = Kennedy Assassination • Shots from TX Book Depository  2 shots (throat, head) • Arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald (24, ex-Marine) • 2 days later, Oswald shot by Jack Ruby (Dallas nightclub owner) • Blame? • Warren- Oswald acted alone • Conspiracy? CIA, FBI, Mafia, Castro, Cuban exiles from Miami • Result- martyred leader shot down in prime of career •  250k newly registered black voters

  31. Enter Lyndon Johnson

  32. A New President • Less polished, less sophisticated than JFK, no Harvard, from W. TX • The good? EXPERIENCE- 26 yrs in Washington, 10 as Senate Dem. Leader • A “self-made man” and 1st southerner since Wilson  sense of being outsider by JFK admin. • Not a stereotypical southern conservative • Devotion to FDR/New Deal, concern for poor, civil rights • End result? • Wanted to leave grand legacy- Pres. to do most good for most people • Promised more than could really offer or accomplish  false hopes, much resentment

  33. The Great Society • Quickly worked w/ Congress to get JFK’s legis. program passed • Forceful leadership, experience, love of political infighting • What passed? • Expanded form of civil rights bill, proposal for income tax cut • Tax cuts ($10 b.) job increase, consumer spending, economic expansion of 60s • Johnson’s own priority included (1964) • “This Administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.”

  34. From Michael Harrington’s expose, “The Other America” (‘62) • 40 mi.. live in “culture of poverty” • Modern poor have no upward mobility • JFK started investigation into problems/solutions • Continued by LBJ •  Economic Opportunity Bill • Job Corps for inner-city youth • Head Start program • Work-study jobs for college students • Grants to farmers, rural business • Loans to those who hire chronically unemployed • VISTA (Vol. in Service To America = domestic Peace Corps) • Community Action Program • Involve poor in neighborhood programs

  35. LBJ called for a “Great Society” resting on “abundance and liberty for all. The Great Society demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are fully committed in our time.”

  36. 1964 Election

  37. LBJ is Back! • LBJ vs. Sen. Barry Goldwater (AZ) • Issues? Social welfare, international conflict, nuclear weapons • Goldwater’s campaign failures • Conserv. Repubs see party in hands of “East Est.” that favored internationalism, big gov. just like liberal Dems. • Party had been nominating “me too” candidates on efficiency • Was a “fighter”- end TVA, end SSA, nuke ‘Nam • LBJ • Appeal to middle of spectrum voters • “We are not about to send American boys nine or ten thousand miles from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.”

  38. Landslide Victory • Johnson takes 61% of popular vote, EC 482 – 52 • Dems. Increase majority in Senate and House •  Dem President + Dem Congress

  39. Great Society Reforms of 1965 • End to poverty, renovate central cities, send youth to college, protect health of elderly, enhance culture, clean air/water, safer highways • Medicare- health insurance, 65+ • Medicaid- gov.-paid health care for poor, disabled • Elem. & Secon. Education Act- aid to poor school districts ($1.5 bil) • End to quota system from Nat’l Origins Acts, increase opportunities for Asians, LA immigrants • Nat’l Foundation for the Arts & Humanities- fed $ for worthy projects • Dept. of Transportation & Dept. of Housing and Urban Dev. (DOT & HUD) • More $ for higher ed • More $ for public housing, crime prevention

  40. Legacy of Great Society • Programs ambitious, but hastily designed, often mismanaged • No incentive to control costs in hospitals  Medicaid bills skyrocket • Funds allocated for programs get stuck in bureaucracy • Welfare fraud • Pro- assistance to needy • Con- unrealistic promises, high cost, welfare state established, • By ‘66, middle class resentment to cost/waste of programs • Etc. • Laws for safer highways, auto standards: Ralph Nader, Unsafe at Any Speed (‘65) on regulation in auto industry • Cleaner air, water : Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (‘62) on pesticides • Beautify America campaign- Lady Bird Johnson

  41. From Civil Rights to Black Power

  42. Civil Rights Acts • 1964- • Segregation illegal in all public facilities (Hotels, restaurants, etc.) • Gov. has power to enforce integration (via lawsuits) • Equal Opportunity Commission- ban on job discrimination (race, sex, religion) • “. . . The day we gave the South to the Republican party for the rest of our lifetime.” –LBJ • 24th Amend brings end to poll tax

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