Kennedy and Johnson Years [1960-1968]: chapter 22

1. Kennedy and Johnson Years [1960-1968]: chapter 22 “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Kennedy

2. The Election of 1960 • TV Presidential Debate • Nixon - ill, serious, not overly handsome • Kennedy - young, relaxed, handsome • Kennedy skilled on TV: Nixon skilled at using TV • debate gave him momentum going into the election • Polls showed: • Those who watched debate on TV selected Kennedy as the winner • Those who listened to debate on Radio selected Nixon as the winner

3. Election of 1960 • Kennedy = young, energetic Senator, also Roman Catholic • Nixon = seasoned veteran who had lots of political experience • Kennedy won the popular election by 119,000 votes out of 69 million

4. Kennedy’s Domestic Programs • Kennedy’s programs and incentives: The New Frontier • Kennedy did not have a mandate (public endorsement of his proposals). Difficulty getting his bills passed in Congress. • The Economy • Fought big business price fixing • Proposed large tax cut • Combating Poverty and Inequality • Kennedy - convinced the poor needed direct federal aid • Congress passed a minimum wage increase and the Housing Act of 1961 • Other Kennedy Initiatives • Kennedy began trying to achieve his goals through executive order • Issued many executive orders

5. The Space Program • In 1961, Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel in space • Fearing America had fallen behind in technological development, Kennedy called for more funding and better results

6. Space Program • The United States “should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon.” • The nation accepted the challenge and funding for NASA increased

7. Kennedy Assassination • Began his reelection campaign, JFK traveled to Dallas, TX with his wife • The Governor met them at the airport and together they took an open-air limousine through Dallas • In the Texas School Book Depository, Lee Harvey Oswald took aim and shot Kennedy from the sixth floor • Kennedy was pronounced dead at the Hospital shortly after

8. Nation in Mourning • Nation grieved • Alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald • Oswald shot by Jack Ruby (Dallas night club owner) • President LBJ ordered the Warren Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy • Concluded Oswald had acted alone

9. Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ): Path to the White House • LBJ = skilled politician • youngest minority leader of the Senate • later Senate majority leader. • very successful

10. Johnson easily won the election over Barry Goldwater in 1964 • Characterized Goldwater as a trigger happy war monger who would use nuclear weapons. Presidential Election of 1964 (p. 843)

11. LBJ in action • Famous for his ability to use the political system to accomplish goals • Johnson inspired fear and awe among his colleagues

12. The Great Society • Johnson began a series of major legislative initiatives called the Great Society

13. Major Great Society Programs

14. The Great Society • Great Society programs included major poverty relief, education aid, healthcare, voting rights, conservation and beautification projects, urban renewal and economic development

15. The Great Society • The Tax Cut • Johnson proposed a large tax cut that would pay for itself with the increase in the economy • War on Poverty • He started Head Start (preschool for low income families) • Volunteers in Service to America [VISTA] (volunteers for low income neighborhoods)

16. Figure 28.4 Legal Immigration to the United States by Region, 1931–1984 (p. 828)

17. The Great Society • Aid to Education — The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, provided billions of dollars in aid to public and private schools. • Medicare and Medicaid • Medicare - provides low-cost medical insurance to most Americans over age 65 • Medicaid - provides medical and health services to poor Americans of any age. • Immigration ReformImmigration Act of 1965 -replaced immigration quotas with overall limits from various parts of the world. • Immigration rose dramically during the 1960s and 1970s.

18. The Warren Court • Referred to as the Warren Court because of its Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969) • Warren Court overturned many old laws and established new legal precedents

19. Major Decisions of the Warren Court

20. The Warren Court • During the Kennedy-Johnson years, the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren, handed down many controversial landmark verdicts. • The Court ruled on social issues including: • Obscenity • prayer in public schools • use of birth control. • Court ruled on the rights of persons accused of committing crimes. • Miranda rule, a result of the 1966 case Miranda v. Arizona, required police to inform accused persons of their rights. • Court decisions changed the nature of apportionment, or the distribution of the seats in a legislature among electoral districts.

21. Warren Court Criticism • Correctly or not, much of the criticism of the Warren Court during the 1950s and 1960s centered on perceptions that the Supreme Court had become too activist. • Instead of simply deciding what the Constitution required, the justices attempted to enforce their own notions of justice.

22. Continued Warren Court Criticism • Liberal decisions found many supporters • However, such judicial activism stirred considerable opposition both on and off the Court. • While indicating their own support for the liberal direction of Supreme Court decisions, such justices as Felix Frankfurter and John Marshall Harlan II advocated greater judicialrestraint

23. Warren Court Criticism • Criticized for going far beyond the language of the Constitution and: • weakening democracy by usurping the role of the people's electedrepresentatives. • In 1968, presidential candidate Richard Nixon blamed the Court's decisions for rising crime rates • Nixon promised to appoint strictconstructionists (those who interpret the originalintent of the Constitution) to the Supreme Court if elected to the presidency.

24. Bay of Pigs Invasion: 1961 • 1959 - Fidel Castro overthrew the U.S. backed dictator Fulgencio Batista • Castro installed a communist government • President Kennedy learned of a plan by outgoing President Eisenhower to train exiled Cubans in Guatemala to overthrow Castro • 1961 - Day of the invasion - air strike was limited and missed the Cuban air force • 1,500 U.S.-backed invaders captured by Castro’s forces • Humiliating loss for the US

25. The Berlin Crisis: 1961 • Soviet Union wanted to stop the flow of East German people to West Germany through Berlin • Soviet demanded a treaty to make the division permanent

26. The Berlin Wall: 1961 • JFK felt like the Soviets were going to try to take over more of Europe • called for a large increase in military spending • Army placed on alert • Soviets responded by building the Berlin Wall

27. The Cuban Missile Crisis: 1962 • October 1962, American spy plane revealed the Soviet Union were building missile bases on Cuban soil • Tension escalated between the US and USSR

28. Cuban Missile Crisis:1962 • Kennedy’s response = a naval quarantine (blockade) of Cuba • Soviet ships approached the blockade = world waited in fear • At the last minute Soviet leader Khrushchev ordered ships turned around

29. Cuban Missile Crisis: 1962

30. Cuban Missile Crisis Map: 1962

31. Cuba: 1961-1962 • Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles that were already there in exchange for the U.S. staying out of Cuba and U.S. missiles being removed from Turkey

32. Limited Test Ban Treaty: 1963 • The Limited Test Ban Treaty also was a result of this crisis, it banned nuclear testing above the ground

33. JFK: Foreign Policy • “Flexible Response” - moved away from the drastic stances of Massive Retaliation = Less militant response • Alliance for Progress - Proactive ventures in Latin America • The Peace Corps

34. The Peace Corps • The Peace Corps • Kennedy established program for group of volunteers that were sent overseas to help developing nations around the world as: • Educators • health workers • technicians

35. Johnson’s Foreign Policy • Johnson’s Foreign Policy • The Dominican Republic • After Communist rebels attack the country, Johnson sent 22,000 marines to ensure the government not become Communist and they were successful • Vietnam • Johnson became deeply involved in Southeast Asia • U.S. backed South Vietnam against forces wanting a Communist government