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The Politics of the 1960s Liberals in the White House

Explore the political landscape of the 1960s, including the presidency of John F. Kennedy, his challenges with Cuba, and the assassination that shook the nation.

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The Politics of the 1960s Liberals in the White House

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  1. The Politics of the 1960sLiberals in the White House Mr. Concannon Smith

  2. John Fitzgerald Kennedy • Born into wealthy Irish Catholic family (Massachusetts ) • Served in WWII (Navy): War Hero? • Father helps JFK get into politics • Runs for the House in ‘46 and Senate in ‘52 • Young face, progressive ideas, and wealthy backing = good Democratic choice for President in 1960 • Deftly chose Lyndon B. Johnson as VP • Needed the southern conservative votes • He ran against and defeated the sitting VP Richard Nixon

  3. JFK’s Campaign He claimed he would lead the country into “a New Frontier” that would confront • unsolved problems of peace and war • unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice • unanswered questions of poverty and surplus

  4. How did JFK Win? • $$$ He had a lot of money backing him (buys face recognition) • He was progressive enough to win young votes and black votes • He chose a VP candidate that could steal conservative votes in the South • TELEVISION!

  5. JFK’s Biggest Challenges:Bay of Pigs & Cuban Missile Crisis Mr. Concannon Smith

  6. JFK & CUBA • He oversaw two major events that involved Cuba: • the Bay of Pigs Invasion • the Cuban Missile Crisis.

  7. Something is rotten in the state of Cuba… • Fidel Castro overthrew the U.S. backed leader Batista in 1959 • Castro had the support of the Cuban poor • Claimed poor were being exploited by the wealthy and U.S. companies in Cuba • Castro seized some of these private companies (including U.S. ones) • The U.S. distrusted Castro and his communist leanings (friend of Khrushchev) • Kennedy was now faced with his fist big Cold War challenge (90 mi from US)

  8. JFK’s Hard Choices • Pres. Eisenhower was working with the CIA to train Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro • JFK was told that Castro could destabilize all of Latin America and should follow Eisenhower’s path • JFK had to choose: abandon plan and look weak or go forward with it despite obvious doubts about it. • The attempt was a “perfect failure” and made Kennedy look foolish and weak. • Khrushchev pledged to support Castro and planned on supplying Cuba with IBMs! (nuclear missiles)

  9. Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 JFK’s Options: • Engage negotiations with Khrushchev. Peaceful but would give Soviets more time to supply Cuba with nukes • Invade Cuba. Would eliminate missile threat and oust Castro, but risked all-out nuclear war with Soviets • Blockade Cuba. Prevent the soviet ships from landing their nuclear missiles and force Khrushchev to back off or be aggressive. Big ? • Bomb the missile sites. Knock out the missile sites to incapacitate them. But would the Soviets counterattack? Where?

  10. Question for Review • According to these documents, what deal did the U.S. strike with the U.S.S.R.? • Why was this deal kept secret? • Is this deal mentioned in the classroom textbook? • Why might the textbook not have mentioned this deal? • Who seems more scared or on the defensive in this documents? • What does this event show you about how people felt during the Cold War?

  11. A President Slain:The JFK Assassination Mr. Concannon Smith

  12. Dallas, TX: November 1963 • JFK was campaigning for reelection in 1964. • He meant to put a spotlight on natural resources & conservation, education, national security, and world peace • Democrats were growing divided in TX and JFK need to win the state so he planned two day, five city campaign tour. • Some of his advisors warned him about right-wing extremist groups in Dallas, but JFK felt Dallas two important to skip • Arrived early on Nov. 22nd and around 12:30pm during a motorcade event through Dallas JFK was struck bullet • (Dealy Plaza---Lee Harvey Oswald) • By 2:40pm JFK had been announced dead and LBJ was sworn in as President.

  13. The Warren Commission • Pres. Johnson appointed a commission to investigate the assassination • chaired by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Earl Warren • The Warren Commission determined that Oswald acted alone. • “Single Bullet Theory” • No findings of conspiracy – widely debated • Since, millions have theorized about what actually happened and the city of Dallas has been plagued as a “City of Hate”

  14. Lee Harvey Oswald

  15. Jack Ruby

  16. Dallas 50 Years Later • Today we are going to consider whether or not Dallas was an actor in or was simply a stage for JFK’s assassination.

  17. LBJ: The Great Society Mr. Concannon Smith

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