The Frontier and the Great Society

1. The Frontier and the Great Society 1961-1968

2. President John F. Kennedy • President Kennedy urged Americans to work for progress and to stand firm against the Soviets. • President Kennedy would invite over a hundred writers, artists and scientists to his inauguration.

3. Election of 1960 • The 1960 presidential election began the era of television politics. • The television debates of the 1960 presidential election had enormous impact on its outcome. • Following the first debate the media focused more strongly on the appearance of the candidates.

4. The Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy a Catholic from a wealthy Massachusetts family. • The Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon a Quaker from financially struggle family. • Televisionhad been used during in 1948 campaigns but in 1960 campaign it was used as a voting tool. • Democrats spent over $6 million in television and radio aids and Republicans spent $7.5 million.

5. The campaign focused on the economy and the Cold War. • Kennedy felt the United States faced a threat from the Soviets and showed concern about a “missile gap,” in which it was believed the Republican administration was on the right track with its foreign policy.

6. Both promised to boost the economy and portrayed themselves as “Cold Warriors” determined to stop the forces of communism. • Kennedy argued that the nation faced serious threats from the Soviets. • In Cuba Fidel Castro was allying himself with the Soviet Union.

7. Nixon countered that the United States was on the right track under the current administration. • “I’m tired of hearing our opponents downgrade the United States,” the vice-president said. • Nixon also warned that the Democrats fiscal polices would boost inflation and that only he had the necessary foreign policy experience to guide the nation.

8. Kennedycame under scrutiny about his religion. • The United States had never had a Catholic president, and many Protestants had concerns about Kennedy.

9. The election of 1960 was one of the closest in American history. • Kennedy won the popular vote by 119,000 out of 68 million votes cast the Electoral College votes 303 to 219. • In several states only a few thousand votes could have swung the Electoral College numbers the other way.

11. The Kennedy Mystique • John Kennedy’s youth, optimism, and charisma inspired Americans. • In his Inaugural Address, Kennedy declared “The torch has been passed to a new generation,” and he called on his fellow citizens to take a more active role in making the United States a better place.

12. “My fellow Americans,” he exclaimed, “ask not what your country can do for you- ask what you can do for your country.”

13. Kennedy , his wife Jacqueline, their children Caroline and John and their large extended family seemed to have created for media coverage. • Reporters followed the family everywhere. • Kennedy’s family were the youngest family to live in the White House since the Teddy Roosevelt family.

14. Kennedy help to inspire the nation with his optimism, youth and his ability to handle the media. • Kennedy was the first to broadcast his press conferences live on television.

15. Success and Setback on the Domestic Front • Not everyone in the nation fell for Kennedy’s mystique. • Congress was also not taken with the new President. • With his new legislative agenda, known as New Frontier, Kennedy hope to increase aid to education, provide health insurance to the elderly, create a Department of Urban Affairs and help migrant workers.

16. Although the Democratic Party enjoyed large majorities in both houses of Congress, Kennedy was unable to push through many of his domestic programs. • Many Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats felt the New Frontier was too costly. • Congress defeated many of Kennedy’s proposals.

17. Kennedy advocated the New Deal strategy of deficit spending that had been implemented during Roosevelt’s presidency. • Congress was convinced to invest more funds for defense and space exploration to create more jobs and encourage economic growth. • Kennedy also boosted the economy through increase business production and efficiency.

18. In an effort to get the economy moving Kennedy also adopted supply-side ideas and pushed for a cut in tax rates. • Opponents felt the tax cut would only help the rich. • Kennedy asserted that lower taxes meant businesses would have more money to expand which would create new jobs and benefit everyone.

19. Congress refused to pass the tax cut because many members it would cause inflation. • However Congress did support Kennedy’s request to raise the minimum wage and his proposal for an Area Redevelopment Act and a Housing Act. • These two programs provided funds to poor areas.

20. Kennedy also helped women make stride during the 1960s. • Kennedy never appointed a woman to his cabinet a number of women did work in prominent positions in his administration Including Esther Peterson assistant secretary of labor and director of the Women's Bureau of the Depart of Labor.

21. Kennedy advanced women’s rights in other ways as well . • In 1961 he created the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. • The commission called for federal action against gender discrimination and affirmed the right of women to equally paid employment.

22. Camelot • The Kennedy presidency became known as “Camelot” largely because of Mrs. Kennedy.

23. Warren Court Reforms • Social issues were a focus during Kennedy’s time in office. • Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States since Eisenhower’s presidency and the Warren Court took on a much more activist tone which helped shape national policy. • The Warren Court took a stand on several key issues such as the civil rights movement, freedom of the press, separation of church and state, and the rights of the accused. • Many of these decisions are still being argued today.

24. One of the Warren Court’s most important decisions involved reapportionment or the way in which states draw up political districts based on changes in population. • The Warren Court decided on the principle of “one man one vote” which required state legislatures to reapportion electoral districts so that all citizens votes would have equal weight.

25. During the 1960s the U.S. Supreme Court used the Fourteenth Amendment to apply the Bill of Rights to the states. • Due process required that the law not treat an individual unfairly, arbitrarily or unreasonably, and that courts must follow proper procedures and rules when trying a case. • The issue of separation between church and state was reaffirmed when the Court ruled that states could not compose official prayers and require prayers in public schools. • The decisions of the Warren Court were favored by some while opposed by others but the Court had an immense role in shaping national policy.

26. Court Cases • Brown v. Board of Education – Segregation in public schools unconstitutional. • Reynolds v. Sims- State legislative districts should be equal in population. • Miranda v. Arizona- Police must inform suspects of their rights during the arrest process.

27. Court Cases • Engel v. Vitale- State-mandated prayer in school banned. • Abington School District v. Schempp State-mandated Bible readings in school banned. 1

28. JFK and the Cold War • The Cuban Missile Crisis as the standoff came to be called may have been the most dramatic foreign policy episode Kennedy faced. 2

29. President Kennedy focused much of his time on foreign policy as the nation’s rivalry between the Soviet Union deepened. • Through a variety of programs, Kennedy attempted to curb communism and reduce the threat of nuclear war.

30. Kennedy felt that Eisenhower had relied too heavily on nuclear weapons. • Instead Kennedy supported a “flexible response”where he asked for a buildup of conventional troops and weapons. • This was costly but allowed the U.S. to fight limited style of warfare.

31. In adopting this plan Kennedy supported the Special Forces a small army unit created in the 1950s to wage guerrilla warfare in limited conflicts. • Kennedy expanded it and allowed the soldiers to wear their distinctive “Green Beret”headgear.

32. To improve Latin American relations, Kennedy proposed the Alliance for Progress a series of cooperative aid projects with Latin American governments. • Over a 10 year period $20 billion was promised to aid Latin America. • In Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and the Central American republics, real reform took place. • In other countries the governing rulers used the money to remain in power.

33. The Peace Corps created to help less developed nations fight poverty trained young Americans to spend two years assisting in a country. • The Peace Corps is still active today and has become on of Kennedy’s most important and withstanding legacies.

34. During this time of increased tension between the United states and the Soviet Union, the two countries engaged in a space race with each other vying for dominance of the heavens to enhance their competitive positions on Earth.

35. Kennedy was determined that the first humans to reach the moon would be Americans not Russians. • In 1961 he recommended to Congress that “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon.” • Kennedy’s dream was realized in July 1969.

36. Why the space program matters • NASA research findings have advanced knowledge of the nature of the universe and people have applied them to many technical fields and manufacturing processes. • Moon boot material developed for space program is used in many running shoes today. • The NASA tel-operator and robot technology was used to develop a voiced controlled wheelchair manipulator.

37. Global challenges Kennedy Faced during his presidency. • Spread of communism • Cuban missile crisis • Latin American relations • Reducing the threat of nuclear war

38. Crises of the Cold War • President Kennedy's efforts to combat Communist influence in other countries led to some of the most intense crises of the Cold War. • At times these crises left Americans and people in many other nations wondering whether the world would survive.

39. Cuba and its leader Fidel Castro began forming an alliance with the Soviet Union and its leader Nikita Khrushchev. • During the Eisenhower’s presidency the CIA had secretly trained and armed Cuban exiles known as La Brigada.

40. On April 17, 1961, 1,400 armed Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba. • Disaster struck as Kennedy cancelled air support for the exiles in order to keep United States involvement a secret. • Most of the La Brigada were either killed or captured by Castro’s Army. • The Bay of Pigs was a dark moment for the Kennedy administration.

41. After meeting with Soviet leader Khrushchev, Kennedy refused to recognize East Germany or have the United States- along with Great Britain and France- withdraw from Berlin. • The Soviet leader retaliated by constructing a wall through Berlin stopping movement between the Soviet sector and the rest of the city. • For the next 30 years the Berlin Wall symbolized the Cold War division between East and West.

43. During the summer of 1962, American intelligence agencies discovered that Soviet technicians and equipment had arrived in Cuba and that military constriction was in progress. • Photographs proved that the Soviets had placed long range missiles Cuba • Kennedy ordered it stopped but work on the site continued.

45. Nuclear holocaust was feared. • Neither Kennedy nor Khrushchev wanted World War III. • Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba and to remove missiles from Turkey. • The Soviets agreed to remove missiles in Cuba.

46. The Cuban Missile Crisis as it became known brought the world on the edge of a nuclear war. • Both sides agreed to work out a plan to ease tension. • In 1963 the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to work out a plan to ease tension.

47. In 1963 the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to a treaty banning of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. • The missile crisis led to the demise of Nikita Khrushchev and the new Soviet leadership was less interested in reaching agreements with the West. • The result was a huge Soviet arms buildup. S

48. November 22, 1963:John F. Kennedy assassinated John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, is assassinated while traveling through Dallas, Texas, in an open-top convertible. First lady Jacqueline Kennedy rarely accompanied her husband on political outings, but she was beside him, along with Texas Governor John Connally and his wife, for a 10-mile motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas on November 22. Sitting in a Lincoln convertible, the Kennedys and Connallys waved at the large and enthusiastic crowds gathered along the parade route

49. Who assassinated JFK? Lee Harvey Oswald, born in New Orleans in 1939, joined the U.S. Marines in 1956. He was discharged in 1959 and nine days later left for the Soviet Union, where he tried unsuccessfully to become a citizen. He worked in Minsk and married a Soviet woman and in 1962 was allowed to return to the United States with his wife and infant daughter. In early 1963, he bought a .38 revolver and rifle with a telescopic sight by mail order, and on April 10 in Dallas he allegedly shot at and missed former U.S. Army general Edwin Walker, a figure known for his extreme right-wing views.

50. Later that month, Oswald went to New Orleans and founded a branch of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, a pro-Castro organization. In September 1963, he went to Mexico City, where investigators allege that he attempted to secure a visa to travel to Cuba or return to the USSR. In October, he returned to Dallas and took a job at the Texas School Book Depository Building.