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The 1960s

Explore the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960, the first to have televised debates, along with the international problems faced by his administration, including the Bay of Pigs invasion, military advisors in Vietnam, the Berlin Wall, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Discover Kennedy's domestic agenda, including the New Frontier, the Peace Corps, and the Civil Rights Movement. The description also covers Kennedy's assassination and the subsequent Warren Commission.

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The 1960s

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  1. The 1960s Chapter 21

  2. The Election of 1960 • John F. Kennedy is elected in 1960 over V.P. Richard Nixon in one of the closest elections in history. • It is also the first election to feature televised debates. • The Catholic issue

  3. The Election of 1960

  4. International Problems:Bay of Pigs invasion (1961) • Just prior to leaving office Eisenhower had authorized the CIA to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba. • Eager to establish his own cold war credentials, Kennedy approved an attempt by a 1400-member army of Cuban exiles. • The invasion turned into a mismanaged disaster when Kennedy refused to provide air cover for the invasion. Within two days, Castro had rounded them up. • Taking complete personal responsibility for the fiasco, Kennedy suffered a bitter humiliation.

  5. International Problems:Military Advisors in Vietnam • A month after the Bay of Pigs invasion, Kennedy secretly ordered 500 Green Berets and military advisors to Vietnam to help the South Vietnamese government. • By 1963, the number of “military advisors” had risen to more than 16,000. The U.S. found itself mired in a Vietnamese civil war, which it had no clear strategy for winning.

  6. International Problems:The Berlin Wall • Also in 1961, the Soviet begun construction of the Berlin Wall, which cut off movement between East and West Berlin and became a symbol of the eroding relations between the Soviet Union and the United States.

  7. Cuban Missile Crisis (October of 1962) • CIA flights over Cuba discovered that the Soviets were secretly constructing offensive missile sites, which could launch nuclear missiles.

  8. Kennedy’s Cold War

  9. Cuban Missile Crisis (October of 1962) • Military advisors urged air strikes against the missile sites, but Kennedy worried that the strikes might trigger nuclear war. • Instead Kennedy imposed a naval quarantine to stop Soviet ships from reaching Cuba. • The face off ended when Kennedy and Khrushchev reached an agreement. • The missiles in Cuba would be dismantled in exchange for an American promise not to invade Cuba. Secretly the U.S. also agreed to destroy its missile bases in Turkey.

  10. Kennedy’sDomestic Agenda • New Frontier • “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” • Peace Corps • To supply young volunteers for educational and technical service in underdeveloped countries. • Kennedy increases spending on defense and space programs • Wanted to land a man on the moon by the end of decade • Food stamp program begins (basic standard of living) • Civil Rights • Just enough to get black votes without losing southern whites

  11. Civil Rights Movement • Want voting rights, equal opportunity, and end to discrimination • 1960-65 • Movement away from boycotts and toward non-violent confrontations with system. • “militant nonviolence” • Organization • Martin Luther King, Jr. • Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) • Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee (SNCC)

  12. The Civil RightsMovement • Sit-ins • Black college students sat down at “whites only” lunch counters and demanded service. • Freedom Riders • Groups of blacks and whites to test federal laws banning discrimination on buses. • Movement Culture • Sense of togetherness, purpose – morally obligated to end racial oppression, sense of being part of something larger than yourself.

  13. Federal Intervention in 1962 • Southern state governments defied the civil rights rulings of federal courts. • Policemen used dogs, tear gas, electric cattle prods, and fire hoses on protestors. • Millions of outraged Americans watched the confrontations on television. • Postwar liberals begin to feel that they must act

  14. March on Washington, D.C. • On August 28, 1963, some 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to march and sing in support of civil rights and racial harmony. • King’s “I Have a Dream” speech • JFK finally decided to back an ambitious civil rights program.

  15. Kennedy’s Assassination • November 22, 1963 • Kennedy was shot twice in Dallas and died almost immediately. • Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder. • Before he could be thoroughly interrogated, Oswald was fatally shot by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner. • Oswald’s death ignited a controversy over the assassination.

  16. The Warren Commission • LBJ appointed a commission to investigate Kennedy’s murder. • Headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren, it concluded that Oswald had acted alone. • Yet many people were not convinced. • JFK became a martyred leader cut down in the prime of his career.

  17. Lyndon B. Johnson • Lyndon Johnson took over after Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. • Kennedy was more style than substance and Johnson was more substance than style. • LBJ was a master at getting legislation passed through Congress.

  18. Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society • The Election of 1964 • Johnson and Hubert Humphrey (D-Minnesota) • Senator Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona) • Landslide victory for LBJ • Johnson took advantage of his new mandate to launch his domestic agenda. • His deep concern for poor people and his commitment to civil rights can be seen in his Great Society program.

  19. Johnson’s Great Society • Government management of economy • Government provides basic standard of living • Medicare (elderly) • Medicaid (poor) • HUD • Include the poor in society • “War on Poverty” • Federal funding for education • Adult reading programs • Head Start and Daycare programs

  20. Johnson’s Great Society • Use government to create a better society • Environmental legislation • Funding for public television and national public radio • NEA and NEH • Immigration Act of 1965 • Ended the discriminatory quotas based on national origins (since 1920s) • Civil Rights

  21. Johnson and Civil Rights • The Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Outlawed discrimination in restaurants, hotels, and other places of public accommodation • Required federally assisted programs and private employers to eliminate discrimination • Enabled the attorney-general to bring suits for school desegregation • Key was federal government involvement to investigate and prevent discrimination • Voting Rights Act of 1965 • No racial restrictions to voting • Government investigation • Black voter registration goes up 30%

  22. Evaluationof Great Society • Good • Poverty does go down • Race relations improve • (black powerlessness ends) • Bad • More rhetoric than money in these programs • Programs were not well funded • Johnson increasingly distracted by Vietnam

  23. The Reforms ofthe Warren Court • Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court in the 1960s turned its attention to civil liberties with several controversial rulings. • Banning school prayer (1962) • Protecting due process • Defendants must be provided with lawyer • Must be allowed to consult a lawyer before interrogation • People In custody must be informed of basic rights (Miranda v. Arizona)

  24. Civil Rights Movement Changes • Early 1960s • Hopeful • “we shall overcome” • biracial cooperation, unity – some whites and blacks • Mid- 1960s • Starts to come apart • Starts to turn more to economic equality • Coalition falls apart – blacks turn against Democratic liberals

  25. Black Power • Frustrated and disillusioned black militants took over, which turned off the white community • “get yourself some guns” and “kill the honkeys” • Black protests becomes rioting • “black is beautiful” became “black is better” • white members were kicked out of Civil Rights Organizations • Focused on strengthening black communities rather than desegregation

  26. Black Power • 1965 • Watts riots in Los Angeles sparked the beginning of 4 years of race riots • Most articulate spokesman for Black Power, Malcolm X assassinated by Black Muslim assassins • 1968 • Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis • Black Panther party of Oakland California would openly carry shotguns and rifles as they patrolled the streets protecting blacks from police harassment

  27. Significant Events 1954 Brown v. Board of Education 1955 Montgomery bus boycott begun  1957 Little Rock Crisis  1961 CORE freedom rides begin  1962 SDS Port Huron Statement  1963 March on Washington  1964 Civil Rights Act passed Berkeley “Free Speech” Movement  1965 Johnson launches Great Society King’s Selma protest Voting Rights Act; Omnibus Housing Act  1966 Miranda v. Arizona  1967 Black Panthers battle Oakland police  1969 Woodstock Music festival

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