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Idealism and Dissent 1960s

Idealism and Dissent 1960s. Election of 1960. The Great Debates-To help voters decide who should win the presidency, Kennedy and his Republican opponent, Richard Nixon appeared in a series of four one-hour televised debates. The First Debate-Kennedy WON!

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Idealism and Dissent 1960s

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  1. Idealism and Dissent1960s

  2. Election of 1960 • The Great Debates-To help voters decide who should win the presidency, Kennedy and his Republican opponent, Richard Nixon appeared in a series of four one-hour televised debates. • The First Debate-Kennedy WON! • More than anything else allowed him to show his strengths • Television • He looked and sounded good.

  3. Election of 1960 • Narrowest of Victories • Kennedy won by fewer than 119,000 votes • 68 million were cast • Nixon lost (He’ll be back!) • Had a few thousand more people voted Republican in Illinois and Texas, the race would have gone to Nixon.

  4. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address • We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom--symbolizing an end as well as a beginning--signifying renewal as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forbears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago… • Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage… •      Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty…

  5. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address •  Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction… • And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country…  My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man…

  6. Kennedy Firsts • First Roman Catholic elected President • Youngest elected at 43 • First President to serve in the Navy-PT 109 • First President to win a Pulitzer Prize-”Profiles in Courage” • Only President to appoint his brother to a cabinet position – Robert Kennedy Attorney General • Youngest President to die in office at 46

  7. Kennedy’s Domestic AgendaNew Frontier • Series of programs to help improve American’s lives • A. Increased funding for the US space program NASA • B. Increased minimum wage for workers • C. Expanded social security • D. Provided economic aid for depressed industrial and rural areas • E. Protect the civil rights of African-Americans • F. Reduce the income tax • Met with opposition • A. Congress (Republican)

  8. Kennedy’s Public Appeal • Media came to call the Kennedy era-Camelot • His wife received credit for giving the presidency much of its style and elegance • Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy

  9. The Best and the Brightest • Robert McNamara-Secretary of Defense • Douglas Dillon-Secretary of Treasury • Dean Rusk-Secretary of State • Robert Kennedy-Attorney General

  10. Foreign Affairs • The Bay of Pigs • Unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government of Cuban Fidel Castro • April 17, 1961-1400 exiles armed with US weapons landed on the southern coast of Cuba (Bay of Pigs) • April 19, 1961-91 exiles killed, rest captured • Embarrassment for Kennedy and the US • Alliance for Progress • A. Offered economic aid to friendly Latin American nations in the hope that they would adopt free institutions

  11. Foreign Affairs • The Berlin Wall • Built in the summer of 1961 by East German Police

  12. Cuban Missile Crisis • October, 1962 • A U-2 flight over Cuba revealed that the Soviets were constructing installations for nuclear missiles aimed at the United States • Kennedy proclaimed a naval blockade of Cuba

  13. Cuban Missile Crisis • Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev • Announced that the installations would be dismantled • Secretary of State Dean Rusk • “We are eyeball to eyeball and the other fellow just blinked” • United States guaranteed not to invade Cuba or territories and removed missiles from Turkey.

  14. The Peace Corps • Created in 1961 • Send young Americans around the globe to help less developed nations improve their health care, education, and agriculture • Qualifications • A. 18 years old • B. US citizen • C. Chosen thru written interest, interviews, physical exam • Duty lasted two years, no more than three

  15. Tragedy in Dallas • Kennedy’s Assassination • Coming up on a new election • Went to Dallas to gain votes for re-election • November 22, 1963 • Gun shots rang out from the Texas School Book Depository • Kennedy taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital • Died after arrival • Lee Harvey Oswald-arrested same day

  16. Kennedy’s Assassination • Who killed Kennedy? • Many conspiracy theories! • The Warren Commission declared Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone gunman • House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) was conducted from 1976 to 1979. It concluded that Oswald assassinated Kennedy "probably... as a result of a conspiracy". The assassination is still the subject of widespread speculation. • What happened to Lee Harvey Oswald?

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