KENNEDY AND JOHNSON Section 2

Main Idea: John Kennedy’s New Frontier and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society were government programs to fight poverty, help cities and schools, and promote civil rights. Poverty line, Medicare, Medicaid

Essential Question: What were the goals of JFK’s New Frontier and what new programs were created as a part of LBJ’s Great Society?

Election of 1960 The Republican candidate, Vice President Richard M. Nixon, and the Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy ran for president in For most of the campaign, polls showed that Nixon was in the lead because Kennedy was a Roman Catholic. This led people to worry about his loyalty to the church.

John F. Kennedy JFK was a member of the Navy during WWII and was assigned to duty in the Pacific. Robert Donovan wrote the book PT 109, a story about Kennedy’s saving the life of a fellow Navy member. JFK’s political career began in 1946 when he won a seat in Congress from Massachusetts. Six years later he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

A turning point in the 1960 election was when the candidates took part in the first televised presidential debates.first televised presidential JFK appeared handsome and youthful while Nixon looked tired and sick. JFK spoke with confidence and viewers thought he made a better impression. JFK won the race for president over Nixon.

The New Frontier JFK had a plan for the country called the New Frontier. It was a group of proposals involving social programs. He had aims to get more funding for education, help poor get jobs, and to address concern for civil rights. Most proposals failed to pass through Congress. The president wished to help African Americans fight for equal rights. In 1963, JFK asked congress to pass a bill dealing with civil rights.

On November22, 1963 President Kennedy was in Dallas, Texas for a campaign trip. As the president and his wife, Jackie, rode through the streets in an open car, several shots rang out. The car raced to the hospital but the present was dead. Lyndon b. Johnson took the oath of office as president shortly after. The assassination stunned the nation.

Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with assassinating President Kennedy. Oswald was shot and killed as the police moved him from jail to another. There were rumors of a conspiracy were all over the country. President Johnson appointed Earl Warren to head the Warren Commission to investigate the Kennedy shooting. They found Oswald acted alone.

The “Great Society” President Johnson called his set of programs the “Great Society”. Johnson wanted to start fighting poverty. In January 1964 he presented the first part of his programs that would help Americans below the poverty line. Head Start was to help provide preschool education for the children of poor families. Upward Bound was to help poor students attend college.

Job Corps was to offer training to young people who wanted to work. Volunteers in Service to American or VISTA, was a domestic peace corps where citizens work in poor neighborhoods. The most important laws passed under LBJ were those establishing Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare helped pay for medical care for senior citizens. Medicaid helped the poor pay hospital bills.

In 1966 President Johnson established the Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD, which helped fund public housing projects. The growing support for the civil rights movement grew across the nation. In July of 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of The act prohibited discrimination against African Americans in employment, voting, and public accommodations. It banned discrimination not only by race and color, but also by sex, religion, or national origin.