Chapter 30- The Turbulent Sixties Bridget Heist Kylie Kratchwell Gianna Oldrati Ashley Basat

*Kennedy Intensifies the Cold War ➢ Critical to John F. Kennedy’s victory in the election of 1960 was his success in televised debates against Richard Nixon ➢ John F. Kennedy’s domestic program was known as the New Frontier ➢ Priority was foreign policy in Southeast Asia, Berlin, Cuba, and Soviet Union ➢ John F. Kennedy a “Cold Warrior” ➢ Kennedy supported U.S. hard line against Russia

John F. Kennedy Richard Nixon

Flexible Response ➢ Robert McNamara was selected to serve as secretary of defense by John F. Kennedy ➢ John F. Kennedy’s plan to balance out nuclear capability with conventional military strength was known as flexible response ➢ Arms buildup: ○Conventional armed forces ○The nuclear arsenal ○Special Forces ➢ U.S. strength tempted new administration to challenge U.S.S.R. ➢ Stuart Udall was selected as the Secretary of the Interior ➢ Dean Rusk was selected as the Secretary of State ➢ Abraham Ribicoff was selected as the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

Crisis over Berlin ➢ The Soviet Union leader with whom both Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy had to deal was Nikita Khrushchev ➢ 1961: Khrushchev renews threat to kick America out of Berlin Germany ➢ Kennedy’s response: ○Announce crisis on nationwide television ○Call up the National Guard ➢ Soviets built Berlin Wall ➢ Wall meant to keep East Germans from migrating to the West

Containment in Southeast Asia ➢ Kennedy saw Southeast Asia as focus of U.S.-Soviet rivalry ○Supported Saigon’s Diem regime ○Increased American military “advisors” and money to Vietnam ➢ November, 1963: Coup against Diem ○Kennedy accepted ○Coup further destabilized South Vietnam ➢ U.S. involvement in Vietnam deepened

Containing Castro: The Bay of Pigs Fiasco ➢ Kennedy supported “anti-Castro forces in exile” to thwart the aims of the Soviet Union and overthrow Fidal Castro ➢ Bay of Pigs invasion a part of 1960 CIA plan under Eisenhower ➢ The Bay of Pigs invasion was Kennedy’s most obvious foreign policy disaster

Containing Castro: The Cuban Missile Crisis ➢ 1962: Russian nuclear missiles confirmed in Cuba ➢ Blockade Cuba to prevent more missiles from coming into Cuba ➢ Threaten nuclear confrontation to force removal of missiles already there ➢ World appears to be on the brink of nuclear war ➢ Khrushchev agreed to remove missiles in exchange for public statement that U.S. would not invade Cuba ➢ Private assurance that U.S. Jupiter missiles in Turkey would be removed

Containing Castro: The Cuban Missile Crisis ➢ Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis: ○A new maturity in John F. Kennedy’s foreign policy ○New negotiations regarding a reduction in nuclear testing ○Soviet-American hotline set up ○A conviction that the Soviets only understood the language of force ➢ American foreign policy hawks believed that the outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis justified a policy of nuclear superiority

*The New Frontier at Home ➢ Kennedy’s staff was heavily populated with academics and intellectuals ➢ Seeks legislative and economic reform ➢ JFK was the administration’s greatest asset ➢ Most controversial Cabinet appointment - Robert Kennedy - Attorney General

The Congressional Obstacle ➢ Southern Democrat-Republican coalition control Congress ➢ Coalition blocks far-reaching reform ➢ Kennedy’s greatest domestic obstacle was Congress

Supreme Court Cases ➢ From 1953 to 1969, Earl Warren served as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Under Warren's leadership, the Court actively used Judicial Review to over-turn state and federal statutes. During Warren's tenure, the Court became increasingly liberal and activist. ○The most far-reaching decisions of the Warren Court involved legislative reapportionment. ➢ Engle v. Vitale ○The 1962 Supreme Court decision that banned school prayer. ○Ruled that State Sponsored prayer of any type is unconstitutional because it goes against the First Amendment's establishment of the religion clause.

Economic Advance ➢ Economic stimulation: ○Increase space and defense spending ○Informal wage and price guidelines ➢ 1963: Tax cut causes one of the longest sustained advances in U.S. history ➢ Kennedy’s economic policies double growth, and cut unemployment ➢ However, Kennedy was very frustrated when the leaders of the steel industry decided to raise prices.

Moving Slowly on Civil Rights ➢ JFK downplayed civil rights legislation to avoid alienating Southern Democrats ➢ JFK succeeded in appointing a number of African Americans to high government positions ○Robert Weaver- Chief of the federal housing agency ○Thurgood Marshal- Member of the U.S. circuit court ➢ 1961: Federal marshals were sent to protect Birmingham freedom riders ➢ The ‘Freedom Riders’ were sponsored by Congress of Racial Equality. ➢ 1962: The National Guard was sent to University of Mississippi

Moving Slowly on Civil Rights ➢ 1963: Deputy Attorney General faced down George Wallace at University of Alabama ➢ Civil Rights leader Stokely Carmichael advocated ‘Black Power’ ➢ The Supreme court was the most important stimulus for social changes in the early 1960’s. ➢ Civil rights legislation would not have happened in the Senate without the support of Republican Senator, Everett Dirksen

“I have a Dream” ➢ 1963: Violent police suppression of nonviolent protestors in Birmingham ○Kennedy intervenes on side of blacks ○Unlike Eisenhower, Kennedy provided presidential leadership ○Congress asks for civil rights laws ➢ 1963: MLK leads march on Washington ○MLK delivered “I Have a Dream” speech, the issues being highlighted by this event were addressed by the Civil Rights Act of ➢ Civil rights movement did not accept JFK’s indirect approach to civil right issues

*“Let Us Continue” ➢ November 22, 1963: Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated JFK ➢ VP Lyndon Johnson becomes President ➢ Lyndon Johnson continues Kennedy’s programs ➢ Johnson ultimately exceeds Kennedy’s record on economic and civil rights bills JFK assassination:

Johnson in Action ➢ Johnson not polished like Kennedy ➢ Most influential Senate majority leader ➢ Knowledge of legislative process in greatest asset ➢ Known for giving the “Johnson treatment” ➢ 1964: Kennedy’s tax cut passed and resulted in a sustained economic boom ➢ Civil Rights Act: ○Outlawed racial discrimination in employment ○Outlawed racial segregation in public facilities ○Protected the voting rights of African Americans ○Included gender as an unacceptable basis for discrimination in hiring ○Established the Equal Opportunity Commision

The Election of 1964 ➢ 1964: Johnson launched “war on poverty” ○Programs include Head Start, Job Corps, Community Action Programs ○Encourage self-help ○Reduce poverty by about ten million ○Influenced by Michael Harrington’s Book The Other America ➢ Johnson wins election against Barry Goldwater by a landslide

The Triumph of Reform ➢ 1965: Johnson’s Great Society domestic program advances beyond New Deal ➢ Established Medicare program for the elderly ➢ Also in 1965, Johnson sent American soldiers to the Dominican Republic in order to prevent a Communist takeover there. ➢ Medicaid for poor ➢ Elementary and Secondary Education Act ➢ Voting Rights Act gives dramatic increase in African American voting registration in the South - bans literacy tests

*Johnson Escalates The Vietnam War ➢ Johnson was a continuation of Kennedy’s foreign policy ➢ A major critic of Johnson’s foreign policies was William Fulbright. ➢ Inherited policy of containment - shared cold war assumptions and convictions ➢ Determined not to “lose” South Vietnam to the Communists in North Vietnam ➢ Eventually, Johnson’s obsession with Vietnam causes his downfall

The Vietnam Dilemma ➢ After assassination of Diem, South Vietnam on the verge of collapse ➢ Johnson continues economic aid and military advisers - also authorizes covert actions ➢ 1964: Gulf of Tonkins Resolution gives Johnson authority to defend South Vietnam ➢ Johnson sought the Gulf of Tonkins Resolution to demonstrate to the North Vietnamese, and his political opponents, his determination to take a tough stance in Vietnam. ➢ Johnson proves to enemies that he will take tough stance in Vietnam ➢ In long run - costly victory because Congress felt mislead ○JFK shared similar issues when dealing with Congress

Escalation ➢ Communist leader, Ho Chi Minh, organized Viet Minh in North to free Vietnam from France/America ➢ Communist organize army in South Vietnam called Vietcong ➢ As a solution to situation in South Vietnam in 1965, Johnson’s key advisers urged American air strikes against North Vietnam. ➢ 1968: 500,000 American troops in Vietnam ➢ Johnson worries about consequences of either withdrawing or invasion of North ➢ War ends up in bloody stalemate

Vietnam War ➢ American tactics in the Vietnam War were ill-suited for the type of war being fought. ○Bombing Campaign: Rolling Thunder ○American bombing generally failed to accomplish anything. ○Chemical Weapons: Agent Orange and Napalm ○Land Campaign: Search and Destroy, Strategic Hamlet policy, and Body Count ➢ The main premise of General William Westmoreland’s strategy in Vietnam was to wage a war of attrition against the Communists.

Stalemate ➢ American military strategists counted heavily on massive American firepower especially air strikes which were largely ineffective ➢ Air strikes to destroy supply lines not successful ➢ Few industrial sites in Vietnam to bomb ➢ Afraid to bomb certain supply ports because China and/or Russia might enter war ➢ Americans back home gradually turn against the war

Years of Turmoil ➢ Tet Offensive - Vietcong launch surprise attack on cities in the South ➢ Tet Offensive - turning point for U.S. - major political victory for Northern Communists ➢ Shocks Americans back home ➢ Johnson blamed and opens peace talks ➢ Johnson does not seek another term ➢ The American experience in the Tet Offensive led Johnson to begin an effort to open peace negotiations with the communists.

The Student Revolt ➢ 1964: Student protest movement launched at The University of California Berkeley ○The biggest student protest organization was the Students for a Democratic Society. ➢ Later a former Harvard psychology professor who encouraged young people to experiment with drugs was Timothy Leary. ➢ Challenged older generation’s materialism ➢ Main issue of protest - Vietnam War ➢ Widespread cultural uprising

Protesting the Vietnam War ➢ 1967: 100,000 protesters besiege the Pentagon ➢ 1968: students seize 5 buildings at Columbia University for eight days ➢ Demonstrations suppressed by a combination of negotiation and force

The Cultural Revolution ➢ Rejection of older values through: ○Sexual expression ○Clothing ○Drugs ○Music ➢ Some extremism provokes outrage ➢ Serious challenge to hypocrisy of American Society

The Return of Richard Nixon ➢ 1968: Presidential election - A year of turmoil ○Turning point in the Vietnam War ○Massive protests in the streets ➢ Richard Nixon wins election by narrow margin ➢ Has plan to end Vietnam war

The Democrats Divide ➢ 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago besieged by anti-war protestors ➢ Democrats wounded in public opinion ➢ Failure to win war but won’t withdraw

The End of an Era ➢ Election of 1968 ended 30-year era of liberal reform, activist foreign policy ○Richard Nixon defeated Hubert Humphrey ➢ Americans sought less intrusive government ➢ Vietnam war ended policy of containment