THE NEW FRONTIER AND THE GREAT SOCIETY KENNEDY AND JOHNSON LEAD AMERICA IN THE 1960S

SECTION 1: KENNEDY AND THE COLD WAR The Democratic nominee for president in 1960 was a young Massachusetts senator named John Kennedy He promised to “get America moving again” Kennedy had a well- organized campaign and was handsome and charismatic Senator Kennedy, 1958

REPUBLICAN OPPONENT: RICHARD NIXON The Republicans nominated Richard Nixon, Ike’s Vice- President The candidates agreed on many domestic and foreign policy issues Two factors helped put Kennedy over the top: T.V. and Civil Rights Nixon hoped to ride the coattails of the popular President

TELEVISED DEBATE AFFECTS VOTE On September 26, 1960, Kennedy and Nixon took part in the first televised debate between presidential candidates Kennedy looked and spoke better than Nixon Journalist Russell Baker said, “That night, image replaced the printed word as the national language of politics”

JFK: CONFIDENT, AT EASE DURING DEBATES Television had become so central to people's lives that many observers blamed Nixon's loss to John F. Kennedy on his poor appearance in the televised presidential debates JFK looked cool, collected, presidential Nixon, according to one observer, resembled a "sinister chipmunk"

JFK’S OTHER EDGE: CIVIL RIGHTS A second major event of the campaign took place in October, 1960 Police arrested Martin Luther King for conducting a “Sit-In” at a lunch counter in Georgia King was sentenced to hard labor Sit-Ins were non-violent protests over the policy of whites-only lunch counters in the South

JFK, NIXON REACT DIFFERENTLY TO KING ARREST While the Eisenhower Administration refused to intervene, JFK phoned King’s wife and his brother, Robert Kennedy, worked for King’s release The incident captured the attention of the African-American community, whose votes JFK would carry in key states King Kennedy

KENNEDY WINS CLOSE ELECTION

CLOSEST ELECTION SINCE 1884 Kennedy won the election by fewer than 119,000 votes Nixon dominated the west, while Kennedy won the south and the east coast JFKRMN

“ASK NOT...” In his inaugural address, JFK uttered this famous challenge: “Ask not what your country can do for you --- ask what you can do for your country” Delivered Friday, January 20, 1961

THE CAMELOT YEARS During his term in office, JFK and his young wife, Jacqueline, invited many artists and celebrities to the White House The press loved the Kennedy charm and JFK appeared frequently on T.V. The Kennedys were considered American “Royalty” (hence “Camelot” reference)

THE KENNEDY MYSTIQUE The first family fascinated the American public For example, after learning that JFK could read 1,600 words a minute, thousands enrolled in speed- reading courses Jackie, too, captivated the nation with her eye for fashion and culture

THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST JFK surrounded himself with what one journalist described as the “best and the brightest” available talent Of all of his elite advisors who filled Kennedy’s inner circle, he relied most on his 35-year-old brother Robert, whom he appointed attorney general RFK was John’s closest friend and advisor

FOCUS ON THE COLD WAR From the beginning of his term in early 1961, JFK focused on the Cold War (Soviet relations) JFK tripled our nuclear capability, increased troops, ships and artillery, and created the Green Berets (Special Forces)

CRISIS OVER CUBA Just 90 miles off the coast of Florida, Cuba presented the first big test of JFK’s foreign policy Openly Communist, Cuba was led by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro who welcomed aid from the USSR Relations between the U.S. and Cuba were deteriorating

BAY OF PIGS In March 1960, Eisenhower gave the CIA permission to secretly train Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba Kennedy learned of the plan only nine days into his presidency JFK approved the mission It turned out to be a disaster when in April, 1961, 1,200 Cuban exiles met 25,000 Cuban troops backed by Soviet tanks and were soundly defeated “We looked like fools to our friends, rascals to our enemies and incompetents to the rest” Quote from U.S. Commentator

THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS Castro had a powerful ally in Moscow Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev promised to defend Cuba with Soviet weapons During the summer of 1962 the flow of Soviet weapons into Cuba – including nuclear – increased greatly

Kennedy made it clear the U.S. would not tolerate nuclear weapons in Cuba When surveillance photos revealed nukes ready to launch in Cuba, JFK said the U.S. would respond to any attack from Cuba with an all- out nuclear retaliation against the Soviets KENNEDY RESPONDS American president John F Kennedy making his dramatic television broadcast to announce the Cuba blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis

13 DAYS When more Soviet ships headed for the U.S. with weapons, JFK ordered a blockade The first break in the crisis occurred when the Soviets ships turned back Finally, Khrushchev agreed to remove the nuclear weapons from Cuba in exchange for a U.S. promise NOT to invade Cuba For 13 days in October, 1962 the world stood still as the threat of nuclear war gripped the planet

CRISIS OVER BERLIN In 1961, Berlin, Germany was a city in great turmoil In the 11 years since the Berlin Airlift, almost 3 million East Germans (Soviet side) had fled into West Berlin (U.S. controlled) to flee communist rule

SOVIETS SEEK TO STOP EXODUS The Soviets did not like the fact that East Berliners were fleeing their city for the democratic west Their departure hurt the economy and the prestige of the USSR Just after midnight on August 13, 1961 the Soviets began construction of a 90-mile wall separating East and West Berlin East Germany begins construction on the Berlin Wall, which becomes a primary symbol of the Cold War and Soviet oppression

EASING TENSIONS Both Khrushchev and Kennedy began searching for ways to ease the enormous tension between the two superpowers In 1963 they established a hot line between the White House and the Kremlin Later that year, the superpowers signed a Limited Test Ban Treaty that served to ban nuclear testing in the atmosphere

SECTION 2: THE NEW FRONTIER Kennedy initiated his vision in a program he called “The New Frontier” The economy, education, medical care for the elderly and the poor, and space exploration were all part of his vision

THE PEACE CORPS One of the first programs launched by JFK was the Peace Corps The Peace Corps is a volunteer program to assist developing nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America The Peace Corps has become a huge success

RACE TO THE MOON On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space Meanwhile, America’s space agency (NASA) began construction on new launch facilities in Cape Canaveral, Florida and a mission control center in Houston, Texas

A MAN ON THE MOON Finally, on July 20, 1969, the U.S. would achieve its goal An excited nation watched as U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon Space and defense-related industries sprang up in Southern and Western states Armstrong “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”

KENNEDY ADDRESSES INNER CITY BLIGHT AND RACISM In 1963, Kennedy called for “a national assault on the causes of poverty” He also ordered his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy to investigate racial injustice in the South Finally, in June 1963 he presented Congress with a sweeping civil rights bill and a sweeping tax cut bill to spur the economy

TRAGEDY IN DALLAS On a sunny day on November 22,1963, Air Force One landed in Dallas with JFK and Jackie JFK received warm applause from the crowd that lined the downtown streets of Dallas as he rode in the back seat of an open-air limousine

JFK SHOT As the motorcade approached the Texas Book Depository, shots rang out JFK was shot in the neck and then the head His car was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors frantically tried to revive him President Kennedy was dead (11/22/63)

View from Book Depository

The Magic Bullet

Why is the “ magic bullet ” so important? The Zapruder film shows the president being hit twice and one bullet hit the sidewalk. All of this happens within six seconds. More shots equals at least one more shooter.

The Grassy Knoll

Support for the Single Bullet Theory

Support for the single bullet theory

The “ magic bullet ”

Do you believe in “ magic ” ? When the bullet hit Connally's wrist it had been slowed by transiting Kennedy's torso and tumbling through Connally's chest. When it finally hit the hard radius bone, it was traveling about 1,000 feet per second. Dr. Martin Fackler, President of the International Wound Ballistics Association, fired this round identical to Oswald's bullet through a human wrist at 1,100 feet per second

A bullet fired from the same type of rifle was fired through 25 inches of elm wood with no deformity.

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee enlists in the United States Marine Corps at the age of th: Lee is released from active duty in the Marine Corps travels to USSR Lee attends dance where he meets Marina Prusakova. Returns to the U.S 1962 Sept :30 AM: Lee makes his first visit to the Cuban Embassy, where he fills out the application for a visa to Cuba.

Nov. 22, 1963, 12:30 pm. Kennedy Shot, fatally wounded 12:40 pm. Fleeing Oswald boards Cecil McWatters bus, then gets off, taking transfer. 1:15 (approx.) 10th and Patton Streets Oswald shoots Officer Tippit 1:30 (approx.) Johnny Calvin Brewer, shoe store clerk, sees Oswald acting suspiciously, follows to Texas Theater Oswald arrested in Texas Theater / Taken to police car / Booked, charged with killing Tippit Nov. 22, 1963 (afternoon) Dallas Police Headquarters: Marina tells police that Oswald owned rifle, which is now missing. Nov. 22, 1963 (late evening) Dallas Oswald faces press in news conference and denies crime Nov. 24, 1963 Dallas Oswald shot, killed by Jack Ruby as he was being moved from Dallas jail

Oswald Photo: Real or doctored?

What happened to Jack Ruby Jack Ruby maintained all along that he did it for the sake of the Kennedy family in order to spare them a trial. He said that he wandered into the basement of the Dallas Police station on "an impulse “ and shot Oswald while seventy-seven armed police officers stood by and the nation watched. He was found guilty of murder on March 14, 1964, and sentenced to death. Others that security was deliberately breached and Ruby was the hired agent of organized crime bosses assigned to silence Oswald.

Jack Ruby dies awaiting a new trial "Paranoid and delusional at the time of his passing on January 3, 1967, Jack Ruby expired as a result of a blood clot. The strip club owner died leaving many questions unanswered for many.

The Warren Commission Their Conclusions?

The House Select Committee on Assassinations The House of Representatives established the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1976 and the last official verdict on the assassination - released by the HSCA in stated that "the Committee believes, on the basis of evidence available to it, that President John F. Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy."

The Conspiracy Lives on… Very shortly after the Warren Commission Report was released, however, signs of dissatisfaction with the "official" findings began to surface. Books like Josiah Thompson's "Six Seconds in Dallas..." raised important - and legitimate - questions as to the Warren Commission's methodology and findings.

If not Oswald, then whom? Fidel and Cuba Anti Castro Cubans Mafia CIA

Are the deaths of 103 "the odds against these [assassination] witnesses being dead by February 1967, were one hundred thousand trillion to one. “ proof of conspiracy? Jim Marrs ’ book Crossfire contains a list of 103 people who died who were connected to the assassination. As Marrs puts it: Another "mysterious" death was that of David Ferrie. Did he commit suicide to avoid being prosecuted for Kennedy's murder by DA Garrison? Autopsy cites heart problems.

The umbrella man? An umbrella was seen as the motorcade turned on to Elm. The Warren Commission never interviewed the men. The House Select Committee found the men in 1976 but found nothing tying them to the shooting.

The wounds as evidence

The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act Enacted by the Congress and signed into law by President George Bush on October 26,1992. The law states, "All government records concerning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy should carry a presumption of immediate disclosure." The law mandates that all assassination-related materials be house in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Act defines five categories of information for which disclosure may be postponed, including national security, intelligence gathering, and privacy--provided there is "clear and convincing evidence" of some harm which outweighs public disclosure.

Was Oswald on the 6 th floor? Oswald was spotted drinking a coke and having his lunch about 40 seconds after the last shots were fired. It is barely possible for a man running full speed to make the distance from the sixth floor window to the 2nd floor lunch room in that time. But according to several witnesses, including a police officer, Oswald looked cool and calm as if he ’ d been standing there for some time.

The coffin controversy… A bronze casket used to transport President Kennedy's body from Dallas to Washington was dropped from a military plane into the ocean two years after he was killed, according to assassination documents. In the 1970s, a Navy medical technician told congressional investigators that Kennedy's body arrived at Bethesda Naval Hospital in a body bag inside a gray metal shipping casket -- not a bronze one. Douglas Horne, who was the chief analyst for military records at congressionally created review board, speculated that the bronze casket was destroyed to end the two-coffin controversy.

The mystery of the caskets The bronze casket was used to transport the President ’ s body back to D.C. The Bethesda, MD reported the body was in a bag in a metal casket

Who is on the curb? A man with a walkie- talkie? Is this what the photo shows?

LBJ Takes the oath

The umbrella…

The evidence for the metal casket

LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON BECOMES PRESIDENT The Vice-President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, became President after JFK was assassinated The nation mourned the death of the young president while Jackie Kennedy remained calm and poised A somber LBJ takes the oath of office aboard Air Force One with the Jackie next to him

JFK LAID TO REST All work stopped for Kennedy’s funeral as America mourned its fallen leader The assassination and the televised funeral became historic events Like 9-11, Americans can recall where they were when they heard the news of the President’s death Three-year old John Kennedy Jr. salutes his father’s coffin during the funeral

LEE HARVEY OSWALD CHARGED; SHOT TO DEATH A 24-year-old Marine with a suspicious past left a palm print on the rifle used to kill JFK He was charged and as a national television audience watched his transfer from one jail to another, nightclub owner Jack Ruby broke through the crowd and shot Oswald to death Jack Ruby, right, shoots Oswald, center, to death 11/24/63

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS The bizarre chain of events led many to believe that Oswald was part of a conspiracy The Warren Commission investigated the assassination and determined that Oswald had indeed acted alone Recent filmmaker Oliver Stone isn’t so sure – his film, “JFK,” is filled with conspiracy theories

SECTION 3: THE GREAT SOCIETY A fourth-generation Texan, Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) entered politics in 1937 as a congressman Johnson admired Franklin Roosevelt who took the young congressman under his wing Johnson became a senator in 1948 and by 1955 he was Senate majority leader

JOHNSON’S DOMESTIC AGENDA As soon as Johnson took office, he urged Congress to pass the tax-cut bill that Kennedy had sent to Capital Hill The tax cut passed and $10 billion in cuts took effect

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 In July of 1964, LBJ pushed the Civil Rights Act through Congress The Act prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin, and granted the federal government new powers to enforce the law LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther King watches

THE WAR ON POVERTY Following his tax cut and Civil Rights Act successes, LBJ launched his War on Poverty In August of 1964 he pushed through Congress a series of measures known as the Economic Opportunity Act The Act provided $1 billion in aid to the inner city

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT THE EOA legislation created: The Job Corps VISTA (Volunteers in service to America) Project Head Start for underprivileged preschoolers The Community Action Program which encouraged the poor to participate in public works program Project Head Start is still going strong

THE 1964 ELECTION In 1964, the Republicans nominated conservative senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona to oppose Democrat Lyndon Johnson Goldwater opposed LBJ’s social legislation Goldwater alienated voters by suggesting the use of nuclear weapons in Cuba and North Vietnam

LBJ WINS BY A LANDSLIDE LBJ won the 1964 election by a landslide For many it was an anti- Goldwater vote Many Americans saw Goldwater as a War Hawk The Democrats also increased their majority in Congress Now Johnson launched his reform program in earnest

LBJ easily defeats Goldwater in ‘64

BUILDING THE GREAT SOCIETY In May of 1964, LBJ summed up his vision for America in a phrase: “The Great Society” By the time he left the White House in 1969, Congress had passed 206 of LBJ’s Great Society legislative initiatives

EDUCATION Johnson considered education “the key which can unlock the door to the Great Society” The Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided $1 billion to help public schools buy textbooks and library materials This Act represented the first major federal aid package for education ever Government

VOTING RIGHTS ACT 1965 Part of the Civil Rights Act was to insure voting rights for all Americans The act prohibited literacy tests or other discriminatory practices for voting The act insured consistent election practices "By the way, what's the big word?"

HEALTHCARE LBJ and Congress enhanced Social Security by establishing Medicare and Medicaid Medicare provided hospital insurance and low-cost medical care to the elderly Medicaid provided health benefits to the poor

HOUSING LBJ and Congress appropriated money to build 240,000 units of low-rent public housing; established the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and appointed the first black cabinet member, Robert Weaver, as HUD’s first leader Weaver

IMMIGRATION REFORM The Great Society also brought reform to immigration laws The Natural Origins Acts of the 1920s strongly discriminated against immigration by those outside of Western Europe The Immigration Act of 1965 opened the door for many non-European immigrants to settle in the U.S.

THE ENVIRONMENT LBJ also actively sought to improve the environment The Water Quality Act of 1965 required states to clean up their rivers and lakes LBJ also ordered the government to clean up corporate polluters of the environment

CONSUMER PROTECTION Consumer advocates also made gains during the 1960s Major safety laws were passed in the U.S. auto industry and Congress passed the Wholesome Meat Act of 1967 LBJ said, “Americans can feel safer now in their homes, on the road, and at the supermarket”

SUPREME COURT REFORMS SOCIETY, TOO Reform and change were not limited to the Executive and Legislative branches The Judicial Branch led by the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Earl Warren did much to protect individual rights Warren

WARREN COURT AND SUSPECT’S RIGHTS In Mapp v. Ohio (1961) the Supreme Court ruled that illegally seized evidence could not be used in court In Escobedo v. Illinois the court ruled that the accused has the right to have an attorney present when questioned by police In Miranda v. Arizona the court ruled that all suspects must be read their rights before questioning

IMPACT OF GREAT SOCIETY The Great Society and the Warren Court changed the United States No president in Post-WWII era extended the power and reach of the federal government more than LBJ The War on Poverty helped, the Civil Rights initiative made a difference and the massive tax cuts spurred the economy