1960s

Kennedy took office in 1961 A new military policy Flexible response Not depend on nuclear weapons solely U.S. could fight wars without upsetting the nuclear power with the Soviet Union

Bay of Pigs Eisenhower and the CIA trained Cuban exiles to invade and overthrow Castro Kennedy learned of this plan 9 days after taking office On April 17, 1961 1300 to 1500 exiles landed on the Bay of Pigs Everything went wrong

Cuban Missile Crisis Khrushchev and Castro were allies The Soviet Union promised to defend Cuba During the summer of 1962 weapons including nuclear entered into Cuba from the Soviet Union On October 14 photographs showed Soviet missile bases in Cuba

On October 22 Kennedy told the nation of the missiles and his plan Any missile attack from Cuba would lead to an all out attack on the Soviet Union The world waited for 6 days Khrushchev offered to remove the missiles, the U.S. in turn would not invade Cuba and took away missiles in Turkey

The Berlin Wall In 1961 Nikita Khrushchev ordered the Berlin Wall to be built to stop refugees The Soviets wanted to cut off access to West Berlin- Kennedy refused

Economic and technical assistance to Latin American countries New Frontier Kennedy had many plans to transform the nation Created the Peace Corps Volunteer assistance program for developing nations Alliance for Progress Economic and technical assistance to Latin American countries

The Final Frontier April 12, 1961 Soviet Gagarin was the first human in space National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Cape Canaveral was built as a launch facility Mission control center was in Houston, Texas On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon

Tragedy On November 22, 1963 Kennedy was shot in his car in Dallas, Texas Lee Harvey Oswald’s prints were found on the rifle Oswald was murdered by Jack Ruby as he was being transferred

Lyndon B Johnson took over as president Warren Commission investigated the murder to see if Oswald was part of a conspiracy In 1963 found he acted alone In 1979 found he was part of a conspiracy and there may have been two shooters Lyndon B Johnson took over as president

Was a master politician LBJ Was a master politician Was able to get the Civil Rights Act of 1957 passed through Congress Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. Also gave the federal government power to enforce it

The War on Poverty LBJ wanted to alleviate poverty In 1964 he began his War on Poverty Economic Opprotunity Act Job Corps, Project Head Start, VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), and the Community Action Program

Great Society LBJ’s mission was to end poverty and racial injustice Education 1965 federal aid to schools Medicare and Medicaid

Great Society Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Low rent housing Immigration Act of 1965 Opened the door to many non-European immigrants Environment Water Quality Act of 1965 Required states to clean up rivers

Warren Court The Supreme Court was headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren Banned public prayer in public schools Limited power of communities to censor Brown v. the Board of Education- school segregation was illegal Reapportionment- make sure there was equal representation

Rights of accused was greatly improved Mapp v. Ohio- illegally seized evidence cannot be used Gideon v. Wainwright- free legal consul must be provided Miranda v. Arizona- must be read rights before questioning Escobedo v. Illinois- right to legal representation during questioning