JFK: Camelot and its Fall Libertyville HS US Honors

Election of 1960 GOP candidate – Nixon Democrats had bruising primary –Kennedy (great org) (MA) –Lyndon Johnson (TX) General election –Nixon: 50 state pledge –JFK: LBJ in South, family in East –Televised debatesdebates Results JFK:303 ECV / 34.2 million Nixon:219 ECV / 34.1 million Harry Byrd (VA): 15 ECV / --- IL, TX vote fraud claims; HI recount = Nixon Mob involvement, in Chicago?

John F. Kennedy Born in Massachusetts, family moved to NY Sickly as child WWII Service –PT Boat in Pacific story 1946: Elected to House 1952: Elected US Senator “Profiles in Courage”: 8 senators risking careers for their beliefs (1957 Pulitzer Prize)

“Camelot” Glamour of young president, wife captivated nation – rock stars! Bobby Kennedy - AG Teddy Kennedy – Senator Referred to as “American Royalty”

“Camelot”

Kennedy’s “New Frontier” Promised federal funding for education Health care for the elderly 23 rd Amendment (DC vote) Tax reform (tax cuts) First gov’t budget over $100 billion First non-war, non- recession budget deficit

Kennedy’s “New Frontier” Civil Liberties –Authorized wire taps of civil rights leaders –J. Edgar Hoover (FBI Chief): thought MLK was a communist Immigration –Change of policies decreased immigration from N, W Europe to Latin American, Asia

Kennedy’s “New Frontier” Established Peace Corps (1961) –“Missionaries of democracy” –Work in gov’t, schools, NGOs in over 70 countries Established National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) Orange = currently working Purple = previously worked

Kennedy’s “Space Race” America was behind the USSR in the space race –1957: Sputnik –1957: 1 st animal in space (Laika) –1959: 1 st lunar probe (Luna 1) –1960: 1 st animals to return from space trip (Belka, Strelka) –1961: 1 st human into space (Yuri Gagarin) How would US catch up?!?!

Kennedy’s “Space Race” Space race: informal competition between US, USSR –Technological benefits –Military benefits –Nationalist (ideological) benefits Kennedy, 1961: America would be first to the Moon –Apollo program: $25 billion invested in program

Assassination of Kennedy November 22, 1963 in Dallas –Political trip in preparation for presidential campaign of ‘64 –Shot three times with a high powered rifleShot –TX gov. Connally also shot in back / chest, wrist and thigh JFK pronounced dead at hospital that day Lee Harvey Oswald arrested, charged with the shooting Oswald killed by Jack Ruby

JFK Funeral

Conspiracy Theories Official investigation: Warren Commission (1964) Two gunmen theory CIA Plot? (discredited) Mafia hit? Soviet plot? Cuban plot? LBJ plot?

JFK’s Legacy Television cemented as public’s primary means of information gathering Assassination and conspiracies led to dramatic decline in faith of government Continued involvement in Vietnam