JFK and the New Frontier

Camelot John F. Kennedy (D) – Naval Hero, Congressman, Senator Massachusetts – Becomes 35 th President in 1960President Beat Richard Nixon Married to Jackie Bouvier Camelot was the idea of the perfect family – King Arthur, Guinevere, White House, American Kingdom, etc.

The New Frontier JFK—took office with bravado, people responded by joining peace corps, volunteering to work for social justice, etc.bravado Raised the minimum wage Increasing Social Security benefits He raised money for research into mental illness Allocated funds to develop impoverished rural areas.

Civil Rights Showed approval for the civil rights movement by supporting James Meredith's attempt to enroll at the University of Mississippi Ordered his Attorney General, brother Robert Kennedy, to protect the freedom riders in the South Promoted MLK’s march on Washington DC

Space Race 1957 –Sputnik – NASA begins “Mutnik” – By 1960—57 Soviet dogs sent into space Yuri Gagarian – 1 st Human into space US is far behind – JFK appropriated billions into NASA – Alan Shepherd 1 st American in Space 1961 – John Glenn 2/20/62 1 st human to orbit earth

Vision for the Future “First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish…it will not be one man going to the moon–if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.” -- JFK 5/25/61

Containment Cuba – 1959—fell to communism. 90 miles from U.S. – In 1961, CIA-trained Cuban exiles landed in Cuba at the BAY OF PIGSBAY OF PIGS – Hoping to ignite a popular uprising that would oust Fidel Castro from power. Many of the rebels were shot, and the rest were arrested. The incident was an embarrassment to the United States and a great victory for Fidel Castro.

Victory October, 1962 – U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13- day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on CubaCuba – On the brink of WWIII – Kennedy vs. Khrushchev U.S. wins decisive “victory” over Soviet Union

Assassination November 22 nd, 1963 – Dallas, Texas DallasTexas – Dealey Plaza Lee Harvey Oswald Texas Book Depository Killed by Jack Ruby