1. Write these questions down Political Cartoon Analysis
Who are the characters in the cartoon representing? Are they real people or places?
What is happening in the cartoon? Who is doing what?
What symbols are being used in the cartoon? What do you think they represent?
What is the cartoonist point of view toward the issue?

3. John F. Kennedy & the New Frontier Essential Questions 1
John F. Kennedy & the New Frontier Essential Questions 1. How were the foreign and domestic policies of Kennedy similar/dissimilar to previous Cold War Presidents? 2. How important are the Warren Court rulings for today’s society?

4. John F. Kennedy Presidency
Watch the following video clip and write down the major elements of John F. Kennedy’s political platform
Kennedy political ad

5. The Election of 1960
In 1960, Richard Milhouse Nixon ran against John F. Kennedy.
These two candidates were about as different as any two people could be.
The election of 1960 was the closest since 1884; Kennedy defeated Nixon by fewer than 119,000

6. Richard Nixon Nixon was a young Republican candidate from California.
He came from a poor family.
Believed communism was America’s worst enemy.
Nixon was a very good radio debater, but people who watched the debates on T.V. thought Kennedy won because he was attractive.

7. John F. Kennedy A very young candidate. Came from a very rich family.
Believed communism was America’s worst enemy.
Good television speaker and due to his good looks many believed he would win the election.
Critical Thinking Question #1:
Watch the following debate clip between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon and identify one issue where they differ and their solution.

8. The Issues: Nixon vs. Kennedy
National Issue
Nixon
Kennedy
Foreign Policy
Contends that "American prestige is at an all-time high," thanks to the efforts of the Eisenhower administration.
Citing a loss of prestige, declares that America needed a more activist and imaginative approach to international affairs.
Economy
Urges economic growth through a combination of private enterprise and individual initiative.
Calls for increased government intervention to stimulate the economy.
National Defense
Asserts that the U.S. has maintained military standing with the Soviet Union, and that military spending should be watched carefully for excess
Argues that a "missile gap" favoring the Soviet Union makes an increase in defense spending necessary

10. Election of 1960 The Results
Critical Thinking Question #2
What do the election results tell us about what foreign and economic policies that many Americans were in favor of? How was this a change from previous elections in America that you can remember?

11. Did You Know?
• He was a decorated naval officer in World War II. • He received the Pulitzer Prize for his book, "Profiles in Courage." • He served exactly 1,000 days in office. • He was the first president born in the 20th century and the youngest president ever elected.
He is the only Roman
Catholic president
He could read 1600 words a minute.

12. Crisis Over Cuba The first test of Kennedy’s
foreign policy came in Cuba,
just 90 miles off the coast of
Florida. Revolutionary leader,
Fidel Castro, openly declared
himself a communist and
welcomed aid from the
Soviet Union.

13. The Bay of Pigs On the nights of April 17,1961, some 1500 Cuban exiles
supported by the U.S. military
landed on the island’s
southern coast at Baja de
Cochinos, the Bay of Pigs. The
CIA and the exiles hoped it
would trigger a mass uprising
that would overthrow Castro.
It didn’t! Cuban forces, backed
by Soviet tanks and jet aircraft,
easily repelled the exile invasion.
Critical Thinking Question#3:
How did the Bay of Pigs invasion affect the Cold War?

14. Cuban Missile Crisis In October, 1962, photographs taken
by American planes
revealed Soviet
missile bases in
Cuba-and some
contained missiles
ready to launch.
They could reach
U.S. cities in
minutes.
Kennedy Addresses the Nation

15. On October 22,
Kennedy ordered
a naval blockade
of Cuba to prevent
further deliveries
of Soviet weapons.
He also demanded
that the Soviets
remove the missiles.
Khrushchev promised to
challenge the blockade,
calling it “outright banditry.”

16. Kennedy and Berlin One of the high points of Kennedy’s foreign
travels was a trip he
made to Berlin in 1963
to dramatize America’s
commitment to West
Berlin and West Germany.
In a speech at the Berlin
Wall, Kennedy electrified
an audience of about 150,000
Germans by stating , “Ich bin
ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner),
thus declaring the solidarity of
all free people with the people
of West Berlin.
Ich bin ein Berliner Speech

17. Kennedy’s “New Frontier”
This was an extension of FDR’s New Deal and Truman’s Fair Deal.
Kennedy will quickly be at odds with business leaders in the United States, especially in steel.
Critical Thinking Question #4:
Based on what you know about Kennedy’s economic policies, why would big business leaders likely be at odds with Kennedy?

18. Kennedy and Steel
Kennedy told steel companies to hold down prices to allow economic growth, but they didn’t listen.
He threatened them by saying the US would buy foreign steel and sent the Justice Department to investigate their business practices.

19. Other “New Frontier” Ideas
Kennedy went to work on funding public schools by passing new bills.
He tried fighting poverty in the South and in big cities.
He supported the Area Development Act which encouraged businesses to move into economically depressed areas.
The Housing Act asked for $5 billion for urban renewal
Critical Thinking Question #5
What impact did Kennedy’s New Frontier programs have on the American economy in the 1960’s?

20. Kennedy at Odds
Kennedy was frequently at odds with the legislative branch.
Southern senators and representatives blocked many of the measures that he tried to pass partly because he was for civil rights.

21. Kennedy’s Death
When Kennedy went to Dallas, Texas to try and stir up support for his programs, he was assassinated on November 22, 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald
Harvey Oswald was arrested for the crime, and was assassinated himself shortly thereafter.

22. Oswald’s Assassination
Critical Thinking Question #5
How do you think America was affected by the Kennedy assassination?

23. Brown vs. Board of Education
Warren Court Reforms
Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court issued a number of decisions that altered the voting system, expanded due process, and reinterpreted aspects of the First Amendment.
Supreme Court Case
What did it establish?
Brown vs. Board of Education
Yates vs. United States
Baker vs. Carr
Engel vs. Vitale
Gideon vs. Wainwright
Miranda vs. Arizona

24. Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon B. Johnson would take over for Kennedy.
Only 5 days after Kennedy’s death, Johnson made a speech to the American public saying he would continue on with JFK’s plans.
He came up with a new term for the new America called the Great Society.

25. Johnson’s Great Society Programs

26. Other Johnson Programs
Johnson passed the Medicare Act through Congress.
He responded to immigration by passing the Immigration Act which allowed more people from the far east and deleted the national quota system.
“MEDICARE begins tomorrow. Tomorrow, for the first time, nearly every older American will receive hospital care-not as an act of charity, but as the insured right of a senior citizen. Since I signed the historic Medicare act last summer, we have made more extensive preparation to launch this program than for any other peaceful undertaking in our Nation's history.”
– Lyndon B. Johnson

27. Johnson’s Great Society
Johnson tried to fight poverty, pollution, unemployment, discrimination, and everything else that was wrong with this country.
To fight poverty and unemployment, Johnson launched the Office of Economic Opportunity
Critical Thinking Question #6
In what ways is society still be affected by Johnson’s Great Society programs and philosophies?

28. Downfall of Johnson’s Presidency
Even with all the good things Johnson was attempting to do, his government spending was out of hand.
The midterm elections of 1966 allowed the Republicans to gain seats in both houses of Congress—which slowed down Johnson’s legislative program.
The Vietnam War was part of the problem because it was eating up $20 billion a year.

29. 1960’s: An Important Time
During Johnson presidency, the American public had become deeply divided.
We had seen the emergence of the youth during this time, but we also saw three of the most important young people killed (JFK, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy)
Division would continue into Nixon’s presidency.

30. Journal Activity
In your journal use specific examples of government solutions and whether or not you think they worked. Be specific and give examples. Make sure your answer is at least seven sentences.