1. The Kennedy and Johnson Years
Chapter 22
The Kennedy and Johnson Years

2. The New Frontier-Domestic (USA) agenda
Section 1
The New Frontier-Domestic (USA) agenda

3. 1960 election JFK vs. Nixon Kennedy Democrat Young/ 43 yrs old
Catholic
14 yrs experience in House of Rep, but w/o major role
U.S. Navy WWII
Nixon
Republican
Experienced; VP under Eisenhower;
U.S. Navy; lieutenant commander in Pacific
Senator from California
Major role in Alger Hiss investigation

4. Kennedy’s campaign
Kennedy promised to “get America moving again” and spur the sluggish economy
Used the media to his advantage

5. Kennedy-Nixon debates
Nixon believed that he would slaughter Kennedy in the debates because he was skilled in foreign policy
Kennedy looked good! He used TV to his advantage
Radio listeners thought that Nixon won; TV viewers thought JFK won.

6. Kennedy arrived to debates rested and tan
Kennedy arrived to debates rested and tan. He felt comfortable in front of camera.
Nixon was pasty white and tried to cover “five o’clock shadow” with makeup stick called “Lazy Shave”. When he sweated in front of the tv lights, the make up ran down his face.

7. Kennedy wins, but lacks a mandate(Popular support).
JFK had courted the black vote, so he chose LBJ, a powerful Senator from Texas, to balance the ticket.

8. The New Frontier JFK’s domestic program
Proposed tax cut to end economic slump- plan got stuck in Congress (lacked mandate, remember?)
After publication of The Other America, by Michael Herrington, proposed plan to give federal education and medical aid- both failed in Congress
Senior citizens at Welfare Department, New York City 1960.

9. JFK - more domestic policy
Increased minimum wage
24th amendment- outlawed poll tax
Equal Pay Act – equal pay for equal work
Housing Act 1961 – urban renewal for slum areas

10. The Space Program
goal to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade

11. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the moon was reached on July 20, He would not be alive to see it.
Neil Armstrong – first man to land on
the moon

12. Kennedy Assassinated November 22, 1963
JFK and John Connally were shot by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in an open car in a Dallas motorcade.
Connally recovered; JFK mortally wounded.

13. Lee Harvey Oswald killed by Jack Ruby

14. Warren Commission
The Warren Commission finds that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin and acted alone.

15. The Great Society-LBJ’s domestic policy agenda
Section 2
The Great Society-LBJ’s domestic policy agenda

16. Lyndon Baines Johnson sworn in as President.

17. The Great Society LBJ’s domestic policy agenda
Poverty, education, healthcare, voting rights, conservation, urban renewal, economic development
Used legacy of JFK to push through his Civil Rights Act of 1964.

18. LBJ’s War on Poverty
Economic Opportunity Act- designed to combat illiteracy, and unemployment; gave $950 million dollars for projects
Head Start –preschool program for healthcare, nutrition, and social services
VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America)- sent people to help in poor communities

19. Medicaid and Medicare
Medicare –hospital and low-cost medical insurance to Americans 65 and older
Medicaid –provides low-cost health insurance coverage to poor Americans of any age who cannot afford it

20. Warren Court- Chief Justice Earl Warren
Increased the rights of those accused of a crime

21. Warren Court- “One man, one vote”
Apportionment –seats in the legislature must be equally divided among the electoral districts; designed to fix the problem of rural areas receiving more representation in the legislature

22. Johnson accomplished many things, but the war in Vietnam would cost him funding for his Great Society programs.

23. Foreign Policy in the Early 1960s
Section 3
Foreign Policy in the Early 1960s

24. Bay of Pigs Invasion April 17, 1961
John F. Kennedy followed a CIA plan from Eisenhower’s administration to overthrow Castro using American trained Cuban rebels
Fidel Castro is communist.

25. Bay of Pigs=failure U.S. Air Force failed to take out Cuba’s air force
Castro’s troops easily defeated 1,500 U.S. supported rebels
JFK refused to use American planes to support invaders

26. Results of Failure of Bay of Pigs
Loose respect in Latin America
JFK looks inexperienced and incompetent –remember this was what he was accused of in the election

27. Berlin Crisis
Soviets wish to stop the large number of East Germans that were escaping to West Germany through Berlin (doctors, teachers, industrial workers, etc)
Soviets built the Berlin Wall – this became a symbol of the Cold War

28. Cuban Missile Crisis
Soviets were building missile bases in Cuba, 90 miles off coast of U.S.
Kennedy used a naval quarantine around Cuba to deter the operation and placed the American military on full alert with bombers armed with nuclear weapons

29. Cuban Missile Crisis resolved
Soviet Union would remove missiles if Kennedy promised to end quarantine and stay out of Cuba
The Soviet Union also demanded that the U.S. remove missiles from Turkey

30. Limited Test Ban Treaty
Banned nuclear testing above ground

31. JFK’s Alliance for Progress
$20 billion dollars to Latin America over ten years to improve the basic needs of people living there and to prevent revolution

32. JFK’s Peace Corps
Sent volunteers to foreign countries in peace to help with education, health care, construction, etc.
Designed to improve the standard of living in poor countries

33. Lyndon Johnson’s involvement in Vietnam
Wanted to prevent the spread of communism for North Vietnam into South Vietnam
By 1963 sent 16,000 military advisors to South Vietnam
Gave economic aid to South Vietnam
Involvement in Vietnam took funding away from Great Society programs