1. THE NEW FRONTIER AND THE GREAT SOCIETY
CHAPTER 24
THE NEW FRONTIER AND THE GREAT SOCIETY

2. CH SECT.1
ELECTION OF 1960
JOHN F. KENNEDY (DEM.) VS. RICHARD NIXON (REP.)
TV DEBATE - FIRST EVER
ISSUES - ECONOMY AND COLD WAR VERY CLOSE ELECTION BUT JFK WON
WHY WOULD A TV DEBATE FAVOR JFK OVER NIXON?
OLD VS. YOUNG
POOR QUAKER FAMILY VS. WEALTHY AFFLUENT FAMILY
ATTRACTIVE VS. UNATTRACTIVE

3. KENNEDY
During his campaign JFK exposed the public to the “missile gap” - the fact we lagged behind the USSR in technology
Inauguration Day - “Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country”
Domestic front “New Frontier” - objective was to aid education, health insurance for the elderly, Department of Urban Affairs, help migrant workers.
Difficult to pass - big Gov., too costly

4. KENNEDY Things he did get passed:
1. Allowed to deficit spend - spend money on credit
2. Spending for defense and space
3. Tax cut, min. wage to $1.25.
4. Advanced rights for women
Esther Peterson - assistant sec. of labor
Created Presidential Commission on the Status of Women - called for federal action for equal pay

5. Warren Court
Miranda vs. Arizona

6. Supreme Court Earl Warren - chief justice Activist - one man, one vote
Reapportionment - changed the way political districts are divided, power shifted to urban areas (cities) - Reynolds v. Sims “one man, one vote”

7. Supreme Court
Began to apply 14th Amendment to states “No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law”
Gideon v. Wainwright - right to a lawyer
Miranda v. Arizona - must read suspects their rights (Miranda warnings)
Several cases reaffirmed separation of church and state - limited prayer in school

8. Ch. 23 - sect. 2 JFK and the Cold War
Kennedy believed Eisenhower relied to heavily on nuclear weapons - massive retaliation
“Flexible Response” - JFK’s belief that the U.S. had to help countries in other ways
-build up conventional weapons and troops
- created special forces
“Green Beret”

9. Aid to other countries
JFK believed that poor conditions in Latin American countries spurred corruption and overthrows
Alliance for Progress - cooperative aid projects in Latin America ($20 billion)
Peace Corp- organization that sent young Americans to perform humanitarian projects

10. Space Race U.S. and USSR competing for dominance in space
Neil Armstrong -1st person to step on moon
Alan Sheppard - 1st American launched into space
John Glenn - 1st American to orbit the earth

11. Crisis of the Cold War Bay of Pigs Invasion - Cuba
Fidel Castro overthrew Batista in Cuba (1959) and Cuba became allies with the USSR.
Eisenhower told CIA to begin training Cuban exiles - La Brigada
Kennedy approved the plan
April 17, 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion begins and ends in disaster

12. Bay of Pigs Why was it such a disaster?
1. Castro had been warned they were coming
2. Boats had a lot of trouble in the bay
3. The people of Cuba never rose up and turned against Castro
4. U.S. command post cancels air support and leaves the exiles to be killed or captured

13. Bay of Pigs Invasion

14. Berlin Wall Goes Up
Germans were leaving East Germany and moving to West Germany
1961 Nikita Khruschev built the Berlin Wall to stop this, stayed up until 1989
Wall was 12 ft. high / 4 feet wide and 96 miles long
231 people were killed trying to escape

15. Cuban Missile Crisis
CIA brings JFK pictures of missile launching pads being constructed in Cuba by the Soviet Union
Robert Kennedy - JFK’s brother and Attorney General
Robert proposed a Naval Blockade around Cuba
Oct. 22 , 1962 blockade begins - The President informs the country
Khruschev agrees to remove the bases if :
U.S. removes their bases in Turkey
U.S. agreed to leave Cuba alone

16. Cuban Missile Crisis

17. Kennedy Assassination
November 22, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas
Accused - Lee Harvey Oswald
Shot from the book depository (3 shots fired)
Jack Ruby - Dallas nightclub owner shot Oswald while he was being transferred

18. Conspiracy Theory Did Lee Harvey Oswald actually act alone?
Warren Commission - group set up by government to investigate the shooting
Earl Warren - Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in charge of the investigation
-found that Oswald acted alone
Lyndon B. Johnson (JFK’s VP) - became President in 1963

19. Ch sect. 3
Lyndon Johnson is the only President ever sworn in on Air Force One
Brought 26 years of political experience to the Presidency
He was able to get things done - help bring consensus to Gov. - general agreement
Anti- poverty campaign - passed the Economic Opportunity Act - help fight poverty and create jobs

20. Sect. 3 continued 1964 Election LBJ (Dem) vs. Barry Goldwater (Rep)
LBJ won in a landslide
GREAT SOCIETY - LBJ’s vision that the U.S. should work for a better society
Major Great Society Programs:
Civil rights act, Medicare, Medicaid, head start, housing, clean air
Robert Weaver - 1st African American to serve in a cabinet position - Sec. of Labor

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