Kennedy’s New Frontier CH.20.2 (W/ OUT ASSASSINATION)

New Frontier o President Kennedy set out to transform his broad vision of progress into what he called the New Frontier. “We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier,” Kennedy had announced upon accepting the nomination of president. He called upon Americans to be “new pioneers” and explore “uncharted areas of science and space… unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.” o Kennedy had difficulty turning his vision into reality, however. o He offered Congress proposals to provide medical care for the aged, rebuild blighted urban areas, and aid education, but he couldn’t gather enough votes. o Kennedy faced the same conservative coalition of Republican and Southern Democrats that had blocked President Truman’s plans for domestic legislation through Congress. o Since Kennedy had been elected by the slimmest of margins, he lacked a popular mandate, a clear indication that voters approved of his plans. President Kennedy lacked a popular mandate. What is a mandate?

o Because Kennedy did not have a popular mandate, he often played it safe politically. Nevertheless, Kennedy did persuade Congress to enact measures to boost the economy, build the national defense, provide international aid, and fund massive space programs. o One domestic problem the Kennedy team tackled was the economy. o By 1960 America was in a recession. o Unemployment hovered around 6%, one of the highest levels of unemployment since WWII. o During Kennedy’s presidential campaign, he had criticized Eisenhower for failing to stimulate economic growth. The American economy, he said, was lagging behind those of Western democracies and the Soviet Union. What type of programs was Kennedy able to get Congress to pass? What president took on the responsibility of fixing the economy? In your opinion, is it the President’s job to create jobs or put an end to a recession?

o Kennedy’s advisors pushed for deficit spending, which had been the basis of Roosevelt’s New Deal. o His economic advisors believed that stimulating economic growth depended on increased gov spending and lower taxes, even it meant the gov spend more than it took in. o The economic proposals sent to Congress in 1961 called for increased spending. The Department of Defense received nearly a 20% budget increase for new nuclear missiles, nuclear submarines, and an expansion of the armed services. o Congress also approved a package to increase the minimum wage to $1.25 an hour, extended unemployment insurance, and provided aid to cities with exceptionally high unemployment rates. What is deficit spending?

Addressing Poverty Abroad o One of the first campaign promises Kennedy fulfilled was the creation of the Peace Corps, a program of volunteer assistance to the developing nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Kennedy said, “There is not enough money in all America to relieve the misery of the underdeveloped world in a giant and endless soup kitchen. But there is enough know-how and knowledgeable people to help those nations help themselves.” o Critics of the program called it “Kennedy’s Kiddie Korps” because many of the volunteers were just out of college. Some foreign critics questioned whether Americans could understand other cultures. o Despite these reservations, the Peace Corps became a huge success. People of all ages and backgrounds signed up to work as agricultural advisers, teachers, health care workers, or to do whatever work the country needed. o By 1968, more than 35,000 volunteers had served in 60 countries around the world. In Kennedy’s speech, where does the soup kitchen reference come from???

Addressing Poverty Abroad o A second foreign aid program, the Alliance for Progress, offered economic and technical assistance to Latin American countries. o Between , the U.S. invested close to $12 billion in Latin America, in part to deter these countries from picking up Fidel Castro in Cuba’s revolutionary ideas (CONTAINMENT = We are trying to stop the spread of COMMUNISM in Latin America).

o On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. (Oh, no! The commies beat America!) o Kennedy saw this as a challenge and decided that America would surpass the Soviets by sending a man to the moon! o In less than a month, the U.S. had duplicated the Soviet feat. o Later that year a communication satellite called Telstar relayed live television pictures across the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Europe. o Meanwhile, America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had begun to construct new launch facilities in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and a mission control center in Houston, Texas. 1 st American in space, Alan Shepard

America’s pride and prestige were restored. Speaking before a Houston’s Rice University, President Kennedy expressed the spirit of “the space race”: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.” September 12, 1962 According to Kennedy, what was the spirit of the space race?

o Seven years later, on July 20, 1969, the U.S. would achieve its goal. An excited nation watched with held breaths as U.S. astronaut, Neil Armstrong took his first step on the moon! o As a result of the space program, universities expanded their science programs. o The huge amount of federal funding for research and development gave rise to new industries and new technologies, many of which could be used in business and industry and also in new consumer goods. o Technology developed for the space program greatly influenced the scientific community, civilian economy, and American life. We have the space program to thank for: computers, freeze dried food, instant drinks, advances in aviation, medicine, among others. o Space and defense related industries sprang up in the Southern and Western states, which grew rapidly. What did Neil Armstrong say when he landed on the moon? What affects did the space program have on other areas of human life?

Domestic Problems o While progress was being made on new frontiers of space exploration and international aid, many Americans suffered at home. o In 1962, the problem of poverty in America was brought to national attention in Michael Harrington’s book, The Other America. Harrington profiled 50 million people in America who scraped by each year on less than $1,000 per person. (That is equivalent to appx. $7,800 today.) The number of poor shocked many Americans. o While Harrington's book awakened the nation to the nightmare of poverty, the fight against segregation took hold. Unfortunately, many of America’s poor, were also African Americans forced to live in segregation.

o Throughout the South, demonstrators raised their voices in what would become some of the most controversial civil rights battles of the 1960s. o In 1963, Kennedy began to focus more closely on the issues at home affecting Americans. He called for a “national assault on the causes of poverty”. He also ordered Robert Kennedy’s Justice Department to investigate racial injustices in the South. o He presented Congress with a sweeping civil rights bill and a proposal to cut taxes by over $10 billion. o By fall of 1963, public opinion polls showed that Kennedy was losing popularity because of his advocacy of civil rights. Kennedy, and Civil Rights, to be continued 4 th quarter…