President Kennedy 1961 -1963 Nuclear war AND Poverty concerns Bay of Pigs invasion Cuba April 1961 – huge failure Berlin Wall goes up summer 1961 – Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev challenges him US launches Apollo space program 1961 – to the moon (1969 first landing)

Cuban Missile Crisis October 1962

Origins of the War on Poverty Some Statistics: 1962 25% Americans live below the poverty level 1962 almost 50% African Americans live in Northern cities 1962 Harrington’s The Other American President Johnson declares an “unconditional war on poverty in America.” 1964

War on poverty called “Great Society” Key laws (1964 – 65): Head Start, VISTA (domestic Peace Corps) Medicare (senior health care) and Medicaid (health insurance for the poor