American Stories: A History of the United States Second Edition Chapter American Stories: A History of the United States, Second Edition Brands Breen Williams Gross The Turbulent Sixties 1960–

Kennedy Versus Nixon: The first televised Presidential candidate debate

The Turbulent Sixties 1960–1968 Kennedy Intensifies the Cold War The New Frontier at Home LBJ’s Great Society Johnson Escalates the Vietnam War Years of Turmoil The Return of Richard Nixon

Kennedy Versus Nixon: The First Televised Presidential Debate Kennedy Versus Nixon: The First Televised Presidential Debate Kennedy’s campaign: the “New Frontier” Won over African American voters by releasing Martin Luther King Jr. from jail 1960 Democratic victory paper thin but marked sharp shift

Map 30.1

Kennedy Intensifies the Cold War

John F. Kennedy a "Cold Warrior" Kennedy advisors supported U.S. hard line against Russia

Containment in Southeast Asia Kennedy saw Southeast Asia as focus of U.S.-Soviet rivalry  Supported Saigon’s Diem regime  Sent 16,000 American military "advisors" November, 1963: Coup against Diem  Kennedy accepted  Coup further destabilized South Vietnam U.S. involvement in Vietnam deepened

Containing Castro: The Bay of Pigs Fiasco Kennedy supported “anti-Castro forces in exile” Bay of Pigs invasion a part of 1960 CIA plan under Eisenhower

Containing Castro: The Bay of Pigs Fiasco (cont’d) April, : Invasion  1,400 Cuban exiles land without expected U.S. military support  Defeated within 48 hours Kennedy took responsibility in defiant speech against “communist penetration”

Containing Castro: The Cuban Missile Crisis October, 1962: Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba; U.S. imposes naval blockade, world on brink of nuclear war Military wants to invade Cuba, Kennedy does not Khrushchev agreed to remove missiles in return for American promise to never invade Cuba and remove Jupiter missiles from Turkey

Aerial photographs taken by a U-2 reconnaissance plane flying over Cuba revealed the presence of Russian missile sites under construction on the island. Recently released information about the type and number of Soviet nuclear warheads in Cuba reveals just how imminent was the threat of nuclear war had the Soviets not capitulated to U.S. demands for removal of the missiles.

Containing Castro: The Cuban Missile Crisis (cont’d) Kennedy ignored second request made appeal for peace Triumph for Kennedy; Democrats gain Congress Moderating the Cold War but Russia began naval, nuclear buildup

The New Frontier at Home

Kennedy staff competent, activist Seeks legislative and economic reform JFK the administration’s greatest asset

Moving Slowly on Civil Rights Downplay civil rights legislation to avoid alienating Southern Democrats May, 1961: Federal marshals sent to protect Birmingham freedom riders 1962: Federal marshals, National Guard to University of Mississippi 1963: Deputy attorney general faced down George Wallace at University of Alabama

The attempts of African Americans to end discrimination and secure their civil rights met with violent resistance in Birmingham, Alabama, where police used snarling dogs, fire hoses, clubs, and electric cattle prods to turn back the unarmed demonstrators.

"I Have a Dream" May, 1963: Violent police suppression of nonviolent protestors in Birmingham  Kennedy intervened on side of blacks  Congress asked for civil-rights laws August, 1963: MLK led march on Washington Kennedy record disappointing to supporters, ultimately effective

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., addresses the crowd at the March on Washington in August In his speech, King recounted the difficulties of blacks’ struggle for freedom, then stirred the crowd with the description of his dream for America: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed—we hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal.”

LBJ’s Great Society

November 22, 1963: JFK assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald Lyndon Johnson promised to continue Kennedy’s programs Johnson resolved that Kennedy did not “live or die in vain”

Johnson in Action

Poor image on television Effective manager of Congress Spring, 1964: Kennedy’s tax cut passed

President Johnson applies the “Johnson treatment” to Senator Theodore Francis Green of Rhode Island. A shrewd politician and master of the legislative process, Johnson always knew which votes he could count on, those he couldn’t, and where and how to apply pressure to swing votes his way.

Johnson in Action (cont’d) July 2: Civil Rights Act  Banned public segregation  Established Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to lessen job discrimination  Protected voting rights  Amended to include women in an attempt to reduce support for it

The Election of : Johnson launched “war on poverty”  Programs included Head Start, Job Corps, Community Action Programs  Encouraged self-help  Reduced poverty Johnson won landslide election against Republican Barry Goldwater

TABLE 30.1 The Election of 1964

The Triumph of Reform 1965: Great Society legislation advanced beyond New Deal Medicare Medicaid Elementary and Secondary Education Act Voting Rights Act

Johnson Escalates the Vietnam War

Hawkish foreign policy continued 1965: Troops sent to Dominican Republic Determined not to "lose" Vietnam to the Communists

The Vietnam Dilemma 1964: Saigon on the verge of collapse Johnson’s initial response  Refused to send American combat forces  Economic aid  Military advisers  Covert actions August 1964: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gives Johnson authority to escalate in Vietnam

Escalation U.S. effort intended to bring Hanoi into peace negotiations Policy of secrecy and deceit to assure Americans of Vietnam’s insignificance and keep Vietnam from endangering the Great Society Johnson’s “sins” in Vietnam were secrecy, deceit, and the refusing to admit he had committed U.S. to dangerous conflict

Map 30.2 Southeast Asia and the Vietnam War American combat forces in South Vietnam rose from 16,000 in 1963 to 500,000 in 1968, but a successful conclusion to the conflict was no closer.

Stalemate 1968: 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam War of attrition increased American losses, enraged South Vietnamese Johnson’s tactics failed to win the war Americans gradually turned against the war

U.S. troops wade through marshland during an operation on South Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. Although the United States conducted thousands of air strikes over North Vietnam and committed a half million troops to the South, it failed to win the advantage.

Years of Turmoil

Exceptional unrest at home Continued escalation of Vietnam war

Protesting the Vietnam War October, 1967: 100,000 protesters besieged the Pentagon Demonstrations suppressed by a combination of force, concessions

The Cultural Revolution Rejection of older values through  Sexual expression  Clothing  Drugs  Music Some extremism provoked outrage Serious challenge to hypocrisy of American society

"Black Power" 1964–1967: Riots in northern cities Rise of militant leaders  Black separatism  Armed struggle MLK led anti-poverty crusade April, 1968: MLK assassinated Militancy increased African American pride

Ethnic Nationalism Multiple groups emulated African American movement 1965: César Chávez organized National Farm Workers’ Association Chicanos won federal mandate for bilingual education

In March 1966, César Chávez, shown here talking with workers, led striking grape pickers on a 250- mile march from Delano, California, to the state capital at Sacramento to dramatize the plight of the migrant farm workers.

Women’s Liberation 1963: Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique New feminist activism  1964 Civil Rights Act used to attack inequality in employment  Pro-choice advocacy on abortion  Sought to toughen enforcement of rape laws 1972: Congress sent Equal Rights Amendment to the states

Betty Friedan authored the groundbreaking book, The Feminine Mystique. In the work, Friedan castigated advertisers, educators, and others for promoting what she labeled the feminine mystique—the idea that women could find fulfillment only in their roles as wives and mothers.

The Return of Richard Nixon

1968: A year of turmoil  Presidential election  Turning point in the Vietnam War  Massive protests in the streets Richard Nixon election demonstrated desire for national reconciliation

Vietnam Undermines Lyndon Johnson 1968: Tet Offensive led to conclusion that Vietnam war cannot be won March: Johnson announced he will not seek another term as president

The Republican Resurgence Republicans united on Richard Nixon George Wallace’s third party candidacy drew Democratic votes Nixon won narrow victory

Map 30.3

Conclusion: The End of an Era

Election of 1968 ended 30-year era of liberal reform, activist foreign policy Americans sought less intrusive government

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