A Changing Home Front 1954 to 1978

1960 Presidential Campaign  People happy with Eisenhower  22 nd Amendment

1960 Presidential Campaign Republicans  Richard Nixon  Eisenhower’s Vice President  Henry Cabot Lodge (V.P) Democrats  John F. Kennedy  Senator for Massachusetts  wit, good looks, WWII veteran record  …but Roman Catholic (assures voters of the importance of church and state)  Lyndon B. Johnson (V.P.)

1960 Presidential Campaign  Nixon argues maturity and experience  Television debates  com/watch?v=4oLYq UT24Vk com/watch?v=4oLYq UT24Vk  4 television debates  Appearances???

John F. Kennedy  “we wouldn’t have had a prayer without that gadget”  First Roman Catholic president  First president born in the 20 th century  Closest election in U.S. history…Kennedy won by less than 1/2 percent of the total vote  Age 43…youngest U.S. president

Kennedy’s Foreign Policy  Follows Cold War policies of predecessors  Does not want to rely on the threat of nuclear war solely  Prefers to have a number of options… Flexible Response  Increases defense spending to boost military forces…non nuclear forces (troops, ships, artillery)  Special Forces – Green Berets  Tripled nuclear capabilities

Foreign Aid  Programs designed to help Africa, Asia, Latin America  Strengthen developing nations to avoid communist take over  Peace Corps – American volunteers sent to work for two years in developing countries  ch?v=ARN1Hzxo2bg&feature=r elmfu ch?v=ARN1Hzxo2bg&feature=r elmfu

Peace Corps…now Serving 68 countries…U.S. appropriates $400 billion annually Volunteers 1960 – 7, – 5, – 10, – 8,655

Latin America  Alliance for Progress Program  Economic aid to Latin America  In exchange for billions of dollars, they would begin democratic reforms  Failure – population expanding, more money than the U.S. was willing to provide  Money was falling into the hands of corrupt politicians  Few leaders actually willing to enact new reforms

Fidel Castro  led an uprising that overthrew the current dictator in Cuba and established a communist style dictatorship tied to Soviet Union  Castro “the reason president Kennedy can’t sleep at night”  Only 90 miles from the U.S.  CIA operation to overthrow Castro

The Bay of Pigs  Invasion is a disaster  1500 rebels landed at Bay of Pigs but were quickly defeated  U.S. naval and air support never arrived  Uprising doesn’t strike support from Cubans  Cuban military forces crush the movement and imprison 1200 rebels  ch?v=8qXZp8bxpNY ch?v=8qXZp8bxpNY

The Bay of Pigs  Made the U.S. look “like fools to our friends, rascals to our enemies, and incompetents to the rest”  Brings Cuban leaders closer to Soviet Union

Cuban Missile Crisis w.youtube. com/watc h?v=Snc4g 8yAURo

Berlin Crisis  Nikita Khrushchev thinks that Kennedy is and weak and can be intimidated  Ultimatum: West must recognize the sovereignty of communist East Germany and remove all troops from West Berlin.  Kennedy doesn’t give in…does not want to lose the confidence of Americans  Berlin Wall erected…most widely recognized symbol of the Cold War  OfphFsUwM OfphFsUwM  ubyOIpw ubyOIpw

Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty  Historic turning point, sobered by the brush with nuclear war  1963 – Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty – signed by U.S., Soviet Union, Great Britain  End testing of nuclear bombs in the atmosphere and underwater.  Hot Line – teletype line enabled the leaders of the two countries (U.S. & Soviet Union) to communicate directly during a crisis

The Kennedy White House

The Kennedy Charisma  Captures the hearts of many Americans  Popularity – has to request that people stop sending items of” Congrats!” to the White House  Popularity stems from  Cool intellectual personality  Good looks  Athletic appearance  Handsome features  “Profiles in Courage”  Wins Pulitzer Prize

The First Family  Jacqueline “Jackie” Kennedy  Contributes to the glamour and mystique  Women admire her…all over the world  “I'd like to shake her hand first” and “the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it”  Brings an appreciation for the arts to the White House  Televised Tour of the White House  v3w v3w  Americans are also fascinated by the children  Caroline  John Jr….born a few weeks after the election

Effects on Youth  Young people find Kennedy inspiring  Public appearances draw huge crowds of young people…responding to his call for service and sacrifice  “I’d never done anything political, patriotic, or unselfish because no one ever asked me to. Kennedy asked.”  “Having faith in young Americans may be a simple idea, but it works.”  w&feature=relmfu w&feature=relmfu

Kennedy Public Appearance  Avoids photos  Wearing reading glasses  Lighting to hide double chin  Unhealthy  Struggles with illness throughout life  Addison’s Disease  Back issues

Kennedy’s Advisers  Use government to solve national & global problems  Surrounds himself with others that share his version  Wants the “best and brightest,” well educated…”there’s nothing like brains. You can’t beat brains.”  Not everyone impressed

Robert McNamara Secretary of Defense Harvard Business School Grad Dean Rusk Secretary of State Rhodes Scholar McGeorge Bundy National Security Affairs Dean at Harvard Bobby Kennedy Attorney General Law School Grad (never practiced) “I need you….I need someone I know to talk to in this government” *proves to be his closest adviser

Domestic Frontier  Kennedy’s agenda becomes known as the “New Frontier”  Economy  Manage without disrupting business  Elects a Republican as the Secretary of Treasury to appear bipartisan

Economic Matters  Rising unemployment and inflation  Increase government spending  Persuades labor & business to informal wage and price controls  Stop raising prices of goods  Fewer wage increases  Steel Industry breaks this informal agreement  “Some time ago I asked each American to consider what he would do for this country and I asked the steel companies. In the last twenty-four hours we had their answer.”

Kennedy and Congress  Little cooperation from Congress Southern Democrats and conservative Republicans oppose Kennedy’s agenda and blocked most of the domestic programs  May 1962 –small dip in economy…asks Congress to reduce taxes…fails  Legislation to assist older Americans in paying medical bills and education funding legislation also fail

Helping the Disadvantaged  JFK ranks among the wealthiest presidents  Donates salary ($100,000) to charity  Seeks to help the poor  Area Development Act (ARA) – help economically distressed areas-  “The Other America” – book published  Shatters public notion that EVERYONE prospered in the 1950s  42 million live on less that $1,000 per year  Racism among poor African Americans  Calls on America’s leaders to change this  Work impresses Kennedy

Tragedy in Dallas  In Texas to build support for 1964 election  Dallas - November 22, 1963  Open-car motorcade  Lyndon B. Johnson sworn in within hours  Lee Harvey Oswald arrested  Televised funeral  Jack Ruby shoots Oswald  Many people call it a conspiracy  President Johnson calls for the Warren Commission to investigate