The 1960’s

A. Kennedy’s Domestic Policies

Plans: New Frontier Education Medical Care for the Elderly Urban Renewal Tax Cuts End Racial Discrimination

Failures Most not passed due to resistance in Congress After his death Johnson is able to pass many of JFK’s programs

Space Race Americans were behind in the Space Race Kennedy promoted $24 billion project to land Americans on the moon 1969, Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong

B. LBJ Takes Over

The Assassination of a President Nov 22, 1963 Kennedy is shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested

Warren Commission Commission led by Earl Warren that investigated JFK’s assassination Concluded that Oswald was a lone gunman

The New President Pledged to continue Kennedy’s policies Got Kennedy’s Civil Rights bill (Civil Rights Act of 1964) and tax cut bill passed One of the few Southern Democrats in favor of Civil Rights

C. The Election of 1964

Nominees Barry Goldwater (Rep) Wanted to abolish social welfare programs and use Nukes in Vietnam Lyndon Johnson (Dem) Promised a Great Society and would not cause Nuclear War

Campaign Daisy Ad campaign highlights the belief that electing Goldwater would mean nuclear war Goldwater not popular with moderate Republicans

The Results Johnson wins by a landslide

D. The Great Society

The War on Poverty million Americans were considered poor Attributed to loss of unskilled jobs Office of Economic Opportunity (1964) –Job Training –Legal Services –Scholarships

Head Start (1965) Pre-school program Help disadvantaged children prepare for school Programs also passed to aid elementary and secondary schools

Medicare Act of 1965 Health insurance for the elderly Medicade – health insurance for the low income

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Provided low-income housing $2.9 billion to urban renewal

Immigration Act of 1965 Undid National Origins Act of st come, 1 st served Precedence given to: –Family ties –Skills necessary for the U.S. –Political Refugees Did set limits –120,000 from Western Hemisphere –170,000 from Eastern Hemisphere

Impact of Immigration Act Opened the floodgates –Latin America (esp Mexico) –Asia (Southeast Asia) –Caribbean Sunbelt most impacted Increase in illegal immigration began

Johnson’s Legacy Achievements compared to FDR’s New Deal Poverty reduced from 22% to 13% Great Society overshadowed and under-funded because of Vietnam War

E. Election of 1968

Problems with the 1968 Election LBJ decides not to run because of Vietnam

Assassination of MLK & Race Riots Killed April 4, 1968 Sparked race riots in major U.S. cities

Bobby Kennedy (Dem) is assassinated after California primary (June 1968)

Riot in Chicago at the Democratic Convention between police and anti-war activists

Nominees Richard Nixon (Rep) Promised to restore law and order Hubert Humphrey (Dem) Represented all of the problems of the country

George Wallace (Am. Ind) Ran on a campaign of pro-segregation

Results Nixon wins, but is a minority president

F. American Culture 1960’s Version

Impact of Baby Boomers ↑ affluent youth + ↑ jobs requiring post-high school skills = ↑ college students million college students 1968 – 7 million college students Exposure to ideas that challenged traditional views

New Left Influenced by the Beats of the 1950’s Liberal political movement of the 1960’s Wanted a participatory democracy, critiqued Am. values, and anti-conformity Opposed “The Establishment” Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) epitomized this movement –Anti-war –Pro-Civil Rights –Free Speech

Counterculture Grew out of the New Left Was a way of life rather than just a political movement Wanted a lifestyle of drug use, free love, and a rejection of adult authority

Hippies becames the most known counterculture movement Fought for racial equality, women's rights, sexual liberation, relaxation of prohibitions against recreational drugs, and an end to the Vietnam War

Hippie culture was best embodied by the new genre of psychedelic rock music The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Janis Joplin.

G. Societal Changes of the 1960’s

Sexual Revolution Challenged traditional values of pre- marital sex as taboo Encouraged by mass marketing of birth control “Free Love” – separating sex from procreation Became part of the youth rebellion

Breakdown of the Family By 1965, divorce rates were on the rise TV replaced parenting

Women’s Rights Eleanor Roosevelt began to highlight the inequalities women faced Betty Friedan – The Feminine Mystique (1963) explored how unfulfilling women found being housewives The middle class suburban dream had become a nightmare Began the Feminist Movement “The suburban home is a comfortable concentration camp”

National Organization of Women (NOW) founded in 1966 Called for equal employment opportunities and equal pay Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) began in 1967 but ultimately failed