1. JFK’s New Frontier

2. Election of 1960
Senator John F. Kennedy vs. Vice President Richard M. Nixon
Kennedy
Young (43 years old)
Young family (wife and two children)
Irish-Catholic from Massachusetts
Wealthy background
Outgoing, relaxed, optimistic, energetic
Nixon
Quaker from California
Financial hardship
Stiff, older
More experience

3. Election of 1960 Major Issues Television Debates Kennedy Wins
Economy- boost
Cold War- stop the spread of communism
Television Debates
Television advertising for campaigns
Influenced election outcome
First time Presidential debates were televised
Nixon looked sweaty and nervous
Kennedy appeared calm, collected, and relaxed
Kennedy Wins

4. New Frontier New Frontier- Kennedy’s Domestic Agenda Hoped to:
Increase aid to education
Provide health insurance to the elderly
Create Department of Urban Affairs
Difficult to pass new programs- little support from Congress
Victories
Invested in defense and space exploration
Raised minimum wage
Area Redevelopment Act
Housing Act

5. Women’s Rights Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, 1961
Federal action against gender discrimination
Right of women to equal pay
Equal Pay Act, 1963
Inspired similar groups at state levels
Study the status of women
Women worked in important positions in Kennedy Administration
Esther Peterson- Assistant Secretary of Labor, Director of the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor

6. People with Disabilities
President’s Panel on Mental Retardation,
1961
Fund research
developmental disabilities
educational and vocational programs for people with disabilities
Residential (instead of institutional) treatment centers
Grants for prenatal services for women in low-income groups
Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963
Grants for research centers
Funds for training educational personnel
Grants for construction of mental health centers

7. People with Disabilities
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, JFK’s sister
Camp Shriver, home day camp for children with developmental disabilities
Offered people with disabilities a chance to compete physically
Later became the Special Olympics program
First Special Olympics Games held in Chicago, 1968