1. Topic: Assessing the Presidency of John F. Kennedy
Do Now:
“JFK clearly represents the youthful spirit of the 1960s. His demeanor and outlook spoke to a younger generation of Americans. JFK championed the underprivileged, while displaying a vision of what American greatness could be. This is why JFK is held by many to be a great President”
Assess the validity of this statement

2. John F. Kennedy: The “New Frontier”
Eisenhower’s “Military Industrial Complex” Speech
1960 Election: Nixon vs. Kennedy (TV debates)
JFK wins, “New Frontier” program proposed- social welfare initiatives
NASA created
Not all Dems agree on new spending
JFK moderates his “tone”
Tax cuts
1962 Steel problem
Kennedy and Civil Rights

3. Kennedy Foreign Policy
Peace Corps
Berlin Wall incident
JFK vs. the “Common Market” (EU)
JFK sends “advisors” to help Diem gov’t of Vietnam (1961)
Bay of Pigs (1961) Cuba
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
JFK vs. Khrushchev (and Castro)

4. Cuban Missile Crisis

5. Kennedy’s Assassination
November 22, 1963
Kennedy assassinated in Texas
Oswald Jack Ruby
Warren Commission
Lyndon B. Johnson becomes President
LBJ convinces the nation to pass Civil Rights and social welfare bills to “honor JFK’s memory”

7. Conclusion
If you were an historian, how would you rate the Kennedy Administration? Use specific examples to justify your assessment of Kennedy.