1. The New Frontier and the Great Society
Kennedy and Johnson
Domestic Policies

2. The New Frontier Kennedy sought to provide medical care for the aged
Rebuild urban areas
Aid education
Enhance the space program
Met with Republican and Southern Democrat coalition in Congress
Lacked popular mandate: clear voter approval

3. The New Frontier Stimulating the Economy Building National Defense
Providing International Aid
Bolstering the Space Program

4. Stimulating the Economy
By 1960, America was in a recession
Unemployment 6%
Kennedy’s proposal included deficit spending to stimulate economic growth
Lowering taxes
Increase minimum wage
Extend unemployment insurance
Assistance to cities with high unemployment

5. Building National Defense
20% budget increase for nuclear missiles, nuclear submarines and expansion of armed services

6. Providing International Aid
Peace Corps: A program of volunteer assistance to Asia, Africa and Latin America
Many volunteers just out of college
Huge success; agricultural workers, teachers, health aids
By 1968, more than 35,000 volunteers in 60 nations

7. The Peace Corps

8. Providing International Aid continued…
Alliance for Progress: offered economic and technical assistance to Latin American Countries
Between , the US invested almost $12 billion in Latin America
Deter Castro’s influence

9. Announcing the Alliance for Progress

10. Bolstering the Space Program
April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin became the first man in space
Americans couldn’t believe they had lost the space race
Less than a month later, Alan Shepard took Freedom 7 into space
Kennedy saw this as a challenge; Americans would be the first to walk on the moon

11. The Soviets Go to Space

12. Bolstering the Space Program
NASA (America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration) constructed new launch facilities at Cape Canaveral, Florida and Houston, Texas
July 20, 1969 Americans sent the first man to the moon
Space program boosted science programs
Federal funding for new technologies and industry (used as consumer goods and for business )

13. Domestic Problems White flight Urban poor; The Other America
Civil rights battles
Racial injustice in the South
Civil Rights bill and $10 billion tax cut

14. Tragedy in Dallas
November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas
Kennedy was shot in the head by Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald Killed by Jack Ruby
Unanswered Questions
The Warren Commission: put together to determine if the assassination was a conspiracy
At first, the commission believed Oswald acted alone
In 1979, it was concluded Oswald was part of a conspiracy
Unanswered questions still permeate

15. Oswald Killed by Ruby

16. A Nation Mourns

17. Lyndon Baines Johnson Becomes President in the Midst of Tragedy
The Great Society
Lyndon Baines Johnson Becomes President in the Midst of Tragedy

18. Lyndon Baines Johnson

19. The Great Society Lyndon Baines Johnson Career politician
Elected to Congress in 1937
Senate in 1948
Senate majority leader in 1955
Idolized FDR and his leadership style
Legendary ability to persuade support for bills
Passage of Civil Rights Bill of 1957 (first voting rights measure since Reconstruction)
Passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964

20. Johnson’s First Days in Office

21. The War on Poverty
Economic Opportunity Act: approving nearly $1 billion for youth programs, anti-poverty measures, small business loans and job training
Job Corps Youth Training Program
VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America)
Project Head Start, an education program for underprivileged preschoolers
The Community Action Program, a program that encouraged poor people to participate in public works program

22. 1964 Election Johnson vs. Goldwater
Goldwater was a conservative senator (AZ)
Attacked social security, gov’t funded programs and wanted to sell the Tennessee Valley Authority
Suggested using nuclear weapons on Cuba and North Vietnam
LBJ’s campaign capitalized on fear; television commercial
Won by a landslide; Democrats had majority in Congress

23. LBJ’s Daisy Girl Ad

24. Building the Great Society
In a speech given at the University of Michigan, Johnson outlined his domestic vision for America
Education
Healthcare
Housing
Immigration
The Environment
Consumer Protection

25. Education
Education: “the key which can unlock the door to the Great Society”
Elementary and Secondary Education Act: $1 billion in federal aid to help public and parochial schools purchase textbooks and new library materials

26. Healthcare
Medicare: hospital insurance and low-cost medical insurance for almost every American 65 and older
Medicaid: Extended healthcare to welfare recipients

27. Medicare

28. Housing Appropriating money to build 240,000 units of low-rent housing
Establish Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Appointed first African American cabinet member as Secretary of HUD (Robert Weaver)

29. Immigration
Immigration Act and National Origins Act of 1924 established immigration quotas and discriminated against people
Barred Asians completely, southern and eastern Europeans
Immigration Act of 1965: A law that increased the number of immigrants and ended the quota based on nationality

30. The Environment
Silent Spring: a book by Rachel Carson exposing the dangers of pesticides on the environment
Water Quality Act of 1965: required states to clean up their rivers
Ordered the government to search out the worst chemical polluters
Triggered the environmental movement

31. Rachel Carson Silent Spring

32. Consumer Protection Truth in Packaging laws firmed
Safety standards for cars and tires
Ralph Nader: Unsafe at Any Speed
Wholesome Meat Act of 1967

33. The Warren Court Chief Justice Earl Warren
Activist stance on leading issues
Deemed too liberal
Deemed soft on crime
Banned state-sanctioned prayer public schools
Declared loyalty oaths unconstitutional
Limited the power of communities to censor books and films
Black armbands=free speech

34. Chief Justice Warren

35. The Warren Court continued…
Reapportionment: the way states redraw election districts based on changing number of people in them
Baker vs. Carr (1962): One person, one vote
Shifted political power from rural to urban areas

36. Warren Court continued…
Rights of the accused
Mapp vs. Ohio: evidence seized illegally could not be used in court
“Exclusionary rule”
Gideon vs. Wainwright: Free legal counsel to those who could not afford it
Escobedo vs. Illinois: Right to a lawyer present during questioning
Miranda vs. Arizona: Suspect must be read their rights

37. Miranda vs. Arizona

38. Impact of the Great Society
War on Poverty was successful
21% to 11% in ten years
Tax cut spurred the economy
Deficit grew
Power of the federal government
See chart on page #690