1. The Kennedy and Johnson Years
Chapter 22
The Kennedy and Johnson Years

2. Section 1
The New Frontier

3. 1960 election JFK vs. Nixon Kennedy Democrat Young/ 43 yrs old
Catholic
14 yrs experience in House of Rep, but w/o major role
U.S. Navy WWII
Nixon
Republican
Experienced; VP under Eisenhower;
U.S. Navy; lieutenant commander in Pacific
Senator from California
Major role in Alger Hiss investigation

4. Kennedy’s campaign
Critics said he was too young and would take orders from Rome because he was Catholic
Kennedy promised to “get America moving again” and spur the sluggish economy
Used the media to his advantage

5. Kennedy-Nixon debates
Nixon believed that he would slaughter Kennedy in the debates because he was skilled in foreign policy
Kennedy looked good! He used TV to his advantage
Radio listeners thought that Nixon won; TV viewers thought JFK won.

6. Kennedy arrived to debates rested and tan
Kennedy arrived to debates rested and tan. He felt comfortable in front of camera.
Nixon was pasty white and tried to cover “five o’clock shadow” with makeup stick called “Lazy Shave”. When he sweated in front of the tv lights, the make up ran down his face.

7. Kennedy wins, but lacks a mandate.
JFK had courted the black vote, so he chose LBJ, a powerful Senator from Texas, to balance the ticket.

8. Camelot
Represented the Kennedy White House image

9. The New Frontier JFK’s domestic program
Proposed tax cut to end economic slump- plan got stuck in Congress (lacked mandate, remember?)
After publication of The Other America, by Michael Herrington, proposed plan to give federal education and medical aid- both failed in Congress
Senior citizens at Welfare Department, New York City 1960.

10. Poverty in America 1960s
Lower East Side slums, family. New York City
Lower East Side slums, bed. New York City
Welfare recipients waiting in rain

11. JFK - more domestic policy
Increased minimum wage
24th amendment- outlawed poll tax
Equal Pay Act – equal pay for equal work
Housing Act 1961 – urban renewal for slum areas

12. The Space Program
goal to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade
The Soviet Union’s launching of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s orbiting of Earth in 1961 jarred Americans. The United States was being left behind.
Within a year, Alan Shepard and Gus Grisson became the first two Americans to travel into space.

13. Allen Shepard-went 115 miles up , but did not orbit Earth.
Watching flight of Astronaut Shepard on television, 05 May 1961.

14. On February 20, 1962, John Glenn Jr
On February 20, 1962, John Glenn Jr. became the first American to orbit Earth. After more than four hours in space, having circled the earth three times, Glenn piloted the Friendship 7 back into the atmosphere, landing in the Atlantic Ocean near Bermuda.

15. Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the moon was reached on July 20, He would not be alive to see it.
Neil Armstrong – first man to land on
the moon

16. Kennedy Assassinated November 22, 1963
JFK and John Connally were shot by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in an open car in a Dallas motorcade.
Connally recovered; JFK mortally wounded.

17. This is one of the only known photos of Lyndon B
This is one of the only known photos of Lyndon B. Johnson leaving Parkland Hospital after learning of President Kennedy’s death.

18. Lee Harvey Oswald killed by Jack Ruby

19. Warren Commission Conspiracy theories abound.
The Warren Commission finds that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin and acted alone.

20. Section 2
The Great Society

21. Lyndon Baines Johnson sworn in as President.

22. The Great Society LBJ’s domestic policy agenda
Poverty, education, healthcare, voting rights, conservation, urban renewal, economic development
Used legacy of JFK to push through his Civil Rights Act of 1964.

23. 1964 election
Johnson received a mandate with a landslide victory over Barry Goldwater
LBJ used people’s fear of nuclear war (Daisy commercial)

24. LBJ’s War on Poverty
Economic Opportunity Act- designed to combat illiteracy, and unemployment; gave $950 million dollars for projects
Head Start –preschool program for healthcare, nutrition, and social services
VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America)- sent people to help in poor communities

25. Medicaid and Medicare
Medicare –hospital and low-cost medical insurance to Americans 65 and older
Medicaid –provides low-cost health insurance coverage to poor Americans of any age who cannot afford it

26. Warren Court
Increased the rights of those accused of a crime -evidence seized illegally cannot be used at trial, right to free lawyer and have lawyer present at questioning, Miranda rule

27. Warren Court-Social Issues
obscenity ruling, no prayer in public school, struck down law forbidding the use of birth control

28. Warren Court- “One man, one vote”
Apportionment –seats in the legislature must be equally divided among the electoral districts; designed to fix the problem of rural areas receiving more representation in the legislature

29. Johnson accomplished many things, but the war in Vietnam would cost him funding for his Great Society programs.

30. Foreign Policy in the Early 1960ss
Section 3
Foreign Policy in the Early 1960ss

31. Bay of Pigs Invasion April 17, 1961
Castro came to power in Cuba and was anti-American
Seized property that was held by foreigners, including U.S. businesses
Castro developed ties to the Soviet Union
JKF followed a CIA plan from Eisenhower’s administration to overthrow Castro using American trained Cuban rebels
Many warned JFK against using this plan

32. Bay of Pigs=failure U.S. Air Force failed to take out Cuba’s air force
Castro’s troops easily defeated 1,500 U.S. supported rebels
JFK refused to use American planes to support invaders

33. Results of Failure of Bay of Pigs
U.S. is exposed invading another country to overthrow its leader
Loose respect in Latin America
JFK looks inexperienced and incompetent –remember this was what he was accused of in the election
1,189 invaders were taken prisoner, and 4 American pilots were killed in battle.
The prisoners were tried in mass televised trials, and most were released to the U.S. in exchange for $53 million in food and medicine within a year.

34. Berlin Crisis Kennedy feels threatened by Soviet actions in Berlin
Soviets wish to stop the large number of East Germans that were escaping to West Germany through Berlin (doctors, teachers, industrial workers, etc)
Soviets built the Berlin Wall – this became a symbol of the Cold War

35. Cuban Missile Crisis
Soviets were building missile bases in Cuba, 90 miles off coast of U.S.
Kennedy used a naval quarantine around Cuba to deter the operation and placed the American military on full alert with bombers armed with nuclear weapons

36. Cuban Missile Crisis resolved
Soviet Union would remove missiles if Kennedy promised to end quarantine and stay out of Cuba
The Soviet Union also demanded that the U.S. remove missiles from Turkey

37. Limited Test Ban Treaty
Banned nuclear testing above ground
Designed to eliminate nuclear fallout

38. JFK’s Alliance for Progress
$20 billion dollars to Latin America over ten years to improve the basic needs of people living there and to prevent revolution
People in Latin America saw it as an American ploy to stop the spread of communism

39. JKF’s Peace Corps
Sent volunteers to foreign countries in peace to help with education, health care, construction, etc.
Designed to improve the standard of living in poor countries

40. Lyndon Johnson’s involvement in Vietnam
Wanted to prevent the spread of communism for North Vietnam into South Vietnam
By 1963 sent 16,000 military advisors to South Vietnam
Gave economic aid to South Vietnam
Involvement in Vietnam took funding away from Great Society programs