Transcript The New Frontier and the Great Society

The New Frontier and the Great
Society
Section 1
The Election of 1960
• The 1960 presidential election began the era of
television politics. Voters began using this
medium as a voting tool.
• The Democratic candidate, John F. Kennedy,
was a Catholic from a wealthy Massachusetts
family. Republican candidate, Richard Nixon,
was a Quaker from a financially struggling
family.
• During the campaign, Democrats spent over $6
million in television and radio ads, while
Republicans spent over $7.5 million.
• The campaign focused on the economy and the Cold
War. Kennedy felt the United States faced a threat
from the Soviets and showed concerned about a
"missile gap," in which it was believed the United
States was behind the Soviets in weaponry. Nixon
believed the Republican administration was on the
right track with its foreign policy.
• The televised debates had a strong influence on
the outcome of the election. Kennedy won in
what was one of the closest elections in history.
• How did Kennedy and Nixon stand on the two
main issues of the 1960 presidential election?
• The campaign centered on the economy and the
Cold War. The candidates differed little on the
issues. They both promised to boost the
economy, and they were both determined to
stop communism. Kennedy claimed there was a
"missile gap" between the U.S. and the Soviets
in weaponry, in which the U.S. was behind.
Nixon countered that the administration was on
the right track.
The Kennedy Mystique
• John Kennedy's youth, optimism, and charisma
inspired Americans.
• In his Inaugural Address, Kennedy told
Americans, "ask not what your country can do
for you—ask what you can do for your country."
• Kennedy was the first president to broadcast his
press conferences live on television.
Success and Setback on the Domestic
Front
• With his new legislative agenda, known as the
New Frontier, Kennedy hoped to increase aid
to education, provide health insurance to the
elderly, create a Department of Urban Affairs,
and help migrant workers.
• Kennedy was unsuccessful in pushing through
many of his domestic programs even though the
Democratic Party had large majorities in both
houses of Congress. Many Republicans and
conservative Southern Democrats felt the New
Frontier was too costly. Congress defeated many
of Kennedy's proposals.
• Kennedy advocated the New Deal strategy of
deficit spending that had been implemented
during Roosevelt's presidency. Congress was
convinced to invest more funds for defense and
space exploration to create more jobs and
encourage economic growth. Kennedy also
boosted the economy through increased
business production and efficiency.
• Kennedy helped the women's movement during
the 1960s. He created a Presidential
Commission on the Status of Women,
calling for federal action against gender
discrimination and affirming the right of women
to equally paid employment.
• How did Kennedy strain his relationship with
the nation's business community?
• Businesses were asked to hold down prices and
labor leaders were asked to hold down pay
increases in an effort to stimulate economic
growth. After several steel industries raised
prices, Kennedy threatened to purchase cheaper
steel from foreign companies. The steel
company backed down after Kennedy was
going to have them investigated for price fixing.
Warren Court Reforms
• Social issues were a focus during Kennedy's time
in office. Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the
United States since Eisenhower's presidency,
and the Warren Court took on a much more
activist tone, which helped shape national policy.
The Warren Court took a stand on several key
issues, such as the civil rights movement,
freedom of the press, separation of church and
state, and the rights of the accused. Many of
these decisions are still being argued today.
• One of the Warren Court's most important
decisions involved reapportionment, or the
way in which states draw up political districts
based on changes in population. The Warren
Court decided on the principle of "one man, one
vote," which required state legislatures to
reapportion electoral districts so that all citizens'
votes would have equal weight.
• During the 1960s, the U.S. Supreme Court used
the Fourteenth Amendment to apply the Bill of
Rights to the states. Due process required that
the law not treat an individual unfairly,
arbitrarily, or unreasonably, and that courts
must follow proper procedures and rules when
trying a case.
• The issue of separation between church and
state was reaffirmed when the Court ruled that
states could not compose official prayers and
require prayer in public schools.
• The decisions of the Warren Court were favored
by some while opposed by others, but the Court
had an immense role in shaping national policy.
Section 2: JFK and the Cold War,
• Objectives:
•
1. Describe Kennedy's plan for the armed
forces.
•
2. Explain how the Cold War influenced
foreign aid and the space program.
• As President Kennedy entered the White House,
the nation's rivalry between the Soviet Union
deepened.
• Kennedy felt that Eisenhower had relied too
heavily on nuclear weapons. Instead, Kennedy
supported a "flexible response" where he
asked for a buildup of conventional troops and
weapons. Kennedy also supported the Special
Forces, a small army unit established in the
1950s to wage guerrilla warfare.
• To improve Latin American relations, Kennedy
proposed the Alliance for Progress, a series
of cooperative aid projects with Latin American
governments. Over a 10-year period, $20 billion
was promised to aid Latin America. In Chile,
Colombia, Venezuela, and the Central American
republics, real reform took place. In other
countries, the governing rulers used the money
to remain in power.
• The Peace Corps, created to help less developed
nations fight poverty, trained young Americans to
spend two years assisting in a country. The Peace
Corps is still active today and has become one of
Kennedy's most important and withstanding
legacies.
• During this time of increased tension between the
United States and the Soviet Union, the two
countries engaged in a space race. Kennedy
wanted Americans to be the first to reach the moon.
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first
human being to walk on the moon.
Crises of the Cold War
• Cuba and its leader, Fidel Castro, began forming
an alliance with the Soviet Union and its leader,
Nikita Khrushchev.
• During Eisenhower's presidency, the CIA had
secretly trained and armed Cuban exiles known
as La Brigada.
• Kennedy's advisers approved a plan to invade
Cuba using La Brigada. On April 17, 1961, 1,400
armed Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs
on the south coast of Cuba.
• Disaster struck as Kennedy cancelled air support
for the exiles in order to keep United States
involvement a secret. Most of the La Brigada
were either killed or captured by Castro's army.
• After meeting with Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev, Kennedy refused to recognize East
Germany or to have the United States—along
with Great Britain and France—withdraw from
Berlin.
• The Soviet leader retaliated by constructing a
wall through Berlin, stopping movement
between the Soviet sector and the rest of the city.
• For the next 30 years, the Berlin Wall
symbolized the Cold War division between East
and West.
• During the summer of 1962, American
intelligence agencies discovered that Soviet
technicians and equipment had arrived in Cuba.
• Photographs proved that the Soviets had placed
long-range missiles in Cuba. Kennedy ordered a
naval blockade to stop the Soviets from
delivering more missiles.
• As Soviet ships headed toward the blockade,
Americans braced for war. Neither Kennedy nor
Khrushchev wanted nuclear war.
• Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba and to
remove missiles in Turkey.
• The Soviets agreed to remove missiles in Cuba.
• The Cuban missile crisis, as it became
known, brought the world to the edge of a
nuclear war. Both sides agreed to work out a
plan to ease tension.
• In 1963 the United States and the Soviet Union
agreed to a treaty banning the testing of nuclear
weapons in the atmosphere.
• The missile crisis led to Nikita Khrushchev's fall
from power, and the new Soviet leadership was
less interested in reaching agreements with the
West.
• The result was a huge Soviet arms buildup.
The Death of a President
• On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was
shot twice while riding in a presidential
motorcade. He was pronounced dead a short
time later.
• Lee Harvey Oswald, a Marxist, was accused of
killing Kennedy and was shot and killed himself
two days later by Jack Ruby.
• It was suspected that Ruby killed Oswald to
protect others involved in the murder. Chief
Justice Warren concluded that Oswald was the
lone gunman.
• The report of the Warren Commission left a
few questions unanswered, and a conspiracy
theory has persisted, although none has gained
wide acceptance.
The Great Society
• Objectives:
• Explain what inspired Johnson's Great Society
programs.
• Identify several specific health and employment
programs of the Johnson administration.
Johnson Takes the Reins
• Lyndon Johnson took office during what seemed
like a prosperous time for the United States.
• In reality, however, away from the nation's
affluent suburbs were some 50 million poor.
• Kennedy and Johnson made the elimination of
poverty a major policy goal.
• Johnson differed from Kennedy's elegant society
image. Johnson, a Texan, spoke directly and
roughly at times.
• He sought ways to find consensus, or general
agreement. His ability to build coalitions made
him one of the most effective and powerful
leaders in Senate history.
• Johnson declared that his administration was
waging an unconditional war on poverty in
America. By the summer of 1964, Congress had
created the Office of Economic Opportunity
(OEO), which focused on creating jobs and
fighting poverty.
• The election of 1964 had Johnson running
against Republican candidate Barry Goldwater.
Americans were not ready for Goldwater's
aggressive message, and Johnson won in a
landslide.
• What tactics of President Johnson's became
known as the Johnson Treatment?
• The treatment was Johnson's way of
persuading others to agree with him. His
reputation for getting things done involved
doing favors, twisting arms, bargaining,
flattering, and sometimes threatening.
The Great Society (pages 735-737)
• Johnson promised a Great Society during his
campaign. It was the vision of a more perfect,
more equitable society.
• Between 1965 and 1968, over 60 programs were
passed, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Medicare was a health insurance program for
the elderly funded through Social Security.
Medicaid financed health care for those on
welfare or living below the poverty line.
• Johnson's interest in education led to the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and to the
preschool program, Project Head Start, which was
administered to disadvantaged children.
• Johnson urged Congress to act on legislation dealing
with the deterioration of inner cities. Congress
responded with the creation of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development in 1965. Its first
secretary, Robert Weaver, was the first African
American to serve in a cabinet. "Model Cities," a broadbased program with matching funds from local and state
agencies, supported programs in the areas of
transportation, health care, housing, and policing.
• The Immigration Reform Act of 1965 played a
key role in changing the composition of the
American population. It kept a strict limit on the
number of immigrants admitted to the United
States each year. It also eliminated the national
origins system, which gave preference to
northern European immigrants. Immigrants
arrived in the U.S. from all parts of Europe and
from Asia and Africa.
• What were some of Johnson's programs within his
Great Society campaign?
• Upward Bound provided college preparation for
low-income teenagers. Between 1965 and 1968,
over 60 programs were passed, including Medicare
and Medicaid. Medicare was a health insurance
program for the elderly funded through Social
Security. Medicaid financed health care for those
on welfare, living below the poverty line. The
preschool program, Project Head Start,
administered to disadvantaged children.
Legacy of the Great Society
• The impact of the Great Society was felt by all
aspects of American life and improved many
lives.
• Some Americans opposed the massive growth of
federal funds and criticized the Great Society for
intruding too much in their lives.
• There is a continued debate over the success of
the Great Society. It did result in many
Americans asking questions, questions
Americans continue to ask today.