Transcript The New Frontier and the Great SocietyII

The New Frontier and the
Great Society
The 1960 Election
• John F. Kennedy
– Born 1917 Brookline
Mass.
– Married Jacqueline
Bouvier
– Three children
(Caroline, John, and
Patrick)
– Naval Officer, author,
Congressman,
Senator
• Richard M. Nixon
– Born 1913 Yorba
Linda, Ca.
– Married Patricia Ryan
– Two children ( Tricia
and Julie)
– Lawyer, Naval officer,
Congressman,
Senator, VicePresident for
Eisenhower
Issues of 1960 Election
• Both spoke of progress and change.
• Kennedy talked of a "New frontier."
– develop new technologies and make
advancements in space exploration.
– confront poverty, war, and ignorance in order
to provide for a brighter future.
– the need to strengthen the military, and other
foreign policy issues.
Issues of 1960 Election
• Nixon spoke of experience
– the message of a brighter future, themes such as
increased emphasis on private industry
– decreased government spending
– the need to strengthen the military, and other foreign
policy issues.
– experience in foreign and domestic policy but,
– A reporter asked what major decisions the VicePresident had participated in making. Eisenhower
responded, "If you give me a week, I might think of
one."
A Pro Kennedy Book on Labor
The Debate
• The influence of the media
• Kennedy dressed correctly for the camera,
while Nixon dressed in colors that made
him look washed out. TV audiences
thought Kennedy won while Radio
audiences thought Nixon had won.
• The Media had arrived
Inauguration
• “In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final
success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded,
each generation of Americans has been summoned to give
testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who
answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms,
though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we
are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in
and year out, "rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation,"² a struggle
against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and
war itself. “
• And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for
you; ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you,
but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Camelot Stalled
• A block of 101 Southern Congressmen
held great power
• Religious groups held power
Education
• Asked Congress to spend 5.6 billion
dollars to improve education
• This would build public schools, raise
teacher salaries, and provide college
scholarship for needy students
• IT FAILED!
• Catholic Bishops tried to get Congress to
include parochial schools, Kennedy
refused, killed the bill
Social Programs
• Medical aid for the elderly died because
the AMA lobbied against it.
• Tried to cut corporate and personal
income tax, never passed in his lifetime
• Civil Rights Act –never passed during his
lifetime
Successes
• Urban renewal – rebuild inner cities
• The Space program
• Alliance for Progress – economic
development for Latin America
• The Peace Corps – by executive order
sent young men and women to
underdeveloped countries to provide
technical and educational assistance in
health care and agriculture
Special Forces
• Increased special service troops such as
the Green Berets and Navy Seals who
specialize in training and stopping
insurgencies in under developed nations
Space Race
Kennedy Confronts Global Challenges
• As President Kennedy entered the White House, the
nation’s rivalry with 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 Confronts Global Challenges
• Kennedy also
supported the Special
Forces, a small army
unit established in the
1950s to wage
guerrilla warfare.
Kennedy Confronts Global Challenges
• To improve Latin
American relations,
Kennedy proposed the
Alliance for
Progress, a series of
cooperative aid
projects with Latin
American
governments.
Kennedy Confronts Global Challenges
• The Peace Corps, created to help less developed
nations fight poverty, trained young Americans to
spend two years assisting in a country.
Kennedy Confronts Global Challenges
• The Peace Corps is still
active today and has
become one of Kennedy’s
most important and
withstanding legacies.
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.
(pages 726–728)
Crises of the Cold War
• On April 17, 1961, 1,400 armed Cuban exiles landed at the
Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba.
Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
• 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.
Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
• Kennedy and Khrushchev meet and the USSR
demands that the U.S. back out of Berlin. The U.S.
says no.
Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
• The Soviet leader retaliated by constructing a wall
through Berlin, stopping movement between the
Soviet sector and the rest of the city.
Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
(pages 726–728)
Crises of the Cold War (cont.)
(pages 726–728)
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• After the fiasco at the Bay of Pigs invasion and
looking weak at the Summit meeting with
Khrushchev, President Kennedy needed a
“victory” in Cuba.
• Kennedy had given
the CIA directions to
“get rid of Castro” in
Cuba because as
long as Fidel Castro
was in Cuba, so was
communism.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• During the summer of 1962, the Soviet Union had
begun to send short range nuclear missiles to
Cuba for their “defense purposes” disguised in
cargo ships.
• These were very similar to U.S. “Jupiter Missiles”
that Eisenhower had sent to Turkey during the
1950s.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• October 14th, 1962 – U2 spy plane is sent over
Cuba after the CIA has heard rumors of Soviet
activity in Cuba.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• The photographs show these to be nuclear
missile sites
Thirteen Days in October 1962
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• October 16th, 1962 – John Kennedy is briefed about the
missiles and he calls on his closest advisors.
• The Russians are now close
enough to hit almost all of the
United States with nuclear
weapons.
• Options discussed
•Air strike
•Land invasion
•Diplomacy (UN)
•blockade
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• Kennedy is fearful that
Cuba will be used as a
bargaining chip for
Berlin.
• Kennedy has ordered
the missiles in Turkey
to be removed six
months earlier, but
could not remove them
now under threat
because he would look
weak.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• Military tells Kennedy a full scale attack of Cuba
could be launched by October 25th.
• Kennedy tells his advisors to “come up with a
consensus” that will solve the problem.
• October 18th, 1962 – John Kennedy keeps a
meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Andre
Gromyko.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• October 21st, 1962 – Kennedy returns to
Washington from campaign trips and the
consensus is a naval blockade of Cuba.
• The U.S. will search
all Soviet ships
headed to Cuba.
• Gives Khrushchev
the option of
negotiation.
(pages 726–728)
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• October 22nd, 1962 – Kennedy addresses the nation.
• Tells the American people of the missiles in Cuba.
• Informs Americans (and the
world) of the blockade.
• States that an attack on the
U.S. from Cuba will be
regarded as an attack from
the Soviet Union and the
U.S. will respond with all of
its forces.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• October 23rd, 1962 – The Soviet Union replies that the
blockade is “an act of war” and promise to run through it.
• Cuba prepares 250,000
soldiers for a full scale land
invasion.
• Robert Kennedy is sent to
talk to Soviet Ambassador
Anatoly Dobrynin
• JFK agrees to contract
blockade line to 500 miles.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• October 24th, 1962 – The Soviet ships reach the blockade
line
• American citizens rush to the
stores to prepare for a
nuclear war.
• Soviet ships stop prior to
reaching the blockade line.
• Khrushchev sends a letter to
Kennedy that the missiles will
stay in Cuba.
• US defense goes to
DEFCON 2.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• October 25th, 1962 – US Ambassador to the United Nations
Adlai Stevenson shows the world the proof of the missiles.
• Do not gain much
sympathy from the
European nations due to
the fact that they live under
this every day.
• Kennedy increases U.S.
forces in Florida for a land
invasion.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• October 26th, 1962 – Khrushchev sends a personal letter to
Kennedy that agrees to remove the missiles if the United
States promises never to invade Cuba.
• “Let us not pull on the ends of
the ropes that tie the knot of
war”
• Before Kennedy can agree to
the terms a second letter is
sent that includes the
demand that the missiles in
Turkey be removed as well.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• October 26th, 1962 (cont.) – An American U2 plane is shot
down over Cuba and the pilot is killed.
• Kennedy orders that the
military does not react to this.
• Another American U2 plane is
discovered flying over Soviet
airspace, but Khrushchev
orders that it is not to be shot
down, but escorted away
from the Soviet Union.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• October 27th, 1962 – Robert Kennedy comes up with the
idea of ignoring the second letter that Khrushchev sent that
included the missiles in Turkey.
• Robert Kennedy meets in
secret with Dobrynin and
states that the missiles in
Turkey can be negotiated at a
later time, but not during this
crisis.
• John Kennedy prepares to
order the invasion of Cuba
the following day.
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• October 28th, 1962 – In a radio broad cast from Moscow,
Nikita Khrushchev announces that the missiles will be
removed from Cuba because the United States has
promised never to invade.
• There is no mention of the
missiles in Turkey, that are to
be removed later.
• Fidel Castro finds out about
this from the television and is
very upset.
• The crisis is over.
(pages 726–728)
Thirteen Days in October 1962
• 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.
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 Takes the Reins (cont.)
• 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 Takes the Reins
• 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.
Johnson Takes the Reins
• Americans were not ready for Goldwater’s
aggressive message, and Johnson won in a
landslide.
The Great Society
• 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 and to the preschool
program Project Head Start, which
was administered to disadvantaged
children.
• VISTA put young people to work in
poor school districts.
• 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.
• 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.
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.