Sixties

1. Sixties A Confused Decade

2. 1960 Election • LBJ running mate • Kennedy won because of his impressive show on the first national T.V. debate.

3. Richard Nixon • Henry Cabot Lodge running mate. • Lost by only 118,000 votes.

5. New Frontier • Kennedy promised “to get American moving again”. • Idea was to improve the lives of all Americans. • Problems: unemployment, cold war tension, missile gap, sluggish economy, foreign aid, and civil rights.

7. Important Stuff • Dean Rusk – Sec. of State • Robert McNamara – Sec. of Defense • Robert Kennedy – Attorney General • 23 amendment – District of Columbia legal to vote • 24 amendment – forbade poll tax

8. Bay of Pigs • CIA was training an army in Central America (Guatemala) for a landing to overthrow Fidel Castro. • CIA was expecting the invasion to trigger an anti-communist uprising in Cuba.

9. Invasion • April 17, 1961 • A force of 1,300 landed a the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba.

10. Complete Failure • Landing site was too far from mountains that gave protection. • Popular uprising never came. • Castro’s army pinned down the landing force and wiped it out in 3 days – 1,200 taken prisoner.

11. Proved There Were Limits To Power!!

12. Berlin Crisis • Khrushchev threatened to sign treaty with East Germany which would give them control of Berlin. • Western powers: U.S., Britain and France controlled Berlin.

13. Start of the Wall • July 1961 Kennedy and Khrushchev meet with no solution. • U.S. activated an army into Berlin in a show of force. • August 13 Soviet began construction of a wall between East and West Berlin.

15. Show of Weakness • Berlin Wall was a confession of weakness but the communist felt it was better than the depopulation of East Germany. • October Khrushchev dropped the threat to sign a treaty with East Germany.

17. Cuban Missile Crisis • October 15, 1962 • U-2 spy plane discovered missile launching pad under construction in Cuba.

19. Tension • Kennedy orders the navy to intercept any Soviet vessels carrying missiles to Cuba. • If missile launched it would be considered a direct attack on the U.S.

20. Stalemate • Oct. 24 – 10:00 a.m. naval blockade of Cuba begins. • 12:00 Soviet ship meet U.S. ship • Very critical time in our history. • 6:00 receive letter from Khrushchev said Soviets would remove missile if U.S. would not attack Cuba.

22. Small Victory • Kennedy receives second letter asking to remove missiles from Turkey. • Oct. 27 Kennedy answers 1st letter. • Oct. 28 Soviets agree to our terms.

23. Moon Program • April 12, 1961 – Soviet Yuri Gagarin becomes first human to orbit the earth. • May 1961 – Kennedy announced it was time for U.S. to lead the world in space achievement. • May 1961 – Alan Shepard becomes first American to make a rocket flight.

24. Orbit the EARTH • Feb. 20, 1962 John Glenn become first American to orbit the earth.

26. Peace Corps • Idea came from Hubert Humphrey in 1960. • Plan was to send men and women overseas to do volunteer work in underdeveloped countries that requested American aid.

28. Latin America • U.S. was worried about communist influence in Latin America from the outset of the cold War. • Aggression was never a threat. • The dangers were poverty and discontent of the Latin American people themselves.

29. American Interest • Most Latin American countries were under control of military or business interest, often in league with American corporations.

30. Resentment Toward the U.S. • Because American investors were often linked to the ruling class of Latin American countries, demands for social and political reform easily turned into anti-Americanism. • Because of its long history of intervention, the U.S. was a traditional target.

31. U.S. Took Steps to Ensure Balance of Power • 1954 CIA financed military coup in Central American (Guatemala) which would protect American interest in that area. • Kennedy “alliance for progress” would provide funds for social progress and help promote democratic institution.

32. Good and Bad • The steps helped to improve education and health care, but too much money ended up in the hands of big business and aided military takeovers.

33. Ban on Nuclear Testing • 1958 – U.S. and Soviets suspended atmospheric testing.

34. Nuclear Test Ban Treaty • 1961 – Soviets resume testing during the height of the Berlin crisis. • Both sides used testing to gain diplomatic leverage. • 1963 – Kennedy proposed to ban atmospheric testing and sign the NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY with the Soviet Union and Britain.

35. HOT LINE • HOT LINE installed between Moscow and Washington D.C. to prevent nuclear war.

36. New Frontier Partial Success • Problems: Medicare, aid to education, new civil rights acts. • Successes: space program, nuclear test ban treaty, build up nuclear might, peace corps, prosperity had returned to U.S. • Future Problems: war in Vietnam, civil rights at home.

37. Kennedy Assassination • November 22, 1963 President John Kennedy and wife went to Texas to help repair the Democratic party in Texas.

38. The Events • 10:00 a.m. loaded Air Force One in Washington, DC. • 11:37 a.m. arrived at Love Field in Dallas, travel in 12 car motorcade through downtown Dallas.

39. The Shots • 12:30 as the motorcade passes the Texas Schools Book Depository. • 1st Shot hit Kennedy in the neck • 2nd shot hits Texas governor in right shoulder.

40. Death • 3rd shot hits Kennedy in head • 2:20 p.m. Kennedy pronounced dead. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU83R7rpXQY • 2:37 p.m. Johnson sworn in.

43. Arrest • Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and questioned. • Late Friday was arraigned for murder. • Sunday morning Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby.

45. Warren Commission • Chief Justice Earl Warren headed the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald operated alone and from his own motives. • Few events in history so deeply shock an entire society. • The search for people to examine its conscience and to search for its lost ideas went on for the rest of the decade.

46. Johnson Takes Over • Nov. 27, 1963 – asked Congress for support and pledges to continue Kennedy’s programs.

47. War on Poverty • Spring 1964 – Senate unlocks tax bill • Johnson pledges “war on poverty” pushes ten step program. • Special fund to re-tain workers displaced by computers • Job Corps camps • Vista • Community Action Program

48. 1964 Election • Republican Candidate – Barry S. Goldwater • VP – William Miller • Limited role of government

49. Lyndon Johnson • Johnson broad social concern together with his ability to get action out of congress, gave3 the Democrats a landslide victory.

50. Great Society • VP – Running mate – Hubert Humphrey • Johnson spoke of a “Great Society” • Meant an end to poverty and an end to racial injustice, plus tax cuts • Johnson passed: Medicare, federal aid to education and new civil rights bills.