The New Frontier

1. The New Frontier and The Great Society

2. Intro 1

3. The Election of 1960 • The 1960 presidential election began the era of television politics. • The Democrat candidate, John F.Kennedy, was an Irish-Catholic from a wealthy Massachusetts family. • Republican candidate Richard Nixon was a Quaker from a financially struggling family.

4. Democrats spent over $6 million in TV and radio ads; Republicans spent over $7.5 million. • The campaign focused on the economy and the Cold War. • Kennedy: concerned about a “missile gap”; believed U.S. was behind Soviets in weaponry. • Nixon believed GOP administration was on the right track with its foreign policy. Section 1-6

5. The televised debates had a strong influence on the outcome of the election. • Kennedy won in one of the closest elections in U.S. history. Section 1-7

6. The Kennedy Mystique • John Kennedy’s youth, optimism, and charisma inspired Americans....but... • His private life was very different from the one presented to the American people at the time. Section 1-9

7. Kennedy was the first president to broadcast his press conferences live on television. Because of TV, Americans felt they knew him personally. “Ask Not”

8. Success & Setback on the Domestic Front • JFK’s domestic agenda, known as the New Frontier: • 1. Education • 2.Health insurance to the elderly • 3. Department of Urban Affairs • 4. Help for migrant workers Section 1-14

9. Many GOPs and conservative Southern Democrats felt the New Frontier would cost too much. • Congress defeated many of Kennedy’s proposals, even though Democrats held a majority. • Kennedy advocated the New Deal strategy of deficit spendingthat FDR had used. Section 1-15

10. JFK did convince Congress was to invest more $$$ for defenseand spaceexploration to create more jobs and help the economy.

11. Kennedy helped the women’s movement during the 1960s. • He created a Presidential Commission on the Status of Women(against gender discrimination; for equal pay). • Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the Commission. Section 1-16

12. Warren Court Reforms • Social issues were a focus during JFK's term. • Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Warren Court took on a much more activisttone • Helped shape national policy. Chief Justice Earl Warren (Should this be the job of the Courts?) Section 1-18

13. The Warren Court took a stand on several key issues: * Civil rights * Freedom of the press * Separation of church and state * Rights of the accused Warren Court

14. Reapportionment - states draw up political districts based on changes in population. In Reynolds v Simsthe Warren Court ordered states to redraw the district lines to reflect the change in population from rural to urban. Idea of “One man, One vote,” gave more voting power to cities and to the large percentage of minority voters who lived there.

15. During the '60s, the Court used Fourteenth Amendment to apply the Bill of Rights to the states, not only to federal law. • Due process required that the law not treat an individual unfairly or unreasonably; state courtsmust follow proper procedures and rules when trying a case.

16. The issue of separation between church and state was reaffirmed when the Court ruled that states could notcompose official prayers nor require prayer in public schools.

17. Decisions of the Warren Court were favored by some and opposed by others, but the Court had a huge role in shaping national policy.

18. Kennedy Confronts Global Challenges • The Cold War deepened. • Kennedy felt that Eisenhower had relied too heavily on nuclear weapons. • Instead, Kennedy supported a “flexibleresponse” where he asked for a buildup of conventional troops and weapons. EisenhowerKennedy Massive Retaliation Flexible Response Section 2-5

19. JFK also supported the Special Forces, a small army unit formed to wage guerrilla warfare.They were known as the Green Berets.

20. To improve Latin American relations, Kennedy proposed the Alliance for Progress. • $20 billion in aid to Latin American countries. • In Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Central American republics, real reform took place. USING U.S. $$$ TO FIGHT COMMUNISM Section 2-6

21. The Peace Corpshelped less developed nations fight poverty. • Young Americans spent two years assisting in one of those poor countries. • Peace Corps still active today; one of Kennedy’s most important legacies.

23. During this time of increased tensionbetween the U.S. and Soviet Union, the two countries were engaged in a space race.

24. JFK wanted Americans to be first to reach the moon. • On July 20, 1969, Neal Armstrongbecame the first human being to walk on the moon. Moon landing

25. Crises of the Cold War • Cuba and its leader, Fidel Castro, began forming an alliance with the Soviet Union and its leader, Nikita Khrushchev. Section 2-10

26. The CIA had secretly trained and armed Cuban exiles known as La Brigada. Their goal was to overthrow the Communist Castro government. • JFK approved a plan to invade Cuba using La Brigada. • April 1961 - 1,400 armed Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs on the southern coast of Cuba. Bay of Pigs

27. Disaster struck! Kennedy cancelled air support for the exilesin order to keep U.S. involvement a secret. • Most of the La Brigada were either killed or captured by Castro’s army. • Incident made JFK look weakand indecisive. • Remember…Soviets must NOT view America or its president as being weak. Section 2-11

28. Khrushchev (1961) wanted the U.S. OUT of Berlin! • Kennedy refused.

29. Khrushchev 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. Section 2-12

30. Who is this leader? What is he doing? What is the cartoon’s message? Who is this leader? What is this cartoon’s message?

31. CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS • 1962 - U.S. spy photographs showed that the Soviets had placed long-range missiles in Cuba…. • ….90 miles from the United States! Missiles in Cuba

32. Kennedy ordered a naval blockadeto stop Soviet ships from delivering more missiles. Section 2-12

33. Neither Kennedy nor Khrushchev wanted nuclear war. • Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba and to remove U.S. missiles in Turkey. • The Soviets agreed to remove missiles in Cuba. JFK and his closest advisor, his brother Bobby. Cuban missile crisis

34. The Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the edge of anuclear war. • Both sides agreed to work out a plan to ease tension. • In 1963 the U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed to a treaty banning the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. Section 2-12

35. The missile crisis made Nikita Khrushchev look weak. • He was removed from power. • The new Soviet leadership was less interested in reaching agreements with the West. • The result was a huge Soviet arms buildup! X Khrushchev is out; Soviet hard-liners are in; nuclear arms race intensifies.

36. 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.

37. Lee Harvey Oswald, a Marxist, was accused of killing Kennedy and was shot and killed two days later by Jack Ruby. • It was suspected that Ruby killed Oswald to protect others involved in the murder. Oswald

38. Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in aboard Air Force One. Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy, still wearing the suit stained with her husband’s blood, witnesses the swearing in.

39. A world in mourning for the fallen young President JFK’s funeral

40. Chief Justice Warren led an investigation that decided Oswald was the lone gunman. • The WarrenCommission left questions unanswered. • Conspiracy theories have persisted, but none has gained wide acceptance.

41. End of Secti on 2

42. Section 3 Main Idea Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded John Kennedy as president and greatly expanded Kennedy’s agenda with far-reaching programs in many areas. President Lyndon B. Johnson

43. Johnson Takes the Reins • Lyndon Johnson took office during what seemed like a prosperous time for America. • In reality, however, away from the nation’s affluent suburbs were some 50 million poor. • Both JFK and LBJ made the elimination of poverty a major policy goal.

44. Johnson differed from JFK’s elegant society image. • Johnson, a Texan, spoke directly and roughly at times. • He sought ways to find consensus, or agreement. • His ability to build coalitions made him one of the most effective leaders in Senate history.

45. Johnson declared that his administration was waging an unconditional war on poverty in America. • Congress created the Office of Economic Opportunity(OEO), which focused on creating jobs and fighting poverty.

46. Election of 1964 - LBJ vs. conservative Republican candidate Barry Goldwater. • Johnson won in a landslide.

47. The Great Society • LBJ promised a GreatSociety during his campaign. • More perfect, more equitable society? • 1965 - 1968 - over 60 programs were passed, including Medicare and Medicaid. • Medicare- health insurance program for the elderly funded through Social Security. • Medicaid- health care for those living below the poverty line. Section 3-9

48. Education- Preschool program Project HeadStart; available to disadvantaged children. • VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) put young people to work in poor school districts.

49. 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 (HUD) in 1965. • Its first secretary, Robert Weaver, was the first African American to serve in a presidential cabinet.