Chapter 28 & 29

The Kennedy Presidency 1960-1963Personified self-

confident liberalBelieved activist state

could improve life at home and confront the communist challenged abroad

From a wealthy, political family

Served in WWII, NavyServed in Congress,

Senate 1958Believed in “The New

Frontier”

1960 ElectionTelevised debates

Downfall of Nixon Pale and haggard vs. the

tanned and dynamic JFK

ElectionClosest since 1884Only separated by

120,000 votesInauguration

“New Frontier”Surrounded himself

with intellectuals

JFKBenefitted from

recessionVP Southern Protestant

Lyndon B. JohnsonReligion an issue

NixonBetter knownMore experienceMiddle road RepublicanEisenhower’s VP

Kennedy’s Domestic RecordLittle significant social

legislationNew liberalism held back by

CongressEconomic growth key to

liberal agendaAccomplishments

Increased nuclear stockpileIncreased defense budgetEstablished Green Berets“race to moon”Federal aid to educationMedical care to elderlyUrban renewalClean Air Act 1963

Civil RightsLot of rhetoric = little actionFocus on foreign affairs,

then economyStraddled race issue

Balanced unprecedented # of African-Americans to federal jobs with appointment of racist judges

Kennedy “forced” to enforce desegregation of buses only after “Freedom Ride” of 1961

“forced” again to deal with issue after Birmingham embarrassment June 1963

WomenEstablished Presidential

Commission of status of Women

Kennedy’s Foreign PolicyCold War Activism

Launched a major buildup with military arsenal

Foreign policy top priority Congressional for liberal

programs of economic assistance for third world

1961 Peace Corps Missionaries of Democracy

Laos Created by Geneva agreement

1954 Civil war b/w US forces and

Laos rebels Compromise in July 1962

Restored neutralist government Cuba

Spring 1961: Bay of Pigs 1st major foreign policy 1500 exiles stormed Cuba DISASTER JFK takes blame

Brink of Cold War Oct. 1962 Aerial photographs of missile

bases in Cuba Kennedy’s Response

Remove missiles “quarantine” Cuba

Naval blockade Tense movements

180 US ships in Caribbean “I think the other fellow just

blinked” Missiles out if US doesn’t invade

Cuba Darkest Hour

Russia changes and adds Turkey US spy plane shot down over Cuba

Compromise October 27, 1962 Original offer accepted “Hot-line” established

Signaled “détente” New phase in Cold War

The Thousand Day Presidency JFK Assassination

Nov. 22, 1963 Dallas, TX

Legacy New Frontier, Liberalism

“held back” by Congress Barely existed for environment,

women, or slowing business Mixed International Record

Signed 1st nuclear-test-ban treaty, yet initiated build up

Compromised on Laos, but deepened Vietnam involvement

Increased power of executive branch Publicly

Fired imagination of Americans Gave liberals new hope Challenged young Stimulated social and political

activism Consequences

Assassination shattered illusions Increasing # of Americans to

lose confidence in government

Liberalism Ascendant, 1963-1968Lyndon B. Johnson

Substantial political assets Served in Washington

since 1932 Lots of political experience

Determined to prove himself

LBJ’s LiberalismTax Cut

$10 billion tax reduction Surge in capital

investment and personal consumption

Shrank the budget deficitCivil Rights

Memorial to JFK

“The Other America”Economic Opportunity

Act 1964 War on Poverty

Job Corps Domestic peace corps

VISTA Volunteers in Service to

America Project Head Start Community Action

Program

Vision of a “Great Society” Horrified conservatives Will lead into Election of

1964

1964 ElectionRepublicans

Barry Goldwater Product of 20th century

West Outsider of Washington Anticommunist Proponent of individual

freedomPlatform

Opposed big government Deficit spending Racial liberalism Social welfare Opposed liberalism Wanted to use Nucs with

Cuba and VietnamSupport

Southern segregationists Blue-collar workers in

Northern cities

LBJVP: Hubert HumphreyDepicted Goldwater as an

extremistElection

43 million votes to 27 million

Landslide victoryConsequences

Goldwater launches modern Republican conservative movement GOP became conservative,

Southern and Western party

Mobilized support for future leaders like Ronald Reagan

New “Southern Strategy”

Triumphant Liberalism89th Congress

“Congress of fulfillment”Enlarged war on povertyMilestone Civil RightsEnacted Medicare and

MedicaidFunds for public education,

housing, redevelopment of Appalachia, and revitalizing inner-city neighborhoods

Created new departments Transportation Housing Endowment for Humanities

New immigration law Abolishes Nat’l Origin Act 1924

Environment 1964 Nat’l Wilderness

Preservation ActSafety standards

Highway Safety Act

ResultsImproved lives of millionsPoor down from 22% to

13% by 1969IMR down by 1/3Head start reaches 2

million childrenAfrican-American poverty

down from 40%-20%Critics

MLK Jr. “War on Poverty shot down

over the battlefields of Vietnam”

22% more spent on War than poverty

Election 1956 Democrats lost 47 seats in

House Sealed Liberalism’s fate

Civil Rights Act 1964Most significant C.R.

legislation in US historyWhat it does:

Banned racial discrimination and segregation

Outlawed bias in federally funded programs

Created EEOCWhat it doesn’t:

Address voting rights CORE, SNCC

Campaign to register African-Americans

“Freedom Summer” 1964 Voting Rights Bill passed

August 1964 Only after George Wallace

violence “we shall overcome”

Riots and Black PowerCivil rights movement did

not revolutionize race relationsAugust 11, 1965

Watts, LA 6 days 34 dead, 900 injured 4000 arrested Looting, fire-bombing white

shopsSummer 1966

Riots in Northern ghettoes Response to brutal police

Summer 1967 150 racial skirmishes, 40 riots Most intensive and destructive

period in US history1964-1968

200 dead, 7000 injured 40.000 arrested $500 million in damage

Rise of new leaders“too little, too late”1966 “Black Power”

Malcolm X “wake up, clean up, and stand

up” Be proud of blackness, roots Critical of MLK Jr. “If ballots won’t work, bullets

will” Assassinated Feb. 1965

Cassius Clay Converted to Islam 1964 Muhammad Ali Draft evasion

Black Panthers Founded Oakland, Cali 1966 Huey Newton, Bobby Seale “strike at night, spare no one” Significant influence

Black studies at colleges Community groups Black voters, candidates Encourage black pride

Warren Court of the 1960’sSupported and promoted

liberal agendaActed to expand

individual rights to a greater extent

Johnson appoints 1st African-American justice: Thurgood Marshall

Major rulings: Prohibiting bible and prayer in

school Limiting local power to censor

books and films Overturned state ban on

contraceptives One person, one vote Rights of the accused

Criticism:Miranda v. Arizona 1966

Voices of ProtestNative American Protest

1961 67 tribes created Declaration of

Purposes Criticized termination policies Lobbied for inclusion with war on

poverty Johnson established National

Council on Indian Opportunity 1965

1968 “Red Power”

Younger movement American Indian Movement

Most militant Goal to protect way of life

Hispanic-American Fastest-growing minority

Impatient Cesar Chavez 1965

“La Causa” Chicano/Chicana movement

Boycotts to demand bilingual classes, more Latino teachers

Spread to other minorities

2nd Feminist Wave Urged 1964 Civil Rights Act to

include gender discrimination too

1966 NOW (Nat’l Org. of Women) Betty Freidan, Aileen Hernandez Sought liberal change “Feminine Mystique” 1963

Women wanted careers, identity Anti-Vietnam

Mary King, Casey Hayden 1965 Starts Women’s Liberation

MovementWomen’s Liberation

Groups spread across nation Generated publicity

Miss American “sheep” 1968 Boston Marathon “The Pill” 1960

Worked for Daycare centers, rape crisis, abortion

counseling Rejected notion of women as passive

August 1970 Largest women’s rights movement

Escalation of War1963

Before JFK’s death, authorized overthrow of Diem in S. Vietnam Increased US forces to 16,000

Johnson’s decision Torn, widened limited war Ordered air strikes Feb. 1964 Authorized escalation

Gulf of Tonkin Aug. 1964 US “victims” of open

aggression on the high seas Condemned attacks, ordered

more air strikes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Operation “Rolling Thunder” 1965 Bombing, air war 1965-1968 = 800 tons of

bombs dropped a DAY Committed more troops

“meat-grinder” strategyDoves vs. Hawks

Opposition to war started at colleges March 1965 Univ. of Michigan 1966 large-scale protests

Intellectuals, clergy joined Bobbie Kennedy, Dr. Benjamin

Spock, MLK Jr. War’s toll on the poor

College deferments benefitted wealth

TV coverage Eroded support Many left undecided though

A Time of UpheavalYouth Movement

Starts with JFKMore than ½ population

of 1960’s under 30 years old

Conflict between baby boomers and youth

A “New” LeftInsurgent majority of

liberal arts majors Welcomed idealism of civil-

rights movement Determined not to be

“silent” Port Huron Statement 1962

SDS: Students for a Democratic Society Wanted non-violent

movement Turn US into a

participatory democracy

Protest to ResistanceMario Savio

Home from Freedom Summer Univ. of Cali-Berkley

Banned political activity Started Berkley Free Speech

Movement (FSM) Spread across country New demands

Smaller classes, more minorities

Vietnam influence “Make Love, Not War” SDS, Vietnam Vets. Against

the War 40,000 students, 100

campusesCollege Massacres

Kent State- April 30, 1970Jackson State- May 14,

1970

Counter-Culture Hippies and Drugs

Marijuana 60% of college students tried No real “evidence” against it

LSD Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey

Films “Hair” 1967 “Alice’s Restaurant” 1969

Music Jim Morrison “the Doors” Jefferson Airplane

Revolt Surplus military clothing Torn jeans, tie-dyed shirts

Music Revolution 1960’s College Folk

Bob Dylan Beatlemania Woodstock 1969 End of the movement

NY, San Fran Charles Manson Stones concert at Almont Raceway 1970 Beatles disbanded

Sexual Revolution “if it feels good, do it” “the pill” debate

1970 1/3 fetuses aborted Roe v. Wade (1973)

Publications Playboy Gore Vidal’s “Myra Breckenridge”

1969 Films

“Easy Rider” “Midnight Cowboy”

Divorce rate increased Cohabitation increased “open marriages”

Gay Liberation Public June 1969

Raid on a gay bar in NY “gay pride” Supported mainly in cities Change stigmas

American Psychiatric Association Not a “mental disorder”

1975 US Civil Service Commission ended ban on employment

1968: Politics of UpheavalTet Offensive in Vietnam

Jan 1968 Dem. Eugene McCarthy

Jan 31, 1968 N. Vietnamese attack 100+

villages and US embassyMedia Reaction

LBJ loss of supportShaken President

McCarthy gaining steamRobert Kennedy joins race

Supported by working-class ethnic whites, poor, and minorities

LBJ not seeking re-electionAssassinations and

TurmoilApril 4, 1968: MLK Jr.June 5, 1968: Robert

Kennedy

GOP Nominee Richard NixonPromised to end war

honorablyVoice of Americans

Anti-protests1968 Democratic

ConventionThreat of “yippies”“The whole world is

watching” Chicago police brutality

Conservative resurgenceNixon capitalized on

Chicago Only real threat Independent

George Wallace Represented the South

1968 Election ends Liberal Era

Nixon and World PoliticsVietnamization

Nixon Doctrine 1969 US role “helpful partner” not

military protector in 3rd worldVietnam a MESS

Morale, drugs, murder My Lai massacre 1968

Vietnamization More S. Vietnamese troops 1972 down to 30,000 US

troopsKissinger sent to negotiate

Nixon’s WarSecret B-52 bombings on

Cambodia Widened Indochina War

America’s longest war ends1972 “peace at hand”

Snag with demands Christmas bombing of Hanoi

Paris Accords Jan 1973 Ended hostilities Left situation unresolved

Results 58,000 dead 300,000 wounded $150 billion Psychological effects

“Put Vietnam behind us” US could care less about

IndochinaDétente

1970 “three-dimensional” game 1972- China 1972- Moscow

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks

PoliticsMiddle East

6 day war 1967PLOOctober 1973

Egypt/Syria attacked Israel US sends supplies to Israel Results in oil embargo

Dramatized US reliance on foreign energy sources

Alaska drilling increasedKissinger's Shuttle

DiplomacyMiddle EastAiding anti-democratic

governments and white supremacist regimes against communism

Chile 1970 US involvement Recognizes dictator 1973

Nixon’s Domestic AgendaJuly 21, 1969

“The Eagle has landed”Apollo 11Nation’s hopes restored

AccomplishmentsWage and price controlsAffirmative action policiesVote for 18 year-oldsOSHAEPA

Despite not having a GOP majority in EITHER house of Congress

CriticsGovernment too intrusive

Family Assistance Plan 1969 Race-conscious employment

regulations

Economy$25 billion deficit in 1969

Inflation at 5% Cut gov’t spending Fed raised interest rates Resulted in recession

Different approaches Early 1971- Keynesian

approach Mid-1971- “Freeze” approach 1973- voluntary restraints

Inflation up 9%, 12% in 1974 OPEC

Law and OrderUsed full gov’t resources to

restrain militantsHuston Plan 1970

Against anti-war movement Wire-tapping “The plumbers”

Election 1972Southern Strategy

Court whites upset with racial equality Opposed extension of Voting

Rights Act Hindered Fair Housing Act Slow desegregation

Supreme court nominations More conservative Nominated Chief Justice Warren

Berger Shift to the right

Election Re-election certain

Democrats divided Wallace shot May 1972

Democratic Nominee George McGovern

CREEP Results

Nixon Wins Less people vote

Watergate Arrest of individuals caught

wire-tapping Democratic party center

Paid $400,000 to quiet before election

“Deep Throat” Bob Woodward/ Carl Bernstein

Feb. 1973 Senate investigation Firings/resignations televised

Disgrace VP Agnew charged with tax

evasion Oct. 1973 House minority leader Gerald R.

Ford becomes VP March ’74

Nixon tapes subpoenaed July unedited tapes appear Indicted on 3 articles of

Impeachment Aug 9, 1974 1st president to

resign

ConclusionPublic distrust of politicians and

disillusionment of government for decades to come