SECTION 2 NEW FRONTIER AND GREAT SOCIETY

THE KENNEDY AND JOHNSON YEARS

KENNEDY V. NIXON

The New Frontier-KENNEDY

Will be remembered as the President who instilled Americans with renewed idealism.

New Frontier-label for his vision of progress at home

A personal vision of Kennedy’s—progressive ideology but not a radical one.

Hoped to increase aid to education, provide health insurance to the elderly, and create a Department of Urban Affairs.

WORKING STYLE

Gathered a team of the best and the brightest around him.

Content on the domestic front to nudge along economic growth and to strengthen public programs.

His interests were centered on foreign policy—the cold war and containment of communism.

Containing Communism

“Flexible response”This was his attempt to stop the spread of

communism with a range of programs including:

A conventional weaponry program, expansion of the Special Forces, a program to provide economic aid to Latin America, and creation of the Peace Corps.

International Development

Alliance for Progress: aid projects w/ Latin America

Peace Corps sent volunteers to developing countries.

Tried to pass an education bill—there was a fear that federal support for education would mean less state control.

Was not able to get it passed.

THE SPACE RACETHE SPACE RACE

Soviet Union gained edge in space race when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth in 1961

Following month, Kennedy asked Congress for a commitment to the goal of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth” before 1970.

NASADeveloped a three-stage

program to put Americans in space.

1st Stage: Project Mercury-test flights b/w 1961 and 1963.

John Glenn-1st American to orbit earth in 1962.

Apollo program—landed on moon in 1968.

BERLIN WALLBERLIN WALL

August 1961- Met with Soviet Premier

Nikita Khruschev. Khrushev wanted to stop flood of Germans pouring out of Communist East Germany into West Berlin.

He demanded that the Western Powers recognize East Germany and that the U.S. and G.B. and France with draw from Berlin.

Kennedy refused—and reaffirmed West’s commitment to West Berlin

Kruschev retaliated by building a wall through Berlin.

For nearly 30 years, stood as a symbol of Cold War divisions.

BERLIN WALL

KENNEDY SPEECH AT BERLIN WALL

BAY OF PIGS

After Fidel Castro became dictator of Cuba, he developed ties with the Soviet Union.

President Eisenhower had approved CIA tp secretly train a group of Cuban exiles (La Brigada) to invade the island.

It was intended to set off a popular uprising against Castro.

When Kennedy became President, he agreed to operations with some changes.

Bay of Pigs Continued

Invasion was a disaster. 1. The boats ran aground on coral reefs2. Kennedy had canceled air support to keep

U.S. involvement secret.3. The expected uprising never happened—

within 2 days Castro’s forces killed or captured all the members of La Brigada.

Dark moment for Kennedy administration-made us look weak and disorganized.

Bay of Pigs

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

1962- American intelligence agencies learned that Soviets were constructing military sites in Cuba.

9/22-Kennedy announces to public (on TV) that American spy planes had taken ariel photos showing S.U. had placed long-range missiles in Cuba.

Kennedy ordered a naval blockade to stop delivery of more missiles.

Demanded that the others be dismantled and that if attacked, the U.S. would respond fully against the Soviet Union.

After negotations-S.U. offered a deal—it would remove the missiles if U.S. promised not to invade Cuba and also remove missiles from Turkey.

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

HOPES CUT OFFHOPES CUT OFF

November 22, 1963Shot and killed in

Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald.

Two days later, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby, pushed through police and shot and killed Oswald at point-blank range.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=KPW_E16fmwc

Johnson’s Great Society

Administration began in the tragedy of Kennedy’s assassination and ended in the tragedy of disastrous war in Vietnam.

In between, Johnson carried forward Kennedy’s dream of a New Frontier.

He also went beyond Kennedy’s domestic programs to launch his vision of the Great Society.

Differences between the two men

Kennedy—handsome, sophisticated, well-educated

Johnson—could be crude and intimidating.Johnson-great at building coalitions but used

what was coined “THE TREATMENT”The treatment was to find out everything he

could about a person and then either flatter, promise, or threaten all the while suggesting that the other person’s decision was going to make the difference between success or failure.

Fashioning a Legacy

Johnson was a very determined and confident man.

He cared deeply about the poor and he cared about his place in history.

He felt he could become the first President to create a just society that all but eliminated poverty and hardship.

Declared War on Poverty in the U.S.

THE GREAT SOCIETY

Pushed Kennedy’s initiatives such as Civil Rights Act through Congress.

Economic Opportunity Act—established Volunteers in Service to American (VISTA)—like a domestic peace corps.

-EOC also funded Project Head Start—disadvantaged pre-schooler program.

Upward Bound, Work Experience Program

Overwhelming defeat of Rep. Sen. Barry Goldwater in 1964 election.

OTHER PROGRAMS BY JOHNSON

Huge pieces of legislation

Medicare-federally funded health care for the elderly.

Medicaid-for needy who were too young for Medicare.

Model Cities ActHousing and Urban

Development—Robert Weaver( 1st African American on a presidential cabinet)

VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965

Put teeth into the 15th Amendment by providing federal supervision of voter registration.

Immigration legislation—did away with quota system.

XV AMENDMENTSection 1. The right of

citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

SUCCESSES AND LIMITATIONS

Successful in creating legislative programs but not as successful in implementing them.

It was under funded—partly because of Vietnam.

It promised so much that, despite its successes, critics could always point to unresolved problems.

Successes: poverty numbers dropped, Civil Rts Acts passed.