• Students will be able to explain the policies of the New Frontier and events taking place during the Kennedy administration• Students will be able to explain the different events of the Cold War

that took place during the Kennedy administration• Students will be able to explain the different policies set by the Great

Society during the Johnson administration

• The Election of 1960 Television had impact as debates were

televised for first time John F. Kennedy

From wealthy family US Navy veteran Catholic Calm and relaxed

Richard M. Nixon Quaker US Navy veteran Vice President under Eisenhower From lower middle-class Came across as stiff and formal

• Very little difference on main issues – both “Cold Warriors” and both wanted to strengthen economy• Kennedy believed there was a

missile gap• Vote difference was razor thin• Speculation that JFK’s father,

Joseph Kennedy, bought the election• Kennedy became president

• JFK popular due to youth and optimism, attractive sophisticated wife, and young children• Received Pulitzer Prize for book,

Profiles in Courage, ghost-written for him• Charisma• Knew how to work the press

• JFK’s legislative agenda called the New Frontier• Wanted to spend more on

education, help elderly and migrant workers• Both Republican and Democrats

in Congress not eager to help JFK• Much of his agenda failed to get

through Congress

• Kennedy boosted the economy by spending on defense and space exploration• JFK worked with unions and

businesses to keep American industry competitive and efficient• Congress refused to cut taxes

JFK wanted but did raise minimum wage

• Women Although JFK did not appoint any

female cabinet officers, he did put women in several important government positions

1961 - He created the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women

Ended gender discrimination in federal hiring

1963 – signed Equal Pay Act

• Warren Court Reforms Chief Justice Earl Warren, placed on

bench by Eisenhower, took activist role and shaped American policy

Reapportionment – way in which states draw up political districts based on population

In Reynolds v. Sims, Supreme Court ruled current reapportionment system unconstitutional

Decision boosted power of urban areas as well as blacks and Hispanics who typically lived in cities

• SCOTUS, in series of historic cases, applied 14th Amendment to states• Due Process – law cannot treat

people differently, unfairly, and courts must follow proper procedures and rules• Gideon v. Wainwright – accused had

right to a lawyer even if he could not pay• Miranda v. Arizona – authorities must

advise suspects of constitutional rights upon arrest (Miranda Rights)

• SCOTUS also ruled in several religious cases• States could not compose

official prayers and require students to recite them• Ruled against state-mandated

Bible readings in public school• Ruled the sale and use of

birth control was protected by right to privacy

• Kennedy and the Cold War Kennedy wanted to move away

from Eisenhower’s reliance on nuclear weapons

Put into place policy of Flexible Response – President could use money, materiel, or the US military to counter Communist aggression

Supported establishment of US Army Special Forces (the Green Beret) and their use in limited conflicts

• JFK wanted to strengthen relationship with Latin America

• Wanted to keep Communism out of the region

• Proposed Alliance for Progress – a series of cooperative aid projects with Latin American governments

• Performance was mixed – some good was done but in many cases the American aid was pocketed by Latin American leaders

• Kennedy established the Peace Corps – sent young Americans to developing countries to help build schools, wells, etc. The organization is still active today

• USSR first to put man in space (Yuri Gagarin)• US worried it was falling behind

in technology• Kennedy began the space race –

a race to put the first man on the moon• US completed the mission on

July 20, 1969 when Neil Armstrong walked on moon

• 1961 The Bay of Pigs Eisenhower authorized CIA to train

and equip anti-Communist Cubans to try and overthrow Castro

When JFK became president he agreed to the plan

Cuban force invaded Cuba but were met on beach by Communist Cuban forces

JFK cancelled their air support Almost all the men were captured

or killed Operation made Kennedy look weak

• 1961 Berlin Wall Soviet leader Khrushchev wanted

the West to leave Berlin Communist East Germany losing

thousands of people – brain drain West refused to leave Berlin Communist constructed Berlin

Wall and fortified other borders

• 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis US intelligence discovered Russia

setting up nuclear missiles in Cuba

Options? Kennedy chose to blockade Cuba

– to stop delivery of more missiles & demanded USSR dismantle those already set-up

Two weeks US / USSR close to war USSR agreed if US promised not

to invade Cuba and to dismantle US missiles in Turkey

• Impact of Missile Crisis Closest world came to nuclear war Because of crisis, both nations

sought to ease tensions Agreed to a test ban treaty for

atmospheric testing Humiliating backing down by USSR

caused fall of Khrushchev from power in 1964

Crisis showed inferiority of Russian military – caused massive military build-up (arms race with US)

• Kennedy Assassination November 22, 1963 Dallas, Texas Assassin: Lee Harvey Oswald Three shots Oswald killed by Jack Ruby Warren Commission Report Conspiracy theories

• Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Wanted to create an America free

from poverty Tough, persuasive politician The “Johnson Treatment” Made decisions from consensus –

general agreement By 1964 he had gotten through

Congress a major tax cut, major civil rights legislation, and anti-poverty programs

• Johnson had known hard times and saw poverty up close as a teacher in a low-income area

• Johnson also wanted to be a great president

• His administration declared a “war on poverty”

• Signed 1964 Equal Opportunity Act • Established the Job Corps – helped find

work for unemployed• Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) –

put skilled people in poor neighborhoods to help people overcome poverty

• Two important civil rights laws passed: 1064 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act• The Great Society

Johnson’s vision of a more perfect and equal American society

With the Civil Rights Movement strong and the US prosperous everyone thought LBJ’s goal could be attained

Most significant programs: Medicare and Medicaid

Elementary and Secondary Education Act gave millions to public and private schools

Project Head Start – improve education by helping poor preschoolers

New cabinet department added: Department of Housing and Urban Development – headed by Robert Weaver, first black cabinet secretary

Immigration reform eliminated quotas but did limit overall immigration

• Was the Great Society a Success?

Many programs did not work As economic situation worsened

programs died from lack of funds Medicare and Medicaid have

grown and outstripped funding – changed healthcare in US

Head Start still around but studies show little to no benefit

Poverty is just as prevalent today as in the 1960s