THE KENNEDY & JOHNSON YEARS
Chapter 18
John F. Kennedy
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Democrat
Junior Senator
Young: 43
Wealthy, Connected
Family
Handsome
Catholic
Richard M. Nixon
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Republican
VP
Youngish: 47
Humble Means
“Tricky Dick”
Quaker
Election
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1960 Elections first to have
televised debates
Kennedy & Nixon Debates
Kennedy had Hollywood producers
to coach
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Makeup, suit, speaking
Nixon refused makeup, grey suit
Kennedy played on Cold War
Fears claiming the US had fallen
behind in the Arms Race – said
Eisenhower not doing enough
Also championed the poor: 17
million hungry
Camelot
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Jack & Jackie
Photographs
showed JFK
strong, athletic,
handsome
Young, beautiful
wife Jackie (31)
Two small
children (first in
White House
since 1908)
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JFK’s plan to change the nation
Tried to reduce taxes – congress said no
 Federal aid to education – congress said no
 Cancelled government contracts with steel companies to
lower prices
 Area Redevelopment Act of 1961- financial assistance to
economically distressed regions
 Minimum wage raised from $1.00 $1.25
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:
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John Glenn: First American to
we wereOrbit
losing
Earthin the Space
Race
Sets the goal of landing on the moon before the decade is
up – it would be an accomplishment for the entire nation
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Supreme Court under Chief
Justice Earl Warren
Made many reforms
– desegregate
schools
–
right to a lawyer
– banned
prayer/Bible reading in
schools
Foreign Affairs
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1959
Fulgencio Batista
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overthrows
(US backed Cuban Dictator)
Takes over Private Business
Makes Anti-American Speeches
Signed trade agreement with the
USSR
CIA believed an invasion of
Cuba would inspire Cubans to
rise up
Eisenhower Okayed the
operation (about to leave office)
Foreign Affairs
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1960: Kennedy learns of
a plan to train Cuban
Exiles to invade Cuba
Kennedy in tough spot: to
invade, or not to invade?
CIA assures Kennedy that
the plan will succeed
JFK gave the go-ahead
April 15:
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Cuban Exiles, fly
bomber
planes
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and attack Cuban
airfields,
Cuban Exiles also
invade beaches
No secret
“The Perfect Failure”
April 17:
US Navy ships
assist Cuban
Brigade, but don’t
fight
Cuban Forces, led
by Fidel Castro,
sink 2 ships, and
capture 1,200
men
Outcome
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JFK took the blame – got respect from the people
Collins Type II – Write an article!
 Describe
the Bay of Pigs Invasion
 What was the lead up to the event?
 What happened?
 What was the outcome?
 What do YOU think??
Vienna Conference
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JFK invited Khrushchev to
meet with him in Vienna,
Austria in June 1961 to
ease tensions
Khrushchev demanded:
 US
and allies recognize
Communist East Germany
as an independent nation
 Withdraw from West
Berlin
Vienna Conference
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West Berlin was an “island
of freedom” surrounded by
East Germany
 3.5 Million East Germans
escaped through West
Berlin
JFK & advisors afraid East
Germany would use force to
regain West Berlin
 Called reserves into active
duty, built nuclear shelters
in US, troop buildup in
West Germany
Berlin Wall
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August 13, 1961: Khrushchev
closed crossing points between
East and West Berlin
Within hours 25,000 troops
were in place to guard a
barbed wire barrier around
West Berlin
A proper wall soon followed:
97 miles around the three
Western Sectors, 27 miles
between West & East Berlin
No Mans Land in Between
Collins Type II – Write a letter
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What was the Berlin
Wall?
 What
led up to its
being built?
 What was its purpose?
 How will it affect East
& West Germans?
Cuban Missile Crisis
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US actions at the Bay of Pigs and Berlin Crisis
encouraged USSR to become more aggressive
Khrushchev pledged to defend Cuba
USSR concerned about nuclear missiles placed in
Turkey
Convinced Castro to allow Surface - to – air missiles
(SAM) and nuclear missiles in Cuba
JFK accused of being “soft on communism”
Cuban Missile Crisis
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JFK ordered U-2 spy planes to fly over Cuba
1962: photos showed the building of SAMs
JFK’s advisors advised an airstrike
Followed by an invasion
 Act of war
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Robert McNamara & Robert Kennedy wanted a naval
blockade
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This would be an act of war too, less threatening
JFK chose blockade
For two days the US prepared for war as Soviet ships sailed
for Cuba – Khrushchev said if we try to stop them, WAR!
Khrushchev wrote a letter…
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Offering to remove the missiles if the US promised to never
invade Cuba
Then he wrote another letter demanding the US pull missiles
out of Turkey
JFK ignored the second letter
 Secretly, Robert Kennedy promised we would take missiles out
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This is the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war
JFK & Khrushchev installed a hotline so they could
communicate directly
: end testing nuclear weapons in
the atmosphere & underwater
13 Days
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John F. Kennedy – President
Robert Kennedy – Attorney
General
Kenny O’Donnell - Advisor
Robert McNamara – Secretary
of Defense
Dean Atcheson – Secretary of
State under Truman
Adlai Stevenson – Ambassador
to the UN
November 22, 1963
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JFK went to Dallas to campaign for the 1964 election
Rode in a convertible
shot Kennedy from the 6th floor
of the Texas School Book Depository
Two days later Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby
gave the oath of office
on Air Force One
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Set up the
DEATH
TO INVESTIGATE JFK’S
“The legacy of hope died with him. You never had that
same sense again that we were moving forward.”
LBJ – Lyndon Baines Johnson
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Powerful Senator from Texas
Hated being VP
“It was my duty to carry on” what JFK
had planned
Master Legislator – used the
JOHNSON TREATMENT
WAR ON POVERTY
GREAT SOCIETY: DOMESTIC
PROGRAMS , AIMS TO END POVERTY
AND RACIAL INJUSTICE
MEDICAID: healthcare for poor
MEDICARE: healthcare for 65+
DAISY AD: election of 1964
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Beat Barry Goldwater
Turn to Page 546
Look at the Major Great Society
Programs Chart
 Write a Collins Type II:
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 What
was the Great Society & its aims
 Use three examples from chart to describe its
goals (underline examples!)