From JFK to Ronald Reagan
1960-1988
THE UNITED STATES 1960-1980
1960 Election-defining
election
 Nixon is heir apparent to Eisenhower
 2 term Vice-President
 Former Senator and member of Congress
 Former Red-Hunter who bagged Hiss
 “Old” Nixon is no-hold-bared campaigner
 “New” Nixon is a mature and veteran statesmen
 Kitchen Debate 1959: Nixon vs. Khrushchev
 American consumerism vs Soviet economic planning
 Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. from Massachusetts chosen
as running mate
Democratic Nominee-JFK
John F. Kennedy (JFK) is “youthful, dark-haired
millionaire senator from Massachusetts “
43 years old
Scion of powerful family
Former WW2 Veteran and Roman Catholic
 JFK scores victories in the primaries
 Lyndon Johnson chosen as running mate for
Kennedy-done to please Southern democrats
TV Debates
 Kennedy says Sputnik has allowed Soviets to catch up to
power and prestige of U.S.-”missile gap”
 Nixon says this unpatriotic talk is hurting American
prestige
 Four Televised Debates
 60+ million people watched
 Who won???
 At a minimum JFK holds his own against veteran debater Nixon
 Viewers like Kennedy’s glamour and youth more than Nixon’s
tired and pale look
 TV shows “style over substance”
Results
 Kennedy win the election
 Electoral College: 303-219
 Popular Vote: Margin of 119,574 of 68 million
 Kennedy does well in industrial centers
 Support from workers, Catholics and African Americans
 Nixon campaigned in all 50 states
 Democrats win both houses of congress
 Kennedy becomes youngest person elected
President
 Big city bosses and machine got out vote in key
states-fraud in Illinois and Texas?
1960 Results
Inauguration Day
The New Frontier
Domestic Agenda
 1. Called for across the board tax cuts



rejected by Congress
2. Increased funding for education-rejected
3. Cautious approach to civil rights-case-bycase basis0sent Federal marshals to protect
freedom riders and James Meredith
4. Equal Pay Act of 1963-passed by Congress
5. 1962-Asked Congress to make it priority
for space program
Space Program
 1957 Soviets launch Sputnik-1st space based
satellite
 April 1961, the Soviets had become the first
country to send a man into space with the
successful mission of Yuri Gagarin
 May 1961, American Alan Shepard flew into
space, but did not orbit the earth as the
Russian cosmonaut had.
FOPO and JFK
 JFK campaigned on strong national defense
 Called for increased defense spending
 Young and inexperienced in foreign policy
 Chief advisor-RFK-the Attorney General of
the US
Bay of Pigs-April 1961
 1959-Fidel Castro leads Communists
revolution on Cuba
 1961-JFK authorizes 1400 CIA trained Cuban
exiles to invade Cuba to overthrow Castro
 Invasion a debacle-serious damage to
American prestige and embarrassment to JFK
Berlin Crisis-June 1961
 Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev seeks to




intimidate JFK at Vienna Summit
Demands that Allies remove troops from
West Berlin
JFK calls for defense buildup and renewal of
draft
Restates commitment to West Berlin
Summer of 1961-Building of Berlin Wall
Ich bin ein Berliner”
Cuban Missile Crisis
 Oct 1962-US U2 planes site medium ballistic




missile sites in Cuba
13 day confrontation between US and Soviets
World teetered on edge of WW3
JFK orders a “quarantine” of Cuba, rather
than invasion
Russians back down, agree to remove
launching sites
Limited Test Ban Treaty
 US and Soviets agree to ban the testing of
nuclear weapons in the air, at sea, or in space
Peace Corps
 Volunteer organization for Americans to work
on social and economic programs in 3rd world
nations
 Since 1961, over 200000 Americans have
served in 140 countries
Nov. 22, 1963-Dallas, Texas
 JFK assassinated in Dallas, Texas
 Lone gunman arrested Lee Harvey Oswald,
who was shot and killed few days later
 Nation stunned and riveted to the funeral in
Washington DC and burial at Arlington
National Cemetery
 Warren Commission blames Oswald, says he
acted alone
 Conspiracy theories?????
Lyndon B Johnson 1963-1969
 Former Texan member of Congress and




Senate majority leader
Vice-President under JFK
Took oath of office on airplane to Washington
DC
Allowed the nation time to mourn the
President
Used JFK’s memory to push legislation
The Great Society
 The War on Poverty
 Civil Rights Legislation
 1963-Congress passes…
 Revenue Act of 1963
 Economic Opportunity Act of 1963
 Job Corps
 Community Action Program
 Vista-Volunteers in service to America
1963-March on Washington DC
 MLK delivers “I have the Dream Speech”
 LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964prohibits discrimination on the basis of race
1964 Election
 D-LBJ
 R-Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona




Key facts
LBJ unbeatable in 1964
Goldwater conservative from Arizona
“In your heart, you know he is right”-birth of
modern conservatives
 LBJ wins landslide
1964 election
1965-the Great Society
 LBJ and Congress pass historic legislation
 Head Start
 Elementary and Secondary School Act ($1 billion for
public schools and $100 million for purchase of library
and textbooks
Medicare and Medicaid-health care for old and poor
Voting Rights Act –guaranteed voting rights for
minorities
Omnibus Housing Act provided $7.5 billion for lowincome housing
Created Department of Housing and Urban
Development
Air Quality Act created auto emission standards
Head Start
Public Housing
Vietnam: An American Tragedy
Background
 Vietnam-part of French Indochina
 Japanese invaded 1940, defeated 1945
 1945-1st Indochinese war
 French versus Vietminh
 Vietminh-Indochinese Communists Party led
by ho Chi Minh
Division of Vietnam
 1954-Surrender of French at Dien Bien Phu
 1954-Geneva Accords-Vietnam divided at the
17th Parallel
 North Vietnam-headed by Ho Chi Minh
 South Vietnam-headed by Ngo Dinh Diem
 National Liberation Front-Viet Cong
 Communists guerillas in South Vietnam
War-Vietcong in the South
 Communists insurgency in the south
 Vietcong attacks on South Vietnam-aided by
North Vietnam
 1963-JFK orders 16000 Green Berets to
Vietnam and attack helicoptors
1964-Tonkin Gulf Incident
 USS Maddox, on an intelligence mission
along North Vietnam's coast, allegedly fired
upon and damaged several torpedo boats
that had been stalking it in the Gulf of
Tonkin. A second attack was reported two
days later
 Congress passes Tonkin Gulf resolution
authoring LBJ to use force against
Communism in Vietnam
Domino Theory
 Belief that if South Vietnam fell to
communists that it would lead to fall of one
country after another
Search and destroy
 US Army and Marines versus Viet Cong and
NVA
 Search and destroy-American missions to
hunt and destroy Vietcong and NVA
Operation Rolling Thunder
 American air attack on north Vietnam
 US drops more bombs on North Vietnam
than Japan and Germany combined
Escalation
Jan 1968 Tet Offensive
 Vietcong launch massive coordinated attack
on South Vietnam-every capital, Saigon, the
American embassy, and American military
bases
 No end to sight to fighting-undermined
American morale and credibility of LBJ and
the military
Tet Offensive
Walter Cronkite
 The war is unwinnable
1968-Year of Turmoil
January 7, 1968
 Diane Ruth Atwood born in Plattsburg NY to
Tom and Pat Atwood
Jan31, 1968-Tet Offensive
 Over 70,000 NVA and VC troops launch
massive attack on South Vietnam, major
turning point in war, US embassy invaded and
captured
March, 1968
 Anti-War candidate Eugene McCarthy almost
wins the democratic primary in New
Hampshire, Senator Robert F Kennedy
announces he will enter the race
 LBJ announces to nation he will not seek re-
nomination for another term
April 4, 1968
 MLK assassinated in Memphis, sparks rioting
throughout major American cities
 RFK delivers the News in Indianapolis
April 1968-Student unrest
 Students occupy admin building at Columbia
University-police storm the building 7 days
later
June 4, 1968
 RFK assassinated in San Francisco after
winning the California primary, body taken to
Arlington National cemetery to be buried
August, 1968
 Richard Nixon nominated by RNC to be the
Republican candidate for President
 Democratic convention opens in Chicago,
anti-war protestors engage in days of battle
with the Chicago police
 Dem nominate Hubert H Humphrey -VP
DNC-Chicago
Election-1968
 Richard Nixon-R-Former VP
 Hubert H Humphrey-D-current VP
 Nixon campaign-2 major themes-”forgotten
Americans”
 1. Peace with honor in Vietnam
 2. Law and order
Humphrey-tied to Johnson’s Vietnam policy, Jan 31.
LBJ announces halt to US bombing in North
Vietnam
Results
Richard M Nixon-1969-1974
 Former member of Congress and VP
 Known as a Red Hunter
 Shrewd, ambitious, hard working politician
 Visionary at times, petty and vindictive as
well
 Appealed to many ordinary Americans-the
“forgotten Americans”
Nixon’s Foreign Policy
 “Real-politik”-practical politics
 Nixon sought a new world order-Cold War a
thing of the past
 Maintain a balance of power between great
powers
 US
 Soviets
 Western Europe
 China
 Japan
Nixon and Kissinger
Vietnam
 How to win “peace with honor?”
 Plan was Vietnamization
 Gradual withdrawal of American forces as we
trained the army of South Vietnam to take
over-1969-25000 troops come home
 Escalation of the war to win victory and
negotiate from position of strength
Vietnam-1969-70
 NVA infiltrating into South Vietnam along
the Ho Chi Minh Trail from neutral Laos and
Cambodia, Nixon determined to stop flow of
supplies
May 1970
 Nixon orders secret invasion of Cambodia by
elements of US army, does not inform
Congress or the US public
 Nation erupts in controversy-100 universities
shut down, protestors storm Washington DC
 May 5, 1970-Kent State shootings of students
Communist China
 Nixon convinced he could drive a wedge
between the Soviets and open door to China
 1971-Henry Kissinger make secret flights to
Pakistan and China to open talks to Zhou
Enlai-Chinese FM
 1972-RMN becomes first American President
to visit China-meets with Mao
 Only Nixon could go to China
Arms Control-1972
 Intense discussions with Soviet leader Leonid
Brezhnev
 SALT-Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
 US and Soviets sign agreement that slows the
arms race and limits ICBMs
1972 Election
1973-End of American
involvement in Vietnam
 Nixon and Kissinger conclude peace talks
with North Vietnam in Paris
 1. Called for a cease fire
 2. return of American POWS
 3. Left status of South Vietnam open to a
future political settlement though peaceful
means
Vietnam-1963-1973
Watergate-A long National
Nightmare
 Nixon White House Staff and reelection
campaign
 Obsession with getting reelected and
maintaining secrecy in the face of antiwar
protests and leaks to press
 Staff ordered break-ins of Psychiatrist office
of Daniel Ellsberg-who had leaked the
Pentagon Papers
Watergate Hotel
 June 1972 Break in to the Democratic
National Party headquarters, Plumbers
botched the break in and arrested, Cash
connected to CREEP found on the men-hush
money paid
Senate Watergate Committee
 Conducted investigation into Nixon’s White
house, evidence that Nixon was running a
criminal operation out of the White House
 Evidence that Nixon had secret tapes
installed in the White House
The Smoking Gun
 Nixon forced by SCOTUS to release the
tapes-evidence that Nixon ordered a cover up
of the investigation
House Judiciary Committee
 Adopts 3 articles of Impeachment
 Abuse of Power
 Obstruction of Justice
 Contempt of Congress
 Nixon resigns before House can impeach him
Nixon
Movements of the 1960s-the
Civil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King Jr.
 Called for peaceful, non-violent civil




disobedience
Organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott and
the Selma March for voting rights
Delivered the “I have a Dream” Speech
Fought for passage of Civil Rights Act and
Voting Rights Act
Assassinated in 1968
Black Nationalism and Islam
 Black Panther Party-called for black
nationalism and militant self-defense
 Nation of Islam-led by Elijah Muhammad and
Malcolm X
 Malcolm X assassinated in 1965
Women
 Betty Friedan publishes the Feminine
Mystique stating that women were
dissatisfied with traditional role as mothers
and housewives, sparked the 2nd wave of
American feminism
Environmental Movement
 Silent Spring- written by Rachel Carson
 Spurred the environmental movement in
America
 Led to the ban of DDT and the formation of
the EPA under the Nixon administration
Student activism
 Student activism and protests-formation on
SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) amd
SNCC (Student non-violent Coordinating
Committee
 1967-1973-Large scale anti-war protests
The Counterculture
 Haight Asbury District of San Francisco
 Rejection of conventional social norms of the
1950s. Counterculture youth rejected the cultural
standards of their parents, especially
 1. racial segregation
 2. the war in Vietnam
 3. The Cold war arms race
 4. Sexual Mores
 5. drug use
 6. the Music and fashions
1950 Mores
Late 1960’s
Woodstock-August 1969
"An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace &
Music
Became the most defining event of the counterculture
Became a free concert
Woodstock
The Politics of the 1970’s
and 80’s




Nixon resignation-1974
President Ford (1974-77)
1. Ford pardoned Richard Nixon
2. Economy in trouble-high unemployment
and high inflation-stagflation
 3. Foreign Policy Problems-Final collapse of
South Vietnam (1975)
 4. Energy Crisis-OPEC embargoes oil to the
US
Carter-A Failed Presidency
 Former governor of Georgia
 Born-again Christian who said he would never lie





to the American people
1. Problems with economy-stagflation
2. Negotiated Camp David Accords between
Israel and Egypt-greatest achievement
3. Energy crisis of 1979
4. Condemned Soviet invasion of Afghanistanboycotted Olympics in Moscow
5. Iranian hostage Crisis-52 Americans held
hostage for 444 days
Carter
Election of 1980
 Jimmy Carter-D
 Ronald Reagan-R-Governor of Cal
 RR former movie actor and conservative
supporter of Barry Goldwater
 Supported by “New Right”
 Evangelicals Christians and Moral majority
 “Are you better off today than you were 4
years ago?”
`1980 Election
Reagan’s 1st term
 Recession of 1981-unemployment at 11%,




double digit interest rates
Interest rates to 21% to deal with inflation
Reaganomics-”supply side” economics
cut in marginal tax rates, increase in defense
spending, and cut government regulation
Result: Inflation came down, interest rates
lowered and US economy recovered and
started to grow
1981-Assassination attempt
 Ronald Reagan victim of Assassination
attempt by John Hinckley JR
Reagan and the Soviets
 Reagan condemned the Soviet Union as the
“evil empire” and predicted that MarxistLeninism would end up on the ash heap of
history-believed in peace through strength
 1. Massive defense build-up
 2. Armed the mujahedeen rebels in
Afghanistan
 3. Supported the Contras-anti Communist
guerillas against Sandinistas
Foreign Policy Problems
 1983-Marine Barracks blown up in Lebanon
by suicide bomber
 1983-US led invasion of Grenada
1984 reelection
 Reagan easily defeats Walter Mondale
 Morning in American Campaign
Iran Contra
 Biggest scandal of the Reagan admin
 NSC plan to trade arms to Iran for hostages in
Middle East and then divert funds to the
Contras in Nicaragua
 Hearings in the Senate
 Reagan seemed out of touch
Mikhail Gorbachev
 Came to power in 1985
 Reforms loosed changes that would end Soviet
system in 7 years
 1. Policy of “perestroika”-economic
reconstructing that abandons traditional Marxist
ideology in favor of free market reforms
 2. “Glasnost”-openness-allowed more criticism
of Soviet system and relaxed atmosphere
Reagan and detente
 INF Treaty signed with the Soviets-limited
intermediate range ballistic missiles
Reagan in Berlin
 “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this Wall!”
The Computer Revolution
 1974-1977: A number of personal
computers hit the market, including Scelbi &
Mark-8 Altair, IBM 5100, RadioShack’s TRS80—affectionately known as the “Trash 80,”
and the Commodore PET.
 1975: The IBM 5100 becomes the first
commercially available portable computer.
APPLE
 1976: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak start
Apple Computers on April Fool’s Day and roll
out the Apple I, the first computer with a
single-circuit board.
The Birth of the Computer
geek
 1977: Radio Shack's initial production run of
theTRS-80 was just 3,000. It sold like crazy.
For the first time, non-geeks could write
programs and make a computer do what they
wished.
The Apple 2
 1977: Jobs and Wozniak incorporate Apple
and show the Apple II at the first West Coast
Computer Faire. It offers color graphics and
incorporates an audio cassette drive for
storage.
MS-DOS
 1981: The first IBM personal computer, code
named “Acorn,” is introduced. It uses
Microsoft’s MS-DOS operating system. It has
an Intel chip, two floppy disks and an optional
color monitor. Sears & Roebuck and
Computerland sell the machines, marking the
first time a computer is available through
outside distributors. It also popularizes the
term PC.
GUI-Graphic User interphase
 1983: Apple’s Lisa is the first personal
computer with a GUI. It also features a dropdown menu and icons. It flops but eventually
evolves into the Macintosh.
Windows is born
 1985: Microsoft announces Windows, its
response to Apple’s GUI. Commodore unveils
the Amiga 1000, which features advanced
audio and video capabilities.