CHAPTER 28
The New Frontier and the Great
Society
28-1
JFK and the Cold War
The Election
of 1960
KEY ISSUES OF
THE ELECTION:
Cold War
Television
Civil Rights
THE CANDIDATES
KENNEDY
• Young , handsome, &
charismatic
• From wealthy/powerful
family
• Promised active leadership
• Negatives– Youth/inexperience
– Catholic
NIXON
• Experienced
• Expert on foreign policy
• Eisenhower’s VP—hoped to
riding Eisenhower’s
popularity
• Negatives– Some Americans felt US was
losing Cold War
– Lack of visual appeal to voters
TELEVISED DEBATE
Sept. 26, 1960
– First televised debate between presidential candidates
– Kennedy was coached by television producers—he
looked and spoke better than Nixon
• Launched television age of American politics
CIVIL RIGHTS
• October 1960- MLK Jr. was arrested in Georgia along with 33
other demonstrators for sitting/demonstrating at a
segregated lunch counter
– Demonstrators were released, but King was given months
of hard labor for a “minor traffic violation”
• Eisenhower refused to get involved/Nixon (VP
• JFK called MLK’s wife, RFK persuaded judge to release
MLK Jr. on bail
– JFK won AA votes and key states in Midwest and
South.
CAMELOT
• The Camelot Years
– Kennedy’s youth and the appeal of his family
along with his talented advisors (“The Best and
the Brightest”) reminded many King Arthur’s
mythical court—Camelot
THE KENNEDY MYSTIQUE
• JFK’s family fascinated the American public
– JFK could read 1600 words/minute
– Fashion and culture of Jackie Kennedy
– Many pictures and stories in magazines and
newspapers of Caroline and John
THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST
• JFK chose only the best to be his advisors:
– McGeorge Bundy (Harvard Dean)—national
security
– Robert McNamara (Pres. of Ford)—Sec. of Def.
– Dean Rusk (Pres. of Rockefeller Found.)– Sec. of
State
– RFK (35 y.o. brother)—Attorney General
• Most trusted advisor
NEW MILITARY STRATEGY
• Kennedy did not feel Eisenhower did enough
about the Soviet Union
– Felt Soviets were gaining ground in 3rd world
countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
– Blamed Republicans for “allowing” communism in
Cuba so close to US
• Kennedy did not like the threat of all-out
nuclear war to deter Soviet aggression—
especially in a minor incident.
• Kennedy
FLEXIBLE RESPONSE
– Increased military spending non-nuclear forces:
• Troops, ships, artillery, Special Forces (Green Berets)
– AND increased nuclear capabilities (3x the
amount!)
• READY FOR ANYTHING
• .
CRISES OVER CUBA
• 2-weeks before Kennedy took office, Fidel Castro
(communist) took power in Cuba
• Castro promised democracy, but once in power
did just the opposite
– US cut off relations w/Cuba
– Seized American and British oil fields
– Castro relied more and more on aid from the Soviet
Union
• About 10% of Cuba’s pop. went into exile b/c they saw
Castro as a tyrant dictator.
BAY OF PIGS INCIDENT
• CIA plan to train exiles to invade Cuba and
remove Castro fails
• Air strike failed to knock out Cuban air forces
• Diversionary group failed to land
• Heavily armed Cuban troops stopped invasion
• Kennedy refused to authorize US air support
• Kennedy took responsibility in public for the
fiasco
• EMBARRASSMENT TO UNITED STATES
Cuban Missile Crisis
• Krushchev (Soviet Union) promises to defend Cuba with
weapons, including nuclear missiles
• U-2 photographic evidence shows nuclear missile ready to
launch
• Kennedy informs the nation of the missiles
• The world is gripped with fear of nuclear attack
• US Navy blockades (quarantine) Cuba and Soviet ships
turned back
• Missiles removed
– US pledge not to invade Cuba & makes a secret treaty to remove
missiles from Turkey
MOST DANGEROUS MOMENT OF COLD WAR??
Impact of Cuban Missile Crisis
• Krushchev's prestige damaged
• Kennedy criticized for using brinksmanship
tactics
• Kennedy too "soft" and lost chance to oust
Castro
• Angry Cuban exiles switch support to
Republican Party
Is this quotation still valid today?
“Nuclear powers must avert those
confrontations which bring an adversary to a
choice of either a humiliating retreat or a
nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in
the nuclear age would be evidence only of the
bankruptcy of our policy—or of a collective
death wish for the world”
-John F. Kennedy, Speech at American
University, 1963
Berlin Crisis
• West Berlin's prosperous
economy showcased
success of western
democracy while East
Germany is suffering
with a weak economy &
lack of Civil Rights
• Large numbers of East
Germans flee to West
Berlin
• Berlin Wall constructed
(1961)
Easing Cold War Tensions
• Hot Line
– established between White House & Kremlin
– diffuse potential crises/war quickly
• Limited Test Ban Treaty:
– banned nuclear testing in atmosphere
New Frontier:
Stimulate the Economy
• Provide medical care to the aged, urban
repair, education aid
• Raised minimum wage to $1.25, extended
unemployment
• Paid for through deficit spending and an
increase in taxes
New Frontier:
Addressing Poverty Abroad
• Peace Corps
– Assistance to developing nations
• (Agricultural advisers, teachers, health aides, etc.)
– GREAT SUCCESS!!
• Alliance for Progress
– economic and technical help for Latin America
– Contain communism
New Frontier:
Race to the Moon
• April 1961, Soviet Union put a man on the
moon, US saw this as a challenge & was
determined to win the Space Race
• July 1969, US puts first man on the Moon
• Impact of space program
– Education: expanded science programs
– Technology: computers and miniaturized
electronics
Assassination of JFK
• November 22, 1963: Kennedy Assassinated in
Dallas, Texas
• Lee Harvey Oswald charged with the murder
• Warren Commission
– Found that Harvey acted alone
• Zapruder Film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_R4jLE_lJk