■Essential Question:
–To what degree did Kennedy’s
“New Frontier” domestic &
foreign policy differ from Truman
& Eisenhower in the 1950s?
Kennedy &
the New Frontier
JFK Video
st time TV
But, JFK’s
it was not
the
1
New Frontier
influenced
politics…
■The election of 1960 between
McCarthy
wasF.destroyed
by
Eisenhower
usedNixon
Richard
& John
Kennedy
TV in the Army-Senate
TV towas
campaign
st
the 1 to use TV
debates:
hearings
in 1952 & 1956
–Nixon
was
much
better
known
Nixon used to TV to TN Senator Kefauver
but theinTV
swing
defend himself
thedebates
used TVhelped
to investigate
“Checkers”
speech voters
organized
crime
undecided
towards
JFK
–1960 marked the beginning of
television dominance in politics
–Image & appearance became
essential traits for candidates
JFK’s New Frontier
■Kennedy’ administration reflected
youth, energy, & sharp break from
Eisenhower
The JFK era began
“Camelot”
■JFK
promised a New Frontier:
comparisons with JFK
as a–Domestic
modern-day reforms in education,
health care, & civil rights
Lancelot
–A foreign policy committed to
defeating the Soviet Union &
winning the Cold War
…the
extension
of
New
Frontier
Social Security…
■JFK’s New FrontierAnpromised
a
increase
in the
…and
medical
insurance
return of FDR-era
liberal
policies:
…unemployment
minimum
wage
for the elderly were
all
benefits…
–But, Conservatives
inbyCongress
shot down
Congress
Increased
funds for
opposed JFK’s social
reforms
public
housingin
Aid for public
JFK’s
schools…
education & health care
–Congress did help the poor
–The modernization of industry,
gov’t spending, & a major tax
cut in 1963 stimulated the
economy & created jobs
JFK’s New Frontier
■One long-lasting achievement of
the JFK-era was strengthening
JFK appointed tough, pragmatic, &
the
presidency:
academic “New Frontiersmen” to his staff
–Eisenhower
left
many
decisions
Kennedy referred to his staff as
to the
his “the
staff,
but
JFKbrightest”
demanded
best
& the
more direct presidential control
–JFK transferred much of the
decision-making power from the
cabinet to his White House staff
Kennedy Intensifies
the Cold War
Kennedy Intensifies the Cold War
■Addressing U.S. foreign policy &
containing Communism was
JFK’s top priority as president:
–JFK believed Ike compromised
with the USSR when the Cold
“Let every
whether
wishes us
Warnation
couldknow,
have
been itwon
well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear
–JFK aimed
close the
“missile
any burden,
meet anytohardship,
support
any
friend, oppose
foe to assure
survival &
gap” &any
increase
U.S.thedefenses
success
of
liberty.
We
will
do
this
&
more.”
–Looked to solve issues in
—JFK’s inaugural address
Berlin, Vietnam, & Cuba
Flexible Response
■JFK shifted from Ike’s “mutually
assured destruction” to a “flexible
response” capable of responding
to a variety of future problems:
JFK was
convincednuclear
that the USSR
had to
more
–Increased
arsenal
missiles,
but really
the U.S. had
the
lead with
To combat
Communism
&
to
help
1,000
ICBMs
&
32
Polaris
subs
600 B-52s, 2 Polaris
subs,
2,000
warheads
underdeveloped
countries,
JFK
created
the
to create a “first-strike” capability
Peace Corps & the Alliance for Progress
–Increased the army & air force
–Expanded covert operations &
created the Green Berets
Space
Race
TheThe
Apollo
Program
■JFK hoped to avoid another
Sputnik & hoped to beat the
Soviets to the moon:
–JFK greatly expanded NASA &
announced that the U.S. would
get to the moon by 1970
–The U.S. landed a man on the
moon in 1969
Crisis over Berlin
■JFK’s 1st confrontation with the
Soviet Union came in Berlin:
–Khrushchev was upset with the
exodus of skilled workers from
East Germany to West Berlin
–The USSR threatened to
remove all U.S. influence from
West Berlin, but settled on
building the Berlin Wall in 1961
“Ich bin ein Berliner”
—JFK, 1963
Containment in Vietnam
■Vietnam proved to be a tough test:
–Since 1954, Communist leader
Ho Chi Minh gained popularity
in North Vietnam; By 1961, he
“Strongly
in our
is what
in
gained
a mind
foothold
in happened
the South
China at the end of World War II, where
–Thewas
U.S.
gave
aid want
to unpopular
China
lost.
We don’t
that.”
South leader Ngo Dihn—JFK
Diem
–When Diem lost control of the
South, JFK gave the OK for a
coup against Diem in 1963
Vietnam Viet Minh are Vietnamese
communists in North Vietnam
Viet Cong are Vietnamese
communists in South Vietnam
Containing Castro: Bay of Pigs
■Fidel Castro took over Cuba in
1959 & developed ties with Russia
–The Eisenhower administration
(directed
by the
CIA) had been
JFK blamed
the Republicans
for
training
Cuban
exiles satellite”
for an
allowing
a “communist
to arise &
onoverthrow
“our very doorstep”
invasion
of Castro
–In 1961, JFK gave the OK for
the CIA to initiate the Bay of
Pigs invasion
The invasion called for U.S. air support
but JFK canceled the air strike; without air
support, Castro squashed the invasion
Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure
of Bay of Pigs, but did not apologize for coup
Cuban&Missile
24 medium-range
18 shortCrisis
range ICBMs
■To protect Cuba from another
U.S. invasion, the USSR began a
secret build-up of nuclear missiles
■On Oct 14, 1962 a U-2 spy plane
discovered Cuban missile camps
■How would the U.S. respond?
Immediate air strike?
Full-scale Cuba
invasion?
Kennedy chose to “quarantine”
to
keep new
missiles
out & an invasion of
Diplomacy:
trade
nukes in
Naval
blockade
to
if the USSR
did not remove its nukes
CubaCuba
for nukes
in Turkey?
keep warheads out?
Kennedy announced a quarantine (blockade) to
The
Cuban
Missile
Crisis
keep more missiles out & demanded that the
Soviets remove the missiles already in Cuba
And…U.S.
removal
of
Cuban
Missile
Crisis
nuclear
weapons
in
Turkey
■The standoff ended when Russia
removed its Cuban missiles & the
USA
vowed
to
never
invade
Cuba
“Our most basic common link is the fact that
impact
the crisis:
we■The
all inhabit
this of
planet.
We all breathe the
same–Seen
air. We all
cherish
our
children’s
future.
as
a
political
victory
for
JFK
We are all mortal.”
—JFK
–Installed a “hot line” to improve
US-Soviet communications
–This near-nuclear war convinced
both sides to move from
confrontation to negotiation
■Essential Question:
–To what degree was Lyndon
Johnson’s “Great Society” a
continuation of JFK’s “New
Frontier” domestic agenda?
■Reading Quiz Ch 28B
“Let Us Continue”
LBJ Video
"Let Us Continue"
■On Nov 22, 1963 in Dallas, JFK
was assassinated & VP Lyndon
Johnson became president:
–LBJpush
wasthrough
a master
politician
LBJ helped
the greatest
arraywith
of
liberal legislation
in U.S.
(“Great
a reputation
forhistory
getting results
Society”), surpassing FDR’s New Deal
–LBJ promised to continue
Kennedy's liberal agenda
–LBJ ultimately exceeded JFK’s
record on providing economic &
racial equality
Americans were stunned this
rapid succession of events
Lyndon Johnson in Action
■LBJ quickly pushed through
Congress 2 key “Kennedy” bills:
The
legislationinon
race
–A most
$10 significant
billion reduction
income
since
the
Reconstruction
Amendments
taxes that led to increased
consumer spending & new jobs
–The Civil Rights Act of 1964 that
declared segregation in public
facilities illegal & protected black
voting rights
Lyndon Johnson in Action
■In 1964, LBJ waged a “war on
poverty in America” & created the
Office of Economic Opportunity:
–Created
for high
In 1964,the
theJob
U.S.Corps
had
35 million
poor people
school
dropouts
–Head Start for preschoolers
–Adult education & technical
training opportunities
■As a result of, America had 10
million fewer poor people by 1970
The Election of 1964
■In 1964, LBJ ran against:
–Conservative Republican Barry
Goldwater rejected LBJ’s liberal
welfare programs & called for a
stronger foreign policy stance
–Segregationist George Wallace
■LBJ won in a landslide & the
Democrats took control of
Congress for 1st time in 25 years
The “Daisy” Campaign Spot
http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/
commercials/1964
Click on the “Daisy Ad”
The Great Society
■Once elected, LBJ initiated his
“Great Society” domestic agenda:
–Medicare & Medicaid extended
health insurance to the elderly &
the poor
–Extended $1 billion to improve
public & parochial schools
–The Voting Rights Act of 1965
banned literacy tests & provided
for federal registrars for polls
The Triumph of Reform
■By 1965, Congress passed
89 laws or reforms as part of
LBJ’s social agenda:
–The Great Society was the
most comprehensive agenda
of social reform since FDR
–But…the American people did
not respond well to LBJ
–Soon…events in Vietnam,
would taint his presidency
Johnson Escalates
the Vietnam War
LBJ
Escalates
the
Vietnam
War
“I am not going to lose Vietnam. I am
not going
to be the
president
who saw
■LBJ
continued
JFK’s
strong
Southeast
Asia
go
the
way
China
went.”
foreign policy positions too:
—LBJ
–He supported CIA-sponsored
coups in Brazil, Panama, & the
Dominican Republic
–LBJ continued Eisenhower &
JFK policies towards Vietnam
■But in doing so, LBJ found himself
under attack from Congress, the
media, & universities
LBJ Escalates the Vietnam War
■During the Gulf of Tonkin affair in
Aug 1964, the military bombed
North Vietnam in retaliation for an
attack on the USS Maddox
■The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
gave LBJ the authority to:
–Defend Vietnam at any cost
–Unlimited military intervention to
be used at LBJ’s discretion
The
Vietnam War
LBJ’s advisors wanted
100,000
troops
in
1965
Escalation
& a plan for 100,000 more in 1966; Estimations
■1965
the beginning
were marked
500 U.S. deaths
per month of full-
scale U.S. involvement in Vietnam
–LBJ was informed that “without
U.S. action, defeat is inevitable”
–LBJ authorized bombing raids
into North Vietnam & requested
50,000 U.S. soldiers sent to Asia
LBJ never
took middle
road of to
limited
■LBJ
explained
the U.S.
intervention:
not
a
withdrawal
&
not
a
American
people
how
the
gov’t
full-scale invasion of North Vietnam
planned to win the war in Vietnam
Stalemate
■By 1968, 500,000 U.S. troops
stationed to keep Vietnam from
falling to Communism
–U.S. bombings & “search &
destroy” attacks were ineffective
–Soviet & Chinese weaponry
freely flowed into North Vietnam
–Reckless bombings killed
thousands of innocent civilians
■The bloody stalemate & media
depiction of the war led to protests
Conclusions
■The early 1960s under JFK
represented consume spending,
a strong stance on the Cold War,
& more social reforms at home
■The transition to LBJ in 1963
brought success at home (civil
rights & the Great Society)
■But, heightened involvement in
Vietnam signaled the onset of the
counter-culture movement by 1968
Class Discussion:
To what degree was the
USA winning the Cold War
from 1945-1963?
The Cold
under
Truman:
1945-1952
TheWar
Cold
War:
1948-1975
The Cold
under
Eisenhower:
1953-1960
TheWar
Cold
War:
1948-1975
The Cold
under
Kennedy:
1961-1963
TheWar
Cold
War:
1948-1975
The Cold
under
Johnson:
1963-1968
TheWar
Cold
War:
1948-1975