The New Frontier:
JFK and the Age of Camelot
Mr. Phipps
American History
California State Standards
11.8.5. Describe the increased powers of the presidency in response to
the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.
11.8.7. Describe the effects on society and the economy of
technological developments since 1945, including the computer
revolution, changes in communication, advances in medicine, and
improvements in agricultural technology.
11.9.3. Trace the origins and geopolitical consequences (foreign and
domestic) of the Cold War and containment policy, including the
following:
– The Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis
– Atomic testing in the American West, the "mutual assured
destruction" doctrine, and disarmament policies
– Latin American policy
Part I:
The 1960 Election
The Election of 1960 marked a
major change in the way
Americans participated in politics.
Politics became a televised event.
The New Generation
• Americans had hope for the
future
– Had gotten through the
Depression
– Had beaten Fascism in Europe
and Japan
– Had rebuilt the world
(especially the West) to be
democratic
– Had the best nuclear arsenal in
the world
– Had become more prosperous,
lived healthier, and longer than
ever
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
• Long established
Massachusetts family, made
wealthy from selling alcohol
during Prohibition
• Considered nouveau riche,
part of the newly monied
• Irish-Catholic, attended
private schools, including
Harvard
• Served in U.S. Navy during
WWII, earned medals for
valor and purple heart (back
injuries)
JFK’s Politics
• Elected to Congress
as a Democratic
Representative for MA
• Represented the
young Baby-Boomer
generation
• Promoted Liberal
ideas: government
should work for the
people
Richard Milhous Nixon
• Long established
Republican politician
from California
• Pushed for strong
political and economic
conservatism
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Small government
Traditional morality
Tax cuts
Strong on Communism
Nixon
• Gained experience
as McCarthy’s righthand man during
HUAC trials
• Chosen as Ike’s
Vice President
• Represented the
“Old Guard”
conservative
Republican
The 1960 Election
• JFK looked relaxed, young,
handsome
– Made for TV, looked
groomed, PR ready
• Nixon looked stiff,
uncomfortable, and sweaty
• First televised debates in
history
• Would be a very close
election, decided by a few
thousand votes
The Debate
• On the radio
– JFK lost, seemed less
experienced with the
issues
– Nixon won, more
experienced with issues
• On the TV
– Nixon lost, looked sweaty,
uncomfortable, and
awkward
– JFK won, looked relaxed,
poised, affable and
charismatic
The Issues
• Kennedy’s position:
– U.S. faced serious issues
abroad and at home
– Needed to spend money to
protect and help American
interests, especially in Cuba
• Nixon’s position
– U.S. was just fine, after 8
years of Eisenhower/Nixon
– Needed to cut spending,
because domestic spending
was too expensive
Part II: The Age of Camelot
JFK brought a distinctive style of
leadership, organizing a young,
ambitious Cabinet and attempting
an overhaul of the inner-cities.
The Results
JFK won by narrow majority
• Youngest president in
American history (until
Obama)
• First Catholic president
• Assembled youngest
Cabinets, many Harvard
grads
– Brother, RFK was Attorney
General
– Robert McNamara,
Secretary of Defense
The New Frontier
Bold, new domestic
programs
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Education
Welfare
Health Care
Elderly Assistance
Inner-Cities
Continue FDR’s social
action
JFK’s Problems
• Small Democratic majority in
Congress
• Barely won the presidency
• Congress didn’t support
policies
• Christian Southern
Conservative Democrats
didn’t like him
• Battled high inflation
• Contending in wars in Cuba,
Berlin, Russia, and Vietnam
• Most legislation would NOT
pass
The Warren Court
• JFK nominated
Conservative judge
for Chief Justice
• Became an activist
judge, who took a
stand on a number
of important social
issues
Warren’s Decisions
Protect the citizen, protect the police department,
protect the Constitution: Basic civil rights
• Baker v. Carr: Change voting laws, reapportion election
process to be based on population (keep power in cities)
• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): can’t use evidence
illegally gathered
• Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) and Miranda v. Arizona
(1966): the right to remain silent, anything said can be
used in a court of law, right to lawyer
• Engel v. Vitale (1962): No prayer in schools
• Griswold v. Connecticut (1965): Overturns ban on birth
control
Part III: JFK’s Foreign
Policy
As a result of the Berlin Wall, Russia’s
deployment of missiles to Cuba, and
the threat of Communism spreading in
Vietnam, JFK asked for a flexible
response to make America safe.
Flexible Response
• Challenged
Eisenhower’s idea of
“massive retaliation”
• Pushed for the use of
conventional
weaponry and military
to combat
Communism
• U.S. couldn’t rely on
nuclear arsenal to
protect itself
Alliance for Progress
• JFK’s pledge of support for
Latin America
• Considered a “Marshall
Plan for brown people”
– $20 billion to support internal
improvements
– Supported education and
schools
– Built hospitals and promote
health care
– Helped distribute land
• Pros: helped some
• Cons: much abuse and
corruption
The Peace Corps
• JFK’s call for American
international volunteerism
• The commitment:
– Spend 2 years in developing
nations
– Specialize in education,
agriculture, irrigation, sewage
treatment, or health care
– Promote democracy and
American influence
• Remains one of the most
lasting legacy’s of JFK’s
presidency
The Space Race
• JFK’s promise to be the
first to the moon
• 1962: NASA sends John
Glenn, first American in
space
– Used Saturn V rocket to
propel out of Earth’s orbit
• 1969: Saturn V rocket
launches Apollo 11
– First, and only, successful
moon landing
– Neal Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin,
and Michael Collins
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
• Considered JFK’s first
major foreign policy
issue
• Intended to overthrow
Fidel Castro, who had
become too cozy with
Khrushchev
• Eisenhower, before
leaving office, had
approved CIA training
of Cuban exiles
JFK Starts the Invasion
(April 17, 1961)
• JFK hopes to start a
revolution, authorizes
invasion
• Total Failure:
– 1,400 armed Cubans, called
La Brigada
– Runs aground on a coral
reef
– JFK cancels air support,
keep America’s involvement
secret
– Castro captured or killed
almost all of La Brigada
– Exposed American covert
operations
The Berlin Wall
(August 1961)
• Immediately following
the Bay of Pigs fiasco
• JFK and Khrushchev
meet in Berlin to
discuss E. German
refugees escaping to
West Berlin
• JFK promises to
continue support
• Khrushchev orders the
construction of the wall
The Cuban Missile Crisis
(Oct. 12, 1962)
• American spy plan
discovers the
construction of missile
launching sites in
Cuba
• Khrushchev had
offered nuclear
missiles to force JFK’s
concessions in Berlin
• Began 13 days of an
intense stare down
Nuclear Chicken
• JFK pushes for naval
blockade
• Goal:
– Seize any ships going
into/out of Cuba
– Force the immediate removal
of missiles
• The Problem:
– A direct attack on Soviets
would be an act of war
– The existence of the missiles
were an act of war
The Fallout
• Russia blinks! (Oct. 28,
• Russia removes missiles
from Cuba
• U.S. removes missiles from
Turkey
• Quarantine ends, but
embargo begins
• The Problems:
– Khrushchev forced from office
– Kremlin begins nuclear
expansion
– U.S. and Russia agree to test
ban treaty
– Establish direct communication
link: the red phone
1962)
Part IV:
The Killing of a President
November 22, 1963
The Arrival in Dallas
• JFK, LBJ, and families
arrive in Dallas for a
political rally
• The families separate for
an escorted drive in
downtown Dallas
• Shots fired: JFK shot in
the head and the throat
• Eyewitnesses argue about
the number and locations
of shots
The Plot Thickens
The Birth of a Conspiracy
• Lee Harvey Oswald had
connections with Russia and
supported the revolution in
Cuba
• Arrested 80 minutes after
the assassination
• Evidence found at the Book
Repository, where he shot
Kennedy
• Oswald shot by Jack Ruby,
2 days later
The Big Questions
• Why did Lee Harvey
Oswald kill Kennedy?
• Why did Jack Ruby kill
Oswald?
• Why is there conflicting
evidence?
• Was this part of a
larger conspiracy?
The Warren Commission
• Chief Justice Earl Warren
starts federal investigation
• Goal:
– Prevent speculation about
conspiracy
– Submits report, but remains
inconclusive
– Fuels conspiracy
• LBJ immediately becomes
president
The Legacy
• Devastated the country and shocked the world
• Seemed to end the dream of innocence of the
1950s
• Coincided with a broader wave of social change:
the Civil Rights Movement, the Feminist
Movement, escalation in Vietnam, and the FreeSpeech and Anti-War Movements
• LBJ becomes president and will take a stronger
position on Vietnam and Civil Rights
Part V:
LBJ and the Great Society
Taking the presidency after JFK’s assassination,
LBJ was immediately confronted with an
explosion of violence over Civil Rights, the need
to engage more troops into Vietnam, and a need
to improve conditions throughout American
society.
Johnson’s Background
• Experience as long-running
conservative, Southern
Democrat from Texas
• Known for building coalitions
by strong-arm, handshake,
drinks, and backslaps
• Immediately sworn in as
president
• Continued JFK’s social and
domestic programs
The Great Society
• LBJ’s political experience helped
push many bills through
Congress
• Firmly committed to social action
• Declared a “War on Poverty”
– Started Economic Opportunity Act
to coordinate economic recovery
– Neighborhood Youth Corp:
Helped youth graduate and get jobs
– Job Corps: Provide job training and
placement for inner-cities
– VISTA (Volunteer Service to
America): Domestic Peace Corps
Creating a More Equitable
Society
• Medicare (1965):
Comprehensive
health coverage for
the elderly
• Medicaid (1965):
Comprehensive
medical insurance for
low-income families
Education and Environment
• Project Head Start
(1965): Fund
preschool programs for
low-income families
• The Water Quality Act
and The Clean Air Act
(1965): Increase
regulations on
industrial pollution
Civil Rights
• The Civil Rights Act of
1964: Banned
discrimination of ANY kind
• The Voting Rights Act of
1965: Ensured voting
rights to black Americans
• Equal Employment
Opportunity
Commission: Barred
discrimination based on
race OR gender in the
workplace
Lyndon Johnson’s Legacy
• Provided “entitlement funds”--out of the federal
budget to disadvantaged groups
• Skyrocketed federal budget, causing stress on
programs
• LBJ distracted by other domestic and foreign
policy issues
– Vietnam
– Social Protest
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Anti-War
Free Speech
Feminism
Hippies/Free Drug Movement
Civil Rights