JFK (D) went up
against Vice President
Richard Nixon(R) in
1960. JFK won with
49.9% of the popular
vote to Nixon’s 49.7%,
a difference of about
100,000 votes. JFK
was the 1st, & only
President so far, that
was Roman Catholic.
Many historians believe JFK won the election due to the 1st
ever televised presidential debates. JFK appeared more
relaxed, handsome, & charismatic. Nixon always had sweat
on his upper lip & was ill during the 1st debate, making him
appear weak & frail.
Many Americans
were charmed by
the Kennedy couple.
Many thought
JFK’s wife, Jackie,
was the most
beautiful first lady
we had ever had.
Poor undeveloped countries mostly
located in Latin America, Africa, &
Asia are known as the “third world.”
These third world countries would
be the new battlefield between the
U.S. & Soviet Union.
This was JFK’s solution to dealing
with communism. It followed the
theme of containment, but unlike
Massive Retaliation under
Eisenhower, Flexible Response
meant the US would react to the
communist based on when, where,
& how they attacked.
A.k.a Green Berets. These highly trained soldiers
specialized in counterinsurgency. People, like
communists, who tried to overthrow the gov’t of a
friendly country to the US were called insurgents.
Green Berets were sent in to counter the threat.
American volunteers were sent overseas to developing
countries to help in areas of agriculture, education,
construction, & so forth. It showed the world that we
were nice guys. It also allowed us to help these
developing countries to improve their living conditions
& stop the spread of communism.
We will bury
you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Khrushchev was the leader of the Soviet Union when Kennedy
became president. Khrushchev thought because of Kennedy’s
youth & inexperience he could bully him. He would test JFK in
Cuba & Berlin. Kennedy however, did not back down.
Khrushchev allowed the East German gov’t, along with
Soviet help, to build a wall around the city of West
Berlin. The purpose was to stop the flood of educated
& skilled East Germans from fleeing to West Berlin.
In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew Cuban leader
Fulgencia Batista. At first we supported
Castro because we thought he was our friend.
However, Castro switched teams & fell into
the communist camp by seeking aid &
support from the USSR.
When the US found out that Castro had
become a communist, we tried to get rid
of him. Castro knew about the plan
before hand, & it was a complete failure.
Although it was developed during
Eisenhower’s presidency, the failure
made Kennedy look like an idiot.
In response to our invasion,
Castro invited the Soviet Union to
install medium ranged ballistic
missiles on the island of Cuba, less
than 100 miles from the United
States.
MISSILES IN CUBA
Khrushchev promised
to defend Cuba with
Soviet arms
Over the summer of
1962, he even sent
armed missiles to
Cuba
We thought they could
be nuclear missiles
MISSILES IN CUBA
In October, 1962,
American spy planes
took pictures of
missile bases in
Cuba.
Some of the missiles
looked ready to
launch.
The U.S. could be
attacked in minutes.
This left JFK with 5 options in response:
1. Do nothing; ignore the missiles in Cuba.
2. Open direct negotiations with Khrushchev, asking the
missiles be withdrawn.
3. Order a blockade of Cuba until the missiles were removed.
4. Send a warning to Castro & Khrushchev, threatening an air
strike of the sites if the dismantling of the missile sites was
not underway within 24 hours.
5. Order an air strike against the missile sites with no prior
warning.
JFK “QUARANTINED” CUBA BY BLOCKADING
THE ISLAND WITH OUR NAVY
Pres. Kennedy told the
nation about the
missiles.
He made it clear that
any missile attack from
Cuba would lead to
“all-out attack” on the
Soviets.
JFK decided to blockade Cuba, &
warned the Soviets to remove the
missiles from the island. The Soviet
Union finally backed down, & the
U.S. promised never to invade Cuba.
The USSR & USA agreed to
ban the testing of nuclear
weapons in the atmosphere
due to radioactive
contamination.
On Nov. 22, 1963, JFK was
assassinated by Lee Harvey
Oswald in Dallas, Texas. Many to
this day believe many more
people were involved leading to
numerous conspiracy theories.
TIMELINE OF THE KENNEDY YEARS
1961
1962
1963
The Berlin
Wall is built
Bay of Pigs
invasion
Cuban Missile
Crisis
JFK
Assassination
March on
Washington
Vice President Lyndon Johnson is sworn in as president on Air Force
One.
Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder of
President Kennedy.
Oswald was shot by nightclub owner Jack Ruby on national
television as he was being moved from one jail to another.
Jack Ruby,
known for
his mob
ties, was
arrested &
found
guilty of
the murder
of Lee
Harvey
Oswald.
Whereas JFK was rich,
handsome, &
charismatic, LBJ was
born poor, not a
“looker”, & not a great
communicator. LBJ
was considered by
many to be a better
politician.
LBJ passed more
legislation through
Congress than any
other president except
FDR. His “Great
Society” legislation,
was known as his “war
against poverty.”
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
In July of 1964, LBJ pushed the Civil Rights Act through
Congress.
It prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, or
national origin, & granted the federal gov’t new powers to
enforce the law.
LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther
King watches
VOTING RIGHTS ACT 1965
Part of the Civil Rights Act
was to insure voting rights
for all Americans.
The act prohibited literacy
tests or other discriminatory
practices for voting, &
insured consistent election
practices.
"By the way, what's
the big word?"
THE WAR ON POVERTY
Following his tax cut & Civil Rights Act
successes, LBJ launched his War on
Poverty.
In August of 1964 he pushed through
Congress a series of measures known as
the Economic Opportunity Act, providing
$1 billion in aid to the inner city.
LBJ’S GREAT SOCIETY
Some of his programs included:
 Head Start & Upward
Bound
 Corporation for Public
Broadcasting (PBS)
 Job Corps
 Elementary &
Secondary Education
Act
 Medicare (Health insurance
for Americans age 65+)
 Medicaid (Health insurance
for those who qualify)
 Department of Housing &
Urban Development
(HUD)
 Civil Rights Act of 1964
 Department of
Transportation
 Water Quality & Clean
Air Act
During the 1960’s a new
“counterculture” emerged.
Followers were called
hippies. Hippies were
usually under the age of 30,
some used drugs, practiced
“free love,” loved nature,
lived on the street, were
against the war in Vietnam,
& listened to rock-n-roll or
folk music.
In 1968 a group of
Native Americans
formed the American
Indian Movement.
They fought with gov’t
officials over fishing
rights in what they
claimed were “tribal
waters”, & clashed
with gov’t officials over
tribal land.
Cesar Chavez fought
for the rights of migrant
farm workers in the
1960’s & 1970’s. He
helped create the United
Farm Workers Union to
increase wages &
improve working
conditions for migrant
farm workers.
CHICANO MURAL MOVEMENT
Beginning in the 1960s in
Mexican-American barrios
throughout the Southwest,
artists used the walls of city
buildings, housing projects,
schools, & churches to depict
Mexican-American culture.
Feminism, or the movement to gain equal political, economic, &
social rights for women, picked up steam in the 1960’s & 1970’s.
The National Organization of Women (NOW) was created in 1966.
One of its founders was Betty Friedan.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL
MOVEMENT
During the 1960s & 1970s,
many American citizens
became very concerned about
the environment.
A movement started to “clean
up” the earth by stopping
some uses of pesticides, press
for more conservation, etc.
Author Rachel Carson was an
important leader of the
movement. She published
Silent Spring, about the effects
of the pesticide DDT.
RALPH NADER – CONSUMER MOVEMENT
In 1965, lawyer & consumer activist,
Ralph Nader, wrote Unsafe At Any
Speed.
The book exposed problems with
Chevrolet’s Corvair. He is credited
with making use of seatbelts.
First American to orbit the
Earth
In 1962 the first
U.S. spaceship
to orbit the earth
was the
Friendship 7
manned by
astronaut John
Glenn.
JFK promised
that we would
land a man on
the moon by
the end of the
decade. In
July of 1969,
Neil
Armstrong
becomes the
first man to
step foot on
the moon.
AMENDMENT 25
Presidential disability &
succession (what happens if a
president dies in office, resigns,
etc.)
AMENDMENT 26
Allows 18-year-olds to vote