“ We stand at the edge of a New Frontier- the frontier of unfulfilled hopes and dreams, a frontier of unknown opportunities and beliefs in peril. Beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered problems of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.
”
-JFK ’ s 1960 acceptance speech at the
Democratic National Convention
JFK
s cabinet and advisors:
The Best and the Brightest
JFK’s cabinet was populated by many young, Ivy Leagueeducated men
Robert McNamara: Defense
Secretary
Dean Rusk: Secretary of State
McGeorge Bundy: National
Security Advisor
Ted Sorensen: speechwriter
Pierre Salinger: Press Secretary
Bobby Kennedy: 35 yr. old
Attorney General
The real reason:
The Kennedy Economy
There was a brief economic slowdown at the end of the Eisenhower administration
The Reality of JFK ’ s First Term
“ There ’ s no sense in raising hell and then not being successful.
” -JFK
JFK defeated Richard Nixon in 1960 in closest election since 1888 (less than 1%)
Congress was dominated by Republicans and
Southern Democrats; it was difficult for JFK to get much done!
Modest achievements?
Minimum wage raised to $1.25
Housing Act of 1961: created the Department of Housing and Urban Development; $4.9 billion for urban renewal, mass transit, and housing
Federal support for the disabled and mentally ill: http://news.scotsman.com/johnfkennedy/JFKs-sister-diesafter-60.2593460.jp
Equal Pay Act, 1963: gender equality in pay
Clean Air Act, 1963: tougher air pollution standards
"First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him back safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.
”
"No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space."
"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."
The civil rights revolution continues
JFK concentrated more on enforcing existing civil rights laws than passing new ones (through Attorney General
Bobby Kennedy)
He appointed record numbers of African Americans to federal government posts, but also appointed racist federal judges in the South
Stalled until 1962 on his campaign pledge to end federal housing segregation
Kennedy's political strategy was to delay sending a civil rights bill to Congress until his second term
http://www.history.com/topics/blackhistory/freedom-rides
http://www.biography.com/people/jamesmeredith-9406314
The Birmingham Campaign, 1963
http://www.pbs.org/blackculture/explore/civil-rights-movementbirmingham-campaign/#.VTVDq1hdWsY
George Wallace stands in the school door:
University of Alabama, June 10, 1963
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/pre ss-past/2013/06/11/george-wallacestood-in-a-doorway-at-the-university-ofalabama-50-years-ago-today
http://www.history.com/this-day-inhistory/university-of-alabamadesegregated
JFK ’ s civil rights address to the nation: June 11,
1963
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speech es/jfkcivilrights.htm
The murder of Medgar Evers: June 12, 1963
http://www.biography.com/articles/Medg ar-Evers-9542324
http://www.history.com/topics/blackhistory/march-on-washington
16th Street Baptist Church bombing; 4 Little Girls murdered; September 15, 1963
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story
.php?storyId=1431932
… our brief look at the domestic, social, political, and economic aspects of JFK’s brief time in office. Next, we will examine his role in The Cold War and of course, most famously, his tragic assassination.