The 1960s Liberal Era
Chapter 28
1960 Election – Kennedy v.
Nixon
Kennedy – after beating out two prominent Democrats (Adlai
Stevenson and Lyndon B. Johnson) due to his political
connections from wealth and the growing line of Kennedy
politicians, Kennedy sought to establish a more active federal
government, and to balance the ticket Southerner Lyndon
Johnson was chosen as the VP (Kennedy was Catholic)
Nixon – Richard Nixon identified himself with the Eisenhower
administration and was unanimously selected by
Republicans after success as the Vice President after he had
made the famous “Checkers Speech” that saved his
political life, Nixon ran on more “middle way” policies and his
standing up to Nikita Khrushchev in the “kitchen debate”,
but liberals and others did not forget his close ties to
McCarthyism
The Election of 1960
For the first time, television
was the main medium for
the campaign and
Kennedy’s telegenic
personality allowed him to
gain the upper hand over
Nixon (who looked pale and
tense during the four
televised debates)
In one of the closest
elections in history, Kennedy
won the election and was
thankful that his running
mate Johnson helped him
carry key southern states
Kennedy’s Advisors
Kennedy with Secretary of Defense Robert
McNamara and the Shah of Iran
Attorney General and
brother Robert Kennedy
Kennedy, the youngest President, promised to the lead the nation into a “New Frontier”
and surrounded himself with pragmatists (Robert McNamara), liberal academics
(Galbraith), and family (Robert Kennedy and wife “Jackie” Kennedy, who brought style
and glamor to the White House, which became known as the “Camelot Years”)
Kennedy’s “New Frontier” beliefs included support for education, urban renewal, civil
rights, and health care but many of these never happened during his Presidency
Kennedy and Foreign Policy
Kennedy’s failing domestic agenda forced him to concentrate
on foreign affairs and promoting economic growth through
military spending and business tax incentives, which
eventually made defense expenditures the largest portion
of the federal budget
Kennedy’s first foreign policy issues included:
1) Peace Corps – volunteers sent to give aid to other nations
(to help against communism)
2) Alliance for Progress – promotes land reform and
economic development in Latin America
3) Trade Expansion Act – reduced tariffs between Western
European nations and the US
All of these served to increase US activity in foreign nations
and had mixed success
Kennedy’s Foreign Affairs
Peace Corps is created
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Berlin Wall is built
Kennedy’s biggest blunder was the Bay of Pigs invasion, where Cuban exiles
were trained to invade Cuba (the plan failed and Castro used it to gain Soviet
support)
Kennedy also refused to remove troops from West Berlin, resulting in the
creation of the Berlin Wall to keep East Germans from fleeing to West
Germany
The Cuban Missile Crisis Brinkmanship
When Soviet missiles were found in
Cuba…
-Kennedy set up a blockade to stop
Soviet ships from going to Cuba
-Agreement was made that Kennedy
wouldn’t invade Cuba if Soviets took
down missiles
-After the close call, both nations start
Détente, or an attempt to avoid
conflict, and install a “hot line” from
the White House to the Kremlin
-Afterwards, Kennedy used “flexible
response” to deal with issues instead
of brinkmanship and massive
retaliation
Assassination of Kennedy
Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, who was convicted as
the lone assassin, but the events in Dallas led to many uncertain
conspiracy theories
The legend of Kennedy is mixed: His personability and quotes
(Ask not what…) were inspiring but many of his Cold War actions
have drawn criticism
African-American Struggles
James Meredith
and Mississippi
The Freedom Riders
Sit-ins – Greensboro, NC at Woolworth’s
Despite Kennedy’s original support of civil rights, his concern
about alienating Southern voters kept him from pushing Congress
(though he did send federal support for James Meredith)
African-Americans were tired of waiting and turned to themselves
to push forward civil rights
African-American Actions
• For the action given to you:
1) Create a television script that describes
the event (what is happening?) and the
importance of the event– about ½ page
to 1 page
2) Create a political cartoon that shows the
response of society in the 1960s to the
event
African-American Actions are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
“Letters from a Birmingham Jail” by MLK Jr.
March on Washington (1963)
Mississippi Freedom Summer Project (1964)
March to Montgomery (1965)
Actions of Black Muslims and Malcolm X
Actions of Stokely Carmichael and SNCC
Actions of the Black Panthers
Assassination of MLK Jr.
Government Actions are:
• Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Creation of
the EEOC
• Voting Rights Act of 1965 is passed
• The Kerner Commission report
The March on Washington
Black Power and the Panthers
The Civil Rights Act and Voting
Voting Rights Act of 1965, helped along
by Freedom Summer, where blacks
risked to get other blacks to vote
Johnson convinces Congress to pass
the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Lyndon Johnson
Johnson’s rise into politics was different than Kennedy,
not as sophisticated and polished but a much more
experienced politician and a determined lawmaker
After taking over for Kennedy, Johnson immediately
began to work on:
1) An expanded version of the civil rights bill proposed by
Kennedy
2) An income tax cut proposed by Kennedy which would
increase jobs and consumer spending throughout the
60s (it also reduced the federal deficit as more
revenue came in)
3) The creation of a “Great Society” using liberal
legislation
Johnson’s “War on Poverty”
Inspired by “The Other America” by Harrington, Johnson and
Congress declared a “war on poverty” passing the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1964, which founded Job Corps, The Office of
Economic Opportunity (OEO), VISTA, Head Start, and the
Community Action Program
Election of 1964
Johnson’s “Great
Society” programs
gave him a decidedly
liberal agenda, but
his success at
implementing them
won him the election
easily over
conservative Barry
Goldwater (helped
by the “Daisy Girl” TV
ad that showed him
as a dangerous
extremist)
Great Society Programs to Know
Johnson continued the “Great Society” with:
• Medicare and Medicaid (health care)
• Immigration Act of 1965
• Omnibus Housing Act of 1965
• National Endowment for the Arts (1965)
• Elementary and Secondary Education Act
and Higher Education Act (1965)
• Cities and Metropolitan Area Development
through the DOT and HUD
• Clean Air and Water Laws (resulting from “Silent
Spring” and “Unsafe at Any Speed” by Ralph
Nader – car pollution)
Warren Court Cases to Know
The Warren Court assisted Johnson by:
• Thurgood Marshall - African-American justice
who leads civil rights charge
• Baker v. Carr, Wesberry v. Sanders, Reynolds
v. Sims (apportionment helping blacks)
• Gideon v. Wainwright (6th Amendment)
• New York Times v. Sullivan, Yates v. US, Engel
v. Vitale (Freedom of Press, Speech, Religion)
• Miranda v. Arizona, Escobedo v. Illinois (5th
Amendment)
• Mapp v. Ohio, Griswold v. Connecticut (4th
Amendment and Privacy)
Voices of Protest
Activism was prominent for many groups during the 1960s, including:
1) Native Americans – tribes band together to denounce the
termination policy (AIM and “Red Power”), and Johnson abides
by removing the policy and establishing self-determination and the
National Council on Indian Opportunity (worked to battle poverty
on reservations)
2) Hispanics – Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers
organized groups to increase pride in their culture, as did La Raza
Unida and the Young Lords
3) Asian-Americans – created the Asian-American Political
Alliance to protest the war in Vietnam
4) Women – After a decade of content, women were becoming
increasingly unhappy (as stated in “The Feminine Mystique” by
Betty Friedan) and got little support until the founding of NOW in
1966 where they lobbied for equality in the workplace (Equal
Rights Amendment) and used “The Women’s Strike for Equality”
The Escalating Vietnam
Problem
Kennedy’s belief in the “domino theory” made him determined not
to let the NLF (National Liberation Front – Vietcong) win in
South Vietnam and sent large shipments of weapons to Diem,
who was then murdered by his generals and South Vietnam
became embroiled in turmoil
Kennedy’s death led to Johnson taking over the war, where he
made plans to commit troops to Vietnam and officially convinced
Congress to “take all necessary measures” against North Vietnam
after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (where the US claimed North
Vietnam ships had fired on the US)
Johnson started sustained bombing of North Vietnam, but it had
little success and forced Johnson into committing ground forces
and turning it into an American war (leading to the debate
between doves and hawks)
The “Great Society”
• As a political cartoonist, show your support
(or lack thereof) of one of the “Great
Society” programs passed by Johnson –
visually show what effect the program is
having on society