Chapter 20 p. 698
The New Frontier and the Great Society
Science and Technology: By the 1960s, the US and the USSR had built up a
stockpile of nuclear weapons. During periods of crisis, including the Cuban
missile crisis, the American people feared that these powerful weapons
would be used. The US and the USSR also competed in the space race.
After the Soviet Union successfully launched the first human into space in
1961, President Kennedy announced that it would be America’s goal to
send a man to the moon by decade’s end.
Economic opportunity: With legislative agenda of the Great Society,
President Johnson sought to aid the poor and others in need. The
Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) provided funds for job training, education,
and the war on poverty.
Immigration and migration: The Great Society brought profound changes
to the nation’s immigration laws with passage of the Immigration Act of
1965. This act allowed many non-European immigrants to settle in the US.
Essential Question: What were the achievements and challenges of the
Kennedy and Johnson administrations?
Section 1 p. 700
Kennedy and the Cold War
• Main Idea: The Kennedy administration faced some of the most
dangerous Soviet confrontations in American history.
• Why it matters now: America’s response to Soviet threats developed
the US as a military superpower.
• Obj: Summarize the crises that developed over Cuba, and explain the
Cold War symbolism of Berlin in the early 60s.
• Vocabulary: John F. Kennedy, flexible response, Fidel Castro, Berlin
Wall, hot line, Limited Test Ban Treaty.
• The election of 1960: In 1960 Eisenhower’s second term as president was
ending. The economy was in a recession. The USSR had launched Sputnik
in 1957 and its development of long-range missiles had sparked fears that
the American military was falling behind the Soviets. Further setbacks
including the U-2 incident and the alignment of Cuba with the USSR had
Americans questioning whether the US was losing the Cold War.
• Republican nominee: Richard M. Nixon – the Republican vice president
who hoped to win by riding on the coattails of Eisenhower’s popularity.
Both candidates had similar positions on issues.
• Democratic nominee: John F. Kennedy – senator from Massachusetts who
promised active leadership to get America moving again. His advocacy of
Civil Rights won him Af/Am votes that would help him carry key states in
the Midwest and the South.
• John F. Kennedy. He came from a wealthy family, was handsome and
charismatic, and at 43 he would be the second youngest president.
Americans were worried about having a Roman Catholic in the White
House – would he be influenced by the Pope on American policies? One
event that determined the course was the first televised debate between
the presidential candidates.
• Two factors that helped put Kennedy over the top was 1. television, and 2.
the civil rights issue.
• Televised Debates Affects Votes:
Kennedy and Nixon took part in the first televised debate between
presidential candidates. It was viewed by 70 million tv viewers on Sept.
26, 1960. Nixon was an expert on foreign policy and hoped to expose
Kennedy’s lack of experience. However, Kennedy was coached by tv
producers, looked better (wore makeup) – therefore looked better and
spoke better.
Kennedy’s success in the debate launched a new era in American
politics: the television age. That image replaced the printed word as
the natural language of politics. Running a political campaign now
demanded tapping into the power of television to gain an advantage.
• What effect would televised debates have on American politics?
Voters would begin making decisions based on a candidate’s
perceived image rather than on his or her stand on the issues.
• The Camelot Years: Kennedy won the election in 1960 by fewer than
119,000 votes. In his inaugural speech he called for hope,
commitment and sacrifice - “And so my fellow Americans, ask not
what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your
country.” The young, energetic, eloquent Kennedy couple captured
and fascinated the public with their eye for fashion and culture and
the arts. They were America’s royalty and compared to fictional King
Arthur – whose world was marked by chivalry and magic and his court
at “Camelot.”
Kennedy surrounded himself with “the best and the brightest” – even
his own brother Robert (Bobby) was appointed attorney general.
• What factors help explain the public’s fascination with the
Kennedys’? The press portrayed the Kennedys as a young attractive
energetic, and stylish couple; they gave attention to the arts and
culture; they had young children. They were eloquent and had an
admiring press.
• A New Military Policy: Before leaving office Eisenhower saw a trend
in which Defense Department suppliers were becoming more
dominant in the American economy. He warned against the danger
of what he called the “military-industrial complex” – Industry and the
military would become too powerful eclipsing the government, BUT
the military had to be strengthened to counter the Soviet threat.
• KENNEDY from the beginning focused on the Cold War and felt the
Eisenhower administration had not done enough about the Soviet
threat. He saw the Soviets gaining loyalties in economically lessdeveloped countries (third world) of Asia, Africa, Latin America. He
blasted the Republicans for allowing communism to develop in Cuba
at America’s doorstep.
• He believed his most urgent task was to redefine the nation’s nuclear
strategy. The Eisenhower administration relied on the policy of
massive retaliation of the nuclear level to deter the Soviet aggression
and imperialism. Kennedy felt that threatening to use nukes over a
minor conflict was not a risk to take.
• Instead his team developed a policy of flexible response – it involved
preparing for a variety of military responses to international crises
rather than focusing of the use of nukes. He increased defense
spending in order to boost conventional military forces – nonnukes
such as troops, ships artillery, and in the army created Special Forces
(Green Berets). He tripled the overall nuke capabilities of the US.
These changes enabled the US to fight limited wars around the world
while maintaining a balance of nuclear power with the USSR. Even
though he hoped to reduce the risk of nuclear war – he came close to
it as a crisis arose over the island of Cuba.
• Crisis over Cuba: Cuba – it is just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. 2
weeks before Kennedy took office Eisenhower cut off diplomatic
relations with Cuba – it revolutionary leader Fidel Castro openly
declared himself a communist and welcomed aid fro the Soviet
Union. In his revolution against dictatorship (Fulgencio Batista)in
Cuba – we quietly backed him and helped him gain power because he
promised democracy. From 1956 – 1959 he led a guerrilla movement
and won control in 1959. But Castro had other intentions. He seized
3 American and British oil refineries. He broke up commericial farms
into communes, took over American sugar companies. When they
appealed to the US government for help, congress set in place a trade
embargo against Cuban sugar. This led Castro to use Soviet aid. He
put people in jail if they did not agree with him. About 10% of Cuba’s
population went into exile – mostly to the US – Miami, where a
counterrevolutionary movement took shape.
• The Bay of Pigs: In March of 1960, Eisenhower gave the CIA
permission to secretly train Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba.
They hoped it would trigger a mass uprising that would overthrow
Castro. Kennedy learned of the plan only 9 days after his election. He
had his doubts, but approved it. Apr. 17, 1961, 1,300 – 1,500 Cuban
exiles with support of US military landed on the island’s southern
coast as Bahia de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) – nothing went as planned.
The sir strike failed to knock out the Cuban air force – even through
the CIA declared a success. A small advance group sent to distract
Castro’s forces never reached shore. When the main unit landed, it
lacked American air support as it faced 25,000 Cuban troops backed
up by Soviet tanks and jets. Some of the invading exiles were killed or
imprisoned. Cuban media sensationalized the defeat of “North
American mercenaries.”
• The US looked like fools to its friends and rascals to its enemies and
incompetent to the rest. The disaster embarrassed Kennedy – he
took the blame.
• What were the consequences of the failed invasion for the US?
Failure to oust Castro, loss of world prestige, embarrassment for JFK,
and ransom for captured commandos - $53 million for ransom and
food and medical supplies. The US faced both a military and major
foreign relations disaster from which it took years to recover. In Cuba:
the haphazard support given to the invasion created an opening for
Khrushchev to send missiles to Castro to defend Cuba, and also gave
the Soviet leader mixed signals about US resolve.
• By 1960 the US and USSR had built stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
Many scientists warned against their use. Both countries followed a
strategy of nuclear deterrence for it would lead to destruction. The
idea that each side could annihilate the other kept each side from
launching a first strike.
• The Cuban Missile Crisis: Cuba’s power ally was the USSR and
Khrushchev promised to defend Cuba with Soviet arms. In 1962
Soviet weapons along with nuclear weapons flowed into Cuba.
Kennedy responded that these nuclear weapons would not be
tolerated in Cuba. On Oct. 14 aerial photos revealed Soviet missile
bases in Cuba – some had missiles ready to launch. They could reach
US cities in minutes! Kennedy informs the nation of this and of his
plans to remove them. He made it clear that any missile attack from
Cuba would trigger an all-out attack on the USSR. For a few days
nuclear was and massive destruction was possible for every
American. People built bomb shelters stocking them with supplies,
practiced air raids in schools. Millions of Americans listened to the
radio and TV for news. The president even called back his wife and
children to the White House where they could be protected in the
presidential nuclear shelter, if necessary. For 6 days the world faced
the terrifying possibility of nuclear war.
• (We really did almost have a nuclear war!!)
• Soviet ships – presumed to be carrying more missiles – headed
toward Cuba while the US Navy prepared to quarantine (a blockade)
Cuba and prevent ships from coming within 500 miles of it. In Florida,
100,000 troops waited – the largest invasion force ever assembled in
the US.
• Soviet ships suddenly stopped to avoid a confrontation at sea –
eyeball to eyeball and the Soviets blinked first. A few days later,
Khrushchev ordered the removal of the missiles, in return – the US
pledged not to invade Cuba and remove its missiles from Turkey.
• RESULTS? Khrushchev’s prestige in the USSR and world was severely
damaged; Kennedy was criticized for practicing brinkmanship instead
of privately working it out, while others thought he passed up on an
opportunity to invade and oust Castro.
• NEW KNOWLEDGE: It was learned in the 1990s that the CIA
underestimated the numbers of Soviet troops and nuclear weapons
on the island.
• LASTING EFFECTS: many Cuban exiles blamed the Democrats for
“losing Cuba” – a charge that Kennedy leveled earlier at the
Republicans. Cuban Exiles switched their allegiance to the GOP
(Republicans).
• CASTRO’S REACTION: He closed Cuba’s doors to exiles – Nov 1962 –
banning all flights to and from Miami. Three years later, hundreds of
thousands of people took advantage of an agreement that allowed
Cubans to join relatives in the US. Cuban population in the US
increased to about 300,000.
• What were the results of the Cuban Missile Crisis? Kennedy staved
off war; Khrushchev’s prestige is tarnished; many Cuban exiles blame
Democrats for “losing Cuba” and switched political parties; Castro
limited exiles’ access to Cuba.
• Crisis over Berlin: in 1961 Nikita Khrushchev ordered the Berlin Wall
built to stop the flow of refugees from East to West Berlin. Most were
seeking freedom from communist rule. The wall isolated West Berlin
from the hostile German Democratic Republic. No one could pass
from east to west without the communist government’s permission.
• In 1961 Berlin was a city in great turmoil. In 11 years (since the Berlin
airlift) nearly 3 million East Germans fled into West Berlin – that’s
about 20% of its population. They fled to be free from Communist
rule. This in a way advertised the failure of the East German
communist government – also – their departure dangerously
weakened that country’s economy.
• One of Kennedy’s highpoints in his foreign travels was a trip he made
to Berlin in 1963 to dramatize America’s commitment to West Berlin
and West Germany. In a speech at the Berlin Wall, Kennedy
electrified an audience of 150,000 Germans stating “I am a Berliner,”
thus declaring the solidarity of all free people with West Berlin. He
pledged not to permit the communists to drive the Americans out of
Berlin.
• Kennedy’s determination and America’s superior nuclear striking
power prevented Khrushchev from closing the air and land routes to
West Berlin. Khrushchev’s decision was to build the Berlin Wall
separating east and west Germany. The construction of the wall
ended the Berlin crisis but also aggravated Cold War tensions. The
Wall stopped the flow of refugees from east to west solving its main
problem and became an ugly symbol of Communist oppression.
Berlin Wall
What led Khrushchev to erect the Berlin Wall? The communists wanted to stop
the flow of East German refugees into West Berlin isolating the city. Also, losing
people weakened their economy which gave the appearance of failure of the
communist government.
The showdowns between Kennedy and Khrushchev made both leaders aware of
the gravity of split-second decisions that separated Cold War peace from nuclear
disaster. In 1963 Kennedy announced that the 2 nations had installed the “hot line”
between the White House and the Kremlin. This dedicated phone enabled the
leaders to the 2 countries to communicate at once should another crisis arise.
Later that year, the US and USSR also agreed to a Limited Test Ban Treaty that
barred nuclear testing in the atmosphere.
Section 2 p. 709
The New Frontier
• Main Idea: While Kennedy had trouble getting his ideas for a New
Frontier passed, several goals were achieved.
• Why it matters now: Kennedy’s space program continues to generate
scientific and engineering advances that benefit Americans.
• Terms and Names: New Frontier, mandate, Peace Corps, Alliance for
Progress, Warren Commission
• Obj: summarize the New Frontier and describe the events
surrounding Kennedy’s assassination.
On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard was the first American astronaut to
travel into space aboard the Freedom 7 rocket ship. The entire trip
lasted only 15 minutes – BUT it reaffirmed the belief in American
ingenuity.
The Promise of Progress: The New Frontier is when Kennedy called
Americans as New Pioneers to explore uncharted areas of science and
space.
Kennedy had difficulty turning has vision into reality. He offered
Congress proposals to provide medical care for the aged, rebuild
blighted urban areas, and aid education – BUT he couldn’t get enough
votes. Conservatives blocked his efforts to push his domestic reform.
Because he was elected by the slimmest of margins, he lacked a clear
indication that voters approved of his plans – a mandate. As a result,
he often had to play it safe politically. He did persuade Congress to
enact measures to boost the economy, build the national defense,
provide international aid, and fund a massive space program.
MANDATE: a command or authorization to act in a particular way on a
public issue given by the electorate to its representative: Example: The
president had a clear mandate to end the war.
• Why did Kennedy have difficulty achieving many of his New Frontier
goals? Because he lacked the votes in Congress and a popular
mandate.
• Peace Corps: a program of volunteer assistance to the developing
nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America – many of these volunteers
were young-just out of college age. It became a huge success. People
of all ages and backgrounds signed up to work as agricultural advisers,
teachers, or health aides or to do whatever work the host country
needed. By 1968, it had over 35,000 volunteers and served 60
nations around the world. It was a foreign aid program.
• Alliance for Progress: a second foreign aid program that offered
economic and technical assistance to Latin American countries from
1961 – 1969. The US invested in Latin America in part to deter these
countries from becoming communist like Cuba. While the money
brought some development – it didn’t bring fundamental reforms.
Warren Commission: a group headed by Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court, Earl Warren – it investigated the assassination of President
Kennedy and concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald alone was the
assassin.
What effect did the space program have on other areas of American
life? It improved education – particularly in the areas of science and
math. It also spurred many businesses and industries.
Addressing Domestic problems: While progress was being made on
the new frontiers of space exploration and international aid, many
Americans suffered at home. In 1962, there was a problem with
poverty in the US. Over 50 million people in America lived on less than
$1,000 per person in a year.
While fighting poverty, the fight against segregation was taking place
across America. In 1963, Kennedy began to focus more closely in
issues at home. He called for a national assault on the causes of
poverty and ordered Robert Kennedy’s Justice Department to
investigate racial injustices in the South.
In the fall of 1963, he was losing popularity in the polls because of his
advocacy of civil rights.
November 22, 1963, he lands in Dallas, TX with his wife to mend
political fences with Texas Democrats. He was warmly received. As his
motorcade drove through the city, rifle shots rang out, Kennedy was
shot in the head, He was raced to the hospital where he was
pronounced dead. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with killing the
president. He was a 24 year old ex-Marine dishonorably discharged,
briefly lived in the Soviet Union and supported Castro. As millions of
Americans watched him being transferred between jails, Jack Ruby ( a
night club owner) walked up to him and shot and killed Oswald.
UNANSWERED: Was is a conspiracy? This bizarre chain of events had
many wondering.
In 1963, the Warren Commission investigated and concluded that
Oswald shot the president while acting on his own. Later in 1979, a
reinvestigation concluded that Oswald was part of a conspiracy.
Investigators have also Hasid that 2 people may have fired at the
president. There have been numerous of people who have investigated
and so there are many conspiracy theories. They range from antiCastro Cubans, to a Communist sponsored attack, even a conspiracy by
the CIA.
Johnson was sworn in a President on the plane flight back to
Washington DC with Kennedy’s body on board. Because of Kennedy’s
death, Johnson was able to drive through Congress the most ambitious
domestic legislative package since the New Deal.
Section 3 p. 716
The Great Society
• Main Idea: The demand for reform helped create a new awareness
of social problems, especially on matters of civil rights and the effects
of poverty.
• Why it matters now: Reforms made in the 1960s have had a lasting
effect on the American justice system by increasing the rights of
minorities.
• OBJ: Summarize the goals of Johnson’s Great Society and the reforms
of the Warren Court
• Terms: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Economic Opportunity Act, Great
Society, Medicare and Medicaid, Immigration Act of 1965, Warren
Court, Reapportionment.
• Lyndon Baines Johnson: LBJ, succeeded to the presidency after the
assassination of JFK. His ambition and drive had become legendary.
He was a 4th generation Texan who grew up in the dry Texas hill
country of Blanco County.
He entered politics in 1937 when he won a special election to fill a
vacant seat in the US House of Representative. He styled himself as a
New Dealer and a spokesperson for the small ranchers and struggling
farmers of his district. Pres. Roosevelt liked him and helped him secure
key committee assignments in Congress steering much needed
electrification and water projects to his Texas district. Johnson idolized
FDR and imitated his leadership style.
Once in the House, he sought the Senate seat. He was a master
politician, maneuvering behind the scenes and rose to the position of
Senate majority leader in 1955. His leadership led to the passage of
the Civil Rights Act of 1957. His knack for achieving legislative results
captured John Kennedy’s attention
Johnson captured Kennedy’s attention during his run for the White
House. He needed Johnson’s congressional connections and his
Southern Protestant background – and he asked him to be his running
mate ( vice president). Kennedy needed Johnson to help him win key
states in the South – especially Texas.
Why did Kennedy choose Johnson to be his running mate? Johnson
brought balance to the ticket because of his experience and influence
in Congress and his Southern Protestant background.
Johnson’s Domestic Agenda: When Kennedy was assassinated, LBJ
went to Congress and reminded them that Kennedy has inspired
Americans to begin to solve national and world problems. He urged
Congress to pass the civil rights and tax-cut bills Kennedy had sent to
Capitol Hill. In Feb. 1964, Congress passed the tax reduction bill –
which spurred economic growth. In July, Johnson pushed the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 persuading Southern senators to stop blocking it. It
prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sex,
and granted the government the power to enforce it.
• War on Poverty: LBJs own agenda was to alleviate poverty. Early in
1964 he declared “unconditional war on poverty in America: and
proposed sweeping legislation designed to help Americans that
needed it.
• August,1964 Congress enacted the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA).
It provided youth programs, antipoverty measures, small-business
loans, and job training:
• Job Corps Youth Training Program
• VISTA ( volunteers in service to America)
• Project Head Start – educational program for underprivileged
preschoolers
• Community Action Program – encouraged poor to participate in
public-works programs
• 1964 election: LBJ ran against the Republican nominee – Barry
Goldwater of Arizona who felt the government should not help
business and try to right social and economic problems such as
poverty, discrimination and lack of opportunity. He also thought we
should use nuclear weapons in Cuba and Vietnam.
• In 1964, most Americans were in tune with Johnson and that the
federal government should help solve the nation’s problems. Johnson
won by a landslide and the Democrats seats increased to a majority in
Congress. Now Johnson could launch his reform program.
• Building the Great Society: In May 1964, Johnson had summed up his
vision for America in the phrase: the Great Society. Outlining his
program, it would end poverty and racial injustice. He envisioned
that it would create a higher standard of living and equal opportunity
– promoting a richer quality of life for all.
• Education: The key to unlock the door to the Great Society was the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It provided more
than $1 billion in federal aid to help public and parochial schools
purchase textbooks and new library materials. This was the first
major federal aid package for education in the nation’s history.
• Healthcare: LBJ and Congress changed Social Security by establishing
Medicare – (hospital insurance and low-cost medical insurance for
Americans 65 or older) and Medicaid (extended health insurance to
welfare recipients). Both provided government-sponsored health
insurance.
• Housing: Money appropriated to build 240,000 units of low-rent
public housing and help low and moderate – income families pay for
better private housing; establishing the Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD).
• Immigration: Profound changes to the immigration laws. Old quotas
established earlier that discriminated against people from outside
Western Europe changed. The Immigration Act of 1965 opened the
door for many non-European immigrants to settle in the US by ending
quotas based on nationality.
• Environment: in 1962 the book Silent Spring exposed hidden dangers
with the effects of pesticides on the environment. Public outcry
resulted in the Water Quality Act of 1965 – required states to clean
up rivers. The gov’t searched for the worst polluters – chemical
companies and oil refineries using our major rivers as pipelines for
toxic wastes. The environmental movement in the US begins.
• Consumer Protection: Congress passed major safety laws – truth in
packaging law that set standards for labeling consumer goods.
Congress now established safety standards for cars, tires, foods.
Reforms of the Warren CourtThe Great Society was characterized as a wave of liberal reform that
also swept through the Supreme Court of the 1960s. Chief Justice Earl
Warren took an activist stance on the leading issues of the day. The
Warren Court banned prayer in public schools and declared staterequired loyalty oaths unconstitutional. Limited the power of
communities to censor books, films – and said that wearing black
armbands to school by antiwar students was free speech. His court
also brought about change in federal and state reapportionment and th
criminal justice system.
• Congressional Reapportionment: reapportionment- the way in
which states redraw election districts based on the changing number
of people in them. The court rules that congressional district
boundaries should be redrawn so that districts would be equal in
population and it extended the principle of on person, one vote to
state legislative districts.
• Rights of the Accused: The Warren Court also greatly expanded the
rights of people accused of crimes. Evidence seized illegally could not
be used in state courts – called the exclusionary rule. Justices
required criminal courts to provide free legal counsel to those who
could not afford it. A person has the right to have a lawyer present
during questioning. A person must have their rights read to them
before questioning.
What were the differing reactions to the Warren Court decisions on
the rights of the accused? Liberals supported the decisions for
protecting individual rights, while conservatives criticized the Court for
protecting criminal suspects and limiting police power.
Impact of the Great Society – The Great Society and the Warren Court
changed the US. No president in the post-WWII era extended the
power and reach of the federal government more than Lyndon B.
Johnson.
War on Poverty – did help – the number of poor fell from 21% to 11%
in 10 years. Many of his proposals proved difficult to accomplish
because they were not well thought out. Funding the Great Society
contributed to a growing budget deficit – a problem that continues.
There were questions about government finances and debates over the
effectiveness of programs and the role of the federal government
leaving some disillusioned. There was a conservative backlash as a new
group of conservative Republican leaders rose to power.
The increase of Communist forces in Vietnam began to overshadow the
goals of the Great Society and drew funds away from it. In 1964
Johnson was a “peace candidate” for president but would be labeled a
“hawk” for supporting on of the most divisive wars in recent US history
– Vietnam-
• What events and problems may have affected the success of the
Great Society?
Some programs contributed to the budget deficit; federal spending;
deficits, and intervention sparked conservative backlash; the Vietnam
War drew away funds and attention.