Kennedy and the Cold War

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Kennedy and the Cold War
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us
well or ill, that we will pay any price, bear any
burden, meet any hardship, support any friend,
oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the
success of liberty." . -John F. Kennedy
Inaugural Address 1960

• Section 281 Notes
• pp. 876-884

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The Election of 1960

• Kennedy (D) vs. Nixon (R)
• Campaign Issues
• Cold War
• Economic Recession
• Growth and Progress

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The Election of 1960

• Importance of Television
• Clarify Position on Issues
• Campaign Commercials
• Nixon
• Kennedy
• Televised Debates
• Clip

We wouldnt have had a prayer without the
gadget. -John F. Kennedy on the importance of
television on the election
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The Camelot Years

• Camelot Era
• New tone of grace, wit, and elegance
• Inauguration called for self-sacrifice
• Loved by press and public

And the song he loved most came at the very end
of this record, the last side of Camelot, sad
Camelot. . . . 'Don't let it be forgot, that once
there was a spot, for one brief shining moment
that was known as Camelot. Jacqueline Kennedy
speaking about JFK
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The Camelot Years

• The Best the Brightest
• Robert F. Kennedy Attorney General
• Robert McNamara Secretary of Defense
• Dean Rusk Secretary of State

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New Military Policy

• Flexible Response
• Allowed the president to fight Communism through
  a variety of means
• Increased military spending
• Created Green Berets

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Crisis Over Cuba

• The Cuban Dilemma
• Fidel Castro overthrew Cuban dictator in 1961
• US responds with economic embargos
• 10 of Cubans fled

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Crisis Over Cuba

• Bay of Pigs
• US supported overthrow of Castro to be led by
  Cuban exiles
• Military mishaps cause invasion to fail
• JFK promised to resist communist expansion in
  West

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Crisis Over Cuba

• Cuban Missile Crisis
• USSR storing nuclear weapons in Cuba
• US blockaded Cuba and demanded the weapons be
  removed
• Crisis averted, but US lived in fear for days

Kennedy Addresses the Nation During Cuban Missile
Crisis
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Crisis Over Berlin

• The Berlin Crisis
• Berlin Wall erected in 1961 to stop people from
  escaping to West Germany
• Became most famous symbol of the Cold War

The Berlin Wall stretched 96 miles long and
stood 13 feet high. Armed soldiers guarded the
wall.
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The New Frontier

• Section 282
• pp. 885-889

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• We stand today on the edge of a new frontier. The
  new frontier of which I speak is not a set of
  promisesit is a set of challenges. It sums up
  not what I intend to offer the American people,
  but what I intend to ask of them....It appeals to
  our pride, not our security--it holds the promise
  of more sacrifice instead of more security.
• John F. Kennedy
• Acceptance Speech
• Democratic National Convention 1960

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Promise of Progress

• The New Frontier
• Kennedys vision of progress for America
• Increased aid for education (failed)
• Increased minimum wage (passed)
• End to poverty (failed)
• Civil rights (failed)
• Hard to get passed b/c of Congressional makeup
  and lack of mandate

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Promise of Progress

• New Economics
• JFKs financial advisors advocated
• An increase in defense spending
• Major tax cuts

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Promise of Progress

• Addressing Poverty Abroad
• Peace Corps
• Created to help developing nations
• Worked to improve agriculture, health, education
• Alliance for Progress
• Financial and technological aid to Latin America
• Hoped to prevent revolutionary takeovers

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Promise of Progress

• Road to the Moon
• US determined to keep up with Soviets
• Increased federal money for NASA
• Alan Shepard First American in space
• Growth of Space Program
• More science programs at university level
• Southern and Western states grow

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Promise of Progress

• Addressing Domestic Problems
• The Other America brought poverty to national
  attention

In short, the very development of the American
city has removed poverty from the living,
emotional experience of millions upon millions of
middle-class Americans. Living out in the suburbs
it is easy to assume that ours is, indeed, an
affluent society. -Michael Harringtons The
Other America
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Promise of Progress

• Civil Rights Demonstrations
• Birmingham police attack protestors
• James Merediths enrollment at U-Miss
• Televised speech on Civil Rights

Protestors in Birmingham, Alabama, on May 3 1963,
being hit by a high-pressure water hose.
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Tragedy in Dallas

• Four Days in November
• JFK in TX to meet
• with Southern
• Democrats
• Assassinated in Dallas, TX
• Zapruder Film Clip

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Tragedy in Dallas

• LBJ sworn in as president
• Walter Cronkite announcing Kennedys death

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Tragedy in Dallas

• Shock and disbelief swept nation
• Lee Harvey Oswald charged with crime

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Tragedy in Dallas

• Warren Commission
• Created to investigate assassination
• Concluded Oswald acted alone

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Related Video Links

• Lee Harvey Oswald and Motive
• Is Oswald Guilty?
• Single Bullet Theory Scene from JFK
• Magic Bullet Theory Refuted
• Conspiracy Theories

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The Great Society

• Section 28-3
• pp. 892-899

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Preview Questions

• How did Johnson wage a war on poverty?
• How did the Great Society and the Warren Court
  change America?
• How successful was the Great Society?

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Johnsons Domestic Agenda

• LBJs Management Style
• Supported JFKs unfinished legislation
• Tax Cuts
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Prohibited discrimination in public places

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Johnsons Domestic Agenda

• The War on Poverty
• Economic Opportunity Act (1964)
• Youth programs (ex Head Start)
• Antipoverty measures
• Small business loans
• Job training (ex Job Corps)

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Johnsons Domestic Agenda

• 1964 Presidential Election
• Barry Goldwater (R) vs. LBJ (D)
• Issues
• Governments role in solving social problems
• 1964 LBJ ad about poverty
• 1964 Goldwater ad about government spending
• Use of nuclear weapons in Vietnam
• 1964 LBJ Daisy ad

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Building the Great Society

• The Great Society
• Legislative program designed to end poverty and
  racial injustice
• Measures (see p. 896 for complete list)
• Federal aid for education
• Medicare and Medicaid
• Expanded public housing
• Lifted immigration restrictions
• Water quality protection
• Improved consumer safety

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Reforms of the Warren Court

• Major Decisions
• Congressional Reapportionment
• Exclusionary Rule
• Free legal counsel for the accused
• Right to lawyer during questioning
• Miranda Rights
• Praised by liberals

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Impact of the Great Society

• Extended the power of the federal government
• Reduced poverty
• Growing deficit
• Conservative backlash