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CHAPTER 27

• THE NEW FRONTIER AND
• THE GREAT SOCIETY

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Kennedy and the Cold War

• The Main Idea State Standard 9.5.1
• President Kennedy continued the Cold War policy
  of resisting the spread of communism by offering
  to help other nations and threatening to use
  force if necessary.
• Reading Focus
• In what ways did Kennedys election as president
  suggest change?
• Why did the Bay of Pigs invasion take place, and
  with what results?
• Why did the Berlin crisis develop, and what was
  its outcome?
• What caused the Cuban missile crisis, and how was
  war avoided?
• How did Kennedys foreign policy reflect his view
  of the world?

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SECTION 1 KENNEDY AND THE COLD WARKENNEDY
BECOMES PRESIDENT

• John F. Kennedy ran against Richard Nixon for
  president in the 1960 election.
• Unlike Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy was wealthy
  and part of a politically powerful family.
• Part of the reason John Kennedy won the 1960
  election was that he represented a spirit of hope
  and change.
• Kennedy called his plans for changing the nation
  the New Frontier. He spoke out about changes, but
  he also spoke out against communism. He won by a
  small majority of the popular vote. Kennedy had
  young, smart advisers, including the attorney
  general, who was his brother, Robert Kennedy.
• One of the factors that may have helped John F.
  Kennedy to win African American voters in the
  1960 election was when Martin Luther King Jr. was
  arrested during a protest, Kennedy called Kings
  wife to express his concern and Kennedys brother
  persuaded a judge to release King.

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Kennedy Takes Office
Inaugural Address

• Focused on change
• Strong anti-Communist tone
• Did not specify his domestic policy goals because
  so much division existed over domestic issues

Kennedys Advisors

• Gathered a group some called the best and the
  brightest as his advisors
• Most of Kennedys advisors were young.
• Two of John F, Kennedys most important advisers
  were Ted Sorenson and, his brother, Robert
  (Bobby) Kennedy.
• Cabinet members had less influence than White
  House advisors.

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Bay of Pigs Invasion

• Relations between the United States and Cuba were
  poor in 1960 because Fidel Castros government
  had seized American property in Cuba.
• Thousands of Cubans escaped to the United
  States. In 1960 the CIA had been training exiled
  Cubans to invade Cuba. They wanted to remove
  Fidel Castro, the Communist dictator of Cuba. He
  had ties to the Soviet Union. The invasion,
  called the Bay of Pigs invasion, began during
  Kennedys early days in office. Many things went
  wrong and the invasion was a failure.

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• The Bay of Pigs invasion caused the Cuban
  government to turn to the Soviet Union for
  protection from the United States.
• Thousands of Cubans continued to escape from
  Castros regime.
• Most Cubans who arrived in the United States in
  the late 1960s were professionals.

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The Berlin Crisis

• The Berlin Wall
• On August 13, 1961, Khrushchev closed the
  crossing points between East and West Berlin.
• Germans were escaping to West Berlin. To stop
  them, the East Germans closed the borders and
• A high concrete wall was built to prevent East
  Germans from further escapes to freedom. Anyone
  caught crossing the wall was shot.
• Kennedy sent more troops, and Vice President
  Lyndon B. Johnson visited West Berlin.
• Kennedy said A wall is a lot better than a
  war.
• Over time, the wall was extended and fortified.

• Berlins Significance
• Khrushchev demanded that the United States
  recognize East Germany as an independent
  Communist nation.
• West Berlin was an island of freedom.
• Many East Germans fled to West Germany through
  Berlin.
• Kennedy refused to be bullied, sent troops into
  West Germany, built nuclear shelters, and waited
  for Khrushchevs next move.

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The Cuban Missile Crises

• U.S. actions in the Bay of Pigs and Berlin crises
  encouraged hard-line leaders in the Soviet Union.
• The Soviets were worried about another invasion
  of Cuba and U.S. nuclear missiles placed in
  Turkey.
• Kennedy was worried about accusations of being
  soft on communism.

Buildup

• The Cuban missile crisis began in October 1963,
  when U.S. spy planes found that the U.S.S.R. had
  put nuclear missiles in Cuba and this would lead
  to a naval blockade of Cuba.
• The Soviets argued that the SAMs were defensive
  missiles and swore that they didnt have
  offensive missiles in Cuba.
• Later U-2 flights showed that the Soviets had
  lied.

Crisis Begins
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The Cuban Missile Crisis

• Kennedy assembled a group of advisors, known as
  the ExComm, to help him plan a response.
• ExComm military members favored an air strike,
  perhaps followed by a land invasion of Cuba.
• Others argued for a naval blockade. Kennedy
  agreed with this plan. Kennedy blockaded Cuba by
  sea.
• The world watched as Soviet ships carrying
  missile parts approached the naval blockade.
  They turned back.

Managing the Crisis

• Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the missiles if
  the United States pledged to never invade Cuba.
• Both Kennedy and Khrushchev took steps to ease
  tensions between their countries.
• They set up a hotline to allow direct
  communication during times of crisis.
• The Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed,
  ending atmospheric and underwater testing of
  nuclear weapons.

Effects of the Crisis
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How did Kennedys foreign policy reflect his
views of the world?

• Trained and sent volunteers to Africa, Asia, and
  Latin America to serve for two years
• Most volunteers were young college graduates
• Increased goodwill toward the United States
• One of President Kennedys greatest foreign
  policy successes was eventually relieving some
  tensions of the Cold War.

Kennedys Foreign Policy

• The Peace Corps trained volunteers to serve as
  teachers and health care workers in poor
  countries. Believed in peace that did not have to
  be enforced with weapons of war
• Believed in peace for Americans and for all men
  and women around the world

Peace Corps

• Offered billions of dollars in aid to Latin
  America to build schools, hospitals, roads, power
  plants, and low-cost housing
• Intended to counter communisms influence

Alliance for Progress
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Kennedy Foreign Policy and the Cold War

• Kennedy also followed the Cold War policies of
  his predecessors.
• He continued the nuclear arms buildup begun by
  Eisenhower.
• He continued to follow Trumans practice of
  containment.
• Kennedy developed the strategy of flexible
  response. This meant strengthening non-nuclear
  forces so there were choices other than nuclear
  war. This enables the nation to avoid using
  nuclear weapons in times of crisis.

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SECTION 2 KENNEDYS THOUSAND DAYS

• The Main Idea STA 9.spi.7
• John F. Kennedy brought energy, initiative, and
  important new ideas to the presidency.
• Reading Focus
• What was Kennedys New Frontier?
• In what ways did the Warren Court change society
  in the early 1960s?
• What impact did Kennedys assassination have on
  the nation and the world?

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Kennedys New Frontier

• Kennedy was skilled at using the media to project
  the image he wanted. He showed himself as young
  and athletic. Actually, he had many health
  problems.
• First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was attractive and
  from a wealthy family. She supported the arts and
  made the White House the nations unofficial
  cultural center.
• Kennedy wanted to improve the nation with his New
  Frontier plans.
• However, Kennedy had difficulty convincing
  Congress to support his proposals because did not
  have a clear mandate.
• The election of 1960 was too close to be seen as
  permission for him to act. Kennedy urged Congress
  to reduce taxes in order to fight unemployment.
• He proposed federal aid for education and
  creation of a health plan for the elderly.
  Congress acted on none of these ideas.

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Kennedys New Frontier

• Space Program
• Khrushchev claimed the Soviet lead in space
  showed the superiority of communism.
• In May 1961 Kennedy vowed that the United States
  would land a man on the moon.
• The space race became a part of the Cold War It
  bolstered the nations prestige and power in the
  face of several foreign policy setbacks.

• Image / Reality
• Images of Kennedy showed a young, vital president
  / He suffered from Addisons disease and a bad
  back.
• Kennedy encouraged the press to photograph and
  write about his children/ Jacqueline Kennedy
  tried to protect their privacy.

• Congress
• Most in the early 1960s were not reform minded,
  which was reflected in Congress.
• Kennedys narrow victory left him without a clear
  mandate to rule. Congress didnt approve many
  New Frontier proposals.
• Sometimes Kennedy was able to bypass Congress and
  solve problems.

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The Supreme Court in the Early 1960s

• During the Kennedy presidency, Supreme Court
  decisions made major changes in American society.
• Under the leadership of Chief Justice Earl
  Warren, Court rulings extended individual rights
  and freedoms.
• Voting-rights reform
• The rights of the accused
• Religious freedom

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Chief Justice Earl Warren
Many historians regard Earl Warren as one of the
most important chief justices.

• Warren did not have a positive record on civil
  rights when President Eisenhower appointed him
  chief justice in 1953.
• Called for the internment of Japanese Americans
  during World War II.
• Fought against an effort to make Californias
  state Assembly more representative of the people.

• However, as chief justice, Warren led the Court
  to one of the most significant civil rights
  advances in U.S. history.
• Brown v. Board of Education banned racial
  segregation in the nations schools.

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The Warren Court

• Prior to legislation in the 1960s, states did not
  redraw the boundaries of legislative districts to
  reflect population changes.
• Baker v. Carr (1962), Westberry v. Sanders
  (1964), and Reynolds v. Sims (1964) changed this
  practice to make each citizens vote more equal.
  Urban voters benefited the most.

Voting-rights Reform

• Mapp v. Ohio (1961), Gideon v. Wainwright (1963),
  Escobedo v. Illinois (1964), and Miranda v.
  Arizona (1966) extended the Bill of Rights to the
  actions of state governments.

Rights of the Accused

• In Engel v. Vitale (1962) and other cases, the
  Warren Court defined the religion guarantees of
  the First Amendment.

Religious Freedom
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Kennedys Assassination

• On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was
  assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
• Vice President Johnson was sworn in within hours.

• Kennedys death shocked the nation and the world.

• One reason John F. Kennedys assassination deeply
  affected people was because he had represented
  hope for a better future.

• Within hours, police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald
  for killing John F. Kennedy.
• While being transferred to the county jail,
  Oswald was shot to death by Jack Ruby.

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The Warren Commission

• The strange circumstances surrounding President
  Kennedys death caused people to wonder whether
  Oswald had acted alone in killing the president.
• President Johnson appointed the Warren Commission
  to investigate the assassination.
• The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald and
  Ruby had each acted alone, and there was no
  conspiracy to assassinate John F. Kennedy
• Additional government investigations and many
  private ones have never found credible evidence
  of a conspiracy.

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The Kennedy Legacy

• Some felt the drama of the Kennedy presidency was
  more evident than its achievements.
• However, in foreign affairs, relations with the
  Soviet Union had improved.
• The Peace Corp produced goodwill toward the
  United States.

Foreign Relations

• Kennedy did not have much success with domestic
  issues.
• He acknowledged that the nations social,
  economic, and environmental problems would take
  many years to solve.

Domestic Achievements
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SECTION 3 THE GREAT SOCIETY

• The Main Idea
• President Johnson used his political skills to
  push Kennedys proposals through Congress and
  expanded them with his own vision of the Great
  Society.
• Reading Focus
• Why was Lyndon Johnsons background good
  preparation for becoming president?
• Why was Johnson more successful than Kennedy in
  getting Congress to enact Kennedys agenda?
• In what ways did Johnsons Great Society change
  the nation?
• What foreign-policy issues were important in
  Johnsons presidency?

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Lyndon Johnson Becomes President

• Personality
• Large and intense with none of Kennedys good
  looks, polish, or charm
• Hardworking and ambitious
• Genuine desire to help others
• Greater concern for the poor and underprivileged
  than Kennedy
• Believed in an expanded role for government in
  making Americans lives better
• Lyndon B. Johnson would have described his
  political views as most similar to Franklin D.
  Roosevelt.

• Political Experience
• School teacher in Texas
• Served as Texas Congressman
• Served as U.S. Senator
• Served as majority leader in the Senate after one
  term as senator
• By 1960, Johnson had more influence in
  Washington, D.C., than any other Democrat.

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The Beginning of Johnsons Presidency

• Johnsons mastery of the political process, along
  with his years of experience in Washington,
  allowed Johnson to make a smooth transition to
  the presidency.
• He vowed to continue to carry on the New Frontier.

• Johnson called on members of Congress to pass
  Kennedys programs so that Kennedy did not die
  in vain. He even used images of Kennedy behind
  him when he spoke.

• Johnson wanted to go beyond the Kennedy
  administrations plans he sponsored anti-poverty
  programs, tax-cut bills, and civil rights
  legislation.

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Enacting Kennedys Agenda

• War on Poverty
• Kennedy was influenced by Michael Harringtons
  The Other America, a study of poverty that
  shattered the popular belief that all Americans
  had prospered from postwar prosperity.
• Johnson launched the War on Poverty when he asked
  Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act in
  1964.
• Johnson called it the War on Poverty and gave it
  high priority. He got Congress to pass the
  Economic Opportunity Act. It created the Job
  Corps, a work training program for unemployed
  youth, and VISTA, Volunteers in Service to
  America.

• Economic Opportunity Act
• Funded several new anti-poverty programs
• The Job Corps offered work-training programs for
  unemployed youth.
• VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) was a
  domestic version of the Peace Corps.
• Other programs provided education for adults,
  work for unemployed parents, and help to fight
  rural poverty and assist migrants.

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Enacting Kennedys ProgramsOther Initiatives
Passed

• Johnson pushed for the passage of Kennedys
  tax-cut bill.
• Congress demanded that the president promise to
  hold government spending to 100 billion.
• Johnson used the press to help him convince
  Congress to pass the Tax Reduction Act in 1964.
• The nations economy grew by more than 10 percent
  and unemployment declined.
• Johnson pushed for the passage of Kennedys civil
  rights bill.
• After a year of debate, Congress passed the
  landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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The Great Society

• In 1964 Johnson told the nation that he had his
  own plans for the United States.
• He called the domestic programs of his
  administration the Great Society.
• President Johnson envisioned a society that
  ensured access to justice, education, decent
  housing, and health care for all Americans.
• He believed it was necessary to end racial
  injustice in America.
• One of the goals that was central to Johnsons
  vision of the Great Society was equal opportunity
  for education.

• In order to launch Johnsons Great Society, he
  needed to win the 1964 election.
• Chose Hubert Humphrey as his running mate
• Republicans selected Barry Goldwater as their
  nominee.

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• Barry Goldwaters views were very different from
  Johnsons.
• Barry Goldwater suggested using nuclear weapons
  to end Vietnam.
• Attacked the Great Society with claims that
  people were only equal in the eyes of God and
  that government programs to help people were
  similar to communism

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Creating the Great Society

• In 1965, as a central part of Johnsons Great
  Society, Congress passed the first large-scale
  program of government aid to public schools the
  Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
• The Higher Education Act - created the first
  federal scholarships for needy college students
• Head Start education program for preschool
  children of low-income parents
• Omnibus Housing Act created Department of
  Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• Medicaid program that provides free health care
  for poor people
• Medicare health care program for people over
  age 65
• The Great Society emphasized the environment
  laws were passed to improve water and air
  quality.
• In 1967 Johnson also signed laws to improve the
  environment and to create the Corporation for
  Public Broadcasting.
•  Lady Bird Johnson worked to preserve the
  outdoors and natural beauty of the United States
  and pushed for the Highway Beautification Act
  (came to be called Lady Birds bill)

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Decline of the Great Society
Between 1965 and 1966, Congress passed 181 of the
200 major bills that President Johnson requested.
Some members of Congress were concerned about the
rapid pace of reform.
The midterm elections of 1966 allowed the
Republicans to gain seats in both houses of
Congresswhich slowed down Johnsons legislative
program.

• The new Congress did enact some Great Society
  programs
• Public Broadcasting Act (1967) Corporation for
  Public Broadcasting, Public Broadcasting System
  (PBS), and National Public Radio (NPR).
• The Truth-in-Lending Act (1967)
• A 1968 law to establish the nations wild and
  scenic rivers program
• Ultimately, expensive foreign policy decisions
  played a key role in the decline of the Great
  Society.

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Johnsons Foreign Policy

• President Johnsons commitment to containing
  communism guided his policies in Vietnam.
• By the end of 1966, some 385,000 U.S. combat
  troops were in Vietnam, and the government was
  spending 2.5 billion a month on the war.
• We cannot have guns and butter.

Vietnam

• Policy dictating that revolutions in Latin
  America were more than local concerns if
  communism was involved. The U.S. would intervene.
• Johnson Doctrine said that the United States had
  a right to step in if a Communist dictatorship
  might be established. It set the guidelines for
  military intervention in Latin America.
• Johnson sent troops to end a revolt in the
  Dominican Republic in 1965.

Johnson Doctrine
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Johnsons Foreign Policy

• Continued Kennedys effort to improve relations
  with Soviet Union
• Signed treaty to protect each countrys diplomats
  from harassment by authorities in the other
  country
• United States and Soviet Union (along with 58
  other nations) signed agreement to ban weapons in
  outer space.

Relations with Soviet Union

• In January 1968 North Korea captured a U.S. Navy
  spy shipthe Pueblooff the coast of Communist
  North Korea.
• The United States claimed it was in international
  waters and called up troops.
• The North Koreans released the crew, but kept the
  ship.

Pueblo Incident
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