1960s PoliticsI. IntroII. Election 1960

A. Candidates/CampaignIII. JFK (1961-63)

A. StyleB. Domestic PolicyC. Foreign Policy—CubaD. Assassination

IV. LBJA. StyleB. Domestic Policy

1. Civil Rights2. Great Society

Key Terms• New Frontier• Fidel Castro• Bay of Pigs• Cuban Missile Crisis• Civil Rights Act• Great Society

1960 Election(The Two Candidates)

Richard Nixon ®

(1913-1994)

John Kennedy (D)

(1917-1963)

1960 Election(Results)

Kennedy

Nixon

% Popular Vote

49.7%

49.5%

Image Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Kennedy’s Style

Some Policy Successes

• Increased defense spending; created Green Beret• Sponsored Peace Corps • Expanded Space Program

New Frontier(Core of JFK’s Domestic Policy)

1. Fight poverty

2. Federal aid to education

3. Health care system for elderly

4. Civil Rights

JFK failed to obtain passage of each proposal

Foreign Policy & Cuba

Fidel Castro

(1926?- )Castro shaking hands with USSR leader Khrushchev

Bay of Pigs Invasion(April, 1961)

CIA Plan To Overthrow Castro1. US trained & equipped 1,500 Cuban exiles who

would enter Cuba & start a revolution.2. April, 1961 they landed at Bay of Pigs; it was a

complete failure.

• Pushed Castro closer to USSR

• US wanted Castro dead-Operation Mongoose

Cuban Missile Crisis(October, 1962)

• Nuclear weapons were being installed in Cuba by USSR

What?

Cuban Missile Crisis(October, 1962)

• How to eliminate nuclear weapons?

• A “blockade” of Cuba was established

• US agreed: not to interfere with Cuba. USSR agreed: to withdraw nuclear weapons

• Impact: In short run it eased US-USSR tension; in long run it led to arms race

Assassination

• Fall of 1963 JFK traveled to Texas to campaign for re-election.

Walter Cronkite announces the death of President John Kennedy

Lyndon Johnson(1963-1969)

• Former Senate Majority Leader

• Successfully obtained passage of many of his (and JFK’s) proposals

(1908-1973)

Johnson’s Style

Civil Rights Act(1964)

1. Outlawed discrimination in public places.

2. Outlawed job discrimination based on race & sex.

3. A commission was established to enforce this act.

Strongest civil rights legislation in almost 100 years

1964 Civil Rights Act

“…we’ve just delivered the South to the Republican party for a long time to come….”

1964 Presidential Election

Lyndon Johnson Barry Goldwater

1964 Campaign Ad

1964 Election Results(LBJ = 61%; Goldwater = 38.5%)

Great Society(1965-69)

1. Economic Opportunity Act• Low-income housing,

vocational training & Headstart

2. Health care program for elderly (Medicare) & poor (Medicaid)

3. Federal funding for public education

War On Poverty

New Frontier(JFK’s Domestic Policy)

Johnson had succeeded where Kennedy had failed

1. Fight poverty

2. Federal aid to education

3. Health care system for elderly

4. Civil Rights Kennedy failed to obtain passage of each

proposal

The Great Society Evaluated

• The Great Society improved many people’s lives, but poverty was not eliminated

2007 Poverty Guidelines

Size of Family Unit

48 contiguous states & D. C.

Alaska Hawaii

1 $10,210 $12,770 $11,750

2 $13,690 $17,120 $15,750

3 $17,170 $21,470 $19,750

4 $20,650 $25,820 $23,750

5 $24,130 $30,170 $27,750

6 $27,610 $34,520 $31,750

7 $31,090 $38,870 $35,750

8 $34,570 $43,220 $39,750

Each additional

$3,480 $4,350 4,000

Consider: Minimum Wage(If one worker in a family works at minimum wage,

will they be at (100%) or below poverty line?)

Size of Family Unit% of

Poverty Line

2005 2007

1 112% 119%

2 83% 88%

3 66.5%

71%

4 55.3%

59%

5 47.4%

50%

6 41.4%

44%

1960s PoliticsI. IntroII. Election 1960

A. Candidates/CampaignIII. JFK (1961-63)

A. StyleB. Domestic PolicyC. Foreign Policy—CubaD. Assassination

IV. LBJA. StyleB. Domestic Policy

1. Civil Rights2. Great Society

Key Terms• New Frontier• Fidel Castro• Bay of Pigs• Cuban Missile Crisis• Civil Rights Act• Great Society