THE ELECTION OF 1960

THE RACE FOR OFFICE

• Both were: young, military veterans, lawyers and cold warriors…

• However, many historians believe there were (2) important factors that decided the race…..

1. TELEVISED DEBATE

• First televised debates in history.

• 70 million viewers tuned in, more on radio.

• Image (or style) vs. substance

• Click HERE

2. Civil Rights

• Reverend Martin Luther King arrested in Atlanta, Kennedy called - Nixon didn’t

• JFK got more African -Am votes, more open about his Civil Rights policy

OTHER ISSUES

• Kennedy was a Roman Catholic

• Cold War policies

• Both candidates wanted to increase economic growth and prosperity- make it accessible to more everyone

• Nixon could have used Eisenhower’s record/popularity (which was around 60–65% on election day)

ELECTION RESULTS

KENEDDY’S INGAGURAL ADDRESS

• President John F. Kennedy delivers his inaugural address at Capitol Hill in Jan. 20, 1961.

• Kennedy said, "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty."

THE JFK Administration

KENNEDY LEADS AMERICA INTO THE 1960S

THE KENNEDY MYSTIQUE

• Young, energetic and good looking

• Many people felt that they could relate to the President

• Family values• “The First Lady”

– Fashion– Good Looking

• The press loved JFK and his family

“THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST”

• JFK surrounded himself with what one journalist described as the “best and the brightest” available talent

• He surrounded himself with young, educated, and energetic people

• Robert Kennedy (his brother) was his closet friend and ally– Attorney General

JFK AND THE COLD WAR

• Less of Eisenhower’s “brinkmanship” (aggressive) military strategies

• More “flexible response”– No nuclear force– More conventional troops and weapons– Created elite branch of the Army

• Special Forces

• Stop Soviet (Communist) influence in Cuba

CRISES OVER CUBA

• 1st big test of JFK’s new foreign policy• Two weeks before JFK took office

Eisenhower cut relations with Cuba– FACTOR = Fidel Castro

• Castro– Communist Dictator– Controlled Economy (sugar/oil), affected USA– Relied on the Soviets for aid (Military)

BAY OF PIGS, CUBA

• March 1960 CIA trained 1,400 Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro– Eisenhower started, JFK continued

• April 17, 1961 JFK ordered the invasion of Cuba by the exiles supported by the U.S. military

DID NOT GO WELL…– Air strike failed to take out Cuban air force– Castro new they were coming– Exiles killed and captured, JFK had to negotiate for their

release– Embarrassed the U.S. & Castro continued relations with

Soviets

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

BERLIN WALL CRISIS

See Book pgs. 677-678, answer questions

1.What was the Berlin Wall?2.What events led to the construction of the Berlin Wall?3.What was the “hot line” and what was its purpose?4.Describe the “Limited Test Ban Treaty.” Why was this so significant?

VIETNAM WAR and THE U.S.

• 1950’s–– France/South Vietnam fought Ho Chi Minh

(Communist) for control over North Vietnam– U.S./President Truman sends $1 billion in aid

to France, STOP COMMUNISM– 1953-1954 Eisenhower continues aid

• Used the “Domino Theory” as justification

– U.S. efforts did not help, Vietnam divided at 17th parallel

– 1957- Vietcong (North Vietnam) invades South Vietnam, Eisenhower does nothing

JFK AND VIETNAM

• 1961– JFK enters the White House and initially decides to stay out of Vietnam

• End of 1963 – sent 16,000 U.S. military “advisors” to assist South Vietnam– Purpose = to train South Vietnamese soldiers

to fight

THE NEW FRONTIER

The promise of progress• Stimulate the economy• Improve education• Improve medical care for

the elderly and the poor• Go to the moon

JFK AND THE ECONOMY

• 1960 America = economic recessionJFK’s Response

– Deficit Spending– Increase Government spending and lower

taxes– Increased = defense budget, minimum wage,

unemployment insurance– Creation of the Peace Corps and the Alliance

for Progress

“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win...”

JFK September 12, 1962

RACE TO THE MOON

• Soviets 1st into space– April 12, 1961

• One month later the U.S. did the same

• One year later sent 1st

TV satellite into space• NASA built launch

facilities and a mission control center

A MAN ON THE MOON

• Finally, on July 20, 1969, the U.S. would achieve its goal

• An excited nation watched as U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon…

Armstrong

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”

JFK assassinated in Dallas November 22, 1963 and Lyndon Baines Johnson is sworn in as

President

LBJ & THE GREAT SOCIETY

• A fourth-generation Texan, Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) entered politics in 1937 as a congressman

• Johnson admired Franklin Roosevelt who took the young congressman under his wing

• Johnson became a senator in 1948 and by 1955 he was Senate majority leader

• Career politician, that knew how to get laws passed

JOHNSON’S DOMESTIC AGENDA:

• Pass the Kennedy tax cuts ($10 billion)

• Pass the Kennedy Civil Rights bill (prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin, and granted the federal government new powers to enforce the law)

• Voting Rights Act (prohibited literacy tests or other discriminatory practices for voting)

• War on Poverty (provided $1 billion in aid to the inner city)

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT

Created:• VISTA (Volunteers in

service to America)• Project Head Start for

underprivileged preschoolers

• The Community Action Program which encouraged the poor to participate in public works program

Project Head Start is still going strong

LBJ easily defeats Goldwater in ‘64

Great Society Programs:• In your notes, use your book to define

how the Great Society was going to change these programs (pgs. 689 -691)

1. EDUCATION2. HEALTHCARE3. HOUSING4. IMMIGRATION REFORM5. THE ENVIRONMENT6. CONSUMER PROTECTION

The Warren Court:• Reapportionment:

• Baker v. Carr (1962) one man, one vote

• Rights of the accused:– Mapp v. Ohio (1961) illegally seized evidence

can not be admitted as evidence– Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) right to a lawyer

at your trial– Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) right to have a

lawyer present when you are questioned– Miranda v. Arizona (1966) your rights must be

read to you at the time of your arrest

IMPACT OF GREAT SOCIETY

• No president in Post-WWII era extended the power and reach of the federal government more than LBJ

• The War on Poverty helped, the Civil Rights initiative made a difference and the massive tax cuts spurred the economy