Kennedy and the Cold War

Section 28*1 Notespp. 876-884

“"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

“"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

The Election of 1960

• Kennedy (D) vs. Nixon (R)

• Campaign Issues – Cold War– Economic Recession– Growth and Progress

The Election of 1960

• Importance of Television– Clarify Position on Issues– Campaign Commercials

• Nixon • Kennedy

– Televised Debates• Clip

“We wouldn’t have had a prayer without the gadget.”

-John F. Kennedy on the importance of television on the election

“We wouldn’t have had a prayer without the gadget.”

-John F. Kennedy on the importance of television on the election

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

“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

The Camelot Years

• The Best & the Brightest – Robert F. Kennedy:

Attorney General

– Robert McNamara: Secretary of Defense

– Dean Rusk: Secretary of State

New Military Policy

• Flexible Response– Allowed the president to fight

Communism through a variety of means

– Increased military spending– Created Green Berets

Crisis Over Cuba

• The Cuban Dilemma– Fidel Castro

overthrew Cuban dictator in 1961

– US responds with economic embargos

– 10% of Cubans fled

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

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

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.

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

the wall.

The New Frontier

Section 28*2pp. 885-889

We stand today on the edge of a new frontier. The new frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises—it 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. KennedyAcceptance Speech

Democratic National Convention 1960

Promise of Progress

• The New Frontier – Kennedy’s 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

Promise of Progress

• “New Economics” – JFK’s financial advisors advocated

• An increase in defense spending• Major tax cuts

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

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

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 Harrington’s The Other America

“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 Harrington’s The Other America

Promise of Progress– Civil Rights

Demonstrations• Birmingham police attack

protestors• James Meredith’s

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.

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

hose.

Tragedy in Dallas • Four Days in November

– JFK in TX to meet with Southern Democrats

– Assassinated in Dallas, TX

– Zapruder Film Clip

Tragedy in Dallas

• LBJ sworn in as president

• Walter Cronkite announcing Kennedy’s death

Tragedy in Dallas

– Shock and disbelief swept nation

– Lee Harvey Oswald charged with crime

Tragedy in Dallas

• Warren Commission– Created to

investigate assassination

– Concluded Oswald acted alone

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

The Great Society

Section 28-3pp. 892-899

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?

Johnson’s Domestic Agenda

• LBJ’s Management Style

• Supported JFK’s unfinished legislation – Tax Cuts – Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Prohibited discrimination in public places

Johnson’s 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)

Johnson’s Domestic Agenda• 1964 Presidential Election

– Barry Goldwater (R) vs. LBJ (D)– Issues

• Government’s 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

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

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

Impact of the Great Society

• Extended the power of the federal government

• Reduced poverty• Growing deficit • Conservative backlash