John Kennedy and the New Frontier

1960 to Nov. 1963

The 1960 Election

• Eisenhower was limited by the 22nd Amendment

• Republicans nominate Richard Nixon

• Democrats nominate Senator John F. Kennedy

Nixon’s background• Born in California• Served in the House of

Representative & the Senate• Became V.P. in 1952 An active

member of the Eisenhower Administration• Famous “Kitchen Debate” 1959

More Nixon background • Traveling Representative• Heir Apparent to Presidency• Challenged by Nelson Rockefeller • Wins the nomination chooses Henry

Cabot Lodge, JR as running mate.

John Kennedy’s background.

• Born to wealth. One of four sons of Joseph Kennedy.

• Harvard Educated, a war hero PT-109

• Pulitzer Prize winning author “Profiles in Courage.”

• Elected to the Senate

Kennedy defeats Lyndon Johnson for nomination

• Johnson is the Senate Majority leader from Texas

• Kennedy is the first catholic nominated since Al Smith in 1928

• Kennedy selects Johnson as VP to balance the ticket.

Nixon has experience and name recognition

• Nixon is 47• Kennedy 43 and unknown outside of

Mass.• Nixon must defend the Eisenhower

record.• Kennedy complains about a “Missile

Gap”

First TV Debates key event of the Election

• Nixon had been a champion debater• Nixon had been ill before the debate• Kennedy win on image• 80 million watch first debate.

Kennedy wins by narrow margin

• 118,574 popular vote margin

• 303 to 219 in electoral votes.

• Vote fraud is charged in Illinois and Texas.

• Kennedy promises to get the country moving again.

• Closest election in U.S. history; difference less than 1/10 of 1%

• Only Catholic president in U.S. history; youngest to be elected at age 43

• Democrats swept both houses in Congress, although lost a few seats

• Inaugural Speech: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

Eisenhower’s Farewell Address Jan. 1961

• Beware of the Military Industrial Complex.

• It has an unhealthy influence in the councils of government.

Launching the “New Frontier” Jan. 20, 1961

• Youngest elected President in history.

• Classic inaugural address- Full of Cold War language

• “Ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country.”

Domestic Policy

• Minimum wage rose from $1 to $1.25 an hour and extended to 3 million more workers.

• Area Redevelopment Act of 1961: provided $400 million in loans to "distressed areas."

• Housing Act of 1961– Provided nearly $5 billion over four years for preservation

of open urban spaces, development of mass transit, and the construction of middle class housing.

• Steel Prices– 1961, Kennedy "jawboned" the steel industry into

overturning a price increase after having encouraged labor to lower its wage demands.

Space Race

- Kennedy promoted $24 billion project to land an American on the moon.

- 1969, Apollo 11 mission transported two American astronauts successfully to the moon- Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin

- The Kennedy’s continued their crusade against organized crime --Robert Kennedy (RFK) was JFK’s attorney general

Democrats control Congress

• But conservative Republicans & Southern democrats join forces.

• Kennedy can claim no mandate.

• Focus on Foreign Policy issues.

Kennedy’s cabinet

• Robert Kennedy -Attorney General

• Dean Rusk Sec. of State

• Robert McNamara Sec of Defense

• Kennedy promises to bring the “best and brightest” to Washington

Kennedy brings glamour & high expectations

• Beautiful wife- Jackie

• Kennedy forms the “Peace Corp” appeals to missionary spirit.

• Style and culture are part of the Kennedy image.

Deal with the Economy• 8% unemployment, slow economic

growth• Kennedy follows Keynesian

economics. Increases government spending. Urban renewal

• Increases the minimum wage. Set up retraining programs

The Trade Expansion Act 1962• President can cut tariffs by 50% or

increase them by 50%

• Increase soil bank, limits wheat production

• Peace Corps – one of Kennedy’s most popular programs– Est. in 1961 sent young volunteers to third world countries

to contribute their skills.– Alternative to military containment of communism. – By 1966, 15,000 volunteers served in 46 countries but were

often overwhelmed. • Alliance for Progress – 1961, JFK gave $20 billion in aid to Latin America ("Latin

American Marshall Plan") – Primary goal was to help Latin American countries to

close the gap between rich and poor thus quieting communist sympathies.

– Result: Little positive impact on Latin America’s social problems.

Berlin Wall

• 1949-1961 -- Thousands of East Germans flee to West Berlin. • Khrushchev delivered new ultimatum on Berlin; saw U.S. weakness in Bay of

Pigs a. USSR would give Berlin to East Germany, stripping western access to Berlin.

• USSR announced increase in defense; Kennedy asked for a $3.2 billion increase as well.

• August, 1961 -- Soviet Union builds wall separating West Berlin from the rest of Berlin and East Germany almost overnight. -- Purpose: Stem the flow of 100,000 people leaving East Berlin

• Kennedy calls up 1,500 US reserves to reinforce West German garrisons. -- On personal trip to Berlin: "Ich bin eine Berliner" ("I am a Berliner")

• Tensions eased as treaty not signed between USSR and East Germany -- Air and land routes to West Berlin were kept open.

• Wall remained until November, 1989

Civil Rights

• Did nothing during his first two years• Tried to avoid losing either white or black southern

vote.• Most civil rights initiatives were merely symbolic • RFK’s attempts at enfranchisement in the South was

largely unsuccessful – Only small percentage of blacks able to register

due to spelling mistakes on literacy tests, poll taxes, white primaries, and grandfather clauses.

Kennedy and the militants • May 1961, Freedom Riders organized by CORE (Congress of Racial

Equality) – Rode interstate buses to verify that segregation was not occurring.. – In Alabama, Freedom Riders were arrested by police, state troopers,

and National Guard; some were severely beaten.

– More Freedom Riders kept coming all summer. – RFK petitioned Interstate Commerce Commission to issue a ruling

against segregation of interstate facilities; sent 400 marshals to protect freedom riders.

– ICC made the announcement on Sept. 22, 1961; CORE victorious. • Sept. 1962, JFK had to send the U.S. Army to enforce a court order to

enroll James Meredith in the University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss) -- Kennedy was losing control of the segregation issue.

• Showdown in Birmingham, Alabama – 1963, Birmingham closed parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, and

golf courses to avoid desegregation. – King chose Birmingham because it was the toughest challenge and a

victory would break segregation. – MLK and supporters arrested on Good Friday for marching without a

permit and spent 2 weeks in jail.

• "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was ‘well-timed’ in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the worked "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that justice too long delayed is justice denied." -- Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail

• After his release, King began using black school children in the demonstrations: – Police commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor used

cattle prods and ordered police dogs on demonstrators and used fire hoses on children as world watched in horror.

– Public pressure mounted for civil rights legislation. – Local business leaders gave in and agreed to

desegregate the big department stores. • Rioting erupted. • Kennedy decided to side with King.

• Kennedy actively pursues civil rights – June 1963, JFK federalized Alabama National Guard to enforce a court

order requiring the admission of two blacks to the University of Alabama.

– Governor George Wallace symbolically stood in the door way protesting that states’ rights were being crushed (earlier had said in his inaugural speech:

– "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.") • That night, Medgar Evers, NAACP director in Mississippi,

was assassinated -- Seen as retaliation for University of Alabama incident – In response, JFK announced he would send Congress a civil rights bill

which would crush segregation, outlaw discrimination in elections, and give the justice department authority to enforce school integration.

• March on Washington, August 28, 1963 – Largest protest in nation’s history thus far; 200,000 – Organized in part by A. Philip Randolph (who had started March on Washington

Movement during WWII)– Protesters demanded support for Kennedy’s civil rights bill and for better and more jobs.

• Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I have a dream" speech • "I have a dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true

meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal’....I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains, and the crooked places shall be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.... This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, ‘My country ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims’ pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring’..... When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

FOREIGN POLICY• KENNEDY IS A COLD WARRIOR• EISENHOWER’S “MASSIVE

RETALIATION” NO LONGER CREDITABLE.

• KENNEDY’S STRATEGY= “FLEXIBLE RESPONSE”

• MEET THREAT WITH THREAT

• "flexible response" -- Kennedy developed conventional military strategies to deal with difficult challenges around the world.

– Khrushchev: "Soviets would back wars of liberation" in third world countries.

– During presidential election of 1960, Kennedy had criticized Eisenhower for allowing a "missile gap" that favored the Soviets. -- When JFK became president, he learned that the gap was actually in favor of the US; yet he continued the largest peacetime military buildup in history.

– Kennedy ordered buildup of conventional armed forces to fight localized wars in the Third World. • Replaced Ike’s heavy reliance on nuclear weapons. • Set up Green Berets (elite commando force) • Built up nuclear arsenal for 2nd strike capability.

IMPLEMENTING POLICY

• 1000 MINUTEMAN MISSILES

• 32 POLARIS SUBS

• 5 COMBAT READY DIVISIONS

• CREATE “SPECIAL FORCES” GREEN BRETS

CRITICS OF FLEXIBLE RESPONSE

• GRADUAL BUILD UP LEADS TO STALEMATE

• LACKS DECISIVE FORCE

• LETS ENEMY SET THE TERMS OF BATTLE

LATIN AMERICA• MOST SO. AMERICAN GOV’TS

ARE DICTATORSHIPS

• U.S. SUPPORTS THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE ANTI-COMMUNIST

• 1959 FIDEL CASTRO LEADS CUBAN REVOLUTION

CUBA

• PRIOR TO CASTRO U.S. HAS LARGE INVESTMENTS IN CUBA–80% 0F UTILITIES

–40% OF SUGAR

–90% OF MINERALS U.S. OWNED

CASTRO SEIZES U.S. HOLDINGS• OCT 1960 U.S. IMPOSES EMBARGO

• 1961 BREAKS DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

• SOVIET UNION BACKS CUBA• EISENHOWER PLAN INVASION OF

CUBA

THE BAY OF PIGS APRIL 1961

• KENNEDY AUTHORIZES INVASION USING CUBAN REFUGEES

• BELIEVES THERE WILL BE A POPULAR UPRISING

• COVERT U.S. SUPPORT, AIR STRIKES

• Early 1860, Eisenhower authorized CIA to organize, train, and arm in Central America a brigade of 1,400 Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba to overthrow Fidel Castro. – Invaders would presumably trigger a popular uprising in Cuba – JFK continued the plan

• In April 1961, Bay of Pigs invasion pinned down and forced to surrender – Kennedy had decided a day earlier against direct U.S. intervention as

he did not want to spark an international diplomatic crisis. – Some 1,189 men were captured, 400 killed, only 14 exiles rescued

• Kennedy publicly took full responsibility on national TV for the ill-conceived mission. -- Privately Kennedy blamed the CIA for faulty information

• Significance: brought USSR and Cuba closer together in planning for defense of a future U.S. invasion.

FAILURE AT THE BAY OF PIGS• 1400 EXILES LAND

• U.S. AIR STRIKES FAIL TO DESTROY CUBAN AIR FORCE

• NO POPULAR UPRISING, NO ADDITIONAL U.S. SUPPORT

• 500 CUBAN EXILES KILLED, REST CAPTURED

KENNEDY TAKES RESPONSIBILITY

• HIS POPULARITY INCREASES.• EXPRESSES NO REMORSE• REGRETS THE OUTCOME• NEGOTIATES FOR EXILES FREEDOM• AUTHORIZES C.I.A. TO PLOT CASTRO’S

ASSASSINATION– Operation Mongoose

1. CIA-backed plan to overthrow and assassinate Fidel Castro 2. Ultimately failed and abandoned after Cuban Missile Crisis.

THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS OCT 1962• THE U.S. HAS MISSILE BASES IN

TURKEY• SOVIETS HAVE ADVISERS IN

CUBA• KENNEDY INSISTS THERE ARE

NO OFFENSIVE WEAPONS IN CUBA

• KHRUSHCHEV WE HAVE NO INTENTIONS….

OCT 14TH CRISIS BEGINS

• U-2 FLIGHT SHOWS MISSILE SITES BEING BUILT

• 24 MEDIUM RANGE MISSILES• 18 INTERMEDIATE RANGE

MISSILES• KENNEDY’S GOAL GET THE

MISSILES OUT OF CUBA

PROBLEM SOLVING• COLLECT INFORMATION• DEFINE GOALS & PRIORITIZE• LIST POLICY OPTIONS• ANALYZE CONSEQUENCES OF

EACH• CHOOSE BEST OPTION & ACT

KENNEDY ESTABLISH A COMMITTEE OF ADVISERS• EXCLUDES CONGRESS

• KEEP CRISIS A SECRET

COLLECTION INFORMATION

• CUBA IS 90 MILES OFF OUR COAST

• MISSILES CAN REACH ANY CITY IN U.S.

• NO DEFENSE 5 MINUTES FROM LAUNCH TO TARGET

• RUSSIAN ADVISERS IN CUBA

• WE HAVE AIR & NAVAL SUPERIORITY

• SITES WILL BE OPERATIONAL IN 3 WEEKS

GOALS AND PRIORITIES

• GET MISSILES REMOVED

• DON’T START WW III

• AVOID WAR

• DON’T GET A LOT OF PEOPLE KILLED

• DON’T BE POLITICALLY EMBARRASSED

• DON’T LET SOVIETS GAIN

OPTIONS

• DO NOTHING

• BOMB SITES

• INVADE CUBA

• BLOCKADE THE ISLAND

• TRADE TURKISH MISSILES FOR REMOVAL OF CUBAN MISSILES

POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES

• DO NOTHING WILL– ENCOURAGE SOVIET

AGGRESSION

–HURT POLITICALLY AT HOME

–FAIL TO ACCOMPLISH PRIMARY GOAL

BOMBING WILL

–NULLIFY MISSILES

–KILL SOME RUSSIAN

–ESCALATE THE CRISIS

–MAY TRIGGER NUCLEAR WAR

INVADE CUBA WILL• REMOVE MISSILE THREAT• COST MANY AMERICAN &

CUBAN LIVES• LEAD TO PROLONGED

OCCUPATION• ESCALATE THE CRISIS

BLOCKADE• STOP COMPLETION OF MISSILE SITES• NO ONE WILL DIE• PROVIDE TIME FOR THE SOVIETS TO

THOUGHTFULLY REACT• NOT REQUIRE AN INVASION OR

OCCUPATION OF CUBA• LEAVE THE OTHER OPTIONS AS ABACK

UP

KENNEDY’S DECISION

• A NAVAL QUARANTINE (NICE WORD FOR BLOCKADE)

• SECRETLY TELLS RUSSIAN HE WILL REMOVE MISSILES FROM TURKEY

THE WORLD HOLDS ITS BREATH

• WILL THE RUSSIAN RESIST THE BLOCKADE?

• WILL THE RUSSIAN BACK DOWN?

• WILL THE RUSSIANS STRIKE ELSE WHERE?

KHRUSHCHEV OFFERS TWO DEALS• DEAL ONE:

– HE WILL REMOVE THE MISSILE– IF U.S. PROMISES NOT TO INVADE CUBA

• DEAL TWO:– HE WILL REMOVE MISSILES– IF U.S. PROMISES NOT TO INVADE CUBA– AND REMOVES MISSILES FROM TURKEY

KENNEDY’S RESPONSE• PRESIDENT KENNEDY IS

CONFUSED• BROTHER BOBBY STEPS IN–ACCEPT THE FIRST DEAL AND

IGNORE THE SECOND–MAKE KHRUSHCHEV PROLONG

THE CRISIS

KHRUSHCHEV RESPONDS

• HE BACKS DOWN

• KENNEDY SECRETLY AGREES TO REMOVE TURKISH MISSILES.

KENNEDY ASSASSINATION

• KENNEDY VISITS DALLAS ON A POLITICAL TRIP

• PRIOR TO THE VISIT THERE ARE DEATH THREATS

• A WANTED POSTER “DEAD OR ALIVE”

KENNEDY IS KILLED

• BY LEE HARVEY OSWALD• OSWALD WAS SHOT TO DEATH BY JACK

RUBY• DID OSWALD ACT ALONE OR WAS HE

PART OF A LARGER CONSPIRACY?• THE WARREN COMMISSION REPORT

CONCLUDES OSWALD ACTED ALONE• BUT DOUBT REMAINS

CONSPIRACY THEORIES

• THE BODY WAS ALTERED

• REPORTS OF A SECOND SHOOTER

• THE MAGIC BULLET

THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

• HE WAS KILLED BY CASTRO

• HE WAS KILLED BY THE CIA

• HE WAS KILLED BY THE MOB

• HE WAS KILLED BY DEFENSE CONTRACTORS

LBJ & THE GREAT SOCIETY

1963 TO 1969

LBJ BEGINS

• SUFFERED FROM COMPARISONS TO JFK

• LACKS HIS STYLE

• JOHNSON’S STRENGTH– KNOWLEDGE OF CONGRESS

– FIERCE EGO

– THE JOHNSON TREATMENT

LBJ’S WEAKNESSES

• POOR T.V. IMAGE

• STILTED SPEECH PATTERNS

• LACKED KENNEDY WIT AND CHARM

JOHNSON’S SUCCESS

• WORKS WELL WITH CONGRESS• JOHNSON WORKED FOR CONSENSUS.

HE WAS A DEAL MAKER, NOT TIED TO IDEOLOGY.

• TAX CUT PLAN- KENNEDY HAD PROPOSED IT. LBJ GOT IT PASSED.– $10 BILL CUT. KEYNESIAN STIMULUS.– POLITICAL MOVE BEFORE ELECTION.

TAX CUT WORKS

• THE ECONOMY RECOVERS.

• RATES ARE LOWER, BUT BASE IS HIGHER. RESULT MORE REVENUE THAN EXPECTED.

• INSPIRES “SUPPLY SIDE THEORY.”

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT 1964

• THE JOHNSON TREATMENT WINS DESPITE LONGEST FILIBUSTER IN SENATE HISTORY.– BARS SEGREGATION IN ALL PUBLIC

FACILITIES– STRENGTHENS FAIR EMPLOYMENT

PRACTICES COMMISSION– TITLE VII- PROHIBITS SEX

DISCRIMINATION

THE 24TH AMENDMENT

• OUTLAWS POLL TAXES.

• ONE BARRIER TO BLACKS VOTING IN THE SOUTH

THE ELECTION OF 1964

• JOHNSON MAKE POVERTY THE KEY ISSUE–MICHAEL HARRINGTON’S THE OTHER

AMERICA DOCUMENTS POVERTY.

– THE POOR ARE BLACKS, AGED, AND SINGLE PARENT HOUSEHOLDS

– THE POOR ARE POLITICALLY INVISIBLE.

THE WAR ON POVERTY.

• 1964 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS– CONGRESS VOTES $1 BILLION FOR WAR.

• POVERTY PROGRAMS– OFFICE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

– JOB CORP

– DAY CARE CENTERS

– CONSUMER EDUCATION

– LEGAL AID TO THE POOR

– ADULT REMEDIAL EDUCATION

SOME SUCCESS

• POVERTY LEVEL: A FAMILY OF 4 LIVING ON AN INCOME OF $3,500 PER YEAR.

• WAR ON POVERTY LIFTS 10 MILLION ABOVE THAT LINE.

JOHNSON V GOLDWATER

• JOHNSON REFUSES TO CHOOSE ROBERT KENNEDY AS V.P., SELECTS H.HUMPHREY

• REPUBLICANS NOMINATE BARRY GOLDWATER: “IN YOUR HEART YOU KNOW HE’S RIGHT!”

GOLDWATER’S POSITIONS

• WAR ON POVERTY IS SOCIALISM• TVA IS SOCIALISTIC, SHOULD BE

PRIVATIZED.• SOCIAL SECURITY SHOULD BE ELIMINATED• WE SHOULD THREATEN THE USE OF

NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN VIETNAM• “EXTREMISM IN THE DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS

NO VICE.”

LBJ AS PEACE CANDIDATE

• GOLDWATER IS A WARMONGER.

• DAISY GIRL COMMERCIAL

• JOHNSON WIN A LANDSLIDE: 61% OF POPULAR VOTE. 486 TO 52 IN ELECTORAL VOTE

• DEMOCRATS CONTROL CONGRESS.

LBJ’S GREAT SOCIETY

• TOP PRIORITY HEALTH CARE REFORM & EDUCATION

• MEDICARE IS ADDED TO SOCIAL SECURITY

• MEDICAID IS ESTABLISHED FOR THE POOR.

• “CHILD-BENEFIT AID” FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION, PUBLIC & PAROCHIAL

ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT 1965

• $1 BILLION AID TO SCHOOLS

• FEDERAL AID TO EDUCATION ARRIVES.

• FEDERAL AID LEADS TO FEDERAL CONTROL.

LBJ & CIVIL RIGHTS

• SELMA DEMONSTRATIONS– SHERIFF JIM CLARK– JOHNSON USES NATIONAL GUARD TO

PROTECT DEMONSTRATORS.– LBJ INTRODUCES THE VOTING RIGHTS

ACT 1965– FIVE MONTHS LATER IT PASSES.–WITHIN 1 YEAR 166,000 BLACKS REGISTER

TO VOTE.

89TH CONGRESS

• PASSED 89 BILLS OF THE GREAT SOCIETY– NEW CABINET POST TRANSPORTATION,

HOUSING, & URBAN AFFAIRS– HIGHWAY SAFETY ACT– CLEAN AIR ACT– AID TO HIGHER EDUCATION ACT– PUBLIC HOUSING ACT

LBJ & FOREIGN POLICY

• NO BACKGROUND IN FOREIGN POLICY– RELIES ON SEC OF STATE DEAN RUSK

– AND DEFENSE SEC ROBERT McNAMARA

• LBJ WE MUST STAND FIRM IN VIETNAM, SUPPORTS THE CONTAINMENT POLICY.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

• SENDS 20,000 TROOPS TO STOP LEFT WING GOVERNMENT.

• “SO MUCH FOR THE GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY.”

AUG. 1964 GULF OF TONKIN

• RESOLUTION BASED ON LIES.

• GIVE LBJ ABSOLUTE POWER TO DEAL WITH VIETNAM.

• AFTER THE ELECTION HE BEGINS US.S ESCALATION

• BY 1968 WE HAVE 550,000 TROOPS IN VIETNAM