Stuff we should all know!

One of the most famous elections in US history took place in 1960• Democrat: John F. Kennedy• Republican: Richard Nixon

Who was JFK?

• 43 year old Senator from Massachusetts

• WW2 veteran who was awarded medals for his bravery

• Came from a very wealthy family• Married to Jacqueline Kennedy

Who was Richard Nixon?

• Served in the US Navy during WW2• Nixon served in the House and the

Senate in the late 1940’s-early 1950’s• Had a reputation for being anti-

Communist• Served as Vice President under

President Eisenhower

The turning point of the election was the televised debate• By 1960, the TV played a major role in

Presidential politics • When Nixon arrived at the debate, he

did not wear make-up, had a five o’clock shadow, and began to sweat under the hot lights

• JFK was tanned and relaxed• JFK looked directly to the camera

The results of the 1960 election• JFK won in a very close election• This was one of the closest

elections in American history• JFK entered the White House

without a mandate (public endorsement of the President’s proposals)

JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963

• JFK was in Dallas to begin his reelection campaign

• This was the first public appearance for Jackie Kennedy since her c-section and death of their baby (that happened in August)

People knew exactly where JFK would be because his parade route was published in the newspaper

• Today, a President’s plans are not announced until a few days ahead of time

• Also, a President’s entrance and exit routes are never publicized

Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed JFK• Oswald was a former Marine and

an alleged supporter of Fidel Castro

• Two days later, Oswald was shot and killed by Jack Ruby

• Jack Ruby wanted to spare Jackie Kennedy the pain of a trial

Warren Commission was the government investigation into JFK’s assassination

• The Warren Commission determined that Oswald acted alone

• They also said there was no conspiracy behind JFK’s assassination

• Many Americans do not believe the Warren Commission

Watergate: the scandal that involved the breaking in of the Democratic National Office in 1972

Henry Kissinger claimed that Nixon had three goals

• 1. To win the 1972 election in the largest landslide in American history

• 2. To be remembered as a peace maker

• 3. To be accepted by the “Establishment”

As early as 1969, Nixon and his staff created an “enemies list”• Anyone who criticized Nixon’s

policies could find themselves on this list

• Nixon targeted the media

People on the “Enemies List”

• Senator Edward Kennedy• Jane Fonda• Steve McQueen

In the Fall of 1971, Nixon began using the “plumbers”

• The “plumbers” were former CIA and FBI agents who tried to stop leaks coming from the Nixon Administration

• Nixon was especially upset at the leaking of the Pentagon Papers, which gave out secrets about the Vietnam War

• The “plumbers” did their work in the name of national security

Famous “plumbers”

• Howard Hunt (spy novelist and former CIA agent)

• G. Gordon Liddy (former FBI agent)

The Committee to Reelect the President (CREEP) used questionable tactics

• CREEP was headed by John Mitchell, the former Attorney General

• The purpose of CREEP was to collect as much money as possible

CREEP also tried to discredit Nixon’s opponents

• Edmund Muskie, a Democratic Presidential candidate did not react well when CREEP sent a letter to a New Hampshire newspaper claiming that Muskie’s wife was an alcoholic

• Muskie ended up crying on TV and dropped out of the Presidential race

June 17, 1972

• Five men are arrested for the break-in of the Democratic National Committee office at the Watergate office building

• “Plumbers” Liddy and Hunt were a part of the break-in

Nixon won the 1972 Presidential election

• Nixon defeated George McGovern in one of the biggest electoral landslides in American history

How did Nixon’s involvement in Watergate become an issue?• Washington Post

reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein kept digging for the truth

• Their source, “Deep Throat” claimed that the White House and CREEP hired 50 agents to sabotage the Democrats in the 1972 election

Who was “Deep Throat?”

• “Deep Throat” was Mark Felt• Mark Felt was angry that he was

passed over for a big promotion at the FBI

• Mark Felt revealed his identity in 2005 (he has since died)

By the Spring of 1973, the legislative and judicial branches were investigating Watergate • Watergate burglar James McCord

admitted that “top White House officials” planned and, later, covered up the break-in

• Nixon’s role in Watergate was still unknown

However, it soon emerged that Nixon had tape recorded his conversations in the White House

• Former Nixon assistant Alexander Butterfield told Senate investigators about Nixon’s tapes

• Special prosecutor Archibald Cox demanded that Nixon turn over the tapes

Nixon declined claiming “executive privilege” and the tapes could endanger national security

• A Federal judge ordered Nixon to release the tapes

• The released tapes included an 18 minute gap, where the conversation was erased

August 9, 1974

• President Richard Nixon resigned • Gerald Ford takes over as

President• Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon for his

role in Watergate (so, he faced no criminal charges)

Many people associate the term “feminism” with the 1960’s• Feminism: the belief that women

should have economic, political, and social equality with men

• In reality, feminism began in the 1890’s

• By the 1950’s, many American women were still fighting the stereotype that they should be at home

WW2 had opened up many employment and educational opportunities for women

• In 1950, 25% of all college degrees were earned by women

• By 1970, that number was up to 43%

The feminist movement took on a new organization in the 1960’s• Betty Friedan wrote a book in 1963

called The Feminine Mystique, which discussed the dissatisfying lives of housewives

• The Feminine Mystique inspired woman to come together and form support groups to discuss their experiences

In 1966, frustrated women eventually formed the National Organization for Women (NOW)

• The goal of NOW was “to take action to bring American women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now”

• NOW wanted fair pay and equal job opportunities

• NOW attacked the media for their portrayal of women

Some women thought NOW was too extreme

• Some critics thought NOW only benefited white, middle class, educated women

Another influential feminist was Gloria Steinem

• Steinem was a journalist who began Ms. Magazine

• Ms. Magazine was controversial because it pushed for abortion rights

One of the biggest laws passed that benefited women was Title IX (1972)

• Title IX states that any educational institution receiving federal funding may not discriminate based on gender

• Many people today know Title IX as the law that made women’s sports equal to men in college

• Today, colleges must have equal funding for women’s sports or equal offerings

Title IX has allowed more women to attend college

• Today, more women receive college diplomas than men

Perhaps the biggest moment in the feminist movement was the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision

• Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the US• The US Supreme Court based their

decision on abortion being a personal privacy

• States could still outlaw abortion after the first trimester

• Abortion remains legal in the US today