Chapter 15 - The Kennedy and Johnson Years

Why do you think Kennedy called his domestic program the New Frontier?

-old frontier was West -we had already gone from coast to coast -new frontier changed old frontier, represented opportunity and prosperity and growth in ideas rather than land

Bay of Pigs invasion

1961 failed invasion of Cuba by a CIA-led force of Cuban exiles

Cuban missile crisis

1962 conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union resulting from the Soviet installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba

Equal Pay Act

1963 law that required both men and women to receive equal pay for equal work

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

1963 nuclear-weapons agreement, which banned aboveground nuclear tests

Peace Corps

American government organization that sends volunteers to provide technical, educational, and the medical services in developing countries

Why was the United States concerned about the missile sites in Cuba?

Because Florida was in range of Cuba, making it an easy target for a missile

Fidel Castro

Cuban socialist leader who overthrew a dictator in 1959 and established a Marxist socialist state in Cuba (born in 1927)

Why did Kennedy change the way in which he addressed civil rights issues?

Due to the amount of violence towards freedom riders and African Americans in the south.

What major court ruling gave a person accused of a crime the right to have a lawyer?

Gideon vs wainwright

How did Johnson continue Kennedy's plan to eliminate poverty in the United States?

Going through congress and getting mexican american votes , training jobless , education the uneducated provide healthcare

Were there differences in the goals of the New Frontier and the Great Society? Explain.

Great Society programs attacked poverty more aggressively than did those of the New Frontier. The New Frontier also focused on developing a U.S. space program, whereas the Great Society focused on improving arts and education

Richard M. Nixon

He was a committee member of the House of Representatives, Committee on Un-American Activities (to investigate "subversion"). He tried to catch Alger Hiss who was accused of being a communist agent in the 1930's. This brought Nixon to the attention of the American public. In 1956 he was Eisenhower's Vice-President.

Why did people feel that Kennedy was a different kind of politician?

He was younger and got things done

Which immigrant groups were affected by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

Immigrant groups from any independent nation in the western hemisphere as well as eastern hemisphere

The flexible response policy increased the military budget. How do you think this affected the nuclear arms race?

It affected the arms race because we wanted to be ready for a nuclear war if it came

How did the television debates affect the 1960 presidential election?

It developed into the commercially-oriented domestic medium it still is today

What strategies did Kennedy use to improve relations between the United States and developing countries?

It used the Peace Corps and the Alliance for Progress.

Section 3 - Johnson's Great Society How did Johnson's Great Society programs change life for most Americans?

Johnson declared a war on poverty early in 1964 through the Economic Opportunity Act. The act provided funds for the Job Corps, which secured employment for inner city youths; established the Head Start program, for disadvantaged preschoolers.

Section 1 - Kennedy and the Cold War How did Kennedy respond to the continuing challenges of the Cold War?

Kennedy faced challenges from the spread of communism and the continuing threat of nuclear war. He was enthusiastic and committed to change. This lead to his being able to achieve the first agreement with the soviet union limiting nuclear testing.

Was Kennedy's commitment to the space program an extension of the Cold War? Explain.

Kennedy said his goal was that the USA would put a man on the moon before the end of the decade to beat the soviet union

Section 2 - Kennedy's New Frontier What were the goals of Kennedy's New Frontier?

Kennedy's New Frontier domestic program was ambitious, promising: *federal funding for education *medical care for the elderly *Government intervention to halt the recession. Kennedy also promised *an end to racial discrimination. The New Frontier program proved impossible to complete, however, due to the reluctance of a conservative Congress. Still, Kennedy established the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity to eliminate racial discrimination in hiring of government employees and in 1962 issued an executive order forbidding segregation of federally funded housing. Apart from these efforts, Kennedy's lack of follow through on his campaign promise disappointed many civil rights activists.

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

Law that changed the national quota system to limits of 170,000 immigrants per year from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 per year from the Western Hemisphere

Nikita Khruschchev

Leader of the Soviet Union after Stalin who was in power during the Cuban Missile Crisis and for the escalation of the Cold War between the USSR and the US.

Why did some Americans feel that Supreme Court decisions during the 1960s considered only the rights of the poor?

People probably felt this way because the media focused attention on landmark decisions that addressed injustices being done to lower income Americans and minorities.

Great Society

President Johnson's goals in the areas of health care, education, the environment, discrimination, and poverty

War on Poverty

President Johnson's programs aimed at aiding the country's poor through education, job training, proper health care, and nutrition

New Frontier

President Kennedy's plan aimed at improving the economy, fighting racial discrimination, and exploring space

Alliance for Progress

President Kennedy's program which gave economic aid to Latin America

John F. Kennedy

President of the US during the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis

Warren Court

Supreme Court of the 1960s under Chief Justice Earl Warren, whose decisions supported civil rights

Television played an important role in the 1960 presidential election. How influential is television in presidential elections today? Explain.

Television is influential because we can see and hear how the candidate acts, and we can see them in action, and we can know their views

How did the Cuban missile crisis affect public opinion about President Kennedy?

The people now saw Kennedy as a thoughtful leader who faced a frightening power

How do you think the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 changed political activity in the nation?

The policies created new constituencies to which politicians had to respond

What was the purpose of the Warren Commission?

To investigate the assassination of president Kennedy.

Warren Commission

committee that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy

flexible response

defense policy allowing for the appropriate action in any type of conflict

hot line

direct telephone line between the White House and the Kremlin set up after the Cuban missile crisis.

Berlin Wall

dividing wall built by East Germany in 1961 to isolate West Berlin from Communist-controlled East Berlin

Medicare

federal program created in 1965 to provide basic hospital insurance to most Americans over the age of sixty-five

Medicaid

federal program created in 1965 to provide basic hospital insurance to poor americas of any age

Economic Opportunity Act

law passed in 1964 creating antipoverty programs

Civil Rights Act

outlawed discrimination in public places and employment based on race, religion, or national origin

deficit spending

practice of a nation paying out more money than it is receiving in revenues

Lyndon B. Johnson

signed the civil rights act of 1964 into law and the voting rights act of 1965. he had a war on poverty in his agenda. in an attempt to win, he set a few goals, including the great society, the economic opportunity act, and other programs that provided food stamps and welfare to needy families. he also created a department of housing and urban development. his most important legislation was probably medicare and medicaid.

space race

the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to develop the technology

Why did Kennedy consider foreign policy to be the most important issue of his administration?

there had to be peace abroad in order for there to be peace at home Peace abroad meant prosperity at home