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The Kennedy and Johnson Years

1961-1969

• On September 26, 1960, American politics changed when Republican ________________ and Democrat ___________________ faced off in the first nationally televised presidential debate. __________ appeared underweight and uncomfortable, while __________ looked tanned and relaxed.

Richard NixonJohn F. Kennedy

NixonJFK

• Most of the people watching on television thought __________ won the debate, while many radio listeners disagreed. Ever since, ___________ has been the communication platform of choice for ____________.

Kennedy

televisionpoliticians

Profile of John F. KennedyAge at Inauguration

43

Why significant?

Youngest elected President (though TR was only 42)

Religion

Roman Catholic

Why significant?

First Catholic President (overcame historic prejudice)

Political Background Member of the US House of Representatives (1947-1953) and US Senate (1953-1960)

His father was Ambassador to Britain, his maternal grandfather was Mayor of Boston

Other Experience US Navy in WWII

Campaign Slogan

Get American Moving Again

Why chosen?

Contrast with grandfatherly President Eisenhower, criticize the sluggish economy

JFK’s Early Life• JFK, born in 1917, was a son of the millionaire businessman

Joe Kennedy, Sr. Joe had made his fortune in real estate and stocks (including Hollywood movie studios). Rumors persist that he also invested in bootlegging during Prohibition. He was a friend of FDR, who appointed him to various government jobs. Joe was forced to resign his position as ambassador, however, in a controversy over some statements he had made.

• Joe Sr. initially favored another

son, Joe Jr., but when he was killed

in WWII, JFK became the object

of his father’s ambitions.

JFK’s Education and Military Exploits• JFK attended private schools but his education

was sometimes interrupted by poor health. He graduated from Harvard in 1940, and his senior thesis, “Appeasement in Munich,” became a popular book in international affairs.

• He was disqualified from army service due to back problems but was commissioned as an officer by the navy. He commanded motor torpedo boats from 1942 to 1943, when his boat, PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. He kept the survivors together until they were rescued. He was released from the military in 1944.

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JFK and the crew of PT-109 JFK’s Early Career• Joe Sr. secured JFK a position as a reporter for the Hearst

Newspaper chain in 1945.• Joe Sr. induced their local congressman to run for Mayor of

Boston and then ensured JFK would run to succeed him. He was elected and served from 1947 to 1953, when he defeated the incumbent Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge.

• He was often absent from the Senate due to health problems but managed to (co-)write another best-seller, Profiles in Courage, in 1956.

• JFK was the runner-up for the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination in 1956.

• JFK’s family was friendly with Senator Joe McCarthy, who once dated JFK’s sister, Pat, and hired JFK’s younger brother, Robert.

JFK’s Family• JFK married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953.

– Jacquie was 12 years younger than her husband. She was a college-educated photographer/reporter when she met JFK in 1952.

• In spite of their apparenthappiness, JFK cheated onhis wife repeatedly. MarilynMonroe was one of his liaisons.• They had two childrenwho survived infancy: Caroline (born 1957) and John Jr. (born 1960).

JFK’s Health• JFK suffered from chronic back pain for much of

his life. He had several operations and took heavy doses of pain medication regularly.

• JFK was also diagnosed with Addison’s disease and hypothyroidism.

• The extent of his health problems

were kept secret until after he died.

JFK pictured just before his back surgery in 1954.

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• Kennedy won the 1960 election by an electoral margin of __________ to __________, but by a popular margin of only __________. There is strong evidence that he carried the state of __________ by fraud.– Had Nixon won both Illinois and Texas, he would

have won the election.

303 219119,000

Illinois

1960 - Illinois• JFK’s margin of victory in Illinois (~9,000 votes, or

0.2% of the vote) was provided by the city of Chicago, where Mayor Richard Daley kept the results from the cities modern, automatic tabulating machines secret until the rest of the state, which used old-fashioned, hand-counted ballots, reported its results.

• The official turnout rate in Chicago (89%) was 26% higher than the national average.

• A Chicago reporter found an abandoned lot that was listed as the residence of 56 registered Democrats and a cemetery where every name on a tombstone had voted.

1960 - Texas• JFK’s running mate, Lyndon Johnson, had a powerful

political machine working in Texas.• Fannin County had only 4,895 registered voters, but

6,138 votes were cast.• Angelina County had only 86 registered voters in one

precinct that managed to produce 211 votes.• Disputed ballots were supposed to be kept for

reexamination later but were permanently destroyed in many counties.

• The majority of these irregularities happened in counties that went for the Democratic ticket.

• JFK carried Texas by just 46,000 votes (less than 2% of the total).

1960 Presidential Election Results • Kennedy hoped to work with _______________

to promote economic growth, but was often met with suspicion. He opposed an increase in the price of __________, and the stock market had its _______________ since 1929. To amend, Kennedy proposed a __________ over three years, but the proposal got stuck in Congress.

business leaders

steelsteepest drop

tax cut

• Kennedy was eager to take action against __________ and ___________, but his plans for ________________ and ______________ _________________ failed. He was able to secure an increase in the _________________ and the _______________ of 1961, however.

poverty inequalityeducation aid medical care

for the elderlyminimum wage

Housing Act

• In June 1963 Congress passed the ____________ Act requiring all ____________ doing substantially the same __________ in the same __________ be given equal pay. – In spite of much partisan posturing to the contrary, the

“pay gap” has largely disappeared today. According to an April 2014 New York Times article:

• “The gender gap in pay would be considerably reduced and might vanish altogether if firms did not have an incentive to disproportionately reward individuals who labored long hours and worked particular hours.”

• That is to say, men are more willing on average than women to work uncompensated overtime (largely owing to fewer family obligations) and earn faster promotion.

Equal Payemployees

workplace

Kennedy’s Domestic Initiatives1. An executive order providing surplus food to the unemployed2. The largest, fastest defense build-up in peacetime history3. A redevelopment law to help depressed areas4. Extending Social Security to 5 million more people and allowing

Americans to retire at age 625. Devoting more federal money to water pollution6. Creating the National Seashore Parks7. Expansion and increase in the minimum wage8. Creation of a federal program to address juvenile delinquency9. Changes to federal welfare programs to fight dependency10. Construction of the world’s largest nuclear power plant11. Tightening of food and drug laws12. Passed a law to encourage free trade13. Signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the first nuclear weapons

agreement

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• Kennedy was also successful in his efforts to breathe life into the _________________ with his challenge to _____________________.

space programland on the moon

• On November 22, 1963, Kennedy traveled to __________ to build support for his reelection. He, the First Lady, Governor _______________, and his wife rode through __________ in an __________________ along a previously publicized route.

TexasJohn Connally

Dallasopen limousine

• Both men were shot, though __________ survived. Police quickly arrested the prime suspect, _______________________, who was a former __________ and supporter of _______________.

Connally

Lee Harvey Oswaldmarine

Fidel CastroOswald became a Communist and defected to the Soviet Union in 1959, living there for a short time before returning to the US in 1961. He seemed unable to hold a job for more than a few months. He joined a pro-Castro organization in 1963 before travelling to Mexico and visiting Cuban and Soviet offices there. He returned to Dallas just a few weeks before killing Kennedy.

• Two days after the incident, however, the suspect was killed by ____________. Jack Ruby

Ruby, a nightclub owner, had several connections to organized crime figures that would later feed many of the JFK conspiracy theories. He closed his nightclubs out of respect when JFK was killed and spent much of his time around the Dallas police headquarters. He reportedly yelled, “You killed the president, you rat!” as he fired his pistol.

Countless Conspiracy Theories

• The Communists did it because JFK was too tough on Cuba and the USSR.

• The anti-communists did it because JFK was going soft on Cuba and Vietnam.

• The mob did it because JFK’s administration was cracking down on organized crime.

• The CIA did it because JFK was planning to stop its foreign activities.

• The FBI did it because J. Edgar Hoover disliked JFK.• Dallas police did it because they opposed civil rights.• LBJ did it because he disliked JFK and thought he

would be dropped from the ticket in 1964.• The Israelis did it because JFK was unsupportive.

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• The ________________________ ultimately determined that __________ acted __________, and that there was no _____________. Many still don’t believe that.– The Commission accepted what is known as the

“single-bullet theory” or “magic-bullet theory.” One bullet must have passed through Kennedy’s neck and Connally’s chest and wrist before lodging in Connally’s thigh.

Warren CommissionOswald

aloneconspiracy

• Although he came to the Oval Office through __________, Lyndon Johnson had long sought the job. tragedy

Johnson took the oath of office aboard Air Force One just 2 hours and Kennedy’s assassination. He took the oath on Kennedy’s missal with Mrs. Kennedy, still splattered with her husband’s blood, standing beside him.

Johnson’s Early Life• Born in 1908, LBJ was the oldest of five

children born into a poor Texas farming family. He went to public schools and the SW Texas State Teachers College. He spent one year teaching Mexican children at a segregated school and then taught in Houston before taking a political job in 1930.

• He married Claudia Alta Taylor (nicknamed “Lady Bird”) in 1934 and had two daughters.

• He was elected to the ____________ in 1937, then to the ____________ in 1948. In 1953 he became the youngest ___________________, and later rose to become ___________________. – Johnson sought and received a commission in the

Naval Reserve during WWII but never saw combat; he did observe some operations in the South Pacific.

– His first Senate election was highly irregular. He won the runoff primary by just 87 votes out of nearly 1 million cast, and the party committee accepted the results by a vote of 29-28. There were widespread reports of fraud, but “Landslide Lyndon” went to the Senate.

US HouseUS Senate

Minority LeaderMajority Leader

• He became famous for using the _______________ to accomplish his _______ by _____________ his friends and ____________ his enemies. He was more concerned with ____________________ than ____________.

political systemgoals rewarding

punishingaccomplishments

popularity

• When his bid for the ____________ failed in 1960, he accepted Kennedy’s offer to run for _________________. – LBJ had sought the nomination in 1956 and was

considered a front-runner in 1960 but JFK campaigned much more aggressively. LBJ came in second on the nominating ballot. Bobby Kennedy and others close to JFK later claimed that the VP slot was merely offered as a courtesy and to win the support of Southern Democrats. JFK knew how much LBJ enjoyed being Majority Leader and did not think he would accept the offer.

presidency

Vice President

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• He was ____________ with that job and __________ being away from Congress.– LBJ apparently hoped to continue functioning as

de facto Majority Leader but his caucus would not let him. He also hoped to exercise greater influence over the younger JFK but was likewise rebuffed.

frustratedunhappy

• By the spring of 1964, Johnson was using the phrase ________________ to describe his goals. These programs included major ________________, ________________, _____________, _______________, _______________ and ________________ projects, _________________, and ___________________________ in _____________ areas.

Great Society

poverty relief education aidhealth care voting rightsconservation beautification

urban renewaleconomic developmentdepressed

• Johnson’s Republican opponent in the 1964 election was ____________________, the Senator from __________ who held _______________ views that seemed ___________ to many Americans. For example, he opposed ____________ legislation and believed __________________ should be able to use ___________________ in battle. – http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/

1964

Barry GoldwaterArizona

conservativeexcessive

civil rightsmilitary commanders

nuclear weapons

Barry Goldwater• Barry, born in 1909, managed the family

department store in Phoenix until WWII, when he served as a pilot. He remained in the Air Force Reserves and rose to the rank of general.

He was elected to the Phoenix City Council in 1949 and US Senate in 1952. He served in the Senate until 1965 and again from 1969 until 1987. His brand of Republicanism was more libertarian. He died in 1998.

• Goldwater responded to Johnson’s charge that he was an extremist in his nomination acceptance speech:– “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of

liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the defense of justice is no virtue!”

Have you ever heard any

politicians try to scare voters by painting their opponents as extremists?

• Johnson received __________ of the popular vote and won the Electoral College by a vote of __________ to __________. Democrats also won enormous ____________ in both houses of Congress.– This was the largest percentage ever captured in a

presidential election (though not the largest margin of victory).

– Democrats captured 68 out of 100 US Senate seats and 295 out of 435 US House seats. This was the last time either party held more than 2/3 of the seats in both chambers. While Republicans recovered somewhat in the 1966 elections, this gave Democrats the window needed to pass the Great Society programs.

61%

486 52majorities

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1964 Presidential Election Results• Johnson agreed to cut ____________________

in exchange for support for a __________ bill. The economy grew by __________ in 1964, __________ in 1965, and __________ in 1966.

government spendingtax cut

7.1%8.1% 9.5%

• The deficit, which many feared would __________, actually __________. __________________ fell and __________ remained in check.

grow shrankUnemployment inflation

• In his 1964 State of the Union message, Johnson declared war on __________. That summer a law passed to provide nearly _______________ for ten separate projects, including _____________ (a preschool program for the poor) and __________ (which brought volunteers to work in poor areas).

poverty

$950 millionHead Start

VISTA

• Education initiatives provided ____________ in aid to states, based on the number of children in __________. The funds went to __________ and __________ schools, even ___________ ones.

$1.3 billion

povertypublic privateparochial

Medicare• Provides hospital and low cost medical

insurance to most Americans age 65 and older

Medicaid

• Provides low cost health insurance coverage to poor Americans of any age

• The 1965 Immigration Act imposed a limit of __________ immigrants per year from any country outside the _____________________ and an overall limit of __________ from the Eastern Hemisphere and __________ from the Western Hemisphere. ___________________ of US Citizens and ____________________ were exempted from these quotas.

20,000Western Hemisphere

170,000120,000

Family memberspolitical refugees

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Impact of the 1965 Immigration Act The Warren Court – Social Issues

• Roth v. US (1951) – Attempted to define when obscene expressions are beyond the protection of the First Amendment

• Brown v. Board of Education (1955) –Prohibited racial segregation in public schools

• Engel v. Vitale (1962) – Prohibited official prayer in public schools

• Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) – Legalized the sale of birth control to all adults

The Warren Court – Criminal Procedure

• Mapp v. Ohio (1961) – Ruled that illegally seized evidence cannot be used at trial

• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) – Guaranteed free legal help to the poor in criminal cases

• Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) – Ensured the right to legal counsel in custodial questioning

• Miranda v. Arizona (1966) – Required police to warn suspects of their rights at the time of arrest

The Warren Court –Legislative Apportionment

• Baker v. Carr(1962) – Ruled that federal courts could intervene in controversies over legislative districting (drawing election districts)

• Reynolds v. Simms (1964) – Ruled that legislative districts must be equal in population so that every person’s vote has influence equal to every other person’s vote

• At first, the Great Society seemed enormously __________. In time, however, critics realized that new programs raised _______________ that could not be met. __________ spending took ever-bigger bites out of the federal budget, and people complained that too many of their _____________ were being spent on ______________.

popularexpectations

Military

tax dollarspoor people

• Some realized that ______________ programs encouraged poor people to become dependent on _______________ and created multiple ______________ of families on __________ instead of in __________.

antipoverty

governmentgenerations welfare

jobs

• Kennedy’s first foreign crisis arose in __________, an island quite close to the __________ coast. CubaFlorida

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• The US had been concerned about it since 1959, when _______________ overthrew _____________________.

Fidel CastroFulgencio Batista

Batista, Cuban dictator from 1952 to 1959, was an oppressive and corrupt leader. He received support from the US government in spite of his dealings with the mafia. He strongly supported US corporations even as they exploited his own people.

• __________ claimed that the poor were being exploited by ___________________ and by _________________ operating in Cuba. Once in power, he seized __________ owned by foreign corporations.

Castrowealthy Cubans

US companiesproperty

Castro consolidated his control over Cuba relatively swiftly after Batista lost the war and fled the island. Castro also took a world tour to introduce himself to other world leaders. When visiting the United States he visited the Lincoln Memorial (he had previously honeymooned in New York). The story that he once tried out for the New York Yankees is an urban legend.

• The US broke ________________________ with his government, and when he developed close ties with the _______________, Americans feared he would become a model for communist revolutionaries throughout __________________.

diplomatic relations

Soviet Union

Latin America

• Kennedy was informed about a plan that ______________ had approved in 1960. The __________ had been training a group of __________ to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro. Kennedy and his advisors expected the ________________ to help overthrow Castro. In spite of warnings from senators and military leaders, Kennedy agreed to push ahead with the __________.– The CIA had a record of successfully deposing

hostile governments in Latin America (ieGuatemala), so why would Cuba be different?

EisenhowerCIA

Cubans

Cuban people

invasion

• The ________________________ took place on April 17, 1961. It was a _______________. An __________ failed to destroy Cuba’s __________, and Cuban troops overmatched the __________ US-backed invaders.

Bay of Pigs Invasiontotal disaster

airstrike air force1,500

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• When Kennedy’s advisors urged him to use ____________________ to help the attack, he chose instead to simply accept __________. The US lost a great deal of __________ as a result of the _________ and ______________ invasion.

American planesdefeat

prestigeclumsy incompetent

• Leaders in _________________ were angry that Kennedy violated agreements not to interfere in the _________________________, and ____________ leaders grew concerned about Kennedy’s leadership abilities.

Latin America

Western HemisphereEuropean

• After this failure, Kennedy became more determined to prove his resolve against _______________. He got his chance when the __________ demanded a permanent division of __________. Kennedy felt bullied by __________ leader _______________, but would not be intimidated.

CommunismUSSR

BerlinSoviet Khrushchev

• He raised defense spending by ___________, doubled the number of men being __________, and mobilized the __________ for _____________. When the Soviets built the _____________ to prevent ____________ from fleeing to the West, Kennedy visited the site to symbolize his commitment to __________.

$3 billion

drafted reservesactive dutyBerlin Wall East Germans

the city

“Ich bin ein Berliner”

• On June 26, 1963, Kennedy spoke at the Berlin Wall before a crowd of nearly 500,000 West Germans. He concluded his remarks with a show of solidarity.– “All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens

of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner!”

– Oddly, his remarks could be interpreted in German slang as proclaiming “I am a jelly doughnut!”

• On October 16, 1962, _______________ taken by an American ___________ revealed that the __________ were building _______________ in __________. They intended these sites to counter American __________ located in __________.

photographsspy plane

Soviets missile basesCuba

missilesTurkey

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Missile Crisis: Option A

• Continue to Negotiate– This would give the USSR more time to finish the

bases

– This might make JFK look weak and indecisive

Missile Crisis: Option B

• Invade Cuba– This would eliminate both the missile bases and

Castro’s regime if successful, but the Bay of Pigs Invasion had already failed.

– JFK already lost a great deal of prestige and influence in the Western Hemisphere from the previous invasion.

– Might the USSR go to war to defend Cuba?

Missile Crisis: Option C

• Blockade Cuba– This would prevent additional Soviet deliveries

from reaching Cuba, hindering their efforts to complete the bases

– Blockades are considered hostile acts under international law; Cuba would be legally justified in declaring war, which could lead to war with the USSR

– What if Soviet ships tried to run the blockade?

Missile Crisis: Option D

• Bomb the missile sites in Cuba– The US could destroy the bases, but might the

USSR launch a retaliatory strike against an American ally?

• Kennedy decided to impose a naval _____________ around Cuba. He did not use the word “___________” for fear that would be considered an act of war.

quarantineblockade

A Navy Airplane tracking a Soviet Ship

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• After a few tense days, ______________ sent ___________ two letters containing three demands: cancel the __________, stay out of __________, and withdraw the missiles from __________. In exchange, the Cuban missile sites would be removed. Kennedy accepted the terms.– Kennedy kept the withdrawal of American missiles

a secret, thus making it look as though the USSR had simply backed down. This made JFK look like quite a hero at the time, but modern historians recognize the contribution Khrushchev made to ending the crisis.

KhrushchevKennedy

blockadeCubaTurkey

• The crisis brought the world closer than ever to a ______________. To reduce future risks, the two sides established a __________ to allow them to communicate quickly in a future crisis. They also agreed to a ban on ______________ above ground.

nuclear warhotline

nuclear testing

• The Soviets and Americans competed not only by building their _________________, but also by seeking __________ in the developing countries.

military forcesallies

• To counter the appeal of communism, Kennedy called on all of the people in the _________________________ to join in a new _________________________. Like so many other Kennedy initiatives, this one never lived up to expectations.

Western HemisphereAlliance for Progress

• Kennedy also established the ______________ to send volunteers abroad as ____________, _________________, and _____________ to help developing nations.

Peace Corpseducators

health workers technicians

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• Johnson’s foreign policy, like Kennedy’s focused on ____________________________ around the world.

containing Communism• In 1965, Johnson sent __________ marines to

the ________________________ to help defend its government from rebels thought to be linked to communists. Within a few months a ____________________________ was put in place and __________ were held the following year.

22,000Dominican Republic

provisional governmentelections

• Johnson also became deeply involved in the ongoing conflict in _________________ between Communist __________________ and non-Communist __________________. By 1963, about __________ American ____________________ were in __________. The United States was also contributing ________________.

Southeast AsiaNorth VietnamSouth Vietnam

16,000military advisors South Vietnam

economic aid

• In his 1964 campaign, Johnson opposed more direct US involvement in the war, yet he would not accept a _____________ takeover of __________________. During __________, American involvement deepened as more __________ and __________ were committed.

– Johnson vowed that he would not be the first US President to lose a war.

communistSouth Vietnam 1965

troops money