s Major Themes and Key Terms Kennedy Johnson amp The Cold War John F Kennedy New Frontier Space programs Economic stimulus Addressing poverty Civil rights Assassination Cold War Conflict ID: 594360
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Slide1
Introduction to the 1960s
Major Themes and Key TermsSlide2
Kennedy, Johnson & The Cold War
John F. Kennedy:
New Frontier
Space programsEconomic stimulusAddressing povertyCivil rightsAssassinationCold War Conflict:Bay of PigsCuban Missile CrisisBerlin Crisis
Lyndon B. Johnson: The Great SocietyWar on povertyHealthcareCivil rightsEducationHousingImmigrationEnvironmentWarren Court (various liberal reforms)Cold War Conflict:Launch and escalation of Vietnam War
Major Themes:
Kennedy and Johnson attempt to enact
various domestic reforms
to improve quality of life in America, with varying levels of
success
Americans begin become increasingly distrustful of government, as
domestic problems appear to receive less attention, funding and importance
than Cold War and foreign policy-related
concerns
Kennedy’s
assassination
demoralizes Americans and gives rise to various conspiracy theories
America comes frighteningly close to
nuclear war
with Cuba/
Russia
America begins and escalates the
Vietnam War
under Johnson, consistent with the “Containment” policySlide3
The Vietnam Years
American involvement in Vietnam begins with financial support for the French colonial effort, and later, for the South Vietnamese (under Eisenhower and Kennedy)
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution:
Grants sweeping powers to U.S. President to conduct a war without the oversight of Congress.America becomes directly involved in Vietnam War under Johnson, and escalates the conflict from 1965 - 1968Presidents under pressure not to appear “soft on communism” (can hurt you in elections)“War of Attrition”: wear out your enemy gradually in a series of small-scale actionsWar quickly degenerates into a frustrating stalemateAmerican sources continue to spread the idea that we were “winning the war in Vietnam”.Public outcry against the war erupts at home (anti-war movement largely swelled by the Boomers)
Vietnam left a painful legacy58,000 battle deaths, 303,000 wounded; Vietnam veterans treated differently than others when they arrived homeAmericans become much more cautious about foreign policyAmericans become MUCH more cynical about their governmentWar Powers Act (president must inform Congress within 48 hours of sending forces into a hostile area without a declaration of war)Slide4
Counterculture
Anti-establishment, non-conformist attitude of the “beatniks” continues with the
“hippie”
movement:Establish new communal, collectivistic society characterized by peace and loveElements of counterculture find strong resonance in the anti-war, civil rights and feminist movements, and “hippies” could found among all of these activist groupsWhile the lifestyle of those who embraced the counterculture proved to be short-lived, their philosophy would give rise to new attitudes about social behavior, lifestyle, dress and appearanceConservatives would attack what it viewed as the “decadent” values of the counterculture, leading to the growth of a new conservative movement with the election of Nixon in 1969Slide5
The Feminist & Civil Rights movements
Through literature, protest, activism and engagement with Constitutional law, women of the 1960s and early 1970s sought to gain
equal rights for women
in AmericaBetty Friedan “The Feminine Mystique”Gloria Steinem, founder, National Organization for Women (NOW)National Women’s Political CaucusEqual Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) created to address discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and gender. Many feminists believe it doesn’t go far enough in addressing women’s equality:Roe v. WadeEqual Rights Amendment (ERA) – never passedAfrican Americans, Latinos and Native Americans demanded equal rights
and equal protection before the law. They achieved the passage of landmark legislation through engagement in various protest movements, some peaceful, some militant. However, the fight to end “de facto” inequality by changing hearts and minds continued into the following decadesDr. Martin Luther King Jr., Southern Christian Leadership ConferenceMontgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Riders, Selma Campaign, March on WashingtonMalcolm X, Nation of IslamStokely Carmichael, Black PanthersCivil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965)Affirmative ActionCesar Chavez, United Farm Workers Union, BoycottsLa Raza UnidaAmerican Indian Movement (AIM)A conservative backlash to the Feminist and Civil Rights movements in the mid-70s, contributing to the establishment of a “New Right”, the same people who would elect Ronald Reagan by 1980.