John F Kennedy amp Lyndon B Johnson Lyndon B Johnson being sworn in as president of the United States after the assassination of John F Kennedy Jacqueline Kennedy right witnesses the oath November 22 1963 ID: 590022
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Slide1
The New Frontier & The Great societyPart 1
John F. Kennedy
&
Lyndon B. JohnsonSlide2
Lyndon B. Johnson being sworn in as president of the United States after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Jacqueline Kennedy (right) witnesses the oath (November 22, 1963).
The
New Frontier and the Great
Society:Main Ideas
President John F. Kennedy’s efforts to confront the Soviet Union and address social ills were cut short by his assassination. President Lyndon B. Johnson spearheaded civil rights legislation, declared a “war on poverty”, and escalated U.S. involvement in Vietnam
NEXTSlide3
Kennedy and the Cold War
The Kennedy administration faces some of the most dangerous Soviet confrontations in American history.Slide4
The Election of 1960
Watch
the opening statements of the first Presidential Debate of 1960.
Questions:
Whom do you feel performed better in this debate, Nixon or Kennedy?Disregarding their appearance on television, whom do you think you would have voted for if you had been able to vote in the 1960 election, and why?
What interesting observations can you make on the conduct of the candidates throughout their opening statements?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbrcRKqLSRw
NEXTSlide5
The Televised Debate Affects Votes
Americans
feared that the U.S. falling behind Soviets militarilyJohn F. Kennedy allayed
public worries about electing a CatholicThe nation’s first televised presidential debate: Kennedy vs. NixonNixon was a highly experienced politician, a foreign policy expert, and famously tough on communismKennedy was far less experienced but very well-spoken. Additionally, he had been coached by TV producers, wore stage makeup, and seemed to many eyes to come across better than Nixon. However, of those who listened to it on the radio, most seemed to
feel that Nixon performed better…Kennedy and Civil RightsJFK addressed civil rights and racial inequality directly in debates. Moreover, he took a public stand on the arrest/legal persecution of Martin Luther King Jr., winning him the African American voteSlide6Slide7
The Kennedy Mystique
Kennedy was popular but won the
presidency
in a very close electionC
ritics argued that his smooth style lacked substanceThe Kennedy White House was known as “Camelot” for its glamour, culture, and witJackie Kennedy was admired for her elegance and style; there were articles and photographs published constantly featuring
the Kennedy family
NEXT
The “Camelot” Years
The Best and the Brightest
JFK’s advisers
were called
“the best and the brightest”
His brother
Robert Kennedy
was named
attorney general
McGeorge
Bundy (Dean of Harvard) – Nat’l Security
Advisor)
Dean Rusk (President of Rockefeller Foundation) - Sec. of State
Robert McNamara (President of Ford): Sec. of DefenseSlide8
A New Military Policy
•
JFK
believed that the nation had to
redefine its nuclear strategy• “Flexible response”
—fight conventional wars, keep nuclear arms balanced with the Soviets, but try not to stockpile them in excess (leads to further escalation)• JFK increased defense spending in three areas: - strengthened conventional
forces again (army, navy, etc.)
-
created Army
Special Forces (Green Berets)
-
tripled
nuclear capabilities
NEXTSlide9
Crises over Cuba
The Cuban Dilemma
Revolutionary leader
Fidel Castro
declared a communist Cuba in 1959 - seized U.S. properties; Eisenhower
cut off diplomatic relations 10% of Cuban population (anti-communists) went into exile; mostly to the U.S.
The Bay of
Pigs Invasion: April 1961
Cuban
exiles, recruited by the CIA, planned an
invasion to topple Castro
Plans
went terribly wrong from both a tactical and strategic perspective; Cuban exile
forces
were killed and
taken prisoner
JFK
paid a
ransom in
food and medicine for their return; the mission was a public embarrassment for the
United States, and the presidencySlide10
Crisis over Berlin
By
1961, 3.4 million (20%) East Germans had fled the Soviet Union (mostly
to West
Berlin); leading to an economic and “brain” drainKhrushchev wanted to close access roads to West Berlin; JFK refusedSoviets isolated West Berlin from East Germany with the Berlin Wall
NEXTSlide11
Crises
over Cuba
The Cuban Missile
Crisis – Oct 1962
Nikita Khrushchev sent weapons to Cuba, including nuclear missiles JFK warned the Soviets that a missile attack would trigger war on U.S.S.R.Soviets avoided confrontation at sea; reaching an
agreement with the U.S.
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Kennedy and Khrushchev Take the Heat
Khrushchev’s prestige
was severely
damaged in
the U.S.S.R. for conciliatory actions toward Kennedy
JFK criticized for brinkmanship,
but also
for not ousting Castro
Castro banned any travel between Cuba and U.S. and the U.S. maintained an ongoing trade embargo with Cuba.Slide12
Searching for a way to ease tensions
Both Kennedy and Khrushchev were aware of the dangers of communicating through media outlets only
Language barrierMedia hypeDesigned the “hot line” between the U.S. and Russia with full-time, highly skilled translators on call constantly on both sidesIt went live in early 1963. The first sentence transmitted by the U.S. was:
“The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog’s back.”Contains every letter in the alphabetSlide13