CHAPTER 38

THE KENNEDY PRESIDENCYAs John F. Kennedy ushered in the 1960s, it also ushered in a sexual revolution, a civil rights revolution, a “counterculture” movement,

war in Vietnam, and the start of a feminist revolution

The start of the Kennedy presidency was full of hope and enthusiasm

John F. Kennedy was the youngest president ever elected

Put “the best and brightest” into cabinet positions

Kennedy put his brother Robert Kennedy in as Attorney General

Robert McNamara, the former head of Ford Motors, became the Defense

Secretary

THE NEW FRONTIERKennedy’s program as president was called the “NEW FRONTIER”

Proposed the PEACE CORP that would bring skills to underdeveloped nationsMost of Kennedy’s programs stalled in Congress

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country”

Kennedy also promoted a massive program to land an American on the moonIn 1969, the first Americans landed on the lunar landscape!!!!

It was during the Kennedy presidency that the BERLIN WALL was built

FLEXIBILE RESPONSEKennedy replaced the Eisenhower Doctrine of “massive

retaliation” with “flexible response”

Allowed the US to choose a variety of options depending on the situation

Increased spending on military forces

Created Special Forces such as Green Berets and Navy Seals to fight guerilla warfare

Kennedy also ordered an increase in the number of “MILITARY ADVISERS” in South VietnamBy the time of Kennedy’s death, some 15,000 were in South Vietnam

CUBAN MISSILE CRISISMost of Kennedy’s foreign policy problems involved the USSR and the island nation of Cuba

Kennedy ordered the CIA plan for invasion known as the BAY OF PIGS that failedKennedy pushed the US to the brink of nuclear war with the CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

Fidel Castro FIDEL CASTRO was the communist leader of Cuba

THE HOTLINE

The US and USSR created a “HOTLINE” for tensions like this in the future

CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER KENNEDY

Kennedy did little for the Civil Rights Revolution during his presidency

Was afraid of losing Southern votes

Did call Martin Luther King’s wife when he was in prison

Called for Civil Rights legislation, but died before it could happen

DEATH OF JFKLEE HARVEY OSWALDThe Kennedy Presidency came to an end with his assassination on November 22, 1963Killed by LEE HARVEY OSWALD in Dallas, Texas

JACK RUBY killed Oswald days later

WARREN COMMISSIONWARREN COMMISSION studied the assassination and ruled Oswald acted alone

LBJ became President

CUBAN MISSILE CRISISIn American history, the relationship between the US and Latin

American countries has been tense at various timesMany of those nations see the United States as the “Colossus of the

North” who throws its power around to get what we want!!!

ALLIANCE FOR PROGRESSWhen JFK became President, he attempted to create better relationships with Latin AmericaCreated the ALLIANCE FOR PROGRESS whose goal was to help poor Latin American nationsAmerican assistance had little positive impact though

BAY OF PIGS INVASIONKennedy also, though, took a tough stance in regards to FIDEL CASTRO’S communist Cuban nationInherited from Dwight Eisenhower a plan to topple Fidel Castro with Cuban exilesWorked up and planned by the CIAKnown as the BAY OF PIGS invasionUS was to help exiles overthrow Castro, but invasion went bad and Kennedy did not act

Actions like the attempted overthrow of Castro and repeated assassination attempts pushed Castro even more further towards a friendship with the

Soviet UnionSoviet leader Khurshchev was quick to seize upon the opportunity

KRUSCHEV AND CASTROKhrushchev and Castro made a deal in October of 1962

to place nuclear-tipped missiles in Cuba

Cuba just 90 miles away from United States territoryWould destroy the concept of “mutually assured destruction”

Russians hoped to blackmail JFK into backing down in BerlinWould turn into a game of “nuclear chicken”

NAVAL QUARANTINEJohn F. Kennedy’s first response to the news of Soviet missiles was a “naval quarantine” of CubaSoviets told they MUST remove all missiles in CubaAll other missiles headed to Cuba must turn back

THE C.M.C.—PLAYED OUT!!!Kennedy also announced that any attack on the US from Cuba would be considered a direct attack from the Soviet Union and the US would launch missiles toward Moscow

For weeks, events looked as if the world would be sucked into a nuclear conflict. Neither side was willing to back down

President Kennedy CANNOT allow missiles in Cuba…everKhrushchev can’t publicly back down or he looks weak to Communist leadership

In 1991, we learned more information that showed the Soviets already had missiles with nukes and were given permission to launch them if attacked

(WOW!!!!)

KHRUSHCHEV BACKS DOWNOn October 28th, 1962 Nikita Khrushchev finally flinched

Back channel negotiations had been going on continuously

Soviets agreed to pull missiles out of Cuba

US agreed to end the quarantine and not invade the island

US also agreed to remove some missiles pointed at the Soviet Union in Turkey (were going to anyway, but made

Khrushchev look like he got something from the US)

LONG TERM EFFECTS?Khrushchev removed from office

Creation of a “HOTLINE” between the two nations

Kennedy tried to create a better relationship with the Soviets

Soviet Union went even more serious about building military weapons thus

pushing the US to catch up

LECTURE 38.3The Johnson Presidencyand the Great Society

LYNDON B. JOHNSONLyndon B. Johnson became president upon the assassination of John F. Kennedy

in 1963

When LBJ became President, he pledged to continue JFK’s policies

Pushed Kennedy’s stalled Civil Rights Bill and tax cut bills through Congress

Began his WAR ON POVERTY by pushing bills through Congress costing billions

War on Poverty

ELECTION OF 1964GREAT SOCIETYJohnson nominated by Democrats to run for the

presidency in 1964 on the platform known as the GREAT SOCIETYThe Great Society was a set of New Deal type economic and welfare measures aimed to transform American society

Much of this inspired by the book THE OTHER AMERICA by MICHAEL HARRINGTON which showed much of the population (especially blacks) lived in poverty

Johnson ran against Republican BARRY GOLDWATER who is known as the FATHER OF MODERN CONSERVATISM

Johnson made Goldwater look like he was a warmonger who might start a nuclear war

Johnson defeated Goldwater soundly

GREAT SOCIETY PROGRAMSWhat programs made up the Great Society initiative???

HEAD START Prepared educationally disadvantaged children for elementary school

MEDICARE Provided medical care for the elderly not covered

HUD

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

PBS

(Housing and Urban Development)—built housing units for public housing

Money to promote culture in the United States

Public Broadcasting System

GREAT SOCIETY: CIVIL RIGHTSCIVIL RIGHTS BILL OF 1964Forbid segregation in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and sporting arenas that did business in interstate commerce

TITLE VIIDiscrimination based on race, religion, gender, and national origin in the workplace was illegal

Said literacy tests unlawful, allowed President to send examiners where election laws may have been violated

Gave preference to minorities to make up for past discrimination

VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

LECTURE 38.4Vietnam:

Eisenhower thru Johnson

BACKGROUND

1964-1973The major part of the Vietnam War took place

between 1964 and 1973

The Vietnam War will span across 5 different presidents and span a total of 25 years

DIEN BIEN PHUAmerica’s interest in Vietnam started when France lost control of Vietnam after the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954

Because of American interest in “containing” communism, US had paid for about 80% of France’s war effort

HO CHI MINH

The leader of the communists in North Vietnam was HO CHI MINH

At the Geneva Conference in 1954, an agreement reached that divided Vietnam into a north and south section along the 17th parallel until a unifying election could be held in 1956In the North—Ho Chi Minh in chargeIn the South--Diem was in control of Saigon with help and support of the US

“DOMINO THEORY”Vietnam was part of America’s foreign policy known as the

“DOMINO THEORY”

Was United States belief that if one country in Indochina fell to communism, other surrounding countries would fall also like

dominoes!!!!!

UNITED STATES SUPPORTAlthough initially supported by the US, South Vietnamese leader Diem was unpopular among the peopleEventually, a civil war erupted inside Vietnam led by the Vietcong

Vietcong were communist insurgents in the South supported by Ho Chi MinhWere also supported by the Soviet Union and China

JFK & VIETNAMAfter Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy escalated

slowly the buildup of US personnel in VietnamHe increased military advisors from 652 to

16,000Kennedy’s goal was to strengthen S. Vietnamese Army with US technology

Also hoped to pressure Diem to make reformsEventually, Diem was removed from power in

an overthrow by S. Vietnamese generalsThree weeks later JFK was assassinated

LBJ & VIETNAMLyndon B. Johnson will be the president that will greatly increase US involvement in Vietnam

Stated “I’m not going to be the president who saw Southeast Asia go the way China went”

ROBERT MCNAMARAROBERT MCNAMARA –Secretary of Defense under Kennedy and Johnson—pushed for US escalation

GULF OF TONKINFor the United States, the real beginning of the Vietnam War was the GULF OF TONKIN

RESOLUTION in 1964

Johnson told Congress that North Vietnamese boats had attacked two US destroyers on international waters and that the attacks were “unprovoked”Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave Johnson more authority to widen the war effort without waiting for Congress to declare warYears later, found out what Johnson said was not absolutely true!Johnson ordered a limited air attack, but did not want a “wider war”Major problem for LBJ’s distrust of military staff so top military officials often were not part of the war policy process

1965 Starting in 1965, the United States greatly increased the amount of troops in Vietnam

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

1961 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968

U.S. Troops

GEN. WESTMORELAND

VIETNAM WARFAREIn the air part of the war, the US dropped more bombs on Vietnam than the Allies droppped during all of WWI

HO CHI MINH TRAILVietcong were able to hid in tunnels that were part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail

NAPALM AND AGENT ORGANGETo flush out the enemy Napalm was used to burn out heavy jungle areas

AGENT ORANGE used as a defoliant to kill jungle vegetationLater US soldiers exposed developed cancers

TET OFFENSIVEThe beginning of t he end of US involvement in Vietnam was the TET OFFENSIVE in 1968

North Vietnam began a massive coordinated attack

Tet Offensive not military successful for N. Vietnam, but psychologically destroyed American hopes of winning

CRITICS??Many of the critics against Vietnam policy included the New Left—HANOI JANELed massive student protests on university campuses—KENT STATE UNIVERSITYLarge antiwar movement also beginsLots of anger over draft policy b/c it drafted more lower classThousands of draft dodgers fled to Canada and others burned their draft cards—BILL CLINTON“Hell no, we wont go”

“Hey, hey, LBJ…how many kids did you kill today”

VIETNAM AND THE PRESSThe press was an important factor in support or nonsupport for the Vietnam War

People could see the bodies of American soldiers brought home

WALTER CRONKITE

WALTER CRONKITE, the most famous media person, turned against the war effortJohnson said… “If I’ve lost Walter, then it’s over”

In 1968,LBJ will decide not

to run for re-election

b/c of Vietnam

LECTURE 38.5Cultural Movements

of the 1960’s

1960’s VALUESThe 1960s were a period when long-held values and norms of behavior seemed to break down,

particularly among the young

Many of these were the driving force behind the Civil Rights and antiwar movementsMany others separated themselves from mainstream society by dressing different or a different lifestyleAttitudes toward sexuality also changedWomen began to protest the role of housewives and mother that society expected of them

THE NEW LEFT

SDSOne of the earliest cultural movements was the NEW LEFTLead organization was the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) headed by Tom HaydenPushed for a “Free Speech Movement” on college campusesCriticized the bureaucracy of American societySDS became more violent during the Vietnam War

THE COUNTERCULTUREOne of the more memorable cultural movements of the 1960s was called the COUNTERCULTURESlogan was “SEX, DRUGS, AND ROCK N’ ROLL”Like the New Left, they felt alienated by the bureaucracy, materialism, and the Vietnam WarThese individuals turned away from traditional society in favor of an alternative societyIn many ways, they were the heirs of the Beatniks

FLOWER CHILDRENMany of the members of the “counterculture” were known as ‘HIPPIES”Experimented with eastern religions, drugs, and sexMany were involved in urban communities like the Haight-Ashbury District in San FranciscoSometimes referred to as ‘flower children”

COUNTERCULTURE MUSIC

One of the most famous byproducts of the counterculture was their musicFamous artists of the movement included Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Pete SegerEven the famous Beatles of England became influenced by America’s counterculture

WOODSTOCKFamous music event of the period was WOODSTOCK in August 1969Featured Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, SantanaKnown for unrestrained drug use and sex

By 1970s, counterculture movement was shrinking b/c of its excesses or its members becoming more mainstream

SEXUAL REVOLUTIONThe SEXUAL REVOLUTION, while part of the counterculture movement, began also in the early 1960sTwo main things that promoted the movement were the birth control pill and antibioticsEncouraged freer sexual practicesPromiscuity increased among younger AmericansChallenged traditional values of pre-marital sex as wrong

1960’s FEMINISMAnother major movement was the WOMEN’S RIGHT MOVEMENT o f the 1960s

Women involved in the movement were often referred to as FEMINISTSSought things like the legalization of abortion and equal employment opportunities and equal payEventually will seek the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment)

BETTY FRIEDAN

The major work that helped form much of the thinking of 1960s women was the book FEMININE MYSTIQUE by BETTY FRIEDANFriedan and other feminists formed the NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN (NOW) in 1966Greatest opponent of NOW and feminists movement was PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY

MAJOR EVENTS?ROE V. WADE—legalized abortion in 1973TITLE IX—guaranteed equal access for girls to programs boys benefited from (high school sports)

INFLUENCED?SALLY RIDE—first female astronautSANDRA DAY O’CONNOR—first female Supreme Court Justice (appointed by Ronald Reagan)GERALDINE FERRARO—first woman in 1984 to be on a presidential ticket (Democratic VP with Carter)

CESAR CHAVEZOther movements of the 1960’s included

Mexican American rights led by Cesar Chavez