The John Kennedy Years

Civil RightsHad appealed to black community during

campaign (JFK called Coretta & RFK tried to free MLK)

Once elected, slow to fulfill promises of ending discrimination in housing (1962)

Freedom Riders – CORE

Voter Education Project

Integration of “Ole Miss” – James Meredith –

Birmingham – most segregated big city in Amer“Letters from a Birmingham jail”“Bull” ConnorPeaceful protests met violent opposition

JFK’s tv speech on civil rights For white Amer.- who are you in league with?

Set Backs5 die-hard segregationists appointed to

southern benches JFK & RFK allowed FBI surveillance,

wiretapping, harassing MLKMedgar Evers

Birmingham Baptist Church bombing

March on WashingtonAug ‘63 – “I have a dream speech”Putting pressure on movement for new

legislation200,000 black & white supporters

JFK Background & Inaugaration43 – youngest ever elected Irish –Catholic – big, significant familyWealthy background but committed to

service“Ask not what your country can do for you –

ask what you can do for your country”Best and the Brightest – Cabinet:

Bobby/Attny General, Dean Rusk/Sect. of St, Robert McNamara/Sect of Defense

Camelot Culture

Taking Control"The United States, as the world knows, will never

start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war," but cautioning that, "We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just.”

Warned by Eisenhower about “military industrial complex” forming

Needing to show Dems not “soft” on communism

Strengthens ties w/Euro – Trade Expansion Act (tariff cuts for members of EEC) increases trade

Communism in the Third WorldFeeling Soviets winning in race for third world“Modernization theory” – move 3rd world

nations along the industrial & democratic path

Keep SU from interfering in insurgencies & linking nationalism w/communism

JFK’s counterinsurgencies: in theory about social reform but really military

Alliance for Progress Peace Corps

Philosophies Through Administrations

Containment Truman (Marshall)

Brinkmanship Eisenhower (Dulles)

Flexible Response Kennedy (Rusk)

Flexible ResponseDevelop/expand array of milit options that

would fit each situation Increased spending on conventional

military forcesSpecial Forces – specially trainedMade engagement more likely

Cuba• “Revolutionaries are not born, they are made by

poverty, inequality, & dictatorship.”

Nationalized oil refineries & sugar fields – US put up trade barriers

Stands up to US so popular

Receiving support from SU

Bay of Pigs

Eisenhower gave CIA permission to train exiles for Cuban invasion

Kennedy had doubts but went ahead

April 17, 1961 – 1,400 exiles land

Plan went terribly wrong

Huge p.r. triumph for Castro

Embarrassment for Kennedy

$53 mill in food & med. supplies to get survivors back

Berlin CrisisBy 1961 20% of E.German pop fled into W.Berlin

Keeping W.Berlin continued to be symbol of Western superiority & power

Midnight Aug.13, 1961 E.German troops begin building wall

Wall aggravated Cold War tensions & came to symbolized “ugliness” of Communist oppression

Cuban Missile Crisis Khrushchev sending Sov. weapons – including nuclear

U-2 planes get pics of Sov. built missile bases in Cuba

able to reach US in minutes (NYC in 17 minutes)

Navy quarantine to stop shipments 500 miles off coast

Khrushchev offered removal of missiles if no Cuban invasion

Sovs feel Khrushchev looked weakJFK criticized for being too rash & also too weak

JFK demands immed removal, any attack means retal on SU

& invasionary forces in Florida

Need to Ease TensionsSome US missiles taken out of Turkey

Limited Test Ban Treaty- no more nuclear testing in atmosphere

Hot Line – direct connection between White House & Kremlin

Immediate & direct communication in crisis

JFK @ American Univ – June’63 – Soviets are not so bad – need to try for realistic policy of peaceful coexistance

Space Program"I believe that this nation should commit itself

to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth."

Even with SU race many felt foolish goal – plenty of “earthly” pursuits more significant

Moonlanding July 20,1969 Neil Armstrong in Apollo 11

New Frontierambitious initiative to end racial

discrimination, deliver federal aid to farmers & education, medical care for the elderly, and fiscal action to halt the recession left by Eisenhower

Cut taxes in effort to stimulate the econ“Most Republican speech since McKinley”

Inflation reduced from 7 to 5.7 percent; economic growth averaged 5.6 percent during the Kennedy administration

New Frontier largely blocked by a powerful coalition of Republicans and Southern Democrats in Congress

AssassinationNov 22 ‘63 – Dallas, TX

LBJ sworn in on plane back to DCLegacy more about idealism than concrete

accomplishments

The Lyndon Johnson Years

Lyndon Baines Johnson

Texan & dedicated New DealerLiberal stance cost him Senate ‘41 so

tempered philosophy to be more conserv – narrow win ‘47

Majority leader ‘54 & very powerfulOnce in White House goes back to liberal

idealsbest eulogy to JFK would be passage of Civil

Rights Bill

Civil Rights Act of 1964Banned discrimination in public

accommodations/facilitiesStrengthened fed power to deseg. schools &

public placesTitle VII no discrimination in hiring – Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Repubs added gender discrim * will be significant later

Freedom SummerVolunteers (white/black,

northern/southern) to register black voters – CORE, NAACP, SNCC (John Lewis)Huge violent “reception” by KKK & hardliners

MFDPWant seats @Dem conventionNot represented by Miss. Dem delegationTestimony of Fannie Lou HammerSeating = another Southern Dem walkout?Non voting compromise offered but

rejectedMiss regulars leave but MFDP not allowedto take their seats

Movement ShiftsActivism and concerns more north & urbanDe facto segregation instead of de jureRoll of “affirmative action” in jobs &

educationUrban rioting (Watts in ’65 & then

numerous others in next few years – Newark, ‘67)

Kerner Report – violence b/c segreg & poverty

Convinced whitesociety there’s aneed for toughercontrols on “ghettos”

Black PowerTired of waiting for white society to see the

value integrationRacial pride in history, appearance, literature,

& rejection of cultural adaptationsBlack Panther Party (Huey Newton/Bobby

Seale)Malcolm X – Nation of Islam -“ballots or

bullets” ‘68 Olympics

Election of 1964Sen. Barry Goldwater (AZ) attacked Soc.

Sec., test ban treaty, TVA, civil rights & Grt Soc

Dems. Criticize Goldwater as trigger happy cowboy looking for a fightPassage of Tonkin Gulf Resolution shows LBJ as

statesman compared to aggressive GoldwaterLittle girl w/flowers/armagedden adhttp://youtu.be/dDTBnsqxZ3k

Huge Dem. win in both houses too – 37 new northern dems

Conservatives -YAFSharon StatementOld guard Repubs accepted New Deal

reality“southern strategy” “freedom of association” – matters of

states’ rights

Great Society Continuation & extension of New Deal & New

Frontier (reform out of prosperity not depression)

Economic & welfare measures “War on Poverty” The Other America helped fuel public support

Doubled $ to Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) into the billions

Created cabinet positions Dept. of Transport.and Dept. of Housing &Urban Devel.(HUD) Robert Weaver(1st black cab.sect)

Nat’l Endowment for Arts & Humanities Established public broadcasting Federal safety regulations for cars & highways Medicare & Medicaid Model Cities Act Elementary & Secondary Education Act of 1965 Voting Rights Act of 1965 Immigration Act of 1965(Hart-Celler Act) “Affirmative Action” for fed. funded grps/proj

War on Poverty“Waged” by EEOC (equal employ oppor

commis Job CorpsVISTAHeadstart

Great Society Legacy

Rivaled only to Wilson & FDR in terms of lasting social impact of program

Huge expenditures by fed. gov’t ultimately brought programs in competition w/rising foreign policy costs

Seen as failure by many b/c did not redistribute wealth in society & many problems left unsolved

But did: get med. care to millions who would still go w/out, greatest reduction in poverty in history (22%-13%), many programs still functioning today

The New Left Mostly white college students focusing on

variety of social issues & their perceived powerlessness

Influenced by writings of many socialists, communists, revolutionaries

SDS– Tom Hayden – Port Huron Statement Lack of voice in bureaucracies

Campus ProtestColleges seen as breeding ground for

impersonal, corrupt, immoral societyMost were non violent & not even fully

buying into the truly radical core of New Left

The Weathermen (“you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows”)

Related to draft opposition

Vietnam – JFK adminReuniting elections planned in Geneva

Accords not heldNational Liberation Front (NLF) or VietCong

forms in South & tied to N. Viet gov’t1961 – increase the number of advisorsBuddhist monks protest Diem’s repressive

measures 1963 – US supports coup of Diem’s gov’tBy Nov ‘63 more than17,000 Amers in country(*Special Forces)

Vietnam – LBJ’s adminWe are not about to send American boys

10,000 miles away to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves – LBJ, 1964Date # in country Americans

killed12/61 3,205 25

12/63 * 16,300 195

12/65 184,300 2,264

12/67 485,600 19,560

12/69 475,200 47,765

12/71 156,800 56,206

12/73 50 57,015

12/75 0 57,354* Aug. ‘64 Maddox fired upon

Operation Rolling Thunder- Feb ‘65-Oct ‘68 – combat troops arrive and “direction” of war changes

War of attrition Americanized Increase in NVA numbers & attacks in South

Kill ten of our men and we will kill one of yours. In the end, it is you who will tire- Ho Chi Minh, 1946

American commander in South Vietnam – believed Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) couldn’t do it alone.

Continues to request more & more troops.

Remains positive about winning the war

“Body count” strategy – failed to intimidate or deter

Hanoi hardens

General William Westmoreland

Sect. of Defense Robert McNamara

NapalmAgent OrangeSearch & destroy missions

America’s first “television war”

Trouble At HomeHawks & DovesFulbright Hearings (Sen.Wm from Arkansas)Televised in ‘66 & ’67Became clear public had been deceived

about “winnability” & “credibility gap” widened

Anti-war demonstrations become common & more widespreadDate Approve Disapprov

eNo Opinion

9/1965 58% 22% 20%

2/1966 50% 33% 17%

9/1966 43% 40% 17%

7/1967 33% 52% 15%

2/1968 35% 50% 15%

Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Johnson administration is handling the situation in Vietnam ?

Tet Offensive

Westmoreland had still been predicting “a light at the end of the tunnel”

N. Vietnamese Army + Viet Cong attack South simultaneously (67,000 attack 100 cities, bases, and the US embassy in Saigon)

Take every major southern city U.S. + ARVN beat back the offensive Viet Cong destroyed according to

Westmoreland N. Vietnamese army debilitated BUT…it’s seen as an American defeat by

the media

Youth culture rejecting values and attitudes of “the establishment”

Significant drug culture Timothy Leary

Create an idyllic setting of “peace, love & harmony”

Commune living (Haight-Ashbury) Eastern Religions (Zen Buddhism, spiritual

yogis, transcendental meditation)

The Counterculture

Woodstock Music & Art Fair, an Aquarian Festival Aug. 1969 – Bethel, NY – 3 Days of Peace, Love &

Harmony expected 120,000 – more than 400,000 showed most popular bands/musicians of the time

performed 2 deaths & 2 births relatively incident-free

Altamont Dec. 1969- Altamont Raceway in CA – supposed to

be Woodstock West; turned into The End of the Age of Aquarius

Rolling Stones hired Hell’s Angels as security During performance – Angels kill spectator – 3

others accidentally killed during event

End of the Movement

Urban communes became seedy & violent Manson murders Altamont Drug overdoses, dependence &

breakdowns Janis Joplin Jimi Hendrix

Hippies actually dependent on mainstream society

Conservative backlash among mainstream society Richard Nixon gets elected Nation moves to more conservative attitude

Feminism – “belief that women should have economic, political & social equality with men1960’s increasing numbers of women in work force but facing pay & job discrimination1961-Presidential Commission on the Status of Women (JFK)

Less pay for same jobLess management jobs

Betty Friedan’s Feminine Mystique-

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (result of Civil Rights Act of 1964) not meeting needs

NOWchild care facilitieseducational opportunitiesjob opportunities

NY Radical Women stage protest in AC @ Miss American PageantFreedom Trash Can- threw bras, girdles, wigscrowned a sheep “Miss America”

Gloria Steinemfounder of Ms. magazinehighly influential woman

Roe v Wade – 1973 Supreme Court Case women have the right to choose (still highly

controversial Based on “right to privacy” in Griswald v

Connecticut

A Diverse Movement

1972 Congress passed the ERA – would need 38 (3/4)of the 50 states to ratify to become part of Constitutionmatter of “simple justice”

Phyllis Schlaflymajor opponent to ERA – would lead to “parade of horribles” (drafting women, ending laws protecting homemakers, same-sex marriages)

work of radical feminists who “hate men, marriage & children”

By 1977 had 35 states but movement stalled & opposition gained strength (NJ did ratify!)

By 1982 – deadline for ratification- no other states joined in and ERA was defeated

The ERA – Equal Rights Amendment

Gay Rights/Liberation• Historically under-recognized even from

within • Actively legally persecuted• “Stonewall Riot”• Gay Liberation Front• AIDS crisis brings legal rights to forefront• “Don’t ask Don’t tell”

Latino Americans

• Fastest growing minority group – but very diverse

• Advancement limits/discrimination• Chicano culture• La Raza Unida• United Farm Workers (UFW) • Cesear Chavez• Young Lords Organization• bilingualism

Native American Rights• Statistically worst in all situations

(unemployment, income, education, life expectancy…)

• Assimilation &Termination policies• Inspired by civil rights movement – self

determination strengthens• Declaration of Indian Purpose• American Indian Movement (AIM)• Cultural re-imaging• Alcatraz• Legal victories

Environmentalism & ConsumerismShift from those who valued aesthetic

value of enviro to those who saw the toxic dangers impacting interrelated systems

Rachel Carson – Silent SpringProfessionalizing of the movementRecognizing the significant

damage/destruction already in cities (smog, acid rain)

Earth Day -4/22/70Unsafe at Any Speed

Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River

“Revolution” Court Cases Court protector of even unpopular

ideasNY Times v. Sullivan (1964)Loving v. Virginia (1967)Miranda v. Arizona (1966)Baker v. Carr (1962)Engel v. Vitale (1962)Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Buildup to the ElectionSegment of Dems looking for RFK to run

for nomination – he rejects itSen. Eugene McCarthy (Minn.) – strong

showing in New Hampshire primary (almost beat LBJ)

b/c challenge now clear, RFK enters raceLBJ announces bombing freeze and

dropping out of race!“That..war killed the lady I really loved – the

Great Society”VP Hubert Humphrey now enters

MLK killed April 4 Rioting in over 100 cities

RFK killed June 5Had just won California primary

College campus protests increaseJan-June, 40,000 students on 100

campuses involved in 200 major demonstrations

“There was a sense everywhere…that things were giving way. That people had not only lost control of their history, but might never regain it.”

Democratic ConventionSince LBJ stepped down & RFK was killed

primary between McCarthy& Hubert HumphreyHumphrey loyal Dem. Party man & supported by LBJNomination locked up even before Chicago

convention Huge prostest @ convention (10,000 –

Hayden)Wanted Dems to support anti war platformYippies (Youth International Party) looking for

attentionMayor Richard Daley determined to keep control –

12,000 officers & 5,000 Nat’l GuardsmenViolence breaks out –mace, nightsticks, rocks,

bottles“The world is watching!”

Conservative ResponseRichard Nixon/Spiro Agnew

“peace with honor”Hawk with a desire to end itAppealed to white southerners“law & order”No more dissidents – value the silent majority

George Wallace/Curtis LeMay“Segregation now! Segregation

tomorrow! Segregation forever!” N. Vietnamese “bombing them

back to the stone age”