The Stormy Sixties: 1960-1968 Chapter 38 AP Notes
1960 Election
• R.M. Nixon v. J.F. Kennedy
• Obstacles for Kennedy….– Age– Religion
• Promises…• Liberal
Consensus…
The Kennedy Cabinet• “The Best and the Brightest”
• McGeorge Bundy – NSA
• Robert McNamara – Secretary of Defense
• Dean Rusk-
– Sec. of State
• RFK- Attorney
General
Kennedy’s New Frontier..
• Higher minimum wage
• Greater federal aid to education
• Increased Social Security
• Medical care for the elderly
• Support for public housing
• Anti-poverty measures – influenced by Michael Harrington’s The Other America
Successes….
• Slight increase in minimum wage• Modest expansion of Social Security• Higher Education Act 1963• NASA….• Commission on the Status of Women
– Equal Pay Act of 1963
Race to the Moon• In April, 1961 the USSR put the first man in
space, Yuri Gagarin
• JKF increased funding to NASA, $33 billion by 1969
• Cape Canaveral and Houston Space Center were built
• JFK pledged to go to the moon by the end of the 1960’s
• Universities expanded science programs, new industries and technologies emerged
JFK and Civil Rights• At first wanted to avoid the issue – too
controversial
• RFK was ordered to investigate racial injustices in the South
• He sent federal troops to desegregate Old Miss (James Meredith)
• He sent federal marshals during the Freedom Rides
• Sent a Civil Rights bill to Congress in 1963
Kennedy on CR?
• Appointed approx. 40 African Americans to high federal positions
• Thurgood Marshall apptd. to federal appellate court
• Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity – fight discrimination in federal civil service and in corporations with government contracts
• Invigorate CR division of Dept. of Justice
Failures….
• Over 300 bills sent to Congress – less than 50% passed
• Congress rejected federal aid for :– Medical care for the elderly, education,
cities, and mass transportation
• Reasons? Close election – Kennedy doesn’t have a mandate and opposition from southern democrats and conservative republicans
JFK’s Domestic Legacy?
• Strengthened executive branch
• White House staff appointed by the President made many key decisions…
Kennedy’s Foreign Policy?
• Shifted from aggressive containment to efforts at easing tensions
• At first built up nuclear and conventional weapons
• Increased defense budget
• Created elite force – Special Forces – Green Berets to supplement CIA covert operations
Peace Corps
• Young volunteers • Sent to third world
nations for 2 years• Provide technical
support and educational assistance
• Epitomized Kennedy’s ideal of service by idealistic youth
• Peace Corps – 35,000 volunteers in 60 nations
• Alliance for Progress – offered economic and technical assistance to Latin American countries ($20 billion in aid) – A Marshall Plan for Latin America
Kennedy and Vietnam…
• Pursued containment
• Supported the Diem against southern Vietnamese insurgents – Vietcong
• Sent Green Berets and military advisors
• 1963 sent 16,000 support and combat troops to support Diem
• Diem’s regime corrupt – failed to win support of the people
Kennedy and Vietnam…
• South Vietnamese army continued to disintegrate
• 1963 with knowledge of the CIA – a group of Vietnamese generals assassinated Diem and his top advisers
• South Vietnam will be ruled by a series of generals for the duration of the war
Berlin Wall?
• 1961 – JFK met with Khrushchev in Vienna to discuss the future of Germany
• Khrushchev wanted a permanent division and to force U.S. out of W. Berlin
• 3 million East Germans had fled to W. Berlin since end of WWII
• Kennedy tried to stand up to him – asked Congress for increased defense funding
• Soviets built the wall
The Assassination of JFK…
• Dallas, Texas – November 22, 1963
• Accused killer – Lee Harvey Oswald
• Two days later – Oswald shot and killed on national T.V. by Jack Ruby
• Chief Justice Earl Warren appointed to head a commission to investigate the killing – Warren Commission said Oswald was the lone gunman
What was LBJ’s path to power?
• From Texas
• 1937 – New Deal Congressman
• FDR helped him secure key committee assignments
• 1948 – Senator from Texas
• 1955 Senate majority leader
LBJ’s path to power…
• Master politician – very persuasive• Knew how to handle Congress to
secure passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957
• Chosen by Kennedy family to be Vice President…..
• Given the Oath of Office aboard Air Force One….
How did Johnson complete Kennedy’s agenda?
• Kennedy was the inspiration to solve world and national problems
• Johnson – got the job done
–Tax cut bill
–Civil rights bill
Tax Cut
• February 1964 tax reduction of over $10 billion passed into law
• Spurred economic growth….• People spent more• More profit for business• Increased tax revenues• Lowered deficit from $6 billion to 4 billion• It worked!!!!
What was LBJ’s role on Civil Rights?
• After Kennedy shot – Johnson pledged to carry on his work
• Used his political skill to see that Kennedy’s bill was passed
• Passed in the House – filibustered in Senate
• Johnson ended filibuster and Kennedy’s bill became the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Prohibited discrimination because of race, religion, national origin, and gender
• Gave all citizens the right to enter libraries, parks, washrooms, restaurants, theaters and all public places
• Gave government more power to desegregate and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Violence in northern cities?
• Centuries of de facto segregation had produced social and economic inequalities
• Slums, high unemployment, poor schools all contributed to desperation
• Aggressive Police was a point of contention• In July 1964, a race riot erupted in Harlem
after a 15 year old black student was killed • On Aug. 11th, 1965 the worst riot erupted in
Watts, Los Angeles
• Watts- 34 deaths, $200 million in damages
• Detroit 1967 – 43 deaths, $40 million in property damages
• In 1966 and 67 more than 100 riots and violent clashes took place
• Newark, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Phila., Cleveland, and Dayton
What caused race riots and the destruction?
• Heightened expectations from the civil rights movement and LBJ’s promises in the Great Society that were not realized
• “White Racism” poverty, police brutality • The Kerner Commission recommended
extensive public housing, integrated schools, 2 million new jobs, and a national system of income supplementation
Malcolm X and Black Consciousness
• Malcolm Little joined The Nation of Islam when he was in prison and changed his name to Malcolm X
• Preached Elijah Muhammad’s views that whites were the cause of the problem and black should separate from society
• Preached black supremacy• Received media attention which resulted
in resentment from other Nation of Islam members
• In March of 1964 - broke with the Nation and went on the pilgrimage to Mecca
• Malcolm X returned and preached an extremely moderate message, found a new tolerant Muslim organization and proposed working with Dr. MLK
• On Feb. 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam
What was Johnson’s agenda?
• War on Poverty • Create a Great Society• Economic Opportunity Act - 1964
– Job Corps Youth Training Program– VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America)– Project Head Start– Community Action Program – encouraged
poor people to participate in public works programs
The Election of 1964
• Republican nominated Barry Goldwater of Arizona– Conservative– Attacked Social
Security and TVA– Suggested use of
nuclear weapons in Vietnam and Cuba
Johnson’s victory…
• Most Americans in tune with LBJ– Agreed that government should help solve
nation’s problems
• LBJ played on people’s fears– Goldwater favored more intervention in
Vietnam– LBJ assured that he would not send more
troops
Results of the election…
• LBJ won by a landslide– 61% of the popular vote– 486 electoral votes
• Goldwater – 52 electoral votes
• Democrats increased majority of Congress– LBJ no longer needed help of Southern
Democrats to pass legislation
Johnson’s Vision for America
• The Great Society
• End poverty and racial injustice
• Higher standard of living and equal opportunity
• By end of presidency – enacted 206 measures
Johnson introduces Great Society
“. . The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning. . . "
Elements of the Great Society…
• Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
– $1 billion in federal aid
–Textbooks and library materials
• Medicare…
• Medicaid…
Housing….
• Money for 240,000 units of low-rent public housing
• Aid to low and moderate income families to buy homes
• Creation of Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Appointment of Robert Weaver as head of HUD – 1st African American in Cabinet
Immigration Act of 1965
• Ended quotas based on nationality
• Reversed immigration laws of the 1920s
• Opened the door for non-European immigrants to come to the U.S.
LBJ Expanded the Conflict in Vietnam
• After Diem’s death the South was unstable
• LBJ felt US creditability is at stake and he did not want to give in to communist aggression
• Remembered Truman’s “loss of China”
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
• In August 1964, a North Vietnamese gun boat fired a torpedo at The USS Maddox
• Two days later the Maddox and another destroyer opened fire on the North
• The USS Maddox had been collecting information off the coast of N. Vietnam
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• Johnson asked Congress for permission to extend bombing into North Vietnam
• Congress adopted the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave LBJ broad military powers in Vietnam – the equivalent of a blank check in Vietnam
The Reality?
• LBJ had prepared the resolution months before hand
• Public was not aware that we had been conducting raids against N. Vietnam
• Commander of one of the Am. Destroyers not really sure an attack had taken place
Operation Rolling Thunder
• Limited bombing had failed to slow movement of communists across the border to S.V.
• Government in S.V. near collapse• Vietcong fired on U.S. Marine base –
killing 8 marines and wounding 100+• Reprisal against N. Vietnam• Campaign of gradually intensifying air
raids
Escalation…
• In March 1965 LBJ began sending troops• Sec. of State advised LBJ to deploy
troops• By June of 1965, 50,000 US troops were
fighting in Vietnam• By the end of 1965, 180,000 US troops
were sent to Vietnam• By 1967 there were 500,000 US troops in
Vietnam
War of Attrition?
• General William Westmoreland• Bombing would exhaust N.V. resources• U.S. ground forces defeat the Vietcong
in S.V.• VC defect and supporters scatter• Restore political stability to South
Vietnam
War of Attrition?
• US bombers pounded VC and North Vietnamese positions
- Napalm and Agent Orange
• VC would not surrender
- high casualties
- North supplied by China and USSR
• By 1967 - 3 million refugees due to US Seek and Destroy missions
Credibility Gap?
“We are not about to send American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.”
Credibility Gap?
• Americans viewed scenes of the war on T.V.
• Told that we were defending freedom• Saw human suffering• Read about bombing of population centers
and destruction of southern villages• Told that we were winning the war but
casualty figures mounted to 800/month in 1967
Senator J. William Fullbright
• Chaired Senate Foreign Relations Committee
• Criticized the war
• Called for a negotiated withdrawal