JFK and LBJ - New Frontier and Great Society Flashcards
When did JFK become President?
JFK was elected in November 1960. He was known as the ‘TV President’ as people who watched his Debates on (With rival candidate Richard M Nixon) believed he won - whilst Radio listeners thought Nixon won the debate. The TV turned politics VISUAL - JFK looked Younger, more energetic and powerful and this is why he was likely elected.
What were JFK’s policy ideas called?
The New Frontier - Called this because FDR had the ‘New Deal’ and Harry S Truman (The Democratic President from 1945-1952) had called his ideas the ‘Fair Deal’.
New Frontier Policies included:
Healthcare and decreasing poverty – JFK increased the minimum hourly wage from $1 to $1.25 and made $4.9 billion available for loans to improve housing, clear slums and build roads. His Social Security Act improved benefits for the elderly and unemployed.
The economy – JFK cut taxes to give people more money to spend. He made $900 million available to businesses to create new jobs and gave grants to companies to buy new high-tech equipment and train their workers to use it. He also increased government spending on the armed forces, creating jobs.
What happened June 11th 1963
June 11th 1963: US President JFK says segregation is morally wrong and that it is “time to act”
From his Speech: “We preach freedom around the world and we mean it. And we cherish our freedom here at home. But are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other, that this is the land of the free except for the Negroes, that we have no second-class citizens, except Negroes, that we have no class or caste system, no ghettos, no master race except with respect to Negroes?”
Martin Luther King, Jr. called the speech “one of the most eloquent, profound, and unequivocal pleas for Justice and Freedom of all men ever made by any President.”
How did LBJ become President?
Lyndon B Johnson was the new President following the assassination of JFK in Dallas, November 1963.
LBJ continued to develop JFKs ideas. Johnson wanted to create a ‘Great Society’ (The name of his policy plan). He won the 1964 election by stating that he wanted to end poverty. He carried on the work promised by JFK. Johnson was a much more experienced politician than Kennedy and could pass more laws.
What were some important ideas and laws of the ‘Great Society’?
Civil Rights – 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed - The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment, and discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement.
First proposed by President John
F. Kennedy, it survived strong opposition from southern members of Congress and was then signed into law LBJ.
Healthcare and decreasing poverty – The Medical Care Act (1965) provided Medicare (for the old) and Medicaid (for the poor).
This was to help all Americans have access to medical care. He increased the minimum wage from $1.25 to $1.40. Johnson signed the economic Opportunity Act in 1964. The law created the Office of Economic Opportunity aimed at attacking the roots of American poverty.
