JFK election and new frontier

Question 1

Cabinet

Answer 1

the best and the brightest

Question 2

Theodore Soresen

Answer 2

superb speech writer, wrote articles in Kennedys name in his 1956 bestseller Profiles in Courage

Question 3

Attorney General

Answer 3

Bobby Kennedy, people disliked nepotism

Question 4

McGeorge

Answer 4

former Harvard Dean, National Security advisor

Question 5

LBJ

Answer 5

Far better grasp of congressional politics than anyone else

Question 6

Robert McNamara

Answer 6

Defence secretary, Republican, head-hunted by Kennedys

Question 7

Dean Rusk

Answer 7

Secretary of State and minister of foreign affairs. Kennedy described him as a ‘good errand boy’

Question 8

TV debate stats

Answer 8

70 million watched
4 mil said they made their mind up from it
3 mil said JFK
One poll said radio listeners preferred Nixon

Question 9

Campaign video

Answer 9

mentioned rights and had a subtle photo of black americans

Question 10

Kennedys father

Answer 10

had supported appeasement of Nazi Germany and people thought he was trying to buy his son the presidency

Question 11

Kennedy personality

Answer 11

Charmed press, worked the crowd, ‘film star looks’

Question 12

Campaign slogan

Answer 12

‘let’s get the country moving again’

Question 13

Nixon v JFK TV debate

Answer 13

Nixon was ill and wasn’t prepared for cameras, JFK had built a practice studio and worked with the lights, make up and angles

Question 14

Eisenhower presence in campaign

Answer 14

didn’t endorse Nixon, was asked for a ‘major idea’ of Nixon’s, he said ‘give me a week, I might think of one’
Refused to dismiss claims of missile gap because he couldn’t reveal the real number

Question 15

JFK and MLK election campaign

Answer 15

When MLK was arrested JFK called his wife and offered sympathy. Bobby made calls to help hasten his release which was ‘accidentally’ leaked to the press

Question 16

JFK contrast with Ike

Answer 16

focused his youth compared to Ikes, emphasised lack of American Dream under Ike, 7% unemployment, claimed 17mil people went to bed hungry everyday

Question 17

New frontier

Answer 17

reforms in welfare, space, peace, civil rights. Didn’t commit to anything ‘these are not a set of promises’ but a ‘set of challenges’

Question 18

Social Security and Amendments Act

Answer 18

1961 expanded benefits for elderly and disabled people

Question 19

Minimum Wage Act

Answer 19

Raised by 25 cents to $1.25. Additional 3.6 mil workers covered. Half a mil poorest left uncovered, 150,000 black female laundry workers

Question 20

Food and Agriculture Act

Answer 20

1962 Gave federal subsidies to farmers, rural poverty persisted

Question 21

Omnibus Housing Act

Answer 21

1961 Granted $5bil for extension of existing programmes like urban renewal and public housing. Authorised low interest loans for struggling middle-income families. Aimed to help developers, construction unions, democrat campaigners in cities rather than the poor

Question 22

Food Stamp Program

Answer 22

extended Ikes school lunch and milk programme. 85,000 more schools, childcare centres, camps received fresh milk. Fed 240,000 people, 700,000 more children could have hot lunch. Cost $22mil a year, doesn’t cover claimed 17mil hungry

Question 23

Area Redevelopment Act

Answer 23

1961 Granted $394mil for employment opportunities in poorer states like West Virginia. Created 26,000 jobs and training programmes that’s benefitted 15,000 people. Though, numbers don’t add up and still 5mil unemployed. Congress refused to reauthorise in 1963

Question 24

Manpower Development and Training Act

Answer 24

1962 Aimed to train and retrain unemployed workers because of technological changes. By Dec, 351 approved programmes, 12,600 trainees in 40 states. Though, mainly subsidised officials and private interests rather than decreasing unemployment

Question 25

Election results

Answer 25

303 to 219 electoral college votes Won by 112,827 votes 0.17% margin