Kennedy (1961-1963) Flashcards
1
Q
1960 election details:
A
- closest in 20th century
- only 119,450 votes between candidates
- margin of 0.17% popular vote to JFK
- Kennedy (43) vs Nixon (47)
2
Q
How did Eisenhower damage Nixon’s campaign
A
- after 1959 budget deficit of $13 billion, he agreed o. huge budget cuts - ignored Nixon and led to recession
- refused to refute accusations that there was a missile gap, making Nixon’s defence campaign look weak
3
Q
1960 election: Nixon’s strengths
A
- 13 years experience in congress (8 years VP)
- anti-Communist rep
- non-privileged background
- pledged to campaign in every state
- strong Californian support (home state)
4
Q
1960 election: Nixon’s weaknesses
A
- didn’t let Eisenhower campaign for him until October 1960 (6 weeks before election)
- rejected advice for TV debates
- Eisenhower blamed Nixons running mate (Henry Cabot Lodge) for losing southern white votes by promising black cabinet member
5
Q
1960 election: JFK’s strengths
A
- war hero
- young and charismatic
- 13 years experience in congress (7 years senate)
- strong support from northern democrats and catholicism
- appealed to African-americans
- chose Johnson as VP
- father’s wealth and political connections
6
Q
1960 election: JFK’s weaknesses
A
- Catholicism believed to have cost him 1.5 million votes (eased worries by meeting with protestant ministers in Houston 2 months before election)
- many believed father was trying to buy the presidency
- his youth made him seem unexperienced to some
7
Q
what did the election come down to in who should win?
A
- presentation: JFK prepared obsessively for TV debate
- economy and Cold War: JFK outlined not everyone had access to American Dream + Nixon didn’t defend Eisenhower’s economic successes
- JFK call to Loretta King after MLK was imprisoned after Atlanta sit in courted black votes
- Kennedy made effective use of merchandiser and photo ops with wife Jackei
8
Q
Kennedy administration: Lyndon Baines Johnson
A
- Had served for 24 years in congress
- balanced the ticket as a Southerner
9
Q
Kennedy administration: Sargent Shriver
A
- Kennedy’s brother-in-law and trained lawyer
- driving force behind peace corps
- ambassador to France 1968-70 and ran as VP in George McGovern’s 1972 campaign
10
Q
Kennedy administration: Robert McNamara
A
- headhunted from role as head of ford
- had taught accountancy at Harvard
- headed the department of defence
- favoured military intervention
10
Q
Kennedy administration: Robert McNamara
A
- headhunted from role as head of ford
- had taught accountancy at Harvard
- headed the department of defence
- favoured military intervention
11
Q
Kennedy administration: Dean Rusk
A
- Secretary of State under JFK and Johnson
- difficult relationship with JFK (K felt the state of department offered little)
- offered to resign when JFK died but LBJ refused
12
Q
Kennedy administration: McGeorge Bundy
A
- former intelligence officer in WW2 and professor of Gov at Harvard
- served as national security adviser 1961-66
- advocated escalation in Vietnam
13
Q
Kennedy administration:
Bobby Kennedy
A
- JFK’s younger brother
- ran JFK’s election campaign
- served as senator of New York 1965-68 before assassinated in 1968
14
Q
Kennedy’s aims:
A
- saw himself as foreign policy president
- determined to make name for himself and US on the global stage
- had made promises to African Americans in campaign so had domestic plans too
- part of the liberal democratic tradition in improving quality of life for Americans + address failures of new deal
- came up with ‘new frontier’ aimed at achieving equality of opportunity
- similar to west frontier of 19th century
15
Q
New frontier: economy
A
- aimed to create better paid jobs
- introduced New Housing Act: created 420,000 construction jobs
- increased minimum wage to $1.25: $175 million into American workers pockets
- $200 million spent on extra welfare: applied to 750,000 children
- $780 million in increased unemployment benefits helped 3 million Americans find jobs
- funded by effective tax reforms: cut both corporate and individual taxes, attempting to stimulate spending and investment which would create more jobs
16
Q
New Frontier: workers
A
- wanted to ensure workers were protected
- 1962 executive order: provided federal employees with collective bargaining rights
- 1962 contract work hours and safety standards act
- 1961 fair labor standards act
- programmes placed young people in jobs and training to protect them from being underpaid in the service and retail industries
- 2 million jobs brought
- but 500,000 poorest people weren’t covered e.g. African American women
- program was poorly funded by congress: 5 million remained unemployed
17
Q
New Frontier: welfare
A
- Kennedy’s attempt to eradicate poverty
- benefits were increased by 20%
- School Lunch Act provided free lunches and milk for poor school children
- food stamp programme launched: fed 250,000 people
- federal retirement benefits linked to the consumer price index: bonus for retired government workers
- increased funding for foster care and disabled
- overall benefits covered 5 million workers
- the 1962 omnibus housing act: gave $5 million for extension of public house schemes
18
Q
New Frontier: Health
A
- went further than any other president before him in moving towards a system of universal healthcare
- Medicare (healthcare bill for elderly) introduced
- funding for nursing homes and healthcare for migrant workers introduced
- social security act 1963: millions of children vaccinated, more attention to those with learning and physical disabilities
- food, drug and cosmetic act 1963: tightened federal regulations on therapeutic drugs
- medicare bill was rejected in congress in 1963
19
Q
New frontier: education
A
- vocational act 1963: increase vocational training and the expansion of scholarships and student loans
- Educational television facilities act 1962: gov provided grants to construct new facilities for those training to be healthcare providers and supplied loans of $2000 per annum for training
- congress rejected federal financial aid to elementary and secondary education in 1961
- congress also reluctant to give money due to states controlling education which would have been allocated unequally in some states due to civil rights
20
Q
New Frontier: housing
A
- his hosing programme wastage for JFK
- $3.19 million was spent focused on low income families and the retired
- urban renewal grants went up from $2m to $4 + 100,000 new homes built
21
Q
New Frontier: Civil Rights
A
- civil rights bill introduced 1963
- voter education project launched April 1962
- CEED (Committee on equal opportunity) established March 1961
- discrimination in public housing was prohibited
- interstate commerce commission (ICC) was forced to desegregate interstate travel
22
Q
The New Frontier: women’s rights
A
- established presidential commission on the status of women, December 1961 and invited Eleanor Roosevelt (FR’s granddaughter) to chair it
- ‘American Women’ issued in 1963: highlighted the degree of discrimination against the workforce
- recommended maternity leave, affordable child care provision and hiring practices that promoted equality
- signed Equal Pay Act in June 1963, four months before the report, which allowed 171,000 women to reclaim pay, amounting to $84 million in the next 10 years
23
Q
Failures of New Frontier
A
- foreign policy concerns dominated much of his time
- loss of faith from the southern democrats over civil rights
- opposition from the republicans in congress = difficult for Kennedy to push through are major legislative
- Kennedy remembered as style of substance
- Johnson pushed any legislative changes after Kennedy was assassinated e.g. great society
24
Q
relations with Khrushchev
A
- Kennedy and Khrushchev met first time Vienna June 1962 to discuss problem with Berlin, Cuba and Laos
- us support of right wing gov was holding back communist organisation the Pathet Lao
- Khrushchev apparently had ‘savaged’ him but Kennedy stood firm
- he thought Kennedy was likeable but naive
25
Q
Initial crisis over Berlin
A
- 1949-1958: over 2M East Germans fled to west Germany
- July 1961 alone 30,000 had fled
- 13th August 1961, barbed wire put along the border and wall, anyone who crossed was imprisoned or shot
26
Q
Kennedy’s response to the Berlin Wall
A
- he was relatively calm, said it was better than war
- he wasn’t criticised by the media or republicans
- only seen as a crisis in Germany
- JFK instructed Dean Rusk to exploit for propaganda as far as possible
- Khrushchev thought Kennedy was a coward as he didn’t try to stop construction
- June 1963: Kennedy travelled to West Berlin and gave ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ speech to 450,000 people, stressing US commitment to freedom across the world
- Berlin remained divided for 36 more years, but tensions were eased in Europe
27
Q
Issues with Cuba: context
A
- January 1959: Finel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista (US backed dictator of Cuba): meant socialist country was less than 100 miles from Florida
- Castro nationalised hundreds of American businesses and allies of Batista fled to US
- Castro feared US may overthrow him
- Eisenhower failed to address Cuba but had instructed a plan to overthrow Castro with cuban exiles
- Castro humiliated US by travelling to a UN meeting and meeting Khrushchev, Nasser, and Malcom X talking of racism and poverty
- Eisenhower didn’t react with only 3 months of presidency left
28
Q
Cuba: Bay of Pigs
A
- Kennedy inherited Eisenhower’s CIA plan and authorised it
- April 1961: big failure
- majority of 1,600 exiles captured by 20,000 cubans
Kennedy humiliated but received an 82% approval - made Khrushchev believe Kennedy was naive even more so
- Khrushchev formed closer trading relationship with Castro
- October 1962: Khrushchev placed soviet missiles on Cuba: brought US citizens in the range of soviet missiles for the first time
