kennedy 1961 - 1963 Flashcards
election
Kennedy war hero – while serving in Navy, a Japanese destroyer rammed his ship and Kennedy recued many of his crew mates.
He also addressed his weaknesses – his Catholicism threatened his campaign in the bible belt – he spoke to protestant ministers and promised a separation of church and state however people believe Catholicism cost him 1.5 million votes
call JFK placed to Martin Luther King Jrs wife when he was imprisoned in Atlanta sit in. This was part of an orchestrated plan to win the African American vote and was heavily promoted in the black press. – he took the black vote by 70:30.
The first ever televised debate 6 weeks before the election also helped Kennedy
TV audience of 74 million thought Kennedy won
domestic policy
The ‘new Frontier’
economy -
new housing act created 420,000 construction jobs.
The increased minimum wage also put 175 million into American workers pockets.
200 million was spent on extra welfare benefits that applied to 750,000 children,
780 million in increased unemployment benefits helped 3 million unemployed American’s get back on their feet.
Welfare – social security benefits were increased by 20%
school lunch act provided free lunches and free milk for poor children.
Food stamp programme was launched which fed a quarter of a million people.
increase in funding for foster care and the disabled.
In total the benefits system was extended to cover 5 million more Americans.
. Healthcare –
new universal healthcare bill for the elderly (Medicare) was introduced along with funding for Nursing homes and healthcare for migrant workers. Millions of children were vaccinated through the social security act 1963 and more attention was given to those with learning and physical disabilities.
Also introduced food, drug and cosmetic act of 1963 which tightened federal regulations on therapeutic drugs.
Housing - urban renewal grants went up from 2 mill to 4 mill, 100,000 new homes created while urban open spaces were protected
Environment – clean air act 1963, expanded the national park system and doubled funding for the prevention of water pollution
Civil rights – bill introduced in 1963, voter education project launched 1962, new gov agency, committee on equal employment opportunity. Discrimination in public housing prohibited and the interstate commerce commission was forced to desegregate interstate travel.
Space race- arranged for 9 bill to be given to NASA – to put man on moon by end of the 60, 6 astronauts put in space during his presidenc
Women’s rights - established presidential commission on the status of women 1961 and invited Eleanor Roosevelt to chair it. – its report ‘American women’ recommended maternity leave, childcare provisions. Equal pay act 1963- allowed 171,00 women to reclaim pay amounting to 84 million over the next 10 years.
foreign policy
berlin - August 1961 barbed wire was put up followed by a wall. Kennedy was calm about this citing a wall is better than a war – he was not criticised in America
1959 – Fidel Castro took over Cuba – now a socialist country was less than 100 miles from Florida. - – the Bay of Pigs 1961 was a fiasco – majority of exiles were captured – made Kennedy seem weak. Khrushev decided to push US harder and got closer with Cuba – 1962 placing soviet missiles in Cuba.
The Cuban Missile Crisis – 13 days of tense negotiation to try and get soviet missiles removed from Cuba – Kennedy had to promise not to invade Cuba and to dismantle missiles in turkey. The public were not made aware of removal of missiles.
hotline also set up
vietnam - By 1960, south mistreatment of buddhists mistreatment led the Communist North to encourage rebellion in the south in hope of re-unifying the country.
At the start of Kennedys administration there were 800 American military advisers in the south but by 1963 there were 23,000 in addition to the 250,000 strong south Vietnamese army under diem.
‘strategic hamlets’ which involved moving Vietnamese peasants from their villages to fortified ones protected by the south away from the Vietcong influence
Diems persecution of the Buddhist majority resulted in the self-immolation of a Buddhist monk in 1963 which bought international criticism of the US role
civil rights
JFK used his executive power effectively, creating 5 black federal judges including Thurgood Marshall,
while Robert Kennedy at the justice department brought 57 suits against violations of black voting rights in the south compared to just 6 in Ikes 8 years.
Sit ins - Much of the youth began protesting – they would go to a segregated restaurant and sit in ‘whites only’ seats - Within a month 50,000 students in 30 venues across 7 states replicated the protest drawing media attention and violent reactions particularly in the most organised example Nashville.
Sit Ins also gave birth to a new group – the student Non-violent co-ordinating committee (SNCC)
JFK secured the release of king from prison
Freedom rides – in the spring of 1961 13 riders led by CORE director James’s farmer set out from Washington to New Orleans to test the success of the court’s decision Boynton vs Virginia. - ride prompted violence particularly at Aniston. TV images of defiant but badly beaten riders like Jim Zwerg and James peck were broadcast globally.
bobs negotiated with governors to protect the riders
60 further rides involving 300 riders (75% male) made their way to Jackson Mississippi where everyone was arrested. 1 November 1961 ICC issued instructions for desegregation
the Albany campaign - sit ins but libraries, parks, and buses too. However, they fell victim to the police chief Laurie Pritchett who saw that violence led to media attention, so they policed it peacefully – this frustrated the SNCC and the protests stagnated leading to local groups inviting king – this annoyed the SNCC who felt king was coming in to sweep the glory. King was arrested by Pritchard did not want him to receive media attention so released king and king left to concentrate in other areas.
James Meredith – NAACP led court case to allow him to enrol in the uni of Mississippi - . Riots followed this decision whereby 2 people were killed, and bobs bought in 500 US marshals to keep order. Meredith graduated in 1963.
Kennedy administration also federalised the national guard in Alabama to force Wallace to step aside and allow black students in.
proactive campaign by the SCLC in Birmingham in April 1963. Was nicknamed ‘bombingham’ for its Klan activity. Campaign of marches, sit ins and boycotts. King was arrested and his wife contacted the Kennedy administration, and he was released. - police used clubs, dogs, and fire hoses – the shocking images made front page news. Bobs sent burke Marshall to negotiate the start of desegregating facilities.
March on Washington- 1963 over 200,000 people in CR rally -
Opposition – general population – would turn into Mob when riled or manipulated- hazel massery pictured hurling abuse at Elizabeth Eckford during the little rock crisis. William Zantzinger who murder of black waitress was immortalised in a bob Dylan song.
No legislation enacted during JFK but a CR Bill was introduced. He failed to keep promise on housing, continued to appoint racist judges and failed to give EEOC financial support.
usa by 1963
JFK sought to improve image of US with programmes like ‘food for peace’
By end of 1962 economic issues seemed to be main area of weakness for JFK in his campaign for re-election. Unemployment stubbornly remained at 6% and the stock market had failed to recover after losing a quarter of its value in the last 2 years
By 1966 measures that JFK began saw the economy growing at a rate of 6.6% and unemployment had fallen to 3.8%. JFK had increased the minimum wage, expanded unemployment benefits, and continued ikes spending on highway construction whilst also lowering taxes.
however that his Medicare programme had unintended consequences – medical costs were driven up by hospitals who knew they would be reimbursed by government
1963 that although women made up half the workforce 95% of managers were men and only 4% of lawyers and 7% of doctors were women. Women also made only around 55% of the wages of men doing the same work.
significant development during JFK was the publishing of betty Freidan’s book the feminine mystique.
Kennedy introduced an ‘equal pay act’ as part of his new frontier signed in June 1963. The act banned sexual discrimination in many, but not all, professions in terms of wages but made no mention of the equal rights amendment
. Gangs began to develop in major cities eg black gangs in LA and harlem. Also some linked to fashion like the Greasers. The politicisation of young people was a key feature in JFK presidency – his own youth made it seem like anything possible,
