Kennedy (Domestic) Flashcards
Election victory
The election was a narrow victory:
Father- supported appeasement of the nazis and suggesting buying the presidency for his son.
Religion- Kennedy was Catholic and there were many anti-catholics
Youth- Kennedy was young and had film star looks which attracted people
Campaign- ‘lets get the country moving
again’ contrasting to Ike’s stagnation
Eisenhower’s errors
Didn’t particularly support Nixon’s campaign:
-He was to busy defending his own record from Kennedy’s attacks
Made 2 policy that damaged Nixon’s candidacy:
1. Agreed on huge spending cuts coupled with the Federal Reserve it created a recession
2. Refused to refute Kennedy’s false accusations that there was a missile gap which favoured the Soviets. As Khrushchev would have furthered a missile build up.
Nixon’s error’s
-He didn’t let Eisenhower campaign for him until October 1960
-Nixon rejected Eisenhower‘s advice over TV debates with Kennedy. Nixon was already well known and it would simply give Kennedy free advertising
-During a debate Kennedy seemed relaxed while Nixon was tired and recovering from an infection. Sweat messed up Nixon’s makeup making him look unappealing.
African American vote
70:30 in favour of JFK
-Kennedy interceded when MLK was convicted for a probation violation after participating in a sit in an Atlanta.
-Robert Kennedy made a phone calls that helped hasten MLK release.
-MLK told is he owed a great debt of gratitude to Senator Kennedy
-Kennedy defeat in Nixon by less than 1% of the popular vote a margin of victory highlighted the importance of African-Americans support.
New Frontier
-Space and science
-Ignorance and Prejudice
-Poverty
-Peace and War
Poverty
-he promised if elected he wouldn’t be indifferent to poverty as the Eisenhower ministration had been.
Kennedy Administration
Nepotism: Robert Kennedy the president’s brother became attorney general. However, he had never practice law.
-Kennedy surrounded himself with brilliant academics.
Overall Kennedy’s man had a little experiencing governing. Johnson was a legislative expert, but Kennedy didn’t want to be seen as reliance on his expertise.
Domestic policies
-Area redevelopment act 1961: Granted employment opportunities in poorer states and created 26,000 new jobs that benefited 15,000 people. Help millions get back on their feet.
(-) 5 million Americans remained unemployed
-Manpower development and training act 1962: Trained the unemployed.
(-) granted subsidies to private interests to train people rather than decreasing unemployment
-Social Security Act: Expanded benefits for elderly and disabled people (Medicare)
-Minimum wage Act: Increased the minimum wage from $1-$1.25. This covered an additional 3.6million workers
(-) 1/2 a million remained uncovered.
-Omnibus Housing Act: gave low cost loans to struggling middle income families
(-) designed to help developers and construction unions more than the poor
-Food & Agriculture Act 1962: Granted subsidies to Farmers
(-) Rural poverty persisted
-Food Stamp programme: Gave meals to 240,000 people at a cost of $22m per year
-Extend Eisenhower’s School Lunch Programme: An additional 700,000 children could now have a hot school meal.
-Education Act 1963: expansion of scholarships and student loans
-Equal pay act 1963: 171,000 women to reclaim pay accounting to $84 million over the next 10 years.
-Civil rights Bill 1963:
-CEEO was established a new government agency
-Discrimination in public housing was prohibited
-ICC was forced to segregate interstate travel.
Space Race: Kennedy arrange for an additional $9 billion to be given to NASA for the purpose of putting a man on the moon.
Legislative failures
-Federal aid for elementary and secondary education -rejected seen a state responsibility
-Senior citizen healthcare to alleviate poverty which many elderly people suffered because of medical bills -rejected seen as too left-wing
-civil rights bill to end Jim Crow in the south remains stuck in Congress at time of Kennedy’s death
Economy
-There were frequent slowdown in economic growth
-In 1963 poll, Americans put inflation and unemployment which average 5 to 7% on the list of major concerns
Race and Ethnic poverty
White flight and the African American great migration changed the nature of big cities
American cities became increasingly characterised by large ghettos:
-Poor housing
-Lack of good schools and amenities
Poverty and white unwillingness to live alongside African Americans and the discrimination of financial practices made escaping ghettos difficult
Youth
Growth of young people as a result of the consumer boom led to:
-A voice in the form of music, fashion and film to express their discontent
-Gangs began to develop in major cities
-Formation of SNCC in 1960 was one of the first instances of organised youth protest
SDS and The new left
SDS was inspired by socialists and the student participation in civil rights movements.
-representatives of SDS SNCC and CORE
urged students to:
-Change the political and social system
-Liberate the poor and racial minorities
-Support a peaceful foreign policy
SDS called for participatory democracy
Women
Women’s magazines and advertisement frequently promoted domesticity as the norm and the ideal.
Many girls were encouraged to play with dolls and to downplay their intellectual capacity.
Betty Friedan:College graduate
-Drew the attention to the dissatisfaction of many middle-class housewives
-Urged women to break out of the camp and fulfilled their potential through education and work
-Women like economic equality in 1963 and most remained in low pay jobs such a waitresses cleaners shops assistance, or secretaries.
-Educated women were expected to choose female occupations
Women constituted 80% of teachers but only 10% of principles 7% of the doctors and 3% of lawyers
-18 states refused to allow female jurors
-Schools fired pregnant teachers
-Financial agreement could only be made with make co-signatory
Women encounter discrimination and sexual harassment in civil rights organisations such as SNCC and SDS.
Equal Rights Amendment was introduced in every congressional hearing but rarely made floor of the house.
Freedom Rides
-Attempted to integrate interstate bus travel.
-In the north buses were integrated, but in the south they remain segregated despite the Supreme Court ruling.
7 black and 6 white riders set out to test the success of the courts ruling it they made it to new Orleans without an incident it would prove progress was being made.
- The ride prompted violence and TV images of badly beaten riders were aired globally with particular glee in the soviet union.
-Robert Kennedy demanded that ICC enforced their own ruling on desegregation of interstate buses
ICC issued instructions ending segregation in interstate travel. CORE campaign had been a huge success gaining international attention
