The USA by 1963 Flashcards
1
Q
What was the result of the Cuban Missile Crisis
A
- relations with Khrushchev improved leading to the signing of the Limited Test Ban Treaty - banned testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, space and underwater
- Kremlin rivals began to see Khruschev’s policy of ‘peaceful co-existence’ as flawed and by 1964 he had been replaceed with Brezhnev
2
Q
How did Kennedy attempt to rebuild relations with Latin America to prevent Soviet inroads?
A
- creation of the Peace Corps by Sargent Shriver
- Alliance for Progress - signed in Uruguay in 1961 and promised $20billion of US aid over 10 years, establishing democratic governments, eliminating adult illiteracy and promoting land reform
- however, programme underfunded and Nixon dramatically reduced its budget
3
Q
What was the ‘food for peace’ programme?
A
- allowed poorer countries to buy surplus US crops in their own currency
- programme continues to operate today and has helped over 3billion people in 150 countries
4
Q
How did the CIA become more active under Kennedy?
A
- Bay of Pigs attack orchestrated by the CIA - led Kennedy to fire Allen Dulles as head of the organisation
- CIA removed leader of the Dominican Republic and forced the democratically elected leader in Ecuador to resign
- veil of secrecy and dependence on covert operations eroded faith in the US and made Kennedy seem like a hypocrite for talking of global peace
5
Q
What was the economy like when Kennedy came to power?
A
- benefitted from recessions of 1958 and 1960, which had damaged the Republican reputation for economic competence
- inherited a slow recovery and 6.8% unemployment
6
Q
Why was Kennedy’s relationship with business a difficult one?
A
- public dispute with the president of US steel Roger Blough over increased steel prices - reinforced impression Kennedy was anti-business
- US steel hit back by increasing prices and announcing it would explore the possibility of new factories abroad
7
Q
Why were economic issues the main weakness in Kennedy’s campaign for re-election?
A
- unemployment remained at 6%
- stock market failed to recover after losing 1/4 of its value in the last 2yrs
- ignored advice about costs of Medicare, leading Democrats to turn against it, ensuring its defeat in Senate
8
Q
What did Kennedy propose to improve the economy?
A
- huge cut in income tax and a cut in the corporate tax rate
- effect was swift with groth returning, despite bipartisan Republicans and conservative Democrats in Congress insisting reducing taxes without making spending cuts was unrealistic
- Kennedy disagreed, claiming that the increased spending from reducing taxes would make tax receipts rise too
- opinion polls showed over 60% of Americans favoured the tax cuts
9
Q
Was Kennedy’s pledge to ‘get America moving again’ successful?
A
- employment boom beginning and stocks were soaring
- Kennedy increased minimum wage, expanded unemployment benefits and continued Eisenhower’s
- federal budget deficit shrunk and the Dow Jones Industrial Average nearly doubled
10
Q
What did Eleanor Roosevelt persuade Kennedy to establish?
A
- former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt persuaded Kennedy to set up the Presidential Commission of the Status of Women
- reported in 1963 that despite the fact women made up 1/2 the workplace, 95% of managers were men and only 4% of lawyers and 7% of doctors were women
- women earned 55% of the wages of men when doing the same work
11
Q
What was the Feminine Mystique and what did it suggest?
A
- book written by Betty Friedan
- talked about how women had to give up jobs when men returned from war, and the resulting baby boom meant many women had little time or energy to think about what they had lost
12
Q
How did Kennedy contribute to the feminist movement?
A
- introduced Equal Pay Act to his New Frontier legislation
- banned sexual discrimination in the workplace in terms of wages
