To what extent was Kennedy’s New Frontier programme thwarted by Congressional opposition?

Question 1

P1
P2
P3

Answer 1

P1: YES- Failure to pass major legislative initiatives
P2: YES-Failure to resolve significant social issues
P3: NO- New frontier limted by his own mistakes

Question 2

P1 EVIDENCE

Answer 2

Congress was dominated by Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats who opposed federal expenditure and intervention in education and health insurance.

E1-Medicare
planned to increase social security taxes by 0/25% to help pay for Medicare for poor and elderly

The house ways and means committee,

Chairman Wilbur mills a southern democrat

killed of the measure by not discussing it enough in 1963

= Unable to achieve aim of allievatng poverty

-lack of control over congress

E2- Civil rights legelsation-while Southerners rejected measures to assist black ghettos.

• end jim crow laws in south
• stuck in congress at the time of Kennedy’s death in November 1963
• Howard smith a democrat and pro-segregationist form Virginia, indicated his intention to keep the bill bottled up

Question 3

P2-

Answer 3

E1 -Minimum wage act 1961-failed to tackle economic discrimination
-May 1961
$1 an hour to $2-Kennedy able to increase the minimum wage -
-Carl Vinson -Ensured certain groups of workers were excluded
-350,000 poorly paid workers, including 150,000 laundry workers work worked in hospitals schools, and other large institutions
-Black Americans

E2-training act 1962

provided job training for poorly educated

40 states
40 states- Appled for funding

12,500 trainees

little impact on unemployment as it mainly subsidized officials and private interests who provided the training rather than greatly decreasing the number of unemployed

conservative Southern Democrats who opposed federal expenditure and intervention in education and health insurance.

Question 4

P3

Answer 4

E1- feared unfavourable comparisons

• disliked the congressional bargaining= Vice-President Lyndon Johnson excelled
• therefore did not use Johnson’s legislative expertise
• relied upon inexperienced aides to promote his legislative agenda.

E2- focussed on keeping a ‘tight rein’ n’ on federal spending

• free trade and tax cuts as economic growth was key to Kennedy’s agenda.
• changes to the welfare system- ncouraging people on welfare to get to work.
• economic recovery by cutting back regulation on domestic energy production, cutting tariffs to encourage other countries to buy American products and introduce tax cuts.