Unit 13: Chapters 38
The Stormy Sixties, 1960-1968 Kennedy's "New Frontier" - The young President replaces the old guard. He immediately runs into problems in the Cold War causing him to put his domestic program on the shelf. In his inaugural address Kennedy pledges that the U.S. will land a man on the moon before the end of the decade (1969) and tells Americans to "ask not what your country can do for you, ask yourself what you can do for your country." New President, Old Plan - When John F. Kennedy took office he put together the Alliance for Progress, a Good Neighbor policy designed to bolster and smooth relations between Latin America and the U.S. There was fear that communism would rise as it had in Cuba under Fidel Castro in 1959. Kennedy inherited a plan from the Eisenhower administration in which the CIA would back several hundred anticommunist Cuban exiles in an attempt to overthrow Castro. Known as the Bay of Pigs incident, Kennedy was criticized after the blunder for withdrawing air support for the attack. Castro would then partner with the Soviet Union to prevent a future invasion. The Symbol of the Cold War - West Berlin continued to be a thorn for the Soviets. Kennedy met with Khrushchev in June 1961 and came away calling up reserves for a possible defense of Berlin. Instead, on August 14, 1961, the people of West Berlin awoke to discover they had been walled in by the Soviets. When the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989 it signaled the end of the Cold War. Flare-Ups - Kennedy discovered that the policy of "massive retaliation" didn't work against minor brushfires like Laos. However, he could not just sit by and risk humiliation either. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara thus pushed for the strategy of "flexible response" with a variety of military options to choose from instead of simply nuclear annihilation. This doctrine would be applied in Vietnam where Kennedy increased the number of "military advisers" in late 1961. "We're all going to die" - In October 1962, U-2 spy flights over Cuba photographed the Soviets building SAM-2 missile sights, rockets capable of shooting down the U-2. The Soviets claimed they were purely defensive (true), but what are they trying to hide. Later missions photographed nuclear launch sites being built leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis. On October 22, 1962, Kennedy ordered a naval "quarantine" of Cuba and the immediate removal of the weapons. The world prepared for a nuclear holocaust between the two superpowers. On October 28 th Khrushchev, knowing he was outgunned, offered a face-saving compromise. The Soviets would dismantle the weapons on Cuba in exchange for an end to the quarantine and a guarantee that the U.S. would not invade Cuba. This was the closest (publicly) thing to WWIII. Fallout from Cuba - Kennedy will now be viewed as a hero in the U.S. and the west. But the reality of the crisis would cause him to push for a nuclear test-ban treaty. The humiliation of retreat would lead to Khrushchev's replacement by the hardliner Leonid Brezhnev and a buildup of Soviet nuclear capability to match the United States. Civil Rights Struggle - Kennedy had won the African-American vote by pledging to eliminate discrimination in housing, but was slow to react once in office. Like Ike, Kennedy had to call on federal marshals. The first time was to protect the Freedom Riders in 1961, then again in October 1962 in order to desegregate the University of Mississippi with James Meredith. The marshals and 3,000 soldiers suppress riots. In the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. launched a campaign against discrimination in Birmingham, AL. The nation was appalled watching news reports of the peaceful demonstrators being attacked with police dogs, cattle prods, and high-pressure hoses. In August, MLK led 200,000 demonstrators in the March on Washington where he delivered the "I have a dream" speech. In October, Alabama Governor George Wallace stood in the doorway of the U of A (symbolically) to prevent blacks from entering. Troops sent, etc. etc.
Bennett 2008
Unit 13: Chapters 38
Assassination brings LBJ - Kennedy was killed in Dallas on November 22, 1963, an event never fully explained. Lyndon Baines Johnson, who first went to Washington in 1937, declared a "War on Poverty" and called his welfare program and economic measures the Great Society. The Great Society Congress 1) Appropriation for the Office of Economic Opportunity was doubled to $2 billion. 2) Education Bill channeled aid to students not schools. 3) Medicare for the elderly (1965) 4) Two new cabinet posts: Dept. of Transportation and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD also had the first black cabinet member, Robert Weaver. Civil Rights continued - The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave the federal government more power to enforce orders and prohibit racial discrimination, but voting was still an issue. The South denied most blacks the right to vote by using 1) poll taxes, 2) literacy tests, and 3) intimidation. The 24th Amendment, passed in 1964, abolished the poll tax. The fight continued with the deaths of many Civil Rights workers. On August 6, 1965, LBJ signed the Voting Rights Act and sent federal voter registrars into several southern states. Black Rage - Protest began to take a more violent turn in 1965. The black community of Watts (near LA) erupted in riot just days after the VRA was passed. Early in 1965, black separatist Malcolm X was assassinated in New York. In 1966, Stokely Carmichael of the SNCC called for "Black Power" and giving up peaceful demonstration after his friend James Meredith (U of M) was murdered. Riots erupted in many large cities during the 60’s leading to the phrase Long Hot Summers.” The lowest point came on April 4, 1968, the day the MLK was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Election of 1968, WOW! - The Tet Offensive proved Vietnam was far from over. As the war was brought to television resistance in the U.S. increased. Senator Eugene McCarthy won the New Hampshire primary in March. On March 31 st, LBJ went on nationwide television to say that he was ending the escalation of Vietnam and stunned the audience by declaring he would NOT run for re-election. Robert Kennedy through his hat into the ring and built a large following. On the night of the California primary, June 5, 1968, he was assassinated by an Arab gunman (Sirhan Sirhan). The Democratic Party met in Chicago in August and nominated Vice-President Hubert Humphrey. Young, anti-war demonstrators provoked Chicago police into violence, again on television. The Republican convention went much smoother. They nominated 1960 loser Richard Nixon, unusual but he was the best candidate. A third candidate emerged from the South for the newly formed American Independent Party, George Wallace, yes, the same. Nixon (Rep.) 301 - 31,785,480 Humphrey (Dem.) 191 - 31,275,166 Wallace (Amer. Ind.) 46 - 9,906,473 Cultural Upheaval of the 1960s - a.k.a. Counterculture Everywhere in the 60s a new negative attitude towards all kinds of authority took hold. It had begun in the 50s and blossomed in the next decade. Sex, drugs, and rock n' roll became the anthem. A greater number of young people experimented with marijuana and other more powerful drugs like LSD. The birth-control pill and relaxed attitudes offered women more sexual freedom. Profanity and nudity became the norm rather than the exception in movie theaters. And movies took greater risks in the storyline (ex. The Graduate). As the rebels of the 60s aged their experiences led them to grow more and more conservative, thus the 1980s.
Bennett 2008