Kennedy & Johnson. Chapters 38 & 39

Transcription

1 Kennedy & Johnson Chapters 38 & 39

2 Kennedy s Presidency Young, inspirational, refreshing Young Cabinet Sec. of Defense - Robert McNamara Attorney General - Robert Kennedy Wanted to target organized crime and civil rights violations Peace Corps - volunteers in underdeveloped countries

3 New Frontier Helped expand the House Rules Committee Decides the rules for new programs and how effective they might be Had been dominated by conservatives Went after big businesses and later decided on a tax cut Promoted the idea of landing a man on the moon

4 Problems in Europe JFK met with Krushchev in 1961 Krushchev was very belligerent and threatened to cut off West Berlin Back off and built the Berlin Wall To keep people in East Germany Became THE symbol of the Cold War

5 Foreign Flare-Ups & Flexible Response Southeast Asia Laos - was a civil war where there was the threat of communism JFK decided not to send troops Brinksmanship left little room for choice for dealing with smaller Cold War threats JFK & McNamara come up with Flexible Response A larger number of military options Nukes Navy Seals. Green Berets

6 Vietnam Flexible Response proved dangerous because it led to easier involvement Could then lead to escalation Diem was in control of a shaky S. Vietnam JFK ordered a # of military advisors there Kennedy s Adm. Eventually encouraged a coup against Diem in 1963 Led to the political disintegration of the country At this time it was still their war, but we were becoming more involved

7 JFK & Cuba JFK creates the Alliance for Progress Marshall Plan for Latin America Not as effective JFK inherited the plans for the Bay of Pigs invasion from Ike Plan to oust Castro by training and supporting Cuban refugees to overthrow his govt. Was a disaster from the start and JFK decided against helping Pushed Castro closer to the Soviets

8 Cuban Missile Crisis Spy photos above Cuba revealed that the Soviets had given Castro nuclear weapons 90 miles / 5 minutes (via ICBM) JFK decided on a quarantine of Cuba (a blockade) Went on for a week and no one was backing down Eventually a deal was made to not invade Cuba and we would remove our missiles from Turkey In 1991, we found out how bad it could have been

9 Aerial Photos of Missiles in Cuba

10 JFK s Assassination JFK is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas in 1963 A few days later he is killed by a man named Jack Ruby Is an investigation by the Warren Commission Lyndon Johnson becomes the new President

11 Lyndon Johnson Former Senate Majority Leader Good with Congress and dealing Arrogant and concieted Fought for JFK s initiatives when he took over Civil Rights Act of 1964 Banned racial discrimination in public facilities Created the Equal Employment Opp. Commission Need to win office in his own right

12 Election of 1964 Dems nominate LBJ GOP nominate Barry Goldwater, Sen. From Arizona Attacked income tax, Social Security, the TVA, civil rights leg. And the nuclear test ban treaty Followers said In your heart you know he s right. LBJ s supporters said In your guts you know he s nuts

13 Election of LBJ Wins

14 War on Poverty & Great Society Office of Economic Opportunity $ for Appalachia Dept. of Housing & UrbanDevelopment Robert Weaver - first black cabinet sec. Created the National Endowment for the Arts

15 War on Poverty & Great Society Created Medicare Health insurance for the elderly 1/2 of those over 65 had no health ins. Medicaid Health insurance for low-income families Head Start - early reading program Civil Rights Legislation Voting Rights Act, 24th Amendment

16 Gulf of Tonkin Incident A U.S. destroyer, the Maddox, was attacked by N. Vietnamese gunboats while in international waters A second ship, the C. Turner Joy later attacked LBJ asks Congress for ability to protect U.S. forces and allies

17 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Passed with 2 dissenting votes in the House and 1 in the Senate Allowed the Prez to take all necessary steps, including the use of force, to assist any member. Of the SEATO requesting assistance in defense of communism Allowed LBJ to escalate in Vietnam

18 Johnson & Vietnam After an attack against U.S. forces in Pleiku LBJ launches air strikes Operation Rolling Thunder Massive bombing of N. Vietnam Soon took over the war from S. Vietnam Worried about the domino theory Escalation continued

19 U.S. Troops on Vietnam Vietnam

20 Opposition to Vietnam Allowed the Soviets more influence elsewhere while we were busy Anti-war demonstrations grew at home - especially at colleges Lots of protest to the draft Horrible images coming back from the war did not help

21 Images from Vietnam

22 Credibility Gap Was always talk of success When the bombing stopped it seemed like no advantage had been gained Dropped more bombs in one year than during all of WWII Constantly told success was around the corner - just need more troops Constant talk about high number of Vietcong and N. Vietnamese casualties but no signs of winning

23 Tet Offensive Jan was supposed to be a ceasefire for the Tet holiday Vietcong and N. Vietnamese were supposed to be near defeat Instead they launched a huge offensive A military defeat for the Vietcong, but a big political victory Highlighted the credibility gap

24 Massive coordinated attacks all over South Vietnam sign of an army on the verge of defeat? Tet Offensive

25 PR Nightmare Walter Cronkite came back from Vietnam - had been there for the Tet Offensive Declared the Vietnam War unwinnable "If I've lost Cronkite," Johnson reportedly told an aide, "I've lost middle America."

26 Trouble for LBJ LBJ, a sitting President, was being challenged for the GOP nomination by Eugene McCarthy Almost lost to him in the NH primary A sign he had lost the public s confidence Robert Kennedy also joined the race LBJ announces he would not seek a second term

27 Election of 1968 Dems nominate Hubert Humphrey RFK assassinated during the campaign Because of his stance on Israel and the 1967 Arab-Israeli war (Sirhan Sirhan) Dem convention in Chicago was a mess Lots of protests that turned violent thanks to mayor Daley - hurt the party GOP nominates Richard Nixon law & order, silent majority honorable peace in Vietnam Close, but Nixon Wins George Wallace polls well - segregation

28 Election of 1968

29 1960s Cultural Upheaval More and more money being spent in Vietnam - less for Great Society projects Protest grew against the war, poverty, racial conflict Protest movement among the young grew hippie movement (drugs, counter-culture) patriotism became a dirty word Sexual Revolution The Pill and free love (with no thought about consequences or STDs)