Crisis of Change

Election of 1960
G.O.P. nominee: Richard M. Nixon
o V.P. under Ike
Democratic nominee: John F. Kennedy
The two appeared on TV for the Great Debates
Kennedy benefited from the debates
JFK won one of the closest elections in history
New Freedom
Housing Act of 1961- Provided $4.9 billion for urban renewal
Minimum wage: Increased from $1 to $1.25 an hour
24th Amendment - Outlawed the poll tax
Kennedys Foreign Policy:
Bay of pigs
The U.S. supplied money and arms to anti-Castro Cubans
1500 anti-Castro troops land at the Bay of Pigs
Terrible defeat - 1200 troops captured
Berlin Wall:
August 1961 - Russia sealed off East Berlin/East Germany from West Berlin by erecting
a wall
1500 troops sent to West Berlin - Western powers would not give in - Khrushchev
backed down
The Cuban Missile Crisis:
Summer 1962 - USSR began to move ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads into Cuba
JFK - Ordered a naval blockade on all offensive military equipment on the way to Cuba
Missiles were dismantled and removed from cuba
U.S. pledged not to invade the island
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty:
Outlawed nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space, or underwater
The first step towards mutual arms reduction
o Does not last
Peace Corps:
Volunteers that helped work in underdeveloped countries
Was not the success people had hoped it would be
Deepening Involvement in Vietnam:
Diem- Leader of South Vietnam
Kennedy- Supported Diem- Sent advisors to train S. Vietnamese Army.
1963- Diem is overthrown and murdered- 16,000 americans in S. Vietnam
Assassination of JFK and the Warren Commission:
Death in Dallas
Feelings towards JFK in Dallas were bitter
Nov 22nd, 1963 - Pres. motorcade passed through the city
Dealey Plaza - Shots heard - President Kennedy was shot in both the neck and head
o He was rushed to the Parkland Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced
dead
Lee Harvey Oswald - Seized for the crime
Oswald - Gunned down by Jack Ruby
The Warren Commision:
Chief justice Earl Warren- Headed a commission investigating the shooting

 Conclusion: Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby acted alone

Johnsons Domestic Program
LBJs honeymoon"
Tax cut- Originally asked for by Kennedy
o Lowered taxes by $11.5 billion
Economic Opportunity Act
o War on poverty- Set up job and work training programs
Election of 1964:
Republican Nominee- Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona
Democratic Nominee- LBJ
LBJ wins easily
The Great Society:
Was a program of social reform
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Forbade racial discrimination/segregation in the use of federal funds and in most places
of public accommodation.
o Equal access to: restaurants, parks, libraries, and theaters
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Sought to protect African American rights to
jobs
Medicare
Citizens over 65- Received low cost hospital insurance
Financed by the federal government (tax)
Medicaid
Federal gov. financed health care (to states) to help needy people (welfare recipients
living below the poverty line) below the age of 65
Elementary and Secondary Education Act:
$1.3 billion for aid to education
Could not receive aid unless schools obeyed laws against segregation
Voting Rights Act:
Increased the number of black voters by 50%
Outlawed measures used to suppress minority votes
Johnsons Foreign Policy
Deeper involvement in Vietnam: The Tonkin Gulf Resolution
August 2 and 4 1964- Two US destroyers were attacked by North Vietnamese gunboats
Tonkin Gulf Resolution allowed the Pres. to expand war powers in Vietnam
o Could repel any armed attack

Why we were in Vietnam

January 1965 -LBJ- Sent 20,000 more troops to help the 27,000 already there
Domino Theory- If South Vietnam fell to Communism so would the rest of Southeast
Asia
To stop aggression and protect our reputation
December 1965- 185,000 american troops in South Vietnam
Effects of Vietnam on the election of 1968
LBJ - Decided not to run for a second term as a result of the Vietnam war
Robert F. Kennedy- Assassinated after winning the Calif. Primary
Sirhan Sirhan - Fired the fatal shots
Election and Results

Democratic Nominee: Hubert H. Humphrey

Bitter fighting between democrats at the convention in Chicago
Republican nominee- Nixon
American independent party- Gov. George C. Wallace- Alabama
Nixon wins close election