Chapter 19 Kennedy and Johnson Years

            

Kennedy and Johnson Years 

      The Election of 1960 the Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy had served in the House and Senate for 14 years when he ran for President in 1960. Kennedy proved to be an engaging television personality during the 1960 presidential debates. Lyndon Johnson did more to help America at home but he led the nation into conflicts with other countries.

     In a Narrow Kennedy Victory, Kennedy won the 1960 election by an extremely close margin. Kennedy was separated from his opponent, Republican Richard Nixon, by fewer than 119,000 popular votes out of nearly 69 million casts because of the close election; Kennedy entered office without a mandate, or public endorsement of his proposals.

       In a speech early in his presidency, Kennedy said that the nation was poised at the edge of a “New Frontier.”  This phrase came to refer to Kennedy’s proposals to improve the economy, assist the poor, and speed up the space program. Kennedy’s efforts to improve the economy included ordering a federal investigation into steel price fixing and proposing a large tax cut. His tax cut proposal, however, became stuck in Congress. Many of Kennedy’s proposals aimed to combat poverty and inequality.  Although some were rejected by Congress, others were passed.

        The Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 inspired the United States to work toward placing a manned spacecraft in orbit. In April 1961, Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel in space.  Americans worried that their technology was falling behind that of the Soviet Union. Funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was increased. The prime suspect in Kennedy’s murder, Lee Harvey Oswald, was murdered by a man named Jack Ruby two days later, while being transferred from one jail to another. To investigate Kennedy’s murder, President Johnson appointed The President’s Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, better known as the Warren Commission, after its chairman, Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. 

      Lyndon B. Johnson became President unexpectedly following Kennedy’s assassination. However, his political career had been leading up to this position for many years. While serving in the House and Senate, Johnson had established a reputation for both his political talent and his ambition. In 1954, he became Senate Majority Leader.

Johnson used his talent in working with Congress to initiate many reforms on domestic issues. Johnson’s programs on poverty aid, education, healthcare, economic development, and conservation became collectively known as the Great Society. In the 1964 election, Johnson won a landslide victory over Republican opponent Barry Goldwater.

     Like Kennedy, Johnson believed that a budget deficit could be used to improve the economy.  A tax cut caused the deficit to shrink, since renewed prosperity generated new tax revenues. The War on Poverty — Johnson initiated new programs such as Head Start, a preschool program for low-income families, and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), which sent volunteers to help people in poor communities. Johnson helped Congress pass two new programs, Medicare and Medicaid.  Medicare provides low-cost medical insurance to most Americans over age 65, while Medicaid provides similar services to poor Americans of any age. The Immigration Act of 1965 replaced immigration quotas with overall limits from various parts of the world.  Immigration rose during the 1960s and 1970s. The Warren Court was also interested in safeguarding the rights of persons accused of committing crimes. The Miranda rule, a result of the 1966 case Miranda v. Arizona, required police to inform accused persons of their rights. The Great Society came to an end when Johnson failed to contain the Southeast Asia conflict.

     The division of Berlin was planned as a temporary measure.  However, the Soviet Union demanded that the division of the city be made permanent, hoping this would reduce the flow of East Germans escaping through Berlin to West Germany. In response to Soviet demands, Kennedy increased funding to the military and expanded the size of the armed forces. To avoid a confrontation, the Soviets built a wall to separate the Communist and non-Communist sections of Berlin in August 1961. The Berlin Wall came to be a somber symbol of Cold War tensions.

    The American response to this construction, and the resulting Soviet response, became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the superpowers to the brink of nuclear war. After much consultation with his advisors, President Kennedy decided to authorize a naval “quarantine” around Cuba. He demanded that Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev cease construction of the missile bases. Kennedy and Khrushchev established a “hot line” with which they could communicate quickly in case of further crises.   In addition, the United States and the Soviet Union, together with Great Britain, signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963.  This treaty banned nuclear testing above the ground.

In 1961, Kennedy established the Peace Corps to further his goal of a world in which people worked together peacefully to solve problems. Peace Corps volunteers were Americans who agreed to work side by side with local citizens in poorer nations, teaching skills and improving living conditions.

     Kennedy first years in office did not bear the legislative fruit he promised in his inspiring campaign speeches. He made different projects that helped society. Then Johnson picked up the domestic agenda after Kennedy. Finally Johnson took office; he saw foreign affairs as something of a nuisance, but continued Kennedy’s policies.