John F. Kennedy

1961-1963Domestic Policy

CLOSEST ELECTION SINCE 1884

• Kennedy won the election by fewer than 119,000 votes

• That means ½ of America didn’t want him to win…

JFKRMN

“ASK NOT . . .” In his

inaugural address, JFK uttered this famous challenge: “Ask not what your country can do for you --- ask what you can do for your country”

Delivered Friday, January 20, 1961

I. Kennedy White House

A. Lyndon B. Johnson – Vice-President

B. Robert F. Kennedy -> Attorney Gen.C. White House was full of young (mid-30s to early 40s) pragmatic thinkers!

D. Compared to King Arthur’s magical court – Camelot. (Jacqueline Kennedy was very stylish!)

Invited artists, musicians, etc. to the White House.

E. Compared also to James Bond: sophisticated, cool, and a womanizer!

***Unfortunately JFK was a

womanizer!

THE CAMELOT YEARS• During his term in

office, JFK and his beautiful young wife, Jacqueline, invited many artists and celebrities to the White House

• The press loved the Kennedy charm and JFK appeared frequently on T.V.

• The Kennedys were considered American “Royalty” (hence “Camelot” reference)

THE KENNEDY MYSTIQUE

• The first family fascinated the American public

• For example, after learning that JFK could read 1,600 words a minute, thousands enrolled in speed-reading courses

• Jackie, too, captivated the nation with her eye for fashion and culture

John Kennedy and his siblingsFrom youngest to oldest:Jean, Robert, Patricia, Eunice, Kathleen, Rosemary, Jack, and Joe, Jr.

Caroline Kennedy• She recently put her

name in to fill the vacant Senate seat that Hillary Clinton left when she accepted the Secretary of State position for Prez Obama

• New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand got the seat

THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST

• JFK surrounded himself with what one journalist described as the “best and the brightest” available talent

• Of all of his elite advisors who filled Kennedy’s inner circle, he relied most on his 35-year-old brother Robert, whom he appointed attorney general RFK was John’s closest

friend and advisor

A MAN ON THE MOON

• Under President Johnson…Finally, on July 20, 1969, the U.S. would achieve its goal

• An excited nation watched as U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon

• Space and defense-related industries sprang up in Southern and Western states

Armstrong

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”

(6) 23rd Amendmen

t

• proposed on June 16, 1960, and ratified on March 29, 1961. The amendment rectified an omission in the Constitution that prevented residents of the District of Columbia from voting in presidential elections- allowing citizens living in Washington DC to vote in National elections (for Prez)

(14) Engel v Vitale (1962)

• A landmark US Supreme Court case that determined that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and require its recitation in public schools.

• NO PUBLIC SCHOOL PRAYER

(15) Rachel Carson/

Silent Spring (1962)

• Rachel Carson is regarded by many as the godmother of the environmental movement. It was her book, Silent Spring, that sowed the seeds of passion for protecting the environment – Advocate of nature and

environmental ethics, against the misuse of chemicals in nature ...

(2) New Frontier – name given

to the Kennedy domestic platform; can also be

applied to the foreign policies previously discussed!

III. EconomyA. Problems deciding on how to deal with

the budget deficit – Kennedy did not push for a tax cut until 1963 (It will be passed after his death!)

B. Kennedy wanted to work WITH big business (not against) and asked Congress to ease anti-trust legislation

C. Forbes ranks Kennedy first in reducing the unemployment rate.

D. Area Redevelopment Act of 1961 – $394 million given in “loans and grants designed to help city and rural areas of low income and/or chronic unemployment”

E. Minimum wage was raised to $1.25F. Council of Economic Advisors –

proposed to stabilize prices by tying wage increases to productivity

G. Kennedy’s administration is ranked as the third highest in economic prosperity (behind Clinton and LBJohnson)

Civil Rights Review• Jim Crow Era – South, post-Reconstruction• Plessy v. Ferguson – separate but equal• FDR – sympathetic to African-Americans,

outlawed segregation in government work areas

• Truman – desegregated the armed forces

• Eisenhower – enforced Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka (integration of schools)

IV. Civil Rights

A. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) –appeal launched by a Florida prisoner

1. all citizens are entitled to legal

counsel in a case involving a possible

jail sentence

B. African-Americans continued their struggle for desegregation. 1. Kennedy was a strong supporter of

African Americans – appointed several African Americans to high administrative positions

2. Thurgood Marshall- Linda Brown’s lawyer in Brown vs Board; appointed to U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

3. Very strong supporter of MLK,Jr

C. CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)

and

SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) – grew out of the Greensboro

sit-in

D. Freedom Rides – May 1961 – CORE director James Farmer led a group of black and white “freedom riders” on a bus trip into the heart of the South. Trip began in Washington D.C. and ended in New Orleans – would focus national attention on the inequality of segregated facilities. Violent mobs in South Carolina and Alabama beat riders and firebombed a bus.

Freedom Ridersnotice where the trip stops…

E. Kennedy ordered federal marshals to protect civil rights organizers –freedom rides forced the Kennedy Administration to take a much stronger stand on desegregation.

F. Voter registration drive for African Americans began in 1961 – R. Kennedy asked SNCC to focus on increasing the amount of registered voters – in MS only 4000 out of 394,000 were registered to vote due to continued violence!

James Meredith

(12)James Meredith and the University of Mississippi – September, 1962 – 1. Governor Ross Barnett personally

blocked the African American Meredith from registering. 2. JFK ordered several hundred marshals

to escort Meredith into a university dormitory. Mobs moved in – shooting streetlights, throwing rocks and bottles.

3. JFK sent in federal troops to save the marshals – but not before 2 people were killed and 375 were wounded.

1963 Birmingham,

Alabama March

I. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a group to Birmingham, AL, to protest segregation –1. led to his arrest and writing of “Letter

from Birmingham Jail,” which defended the use of civil disobedience and warned that not obeying the law would leave the streets “flowing with blood”.

2. Once freed, King led new demonstrations; TV cameras captured the Birmingham police (under the direction of police chief Bull Connor) using attack dogs, clubs, and fire hoses to end demonstrations

J. Birmingham actions sparked Kennedy to request support for a strong civil rights bill to end segregation and protect black voters

March on Washington

(17) March on Washington – August 28,

1963– Led by Martin Luther King:

1. “I Have a Dream” Speech • 250,000 gathered at Lincoln Memorial

to march & sing in support of Civil Rights.

• Led by MLK, Jr. to call for a “color-blind society”

It was initially opposed by JFK, who thought it would undermine the bill

Congress began working on a civil rights bill in the fall…

(16) June 11, 1963 –University of Al, George Wallace Alabama’s Governor

stood in the doorway of the University to prevent Vivian Malone ( a black female) from registering

- Kennedy sent federal marshals to force the enrollment of the students

- JFK addressed the nation on June 12 about the moral issue of segregation

(18) Same evening of Kennedy’s televised address, Medgar Evers –

a civil rights leader in Mississippi –

was assassinated in his driveway in

Jackson, MS by. Bryon De La Beckwith, a KKK

member,was arrested for his murder (finally

convicted in 1994, three decades later)

(20) Assassination of JFKA. Kennedy lost key Southern

Democratic supporters due to civil rights issues.

B. He scheduled a trip to Texas to begin rebuilding support in the South (you

know politicians… always thinking about the next campaign)

JFK SHOT

• As the motorcade approached the Texas Book Depository, shots rang out

• JFK was shot in the neck and then the head

• His car was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors frantically tried to revive him

• President Kennedy was dead (11/22/63)

JFK… SHOT

C. November 22, 1963 – JFK was fatally shot in the head and neck by Lee Harvey Oswald

•A 24-year-old Marine with a suspicious past left a palm print on the rifle used to kill JFK

D. LHO was caught several hours later – seemed mysterious and emotionally unstable.

His actions were never fully explained –

L.H.O was shot two days after his arrest by Jack Ruby (on live TV)!

•He was charged and as a national television audience watched his transfer from one jail to another, nightclub owner Jack Ruby broke through the crowd and shot Oswald to death

E. Lyndon B Johnson, became the next prez, when he took the oath of office on Air Force One with Jackie Kennedy by his side

JFK LAID TO REST• All work stopped for

Kennedy’s funeral as America mourned its fallen leader

• The assassination and the televised funeral became historic events

• Like 9-11, Americans can recall where they were when they heard the news of the President’s death

Three-year old John Kennedy Jr. salutes his father’s coffin

during the funeral

F. This events, along with contradicting eyewitness testimonies of the JFK assassination, caused many to believe there was a conspiracy behind the murder of the president. Later investigations approved by President LBJ and led by Chief Justice Earl Warren concluded Oswald acted alone.

But DID HE REALLY?!?!?!?!?

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

• The bizarre chain of events led many to believe that Oswald was part of a conspiracy

• The Warren Commission investigated the assassination and determined that Oswald had indeed acted alone

• Recent filmmaker Oliver Stone isn’t so sure – his film, “JFK,” is filled with conspiracy theories

And what about this: responsible for death???