John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Civil Rights, Domestic policy and Foreign policy Election of 1960 Kennedy v. Nixon Kennedy is young, Catholic, WWII Veteran Nixon served with Truman in Office Kennedy wins by a razor-thin margin Results of 1960 election Kennedy Domestic programs “New Frontier” Investigated a possible price fixing by U.S. steel companies Increase in minimum wage Twenty-fourth amendment Steel companies back down on price increase Outlawed poll tax Equal Pay Act All employees doing substantially the same work in the same work-place must be given equal pay Domestic Programs: NASA We were falling behind Russian technology 1961: Soviet Union announces that Yuri Gagarin circled earth 1962: John Glenn successfully completed three orbits around the earth 1969: Neil Armstrong lands on the moon Kennedy Civil Rights 1960: over 70,000 students had participated in sit-ins, 3,600 had served time in jail Desegregation starts to spread Freedom rides to test if the southern states would obey the Supreme Court decision Riders were attacked, beaten and arrested Robert Kennedy reluctant at first to send federal support, but later sent marshal’s to protect riders Desegregation spreads “Ole Miss” James Meredith wishes to enroll Supreme Court says the university has to allow him to enroll, university says no JFK sends marshals to escort Meredith to class Angry white protesters destroy vehicles, 2 are killed and hundreds are injured Kennedy sent army to restore order Birmingham, Alabama 1963 King: “the most segregated city in America” A march in planned and begins nonviolently with protest marches and sit-ins But it is against a city regulation that says a person/group must have a permit to have a march/parade King is arrested and thrown in jail http://members.aol.com/klove01/jailltr.htm Birmingham continued “Bull” Connor arrested more than 900 of the young people that joined with King “Bull” used attached dogs, fire-hoses and policemen National televised violence Protesters win which leads to desegregation of city facilities and fairer hiring practices Kennedy “If the President does not himself wage the struggle for equal rights- if he stands above the battle- then the battle will inevitably be lost.” Birmingham, caught in time Assassination of JFK Dallas, TX, November 22, 1963 President Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline rode throw the streets in an open limousine Motorcade slowed as it was turning in front of the Texas School Book Depository Lee Harvey Oswald prime suspect Jack Ruby shot Oswald as he was being transported Conspiracy theory Did Oswald act alone? Grassy Knoll? http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=677034534 2515308911&q=Lyndon+B.+Johnson Lyndon Bain Johnson 36th President Inherited civil unrest, Vietnam conflict and dealing with the assassination of a President and a wounded nation Expectations were high, hope was high Politically talented and unstoppable ambition Bullied for votes while in the House of Representatives and Senate Great Society – legislative initiatives Programs: major poverty relief, education aid, healthcare, voting rights, conservation, beautification projects, urban renewal & economic development Laid the platform for the election of 1964 against Barry Goldwater http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Daisy +Campaign+Commercial&so=0 Initiatives of Great Society Tax cut: GNP rose form 7.1% in 1964 to 9.5% in 1966 War on poverty: Head Start for low-income preschool children, Volunteers in Service to America sent to help people in poor communities Aid in Education: Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 sent $1.3 billion in aid to states Initiatives continued Medicare hospital and low-cost medical insurance to people over 65, Medicaid provides low-cost health insurance coverage to poor Americans no matter their age who could not afford their own insurance Immigration Act of 1965 increased quotas and exempted political refugees in the U.S. Warren Court & Earl Warren Numerous landmark decision of the Supreme Court: Miranda v. Arizona, Escobedo v. Illinois (could request an attorney while being questioned) Gideon v. Wainwright (were awarded an attorney if they could not afford one), Engel v. Vitale (religious prayer in school was illegal according to 1st amend. – separation of church and state) Civil Rights keep marching on Washington March: “Jobs & Freedom” 200,000 came to march http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid =navclient&aq=Martin%20Luther%20King% 2C%20Jr.%20speeches&ie=UTF8&rls=GWYG,GWYG:200634,GWYG:en&q=Martin+Luther+King,+Jr.+s peeches&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv Johnson picks up torch That nothing “could be more eloquently honor President Kennedy’s memory than the earliest possible passage of the civil rights bill.” Filibuster-tactic in which senators prevent a vote on a measure by taking the floor and refusing to stop talking Cloture-procedure that may be used to limit or end debate and call for a vote Civil Rights Act of 1964 1. banned different voter registration standards for blacks and whites 2. prohibited discrimination in public accommodations 3. allowed withholding of federal funds from public or private programs that discriminated 4. banned discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion or national origin by employers and unions, and also created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate charges of job discrimination Black Nationalism Malcolm X- joined Nation of Islam while in prison for burglary, preached black separation The visit to Mecca changed his life, came back to the U.S. and joined up with civil rights leaders Shot and killed nine months later by members of the Nation of Islam http://video.google.com/vid eosearch?q=Malcolm+X Black Power Movement SNCC turns radical under the leadership of Stokely Carmichael “Black Power” Black Panthers “to unite, to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community … to begin to define their own goals, to lead their own organizations and support those organizations.” De facto segregation Separation caused by social conditions such as poverty: fact of life in most American cities Riots spread from the east coast to the west coast Los Angeles Riot of 1965 started when a young black man was pulled over for drunk driving and was beating, riot ensues 21 dead a thousand injured after six days M.L.K, Jr. Changes approach to attack economic injustice “Poor People’s Campaign” http://www.mlkonline.net/video-been-to-themountaintop-speech2.html Next day King is shot while standing on the balcony of his motel Robert Kennedy http://www.mlkonline.net/videomartin-luther-king-assasinationspeech.html?v=_agUA-htonQ Riots break out over 120 cities across the U.S. Legacy of Civil Rights Movement Slow progress, but progress was made Sacrifices were numerous: JFK, MLK, Jr., but to achieve great things, one must sacrifice greatly 1. Segregation was now illegal, 2. thousands of African Americans could vote 3. changed American political life 4. African American officials elected between 19701975 rose 88 percent
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