Transcript John F. Kennedy - Rankin County School District

John F. Kennedy
1961-1963
Domestic 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…
RMN
JFK
“ASK NOT . . .”
Delivered Friday, January 20, 1961
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”
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 speedreading courses
• Jackie, too, captivated
the nation with her eye
for fashion and culture
John
Kennedy
and his
siblings
From 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 35year-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
Amendment
• 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 electionsallowing citizens living
in Washington DC to
vote in National
elections (for Prez)
• 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
(14) Engel v
Vitale (1962)
The Rule of the Law
• 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 –
(15) Rachel Carson/
Silent Spring (1962)
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.
Economy
A. 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.
Deficit Spending
D. Kennedy advocated deficit
spending to stimulate the
economy
E. Deficit Spending is the gov’t
practice of borrowing money in
order to spend more than is
received from taxes
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 $1.25
F. 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)
The Civil Rights
Movement Reading
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
Thurgood Marshall Reading
C. CORE (Congress of
Racial Equality)
and
SNCC (Student NonViolent 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 Riders
notice 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!
Freedom Rides Analysis
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 “colorblind society”
March on Washington Analysis
It was initially
opposed by JFK, who
thought it would
undermine the bill
Congress began
working on a civil
rights bill in the fall…
I have a Dream
Speech Analysis
(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
Wallace and Kennedy Reading
(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)
Medgar Evers Reading
(20) Assassination of JFK
A. 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)
• 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
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
JFK Cartoon Analysis
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
Three-year old John Kennedy
Jr. salutes his father’s coffin
during the funeral
• 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
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???