This document provides background information on the presidency of John F. Kennedy and key events that occurred during his administration from 1961-1963. It discusses Kennedy's campaign and election in 1960, his vision of a "New Frontier" for America. It then focuses on two major foreign policy crises - the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, which brought the US and Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war. The document concludes with Kennedy's assassination in Dallas, Texas in 1963, leaving Lyndon B. Johnson to assume the presidency.

1. The New Frontier and
the Great Society
Chapter 17
1961-1968

2. 1960 Election
The arrival of this age was indicated in 1960 by the comparative youth of the
presidential candidates chosen by the two major parties. The Democratic nominee,
Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, was 43; the Republican, Vice
President Richard M. Nixon, was 47. They both were ardent cold warriors and
political moderates. Kennedy’s relative inexperience and his religion (he was the
first Roman Catholic presidential nominee since Al Smith) placed him at an initial
disadvantage. But the favorable impression he created during a series of televised
debates with Nixon and the support he received from blacks after he helped the
imprisoned black leader Martin Luther King, Jr., enabled him to defeat Nixon in the
most closely contested election of the century of only 119,000 votes.
During the campaign Kennedy had stated America was ―on the edge of a New
Frontier‖; in his inaugural speech he spoke of ―a new generation of Americans‖; and
posed the challenge, ―And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can
do for you—ask what you can do for your country.‖ During his presidency he
seemed to be taking government in a new direction, away from the easygoing
Eisenhower style.
His administration was headed by strong, dedicated
personalities. The Kennedy staff was also predominantly young. Its energy and
commitment revitalized the nation, but its competence was soon called into
question.

3. The Space Race

4. 1957 Sputnik – first
satellite
The Russian Federal Space Agency (Russian: Федеральное космическое
агентство России Federal'noye kosmicheskoye agentstvo Rossii), commonly
called Roscosmos (Роскосмос Roskosmos) and abbreviated as FKA (ФКА)
and RKA (РКА), is the government agency responsible for the Russian space
science program and general aerospace research.

5. First man in spaceCosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
Score:
USA – 0
Soviets - 2

6. National Aeronautics
and Space
Administration
NASA was created largely in response to the Soviet launching of Sputnik in 1957.
It was organized around the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA),
which had been created by Congress in 1915. NASA’s organization was well
underway by the early years of President John F. Kennedy’s administration, when
Kennedy proposed that the United States put a man on the Moon by the end of
the 1960’s. To that end the Apollo program was designed, and in 1969 the U.S.
astronaut Neil Armstrong, became the first man on the Moon. Later unmanned
programs—such as Viking, Mariner, Voyager, and Galileo—explored other bodies
of the solar system.
NASA was also responsible for the development and launching of a number of
satellites with Earth applications, such as Landsat, a series of satellites designed
to collect information on natural resources and other Earth features;
communications satellites; and weather satellites. It also planned and developed
other programs that could not be conducted with conventional spacecraft.

7. Apollo program
USA spent
the 60’s
trying to
catch up to
the Soviets.

8. ―Going Where No One
Has Gone Before‖
Launched 16 Jul 1969, Apollo 11 made the first manned lunar landing on 20 July. As
LTC Michael Collins orbited the Moon in the mother ship Columbia, Neil Armstrong
and COL Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., touched down on the basaltic regolith of Mare
Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) in the Lunar Module Eagle at 4:17:42pm EDT, with
the historic report: ―Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.‖
Armstrong was the first out: he stepped on the surface at 10:56pm that day.
Dropping the last meter from the ladder, he said: ―That’s one small step for {a} man,
one giant leap for mankind‖ (NASA later reported that the word ―a‖ had been lost in
transmission).
On the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin erected the American flag and set up scientific
instruments, including a laser beam reflector, a seismometer that later transmitted
evidence of a moonquake, and a sheet of aluminum foil to trap solar wind particles.
The astronauts took soil and rock photographs and collected 53.61 lbs. of rock and
dirt samples. Armstrong, the first out and the last back into the Lunar Module, spent
2 hours and 13 minutes outside. After Armstrong and Aldrin returned to Columbia in
the ascent stage of the Eagle, Collins fired the Apollo main engine and at 12:56am
EDT on 22 July lifted the vessel out of lunar orbit for the return to Earth. The ascent
stage of the Eagle was left in lunar orbit. The crew landed in the Pacific Ocean on

9. Armstrong lands on
moon!
What is the
purpose of
a space
program?

10. Soviet vs. U.S. Space
Program Venn Diagram
Soviet Space Program
U.S. Space Program

11. Soviet vs. U.S. Space
Program Quiz
1.
What prompted the USA to launch the space program—NASA?
2.
Who was the first man in space?
3.
What was President Kennedy’s goal?
4.
What NASA program was designed to go to the moon?
5.
What two astronauts were the first two men on the moon and what was
the date?

13.  Fidel Castro-revolutionary/communist leader who took
over diplomatic power in Cuba.

14.  Bay of Pigs Invasion–April 17th, 1961 1500 Cuban
exiles whose objective to overthrow the Cuban
government, failed miserably as they faced 25,000
Cuban troops that were backed up by Soviet tanks.

15. Bay of Pigs
 The CIA trained and funded an
invasion of communist Cuba.
The invasion failed because
President Kennedy failed to
commit needed U.S. support,
and Castro had some powerful
friends! Due to this lack of
commitment on Kennedy’s
part, the Soviets saw Kennedy
as weak and proceeded with
the implementation of Russian
missiles on Cuba—90 miles
from the tip of Florida.

16. Soviet response.
 Don’t worry
comrade Castro.
We got your back!

18.  Cuban Missile Crisis-October 14th-October 28th, 1962
where the U.S. and Soviet Union/Cuba came very close
to a nuclear war.

19. A U2 spy plane found these missile silos in Cuba,
1962. These planes are controlled by the CIA
and fly at 80,000 feet to escape Russian missile
shootdowns. This altitude is the edge of our
atmosphere. Normal intercontinental airliners fly
between 30-34,000 feet.

20. Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in October 1962, after U.S. intelligence
reconnaissance flights verified reports that the USSR was constructing launching
sites for medium-range and intermediate-range nuclear missiles on the island of
Cuba. The USSR apparently hoped to achieve a more favorable balance of power, to
protect the Cuban Communist government of Fidel Castro (which the United States
had attempted to overthrow in the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961), to gain
greater diplomatic leverage vis-à-vis the United States, to damage U.S. credibility,
and to achieve greater influence in Latin America. The failure of the Bay of Pigs
invasion was seen as a weakness of the Kennedy administration which gave the
USSR boldness to act thinking that the U.S. would relent again.
President John F. Kennedy rejected military advice for a full-scale surprise attack on
Cuba and instead delivered a public ultimatum to the USSR on 22 Oct. He declared
a ―quarantine,‖ or naval blockade, of Cuba and demanded withdrawal of all offensive
missiles. After nearly two weeks of unprecedented tension, the Soviet government of
Nikita Khrushchev yielded. Kennedy, in return, agreed to refrain from attempting an
overthrow of Castro’s government. Despite this concession, all sides regarded the
outcome as a substantial victory for the United States, and Kennedy won a reputation
as a formidable international statesman. The USSR began a long-term effort to
strengthen its military capability, but in the immediate future both nations sought to
relax hostilities.

21. World War III
Averted
In April 1961, Kennedy authorized a plan that had been initiated under
Eisenhower for a covert invasion of Cuba to overthrow the newly installed, Sovietsupported Communist regime of Fidel Castro. The invasion was repulsed at the
Bay of Pigs, embarrassing the administration and worsening relations between
the United States and the Soviet Union. These deteriorated further at a private
meeting between Kennedy and Khrushchev in June 1961 when the Soviet leader
was perceived as attempting to bully his young American counterpart. Relations
hit bottom in October 1962 when the Soviets secretly began to install long-range
offensive missiles in Cuba, which threatened to tip the balance of nuclear power.
Kennedy forced the removal of the missiles, gaining back the status he had lost at
the Bay of Pigs and in his meeting with Khrushchev. Kennedy then began to work
toward improving international relations, and in July 1963 he concluded a treaty
with Britain and the Soviet Union banning atomic tests in the atmosphere and
underwater. His program of aid to Latin America, the Alliance for Progress, raised
inter-American relations to their highest level since the days of Franklin
Roosevelt.

22. People built more bomb
shelters.

23. End to a crisis!
The Soviets
removed the
missiles in Cuba.
In exchange,
USA pledged to
not invade Cuba
again. And to
remove missiles
in Turkey (right).

24. Afterward
 A direct phone
line was set up
between their
offices to
bypass other
channels—
commonly
called the
―Hotline or Red
Phone‖.

25. Cuban Missile Crisis/Bay
of Pigs Timeline
Sequence
Bay of Pigs
Intelligence
Cuban Missile Crisis

26. Cuban Missile Crisis/Bay
of Pigs Quiz
1.
What event was the prelude to showing President Kennedy’s weakness
to the Cuban Missile Crisis?
2.
What type of reconnaissance plane by the CIA found the Russian
missiles in Cuba?
3.
What military strategy did President Kennedy use against the Russians?
4.
What was the results of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
5.
What was installed in both leaders offices to stave off any further crises?

27. The New Frontier Closes
Kennedy’s domestic policies were designed to stimulate international trade,
reduce unemployment, provide medical care for the aged, reduce federal income
taxes, and protect the civil rights of blacks. The latter issue, which had aroused
national concern in 1962 when federal troops were employed to assure the
admission of a Negro at the University of Mississippi, caused further concern in
1963, when similar action was taken at the University of Alabama and mass
demonstrations were held in support of desegregation. Although the Democrats
controlled both houses of Congress, the administration’s proposals usually
encountered strong opposition from Southern Democrats called ―Dixiecrats‖. With
Congress’ support, Kennedy was able to increase military spending substantially.
This led to greater readiness but also to a significant rise in the number of longrange U.S. missiles, which prompted a similar Soviet response.
On 22 Nov 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX, most
probably by lone gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, though conspiracy theories
abounded. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath of office immediately.

28. Kennedy Assassination
Cutting through Conspiracies

29. November 22, 1963
 JFK was in
Dallas trying to
get support for
next year’s
election.
 Dallas had an
unfriendly
reputation
towards
politicians.

30. Lee Harvey Oswald
 Shown here in Oak
Cliff, Texas.
 He defected to the
Soviet Union in 1959,
got
bored,
got
married, and had a
child. He did live in
the USSR with his
wife and child until
Jun 1962 when he
applied
for
repatriation.

31. School Book Depository
 Lee Harvey Oswald got a job in this building. He
would eventually shoot JFK from the sixth floor.

32. 6th floor

33. Sixth Floor of the School Book
Depository

34. Sniper’s perch
 This is Lee
Harvey
Oswald’s view
from the 6th
floor of the
School Book
Depository

36. Zapruder’s 8mm film was the most
famous evidence

37. He was filming from here.

38. Sniper perch
1st shot
3rd shot

39. This plaque sits next to where he
was fatally shot.

40. Kennedy was rushed to
Parkland

41. Oswald fled the scene
 He checked into
his boarding
house on 1026
Beckley.
 Officer J. Tippit
stops on the
street to talk to
Oswald.
 Oswald shoots
him 4 times to
death

42. Lee Harvey Oswald walked 8 blocks
to Texas Theater on Jefferson Blvd.
Oswald being led from the Texas Theatre after his arrest inside

43. Arrested
The Cops
beat him up
after Oswald
resisted
arrest at the
theater.

44. Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson
(LBJ) was sworn in at Love Field

45. Lee Harvey Oswald was being
escorted to another jail.

46. Oswald transferred to another
jail.
 Jack Ruby, a
Dallas
nightclub
owner, shoots
Oswald on live
TV.
 Lee Harvey
Oswald will
never go on
record why he
did what he

47. Lee Harvey Oswald killed by
night club owner and mob affiliate
Jack Ruby.
―You killed
the
President,
you rat!‖

48. Case Closed?
The Warren Commission
 Oswald fired 3 shots (missed the first one)
 The assassination was filmed (Zapruder)
 The government investigated the murder for years and
concluded that Oswald acted alone.
 Virtually no witness at that time gave indication that
more than 3 shots were fired at Kennedy.
However. . . .

49. 80% of people today
believe JFK was killed
by someone else!!!!

50. Composite Conspiracy Story
 JFK was killed by a conspiracy of high
government officials with LBJ working
with the CIA, the mafia, and anti-Castro
Americans who all want revenge for
Kennedy’s lack of support in the failed
Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. At the
same time (in contradiction), Castro
killed JFK with Russia’s help. Jack Ruby
killed Lee Harvey Oswald so he wouldn’t
talk. Ruby died with a deep, dark secret!

51. To make matters worse.
..
 Oliver Stone made
a movie called JFK
in 1992.
 The movie is full of
errors, lies and bad
science.

52. Stone’s JFK helped advance
these falsehoods about the
assassination:
 Oswald could not have shot JFK from the sixth floor in
less than 6 seconds.
 Kennedy was shot from the front by gunmen on the
grassy knoll.
 Jack Ruby killed Oswald on orders from the mafia to
keep Oswald quiet about everything.

53. Could Oswald have made those
shots?
 Yes! Oswald was a
sharpshooter trained
by the US Marines.
 He scored a 212 out
of 250 on a 200 yard
shooting range.
 JFK’s car was only
50 yards away from
the sniper’s nest and
moved 10mph

54. Jack Ruby
 Conspiracists believe
Jack Ruby was a
mobster who killed
Oswald to silence
him.
 Ruby died in jail a
couple of years later,
supposedly with
some deep dark
secret.

55. However. . .
 Jack Ruby knew
gangsters but was
not one. (He knew
lots of cops too!)
 He was a night club
owner.
 Those that knew him
said he couldn’t keep
a secret for 2
minutes!

56. Ruby
 Ruby’s
assassination was
not planned.
 Ruby left his dog
and his girlfriend in
the car when he left
to shoot Oswald.
 No conspiracy here
from Jack Ruby!

57. Was Kennedy shot from the front?
2nd assassin?
Zapruder

58. Back and to the left?
Many assume
based on
JFK’s bodily
motion and
blood spray
that he was
shot from the
front.

59. No witnesses reported gunshots
that day!
2nd assassin?
Zapruder
wall

60. All witnesses that day described
shots from where Oswald was
Oswald
Witness described people
but no shots behind fence

61. Picket fence

62. View from behind fence (x marks the
spot)
3rd shot

63. Picket fence shooter theory
 There were plenty of witnesses in that area. None
reported hearing shots. A few attention seekers
claimed they did years later.
 The witness behind the fence died in a single car
crash 2 years later, festering conspirators' ideas.
 Many witnesses have been accused of being a part of
the conspiracy, including Zapruder (born in Russia).

64. Autopsy
 Kennedy was hit in the back of the neck, not the
front.
 He was hit in the back of the head, not the front.
 A shooter could not have hit JFK from the fence
without hitting Jackie or her area.

65. Magic Bullet?
 Oliver Stone argued that a single bullet could not
have hit JFK and Governor Connally the way
reported.

66. Magic Bullet?
 Using the bullet wounds, Stone used this diagram to
convince people that one bullet could not hit JFK
and the governor the way reported.
 Notice both
heads are
level with
each other.

67. JFK sat elevated above
Connally
wrong

68. Single Bullet Theory
 Once their seats are properly aligned, the single
bullet theory appears to be valid!

69. Umbrella Man?
 Some say there was a mysterious man fanning an
umbrella right as Kennedy was shot. Oliver Stone
said he was signaling to shoot JFK.
here

70. Umbrella Man
 Not much mystery
here. The man was
questioned and
identified.
 He was trying to
heckle JFK with his
umbrella in a way
that he himself did
not quite
understand.
here

71. Badge Man?
 Was there a
mysterious man
wearing a badge
near the fence?
 Again, no shots
were fired from this
area.
 JFK’s entry wounds
were in the back of
his neck and head.

72. Motives?
Everybody
seemed to have a
reason to kill JFK if
one thinks about it
hard enough.

73. Lyndon B. Johnson
 Supposedly, JFK
wanted to
withdraw from
Vietnam.
 LBJ had him
killed so he
could continue
the war
(supposedly).

74. LBJ
 Kennedy gave
no clear
evidence of
exiting Vietnam.
 LBJ showed no
desire for
escalating this
―bitch of a war.‖
(LBJ’s words).

75. The Mob?
 The mob supposedly wanted to murder Kennedy.

76. Sam Giancana
connections
 Supposedly upset
about JFK’s lack of
support for killing Fidel
Castro.

77. Mob continued
 The mob was upset
about Robert
Kennedy’s pursuit
of organized crime.
 RFK was the
Attorney General
(top cop)

78. The mafia did not kill JFK
 The FBI had the Chicago mafia’s phone tapped and
their offices tapped for years before 1963. No
evidence was heard.
 The mafia had no real interest in JFK. Maybe his
brother Robert, but not the President.

79. Did Mob control Oswald and Ruby?
 Oswald was a lone
actor, just as he
acted alone in an
attempted murder
of a General
Walker.
 Ruby knew
mobsters, but he
was not trusted by
them.

80. Did Castro Kill JFK?
 Motive: The CIA tried
several times to kill
Fidel Castro.
Operation Mongoose
considered poisoned
cigars, poisoned diving
suits, mafia rub out.

81. Did Castro kill JFK?
 Castro did not have
the means to do so.
 Castro wanted the
US to leave Cuba
alone. An
assassination would
have led to an
invasion. (Castro
said this.)
 Oswald was refused
entry into Cuba.

82. Did the Russians kill JFK?
 Motive: The USA
was a serious
rival in the Cold
War. Killing JFK
would provide
instability in the
military and
government.

83. Russians killed JFK?
 Why would the
Russians risk
nuclear war?
Having LBJ as
President would not
have benefited the
Soviets.

84. November 22, 1963
LBJ took the
Presidency
JFK was
shot in
Dallas

85. Warren Commission-Commission put together to
investigate the death of JFK and ruled that Lee Harvey
Oswald acted alone in his assassination of JFK.

86. JFK Assassination
Concept Map
What are its conspiracies?
Lee Harvey
Oswald’s
background
and
circumstance
JFK Assassination
What are the Warren Commission findings?

87. JFK Assassination Quiz
1.
Why was President Kennedy in Dallas?
2.
To what country did Lee Harvey Oswald defect?
3.
Give one of the Warren Commission’s findings.
4.
Give one of the conspiracy theory parties to the JFK assassination and their
reason.
5.
What does the autopsy say about the two shots that hit President Kennedy?

88. The Great Society
The Great Society was a political slogan used by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
(served 1963-69) to identify his legislative program of national reform. In his first
State of the Union message (4 Jan 1965) after election in his own right, the
president proclaimed his vision of a ―Great Society‖ and declared a ―war on
poverty.‖ He called for an enormous program of social welfare legislation including
federal support for education, medical care for the aged through an expanded
Social Security Program, and federal legal protection for citizens deprived of the
franchise by certain state registration laws. After a landslide victory for the
Democratic Party (JFK assassination) in the elections of November 1964, a
sympathetic Congress passed almost all the president’s bills.
With this clear mandate, Johnson submitted the most sweeping legislative program
to Congress since the New Deal. He outlined his plan for achieving a ―Great
Society‖ in his 1965 state-of-the-Union address, and over the next two years he
persuaded Congress to approve most of his proposals. The Appalachian Regional
Development Act provided aid for that economically depressed area. The Housing
and Urban Development Act of 1965 established a Cabinet-level department to
coordinate federal housing programs. Johnson’s Medicare bill fulfilled President
Truman’s dream of providing health care for the aged. The Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 provided federal funding for public and private
education below the college level. The Higher Education Act of 1965 provided
scholarships for more than 140,000 needy students and authorized a National
Teachers Corps.
The Immigration Act of 1965 abolished the discriminatory

89. The Great Society
(cont’d)
system. The minimum wage was raised and its coverage extended in 1966. In
1967, Social Security pensions were raised and coverage extended.
The
Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Area Redevelopment Act of 1966 provided
aid to cities rebuilding blighted areas. Other measures dealt with mass transit, truth
in packaging and lending, beautification, conservation, water and air quality, safety,
and support for the arts.

90. Results of the Great
Society

91. Results of the Great
Society
The following statistics are provided by Star Parker's Coalition of Urban Renewal,
(CURE).
*60 percent of black children grow up in fatherless homes. *800,000 black men
are in jail or prison. *70 percent of black babies are born to unwed
mothers. *Over 300,000 black babies are aborted annually. *50 percent of new
AIDS cases are in the black community. *Almost half of young black men in
America's cities are neither working nor in school. What we have here is a ticking
time bomb waiting to explode.

92. Results of the Great
Society
What was the message of the social programs that came out of LBJ's Great
Society? One of the most devastating to the family was that if an unwed woman
became pregnant, moved out of the home of her parents, did not name or know who
the father was, then Big Daddy in Washington would provide for all her essential
needs. Ergo she no longer needed a husband or the support of her family. In fact,
the more children she had out of wedlock, the more money she would receive from
the government. This program was the death knell for many families, especially in
the black community. Unfortunately many black men saw this as the best of all
possible worlds. They could father as many children as they wanted, from multiple
women, without ever having to accept the responsibility of fatherhood. Many women
rejected marriage in favor of a boyfriend who could slip in the back door and not
jeopardize her government check. In this dysfunctional culture why would education
be important? Why seek an education only to have to compete for a good job in the
market place when they could just hang around the neighborhood and have all of
life's amenities? In fact studying and getting good grades, for many blacks, became
a social stigma. They were called "Uncle Toms" and accused of trying to act "white".
Many blacks who had the potential to succeed gave in to this pressure and opted for
failure. After all they had the perfect excuse. Did not the NAACP and race hustlers
like Jesse Jackson tell them that it was not their fault? That they were just innocent

93. Great Society Concept
Map
What are its results?
Definition
Great Society
What are some goals?

94. Great Society Quiz
1.
Give one of the goals of President Johnson’s Great Society.
2.
What was the fulfillment of President Truman’s dream of providing health
care for the aged?
3.
Was the Great Society legislation difficult to pass in congress?
4.
Give a 1950s status quo statistic for the black American family.
5.
Give one of the results of the Great Society for the black American family.