Kennedy's New Fronteir

Unemployment:

What was the 1961 Area Redevelopment Act?

In what ways was it successful?

In what ways was it unsuccessful?

• 1961 Area Redevelopment Act:

  • $394 to extend employment opportunities (e.g. in West Virginia)

In what ways was the 1961 Area Redevelopment Act successful? How was it unsuccessful?

• Poorly funded

• Created 26,000 jobs + training programs which benefitted 15,000

• 5 million remained unemployed

What was the 1962 Manpower development and training Act?

• 1962 Manpower Development and Training Act:

• To train and retrain workers who became unemployed due to increased automation and technological change

In what ways was the Manpower Development and Training Act successful?

How was it unsuccessful?

• 1962: 351 approved programmes and 12,000 trainers in 40 states

• Declared highly significant by Kennedy

  • BUT… little impact on unemployment

    • Mainly supported officials providing training rather than decreasing the number of unemployed.

Social welfare:

What was the minimum wage act?

How was it flawed?

• Increased minimum wage from $0.25-$1.25

• Minimum wage covers an extra 3.6 million workers

• BUT… ½ of poorest remain uncovered, including 150,000 laundry workers.

What was the Omnibus Housing Act (1961)?

How was it unsuccessful? (hint; recession)

• Gave $5bn for the extension of existing programmes (e.g. Urban renewal)

• Congress aimed to get US out of recession, not alleviate poverty.

  • Therefore, the act was designed to help developers more + Democrat candidates for office in cities more than the poor.

How was the Foodstamp programme successful?

• Fed 240,000 at the cost of 22 million

What did Kennedy continue? (Hint: milk)

How was he successful in this?

• Extended Eisenhower’s school lunch/milk programme

• Meant 700,00 children could have hot lunch.

Peace efforts:

What were the peace corps?

What did Kennedy privately hope they would do?

• Peace Corps:

• Aimed to help impoverished communities in Asia and Africa

• Part of US’ duty to help world development and peace

• Kennedy privately hoped the Peace Corps would counter USSR propaganda showing the US as selfish

• Young volunteers sent to help through teaching and technical aid.

How were the Peace Corps successful?

• Headed by Sargeant Shriver; charismatic which attracted thousands

• Thousands volunteered

  • 1961-63: sent to 44 developing countries

• 71% in favour- both parties acknowledged success

• Increases US image in developing countries.

Space:

What motivated Kennedy’s space race?

• Something had to be done about the US failure in the Cold War

• Success in space was needed to restore faith in Kennedy’s leadership

How was Kennedy successful with the space race?

How was he unsuccessful?

• Success: moon programme cost $40 bn but led to international acclaim in 1969

  • 58% of US approve

• Failure: 1957: US launch fails; labelled as “flopnik” by GB newspapers

Environmentalism:

What was the Water Pollution Control Act Amendments 1961 and what did it do?

What was “Silent Spring” and how was it influential?

• Water Pollution Control Act Amendments 1961: built on previous legislation

• “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson- triggered environmentalist response

  • Kennedy encouraged her; invited her to speak at the Whitehouse

Legislative failures:

Why did congress limit Kennedy’s success?

• Congress dominated by Republican/Southern Democrats who opposed federal expenditure in education/health insurance

How did Kennedy’s personal preferences limit him?

• Kennedy disliked congressional bargaining

  • Relied upon inexperienced aides to promote his legislative agenda

How did international relations limit Kennedy’s success?

• Awful 1961 backed invasion of Cuba meant that national security took priority over social/economic reform

  • Explains why little new domestic legislation was passed

    • Most of what congress passed was extensions of existing acts