Module 9: The 1960s Era

What was Kennedy’s overall approach to the presidency?

Kennedy had a lot of ideas for domestic reforms, The new frontier, he wanted to cut taxes, he wanted to pass civil rights legislation, Health insurance for the Elderly, Antipoverty programs. He struggled a lot with getting things passed, he didn’t do great in working with congress

How did Kennedy handle the Cold War?

Although he is a new generation he still carries the mentality of Cold War veterans. An example of this through the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Berlin Wall

What was the impact of Kennedy’s assassination?

The assassination of John F. Kennedy in November 1963 had a profound emotional and political impact on the United States. Nationally, it shocked the country and created a sense of grief and uncertainty, as many Americans felt they had lost a young and hopeful leader during a tense Cold War era. Politically, it led to a shift in leadership as Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the presidency and quickly worked to push forward Kennedy’s stalled domestic agenda. Johnson used the momentum and sympathy following Kennedy’s death to gain support in Congress, helping pass major legislation such as civil rights reforms that Kennedy had struggled to achieve. In this way, Kennedy’s assassination not only marked a tragic turning point but also indirectly led to significant political and social change.

How did LBJ both continue and adapt Kennedy’s ideas?

He passed the Liberal Reforms that Kennedy tried to pass, those being the 1964 Civil Right Act, Tax Cuts, Voting Rights Act, War on Poverty: Economic Opportunity Act, Medicare and Medicaid: Elderly and Lower class, Immigration: overturn 1924 law with equal quotas for all countries, The Environment: The Clean Air Act.

Why did Kennedy struggle to get Congress to agree with him, even members of his own party?

many of the southerners in his party were suspicious of Kennedy, his northeast establishment background, and his domestic priorities. His attempts to lower taxes and broaden civil rights were dismissed for an Urban Affairs department because they thought Kennedy would appoint an African American for the first secretary.

What domestic issue was most important?

The most important domestic issue during John F. Kennedy’s presidency was civil rights. The country was facing growing pressure to address racial inequality, as African Americans pushed to end segregation and discrimination. This issue was especially urgent because activism was increasing across the nation, and resistance—particularly in the South—was strong. Civil rights became the most divisive and pressing issue because it forced the federal government to confront long-standing injustices while also dealing with intense political opposition.

How did the issue impact politics between Kennedy, the Senate, and the Supreme Court?

Civil rights created major political tension between Kennedy, Congress (especially the Senate), and the courts. Many Southern Democrats in the Senate opposed civil rights reforms and used their power to block or weaken legislation, making it difficult for Kennedy to pass new laws. At the same time, the Supreme Court had already ruled in favor of desegregation, so there was pressure on the executive branch to enforce those decisions. Kennedy often had to balance following Supreme Court rulings with managing resistance from Congress, especially because he relied on Southern Democrats for broader political support. This led to compromises and limited progress in passing new civil rights laws.

What actions did Kennedy take to support Civil RIghts?

Although Kennedy was sometimes cautious, he did take several important actions to support civil rights. Rather than focusing heavily on new legislation, he prioritized enforcing existing laws and court decisions. For example, when James Meredith was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi, Kennedy sent federal marshals and troops to ensure his admission, even in the face of violent resistance. He also federalized the Mississippi National Guard to maintain order. These actions showed that Kennedy was willing to use federal power to enforce desegregation, even if he struggled to push broader reforms through Congress.

What Broad issue dominated foreign policy?

The issue in Berlin over the Communist way of the Soviet Union

How did Johnson shape the national government’s relationship to society?

Creating the “Great Society”, he worked very well with the government and got lots of reforms passed which made American’s lives easier every day. He was able to get everyone on his side and pass everything.

What was Nixon’s approach to domestic politics and why?

Although he was a republican in acted in very liberal ways, he passed Title: gender equality in education, continued LBJ’s War on poverty, and high spending on domestic policies.

What did Nixon do with Foreign policy?

He open up China to start trading with the US. He also lowered tensions with the soviet union greatly.

What was Nixon’s downfall?

The watergate, people not associated with the White house broke into the Democratic Headquarters and Nixon lied under oath to cover it up which then got him impeached and before he could be thrown out of office he resigned. From this American’s trust in the government really decreased.

What was the context and origins of the Vietnam War?

Very connected to the Cold War, domino theory, when one country falls to communism other states will too. Vietnam struggled to gain independence from France, Vietnam split into South Vietnam and North Vietnam. The US backed South Vietnam so that communism wouldn’t spread and North Vietnam was communist.

What happened at My Lai? What was the general attitude of American soldiers toward the Vietnamese people?

When trying to fight the Vietnamese, they couldn’t see them because they had built tunnels which made them pop up out of nowhere which was very discouraging because they were basically fighting an invisible enemy.

What was the impact of the anti-war protests?

Antiwar sentiment grew because of several major events:

• The My Lai Massacre, where U.S. soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, including women and children

• Reports of brutality in the war, including torture, village destruction, and use of napalm

• Testimony from veterans like John Kerry exposing war crimes

• The release of the Pentagon Papers, which revealed the government had misled the public

• The Kent State shootings, where National Guard troops killed student protesters

• The expansion of the war into Cambodia, which shocked Americans

👉 Overall: People started to feel the war was immoral, unnecessary, and dishonest.

What did media impact American’s understanding of the war?

Photos were taken out of contexts and cause Americans to worry why we were killing people “senseless[ly]” and why we were there when there was so much chaos. Showing that when showing pictures without context it can cause a lot of conflict. People felt that the media was able to show what the government was choosing not to share with the American people.

How did President Nixon shape the ending of the war?

Richard Nixon used a strategy to exit the war while saving U.S. reputation:

• Vietnamization → gradually turning the war over to South Vietnamese forces

• Withdrawing U.S. troops starting in 1969

• Expanding bombing (like in Cambodia) to pressure North Vietnam

• Supporting repeal of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• Negotiating peace with North Vietnam

This led to the 1973 peace agreement, ending U.S. involvement.

👉 BUT: North Vietnamese troops stayed in the South, so the war basically continued without the U.S.

What is the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?

How the US got involved in the Vietnam War, 2 US ships were fired at by Vietnam, Johnson passes the resolution which gives the president the authority to send troops to protect US interests in South Vietnam. Bombing campaigns emerge from this.

What was the role of the Cold War in U.S. involvement in Vietnam?

The US had worked for so long not to back down to communism taking over Asia that they stayed in the War to back Vietnam.

Which option best describes Johnson’s approach to the Vietnam War?

• He sought for a way to end the war

• He was afraid of appearing weak to other countries

• He was afraid of appearing weak to other countries.

What is Vietnamization?

South Vietnamese troops would be trained and US troops withdrawn, as a step to securing “peace in our time”. Vietnamization was supposed to train and equip the South Vietnamese to defend themselves. But later they found out that South Vietnam would not be able to survive without the US, it was a fraud.

What was Nixon’s purpose for continuing the Vietnam War?

Nixon knew that if South Vietnam fell a few months after the US withdrew from the war they would blame him, but if they fell 1-2 years after they would have to blame someone else. So, he secretly negotiated a “decent interval” that would make sure that the blame wouldn’t fall onto him. To get a “decent interval,” Nixon had Kissinger secretly assure the Communists that he would not intervene if they took over South Vietnam, just as long as they waited a year or two before doing so.

If South Vietnam was going to fail anyway, why did the Administration not just end the war and withdraw all troops?

Nixon knew that leaving Vietnam meant losing Vietnam. If he lost Vietnam before Election Day 1972, he would lose his campaign for a second term. He had promised “peace with honor,” not retreat with defeat. He couldn’t deliver “peace with honor,” so he found a politically acceptable substitute, delayed retreat followed by delayed defeat.

Did the Nixon administration purposefully leave South Vietnamese leaders to twist slowly in the wind?

The South Vietnamese paid the price for Nixon and Kissinger’s refusal to level with America. If Nixon and Kissinger had been honest, they would have told America that Saigon couldn’t survive without American troops. They could have negotiated for the exodus of the South Vietnamese who had fought on our side of the war. But they wouldn’t do that, because that would have involved admitting failure, admitting that they couldn’t achieve “peace with honor.”

What values defined the Hippie Movement?

peace and love, love not war, anti-war protests. Hippies embraces dope, so LSD and Marijuana. Value of an emphasis upon pleasure, if something feels good it must be good, Hinduism and Buddhism. Embraces sex and sexual activity, connecting to pleasure, all about fun and freedom when it comes to that. Embraced rock n’ roll, not just music but whole festival, putting drugs, sex, and love all together. Most famous festival being the Woodstock, all comes down with the festival of Altamont. High value of community, agrarian, rural living, rejecting suburbs and societies rules.

What was the Black Power Movement and how did it differ from earlier Civil Rights movement strategies?

that Black Power “was born from the wombs of despair and disappointment. Black Power is a cry of pain. It is in fact a reaction to the failure of White Power to deliver the promises and to do it in a hurry … The cry of Black Power is really a cry of hurt” (King, 14 November 1966). Earlier strategies sought to use nonviolence but the Black Power Movement thought that it was the only way for people to listen.

What split occurred in the Civil Rights movement?

The controversy over Black Power reflected and perpetuated a split in the civil rights movement between organizations that maintained that nonviolent methods were the only way to achieve civil rights goals and those organizations that had become frustrated and were ready to adopt violence and black separatism. 

What principle did SNCC and CORE reject?

The rejected the idea of nonviolence, and embraced militant separatism with Black Power as their objective.

What drove frustration in the years after the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965?

• Substandard Housing (Predatory Landlords, Poor Urban Environments)

• Economic Inequality (Lack of Good Jobs, Predatory Lending, Rat infestations, living in poor conditions)

• Policing Problems (majority white cops, policing black neighborhoods)

  • this specifically turned into people rioting to send the message of anger and defiance.

Which option best describes Johnson's approach to domestic policy?

• He emphasized a limited role for the federal government.

• He emphasized cutting taxes and balancing the budget.

• He increased the role of the federal government in many aspects of daily life.

• He sought to cut back on immigration to the United States.

• He increased the role of the federal government in many aspects of daily life.

Which of the following best describes Kennedy's foreign policy?

• He pushed through new ideas, such as detente.

• He transitioned away from the status quo.

• He struggled to be effective as a global leader.

• He continued the status quo of strength.

• He continued the status quo of strength.

Which of the following best describes television coverage of the Vietnam War?

• It was heavily censored by the government.

• It only presented the high-level perspective of the generals.

• Realistic and focused on the experience of soldiers.

• A happy and cheery perspective.

• Realistic and focused on the experience of soldiers.

Which of the following best describes why the United States was so concerned about Vietnam?

• The U.S. desired to protect South Vietnam from human rights abuses.

• The U.S. was worried about a new wave of Japanese imperialism.

• The U.S. was worried about the expansion of Chinese influence in Asia.

• The U.S. saw protecting South Vietnam as key to protecting Asia from communist expansion.

• The U.S. saw protecting South Vietnam as key to protecting Asia from communist expansion.

Which of the following best describes a civil rights movement split related to Black Power?

• A split between an emphasis on local or national politics

• A split between those committed to non-violence and those ready to adopt violence.

• A split between urban and rural activists.

• A split between those who emphasized cultural change and those committed to political change.

• A split between those committed to non-violence and those ready to adopt violence.

Which set of characteristics best describes a typical hippie?

• A young man attending a Rock n Roll festival related to ending the Vietnam War.

• A young veteran concerned about military spending in the federal budget.

• A young mom concerned about safety in her neighborhood.

• A female college student concerned about sex discrimination in her classes.

• A young man attending a Rock n Roll festival related to ending the Vietnam War.