Politics of the 1950s & 1960s

Eisenhower

• Conservative Republican

• Supported New Deal

• Expanded some social welfare programs

• Ended the Korean War

• Containment

• Oversaw a buildup of nukes

• Though to be too quiet

  • Didn’t speak much about Civil Rights

John F. Kennedy

• Wasn’t super popular

• Bad decisions led to the Cuban Missile Crisis

• Wanted to put a man on the moon

• Very charismatic

• Inspired many future presidents

LBJ

• Lust for power

• Persuasive

• He agreed to be JFK’s Vice President

• Passed the Civil Rights Act

• Chose to go to Vietnam

  • Made him less popular

Domestic Policies: Eisenhower

• “Dynamic Conservatism:” conservative with money, liberal with human beings

  • Expanded social welfare programs

  • Wanted to decentralize federal projects and give them to the states

• Interstate Highway Act

  • Established 42,000 miles of highway

  • For evacuation in case of a nuclear attack

• “Operation Wetback,” a 1954 program geared toward Mexican Americans to remove them from the United States

  • Some were citizens

• NASA was created in response to Sputnik, the Soviet satellite that went into space

The Debates of 1960

• Many people thought JFK won because he wore make-up, looked better, and acted better

  • Those who just listened though Nixon won

• “The Age of Camelot” refers to Kennedy’s presidency, symbolizing hope and idealism in the United States

• His inaugural Address covered poverty abroad, Soviets in space, and recession

Economic Recession

• JFK increased government spending so much it was deficit

Poverty Abroad

• JFK wanted to help struggling nations to make them loyal to American and capitalist

  • Offered volunteers

The End of the New Frontier

• Kennedy assassination November 22, 1963

• Warren Commission

  • Earl Warren

• LBJ assumes the role of president