I.
JFK
defeats Nixon in 1960 Presidential Election
a.
televised
debates
b.
JFK’s
charisma and youth
c.
“Camelot”
II.
JFK
as President
a.
Not
exactly glowing accomplishments in domestic policy (big plans…little follow-up)
àCivil Rights a big focus,
but little governmental action to pursue it
b.
JFK
is an aggressive, Trumanite Cold Warrior
àBay of Pigs disaster (April
1961)
àBerlin Crisis (Summer/Fall
1961)
àCuban Missile Crisis
(October 1962)
àEscalation in Vietnam
*300 military advisors in Vietnam when JFK became
President
*over
16,000 at the time of his death
It will only get worse under LBJ
c.
JFK
assassinated in Dallas (November 22, 1963)
àlots of conspiracy theories,
but no solid evidence to support them
à “lack of evidence is the
best proof”…whatever
JFK’s
reputation based more on what “could have been” than what actually was!
III.
The
LBJ Years (1963-69)
a.
LBJ
is the “anti-JFK”…a Texan with a big reputation. He will win a term of his own in 1964.
àArchitect of the “Great
Society”, the foundation of the modern welfare state
àCivil Rights legislation
finally passed due to his influence with Congress, but racial unrest will
escalate throughout the 60s (marches, riots, etc.)
àVietnam is his greatest
legacy
b.
Vietnam
àbegan under Eisenhower,
increased under JFK, massive escalations under LBJ
àGulf of Tonkin Resolution
(August 1964)
“Take all necessary measures” to protect American
forces in Southeast Asia. A blank
check??
àTV war
àpeak year is 1968—over
540,000 American troops in Vietnam
With
each passing year, as more Americans are drafted and more soldiers die, support
for the war deteriorates.
c.
1968—the
year
January 31—Tet Offensive
March 30—LBJ announces he will not run again
April 4—MLK assassinated in Memphis
June 6—RFK assassinated in Los Angeles
August 26—Democratic Convention Riots in Chicago
November 6—Nixon defeats Humphrey
Nixon
promised “peace with honor” in Vietnam and “law and order” at home. The campaign promises worked…
IV.
The
Nixon Years (1969-1974)
a.
Counterculture/Youth
Culture
àAnti-war and anti-establishment,
but diverse
*Not everyone was a “hippie” in the 60s. Sorry.
àWoodstock and the Manson
Murders (August 1969)
*“Peace, love and music” vs. “rabid, murderous
longhairs” (media is key here)
àby 1968, youth culture had
fragmented between violent and non-violent groups
b.
USA
invades Cambodia (April 30, 1970)
àan escalation of the
war? Many thought so.
c.
Kent
State shootings (May 4, 1970)
à4 students killed and 9
wounded when National Guardsmen fired on a campus protest
àCollege campuses erupted,
some of them shutting down due to riots and violence
d.
The Pentagon Papers (June 1971)
àpublished in New York Times and Washington Post
àtraced American involvement in Vietnam since 1945
àrevealed a trail of
deception and lies about the war
àNixon administration tried
to have it suppressed and failed
e.
Nixon
re-elected (November 7, 1972)
àdespite problems at home and
abroad, Nixon easily defeated George McGovern
àthe war in Vietnam is taking
a turn…
f.
Cease-fire
in Vietnam (January 27, 1973)
àlast American ground troops
leave by end of March (“peace with honor”)
àSouth Vietnam will hold out
until April 1975,
when NVA forces captured Saigon
à56,000 Americans died in
Vietnam…for what?
g.
Watergate
*five men break into DNC HQ at Watergate Hotel
*two arrests, and they have connections to Nixon
*accusations of a White House cover-up
*Congress begins investigations—Nixon denies all
knowledge of and involvement in the break-in
*revelations of a White House taping system
*House Judiciary Committee votes to recommend Nixon
be impeached on three counts of “high crimes and misdemeanors”
*Nixon resigns rather than be impeached and thrown
out of office
*up to his death in 1994, he never admitted his
involvement in the Watergate fiasco
*President Gerald Ford pardons Nixon in an attempt
to end “this long national nightmare”
*Met with outrage and anger from many quarters
The
events of this era helped define modern America:
(1)
Apathy
and cynicism toward government
(2)
Loss
of faith in national leaders/politicians
(3)
1960s
as the “glory days” (gag me, please)
(4)
Mass
media as public watchdog of government
(5)
Loss
of innocence
Everything
that has happened since (the Reagan years, the end of the Cold War, the Gulf
War, the Clinton years, the 2000 election, September 11, and the war in Iraq)
and the way that Americans perceive these events, have been shaped by this
period
