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Chapter 30 |
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The 1960s was an era of angry protests, violent demonstrations, and sweeping social change. Under both Kennedy and Johnson, significant domestic reforms occurred while the continued American involvement in Vietnam led to escalation and eventually stalemate.
Kennedy Intensifies The Cold War
Despite a campaign that focused on domestic issues, foreign affairs took center stage upon John Kennedy’s election. The new administration supported containment and authorized a massive buildup of nuclear weapons in an effort to win the Cold War. Kennedy surrounded himself with the “best and brightest,” young, aggressive advisors determined to invoke a hard-line approach to the Soviet Union.
Flexible Response
Kennedy aggressively built up not only the nation’s nuclear arsenal but also the strength of the armed forces. The purpose was to create an alternative to Eisenhower’s massive resistance. Kennedy and his advisors wanted the United States to have the capability of a flexible response, meaning that America could choose to use nuclear force or employ the military should the need arise.
Crisis Over Berlin
A “superpower” stalemate that developed in Berlin left Germany physically divided between the East and the West with the construction of the Berlin Wall. Kennedy ordered further military spending for weaponry and called 150,000 reservists to active duty to demonstrate American determination to honor its international commitments.
Containment in Southeast Asia
Kennedy reacted to Soviet statements promising support for “wars of national liberation” by a combination of financial aid, technical assistance, and counterinsurgency in order to build strong, stable, Western democracies in the less-developed areas of Asia. The most obvious result of this support was the increase of American advisors to South Vietnam from less than 1,000 in 1961 to more than 16,000 in 1963.
Containing Castro: The Bay of Pigs Fiasco
Kennedy gave his approval to a CIA plan developed under Eisenhower to topple Castro by using Cuban exiles as invasion troops. The Bay of Pigs landing proved to be an utter disaster, and Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure.
Containing Castro: The Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1962, the United States faced a much more serious issue regarding the installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba. Kennedy refused to bargain on the missiles and boldly ordered a quarantine of Cuba as the world braced for a possible nuclear showdown. Premier Khrushchev eventually backed down, but the Russians went on a crash nuclear buildup to achieve parity with the United States. Some positive results followed: a limited test ban treaty was signed in 1963; a hot line to speed communication between the nuclear antagonists was installed, and a policy of conciliation replaced that of confrontation. Those gains were offset by a dramatic escalation in the arms race.
The New Frontier At Home
John F. Kennedy took advantage of television debates and a national sense of dissatisfaction to narrowly defeat the Republican candidate Richard Nixon for the presidency in 1960. Kennedy’s election marked the arrival of a new generation of leadership. As he had with foreign affairs, Kennedy surrounded himself with the “best and the brightest” advisors on domestic issues. The new administration reflected the president’s youth and energy, but Kennedy’s greatest asset was his personality and style that endeared him to Americans.
The Congressional Obstacle
Because the conservative coalition stood firmly against education and health care proposals, much of the New Frontier languished in Congress. Kennedy did win approval of a trade-expansion program and a slight increase in the minimum wage, however.
Economic Advance
Kennedy made the sluggish American economy one of his highest priorities, but received conflicting advice on how best to stimulate it. Ultimately, the greatest stimulus to economic growth came from Kennedy’s increased appropriations for defense and space. In 1963, Kennedy, following the advice of his chief economic advisor, Walter Heller, pushed through major tax cuts to stimulate consumer spending. Personal income and corporate profits increased dramatically, and the economy did well throughout the 1960s.
Moving Slowly On Civil Rights
Having promised in his campaign to support desegregation, the president avoided congressional action, focusing instead on executive leadership. His brother and Attorney General, Robert Kennedy, continued the Eisenhower administration’s efforts to achieve Black voting rights in the South while Vice President Lyndon Johnson headed a presidential Commission on Equal Employment Opportunities. Kennedy also appointed a number of African Americans to high government positions and supported the attempt by James Meredith to gain admission to the University of Mississippi over Governor Ross Barnett’s opposition. Not satisfied with the scope of Kennedy’s support for Black equality, civil rights workers pushed the issue by initiating the first “freedom ride” in 1961 to test the Supreme Court’s order to desegregate all bus and train stations used in interstate travel.
“I Have a Dream”
Responding to Dr. King’s campaign for racial justice in Birmingham and his eloquent speech from the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, Kennedy finally decided to take the offensive and push for civil rights legislation in Congress. By the time of the president’s death, his civil rights bills were on their way to passage. Though Kennedy’s record on civil rights was hesitant, he did throw the weight of the presidency behind the civil rights movement, something that had never been done before.
The Supreme Court and Reform
The Warren-led Supreme Court was the most active force for social change, making far-reaching decisions that improved the rights of accused criminals, and brought about more equitable reapportionment in legislative redistricting. The activism of the Court stirred a storm of criticism.
“Let Us Continue”
Vice President Lyndon Johnson moved quickly to fill the void left by Kennedy’s death, urging Congress to pass his tax and civil rights bills as a tribute to the fallen president.
Johnson In Action
Although lacking Kennedy’s charm and charisma, Johnson possessed far greater ability than his predecessor in dealing with Congress. He sought consensus rather than confrontation. He succeeded in achieving the passage of Kennedy’s civil rights measures, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made segregation illegal, was a landmark in the advance of American freedom and equality.
The Election of 1964
Convinced of the detrimental societal effects of poverty, Johnson declared an unconditional “war on poverty” and empowered the new Office of Economic Opportunity to set up a variety of programs to provide assistance to the poor in America. In 1964, Johnson and his “Great Society” program soundly defeated the hawkish Republican Barry Goldwater. The Democrats also achieved huge gains in Congress, breaking the conservative stranglehold.
The Triumph of Reform
Upon inauguration, Johnson began pushing his “Great Society,” making health care and educational reforms his top priority. The establishment of Medicare and Medicaid realized Truman’s 1949 goal of universal health insurance while the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided federal monies to school districts throughout the nation. The passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 encouraged massive increases in African-American voter registration. Within nine months of being elected in his own right, Johnson achieved the entire Democratic reform agenda, but difficulties abroad soon stole his attention from domestic concerns.
Johnson Escalates The Vietnam War
Lyndon Johnson shared Kennedy’s Cold War view and inherited his military and diplomatic problems. His forcefulness in opposing Castro and the Latin American left brought increasing criticism from many directions, as did his resolve to contain communism in Southeast Asia.
The Vietnam Dilemma
In Vietnam the United States had supported the South Vietnamese regime of Ngo Dinh Diem against communist insurgents. Kennedy had sent military advisors and substantial military and economic aid. Full-scale American involvement began under Johnson in 1965, after the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution by Congress gave the president the power to take the offensive.
Escalation
Refusing to call for an invasion of the North, Johnson opted for steady military escalation. As his “open-ended commitment” to force a diplomatic solution on Hanoi intensified, American combat missions in the South and air strikes against the North increased. Johnson refused to admit, however, that he had committed the United States to full-scale military involvement, and the situation in Southeast Asia worsened.
Stalemate
Despite massive American escalation, the war remained stalemated in 1968. Westmoreland’s wanton use of American firepower to destroy the Vietnamese countryside, wiping out villages and killing civilians, discredited the American cause and increased criticism of the war on the homefront.
Years Of Turmoil
With the growth of opposition to the war in Vietnam escalating, the 1960s became the most turbulent decade of the century as those who were dissatisfied with their position in American society—African Americans, women, Native Americans, hippies, Latinos, and students—took to the streets to protest.
The Student Revolt
Student radicals on campuses across the nation created unrest over free speech, war, racism, poverty, and a variety of other issues. The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) were the most active of these student groups. At first experiencing phenomenal growth and success, SDS was dead by 1970, destroyed by inner turmoil and a penchant for violence.
Protesting the Vietnam War
Opposition to the war in Vietnam was a central theme for many students. To students the war seemed to symbolize all that was wrong with America. Students held sit-ins and marches demanding an end to the war. Though they failed to end the war, they did change American life.
The Cultural Revolution
Combined with the issues of war and race, the youth of the country seemed to be rejecting all the cultural values of middle-class, middle-aged Americans. Along with opposition to the war and the draft, rock music and drug experimentation were key elements of this counterculture movement that climaxed at the legendary Woodstock concert in Bethel, New York.
“Black Power”
The civil rights movement became more militant and less concerned with racial harmony as the 1960s wore on. Despite the movement’s legislative successes, its failure to solve the economic problems of the race along with continued racial discrimination inspired a rejection of King’s non-violent tactics. When King was assassinated, urban riots erupted in 125 cities across the nation. The Black Power movement went hand in hand with a movement celebrating pride in Black culture and history and the rejection of the term Negro in favor of Afro-American or Black.
Ethnic Nationalism
The pride in ethnicity that emerged from the Black Power movement inspired other groups including Mexican Americans and Native Americans to celebrate their own heritage and history. Language classes and programs celebrating ethnic heritage began almost overnight at many colleges and Congress acknowledged the trend with the passage of the Ethnic Heritage Studies Act of 1972.
Women’s Liberation
Young women involved in the various civil rights movements of the era found to their dismay that many of their male colleagues saw them only as people to fix the food. Such sexism inspired many to join a growing movement for women’s liberation. Recognizing that the condition of women in America created a sense of grievance and discrimination, the work of such authors as Betty Friedan argued that many women were not satisfied with a life that consisted solely of housework and child rearing. The 1964 Civil Rights Act helped women combat employment inequalities while groups like the National Organization for Women emerged to push for full equality for women with the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment. Turned off by some of the more radical views of the feminist movement, the Amendment was not ratified by American voters.
The Return Of Richard Nixon
Partially as a reaction to the turmoil of the 1960s, Richard Nixon made a remarkable comeback and won the presidency in 1968.
Vietnam Undermines Lyndon Johnson
As a result of the Viet Cong’s surprise offensive during Tet, the lunar New Year, American political and popular support for the war declined rapidly. In March of 1968, President Johnson refused to authorize further military escalation, declared a peace initiative, and announced that he would not run for another term.
The Democrats Divide
Without a clear candidate, the Democratic party divided between Eugene McCarthy, Robert Kennedy, and Johnson’s Vice President Hubert Humphrey. After the assassination of Robert Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey became the heir apparent of the party, but divisions over the war deeply divided the party. These divisions became hardened at the tumultuous Democratic convention in Chicago.
The Republican Resurgence
With the wounded Democratic party foundering, and George Wallace, a third-party candidate running on White supremacy, running away with much of the Southern vote, the Republican nominee Richard Nixon easily won the presidency.
Conclusion: The End of an Era
The election of Richard Nixon was a rejection of the politics of protest and the cultural insurgency of the 1960s and a sign that the long-silent majority was fed up with the turmoil of the era. Nixon’s election signaled the end the liberal reform impulse that had been born in the midst of the Great Depression. It was also a repudiation of the burgeoning growth of federal power and interventionist foreign policy.
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