John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, promising to revitalize the economy and space exploration. His New Frontier program aimed to improve education, healthcare, and space exploration. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Lyndon B. Johnson continued Kennedy's agenda and launched the Great Society, passing major civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination and expanding federal aid for education, healthcare, housing, and the environment to fight poverty. Johnson won re-election in 1964 and continued enacting Great Society programs, but his escalation of the Vietnam War grew increasingly unpopular.

1. THE NEW FRONTIER AND
THE GREAT SOCIETY
KENNEDY AND
JOHNSON LEAD
AMERICA IN THE
1960S

2. ELECTION OF 1960
• John Kennedy
(Democrat, Senator from
Massachusetts)
• Promised to “get
America moving again”
• Richard Nixon (Republican,
Eisenhower’s Vice-President)

3. TELEVISED DEBATE AFFECTS
VOTE
• Journalist Russell Baker:
“That night, image replaced
the printed word as the
national language of
politics”
On September 26, 1960, Kennedy and Nixon took part in the
first televised debate between presidential candidates

4. CLOSEST ELECTION SINCE 1884
• Kennedy won the
election by fewer
than 119,000
votes
• Nixon dominated
the west, while
Kennedy won the
south and the
east coast
JFKRMN

5. JFK’s Inaugural
“Ask not what your
country can do
for you --- ask
what you can do
for your country”
Delivered Friday, January 20, 1961

6. THE NEW
FRONTIER
• Kennedy’s
proposed program
– Economy
– Education
– Medical care for the
elderly & poor
– Space exploration

7. TRAGEDY IN DALLAS
• November 22,1963
• Lyndon Johnson immediately sworn in as President

8. THE GREAT SOCIETY
– Civil Rights Legislation (Civil Rights Act &
Voting Rights Act)
– Education (first major federal aid package for
education)
– Healthcare (Medicare & Medicaid)
– Housing (low-rent public housing)
– Immigration Reform (Immigration Act of 1965)
– Environment (Water Quality Act of 1965)
– Consumer Protection (safety laws)

9. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
• July of 1964: LBJ pushed the Civil Rights Act
through Congress
• Prohibited discrimination based on race, color,
religion or national origin, and granted the federal
government new powers to enforce the law

10. THE WAR ON POVERTY
• August of 1964:
Economic
Opportunity Act
– Act provided $1 billion
in aid to the inner city

11. VOTING RIGHTS ACT 1965
• Prohibited literacy
tests or other
discriminatory
practices for voting
• Insured consistent
election practices
"By the way, what's the big
word?"

13. LBJ easily defeats Goldwater in ‘64

14. SUPREME COURT REFORMS
• Chief Justice Earl
Warren
• Protection of individual
rights
– illegally seized evidence
could not be used in court
– the accused has the right to
have an attorney present
when questioned by police
– all suspects must be read
their rights before
questioning (Miranda v.
Arizona)
Warren

15. IMPACT OF GREAT SOCIETY
• The Great Society and the Supreme Court changed
the United States
• No president in Post-WWII era extended the power
and reach of the federal government more than LBJ