Chapter 38: The Stormy Sixties

The Stormy Sixties
1960-1968

Bay of Pigs

On April 17, 1961, 1,200 exiles landed at Cuba's Bay of Pigs
Kennedy was against direct intervention of the overthrow of Fidel Castro
Failed to provide air support in the attack
attack failed

Note

Kennedy increased spending on conventional military forces and bolstered the Special Forces

Note

developing an array of military options that could be precisely matched to the gravity of the crisis at hand

Flexible Response

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara pushed for "flexible response"

Rumblings in Europe

Krushchev ordered for the building of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall- preventative of population drain from East to West Germany

New Frontier

Peace Corps proposed by President Kennedy
an army of volunteers to bring American skills to underdeveloped countries

The New Frontier at Home

Southern Democrats and Republicans disagreed with New Frontier program
Revitalizing the economy after the recession of the Eisenhower years
curb inflation- noninflationary wage agreement in the steel industry

Note

Western Europe prosperous from Marshall Plan and Common Market
Trade Expansion Act- tariff cuts of up to 50% to trade with Common Market countries

Cuban Missile Crisis

Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine of Cuba
demanded immediate removal of all weaponry

Civil Rights

Freedom Riders wanted to end segregation in facilities in South
"March on Washington" led by MLK in 1963 in support of the new proposed civil rights legislation

Kennedy's Assassination

Kennedy assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald

Lyndon B. Johnson

sworn into office after Kennedy's death
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banning racial discrimination in most private facilities

Civil Rights Act of 1964

strengthened federal government's power to end segregation in schools and other public facilities
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission created to eliminate discrimination in hiring

Note

Johnson believed in "affirmative action" to end discrimination
added proposals to Kennedy's "War on Poverty"
"Great Society"- sweeping set of New Dealish economic and welfare measures aimed at transforming American way of life

LBJ's Great Society

4 Main Components:

aid to education
medical care for the elderly and poor
immigration reform
new voting rights bill

Voting Rights Act of 1965

banned literacy tests and sending federal voter registers into several southern states

Black Power

Watts Explosion- increasing militant confrontation in the black struggle
Malcolm X deepened the division among black leaders
Black Panther- group that openly carried weapons in California as violence/ threat of violence increased
April 4, 1968- MLK shot and killed

Combating Communism in Two Hemispheres

LBJ sent 25,000 troops to Dominican Republic after revolt against military government
Operation Rolling Thunder- regular full-scale bombing attacks against North Vietnam

Vietnam Vexations

antiwar demonstrations increased as the Vietnam War continued and produced more American casualties
Americans losses during Vietnam War more significant than that of WWII

Tet Offensive

ended in a military defeat for the VC
American public demanded for an immediate end to the war
American military leaders demanded for 200,000 more troops

Election of 1968

Richard Nixon won election of 1968
won majority of the black vote

Cultural Upheaval of the 1960s

American society was not free of racism, sexism, imperialism and oppression
Many people lost their morals

Free Speech Movement

Mario Savio led protest against established authority at the University of Berkeley in 1964

Sexual Revolution

birth control pills made unwanted pregnancies easy to avoid
gays and lesbians were increasingly emerging and demanding sexual tolerance
Mattachine Society- advocate for gay rights
AIDS emerged- slowed sexual revolution

Students for a Democratic Society

created the Weathermen group- underground terrorist group

Three P's

youthful population bulge
protest against racism and the Vietnam War
apparent permanence of prosperity