Chapter 15. The Kennedy and Johnson Years

Table of Contents

Beginning the Journey
Materials for the Kennedy and Johnson years may be found in many modules within the American Journey Online database. "The Cold War," "Civil Rights," The Vietnam Era," "The Great Depression and the New Deal," and "Women in America" all contain useful sources for this era.

The multiplicity of modules dealing with this period demonstrates the varied nature of American society during this period. Both foreign and domestic developments were important to JFK and LBJ, as is made clear in the activities that follow.

The search techniques recommended for earlier units hold true for this one as well. Searching by Year is very helpful in locating sources for this era, especially since it covers a relatively brief period. The "Key Topics" of the modules are also good places to begin a search for materials, as they lay out the important issues of the time period and give users some idea of the historiographical controversies as well. If users have a specific topic or term in mind, utilizing the "Index" is recommended as a way of identifying sources.

Given the visual nature of this period, the modules identified above contain a plethora of still photos and audio and video clips of relevance. Users may locate those sources by scanning the "Images" and "Multimedia" sections of each module's "Contents."

Activity 1
The presidential election of 1960 pitted Vice President Richard Nixon (Republican) against Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy (Democrat). Polls throughout the campaign season showed the two in a very close race.

Taking advantage of the new medium of television, the candidates participated in a series of four debates that fall. (The debates were also carried live on the radio.) Historians have studied the Nixon-Kennedy debates for the insights they provide into the role that appearance and attractiveness play in influencing voter behavior.

Within "The Cold War," go to the multimedia clip "Nixon, Kennedy Debate." (One way to locate this source is to go to "Contents," then "Multimedia," then scroll down to the title.)

Be sure to play the audio clip and use the source to answer the following questions.

1. What ideas and proposed policy initiatives do the two candidates spell out in the source? What do the issues each candidate emphasizes tell you about how each views the United States, and how each would set about leaving his mark on American history?
2. Using only the audio clip to judge, which candidate seems to make the better case? Which would you judge the "winner" of the debate? Why?
3. Historians have used the Nixon-Kennedy debates as a test case for the role of television and personal appearance on voter behavior. What role do you believe these things played in 1960? How important do you believe these things are in politics today? Explain.

Kennedy continued the image he had projected during the debates after his election. His inaugural address, delivered on 20 January 1961, was a masterful piece of rhetoric that inspired a generation of Americans to service to their country.

To explore Kennedy's inaugural address, within "The Cold War," go to "Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961." (You may locate this document by going to "Contents," then "Authors," then "K," then "Kennedy, John F.," then click on the title.)

Use this document, in conjunction with the source above, to answer the following questions.

4. What pledges/promises does Kennedy make in his inaugural address? How does that document set the agenda for his administration? How does it set the tone and image he wished to project while president? How does the inaugural address complement the image that Kennedy projected during his 1960 debates with Nixon?
5. Kennedy's inaugural address was considered a stirring piece of rhetoric at the time, and it inspired many Americans to public service, both then and in the future. What parts of the speech do you find most inspiring? Why? What does Kennedy's performance in the debate with Nixon and his inaugural address demonstrate about the role of inspiration and emotion in politics?

Activity 2
Building on the call to service contained in his inaugural address, early in his administration Kennedy created the Peace Corps. It offered thousands of young Americans a chance to serve their nation--and the world--in a variety of non-military activities to promote education, better farming, construction projects, and the like.

Historians who have studied the Peace Corps consider it one of the best features of the Kennedy administration and one of its most lasting positive legacies. One has even gone so far as to consider the Peace Corps as emblematic of the "spirit" of the entire 1960s.

Within "The Cold War," locate "John F. Kennedy Creates the Peace Corps, March 1, 1961" and "Peace Corps Advertisement." (You may locate these sources by going to "Index," then "P," then "Peace Corps," then select the titles from the list.)

Use the sources to answer the following questions.

1. What sort of relationship does the Peace Corps proposal envision between the federal government and private groups in American society (labor unions, universities, industry, etc.)? Is there anything significant about the call for cooperation among these different groups? If so, what?
2. What rhetorical devices does Kennedy use in the Peace Corps proposal? What specific words or phrases in the statement are designed to inspire Americans to serve? Why do you think the proposal would have inspired people to enter the Peace Corps?
3. Kennedy's proposal goes out of its way to state that the Peace Corps is not to be an "instrument of diplomacy or propaganda or ideological conflict." Yet at a time of very high Cold War tensions, it clearly was all of these things (as Kennedy well knew at the time). Explain how the Peace Corps could indeed be a vehicle for American Cold War foreign policy aims.
4. How does the second source, the advertisement for the Peace Corps, convey the spirit and emotion of Kennedy's statement? How does it portray the Peace Corps? What does it suggest that Peace Corps volunteers can do for the impoverished around the world?
5. Taking these two sources together, and considering them in conjunction with Kennedy's inaugural address, how does the Peace Corps fit into Kennedy's overall vision for his administration? Make specific references here to both Kennedy's inaugural address (covered in Activity 1) and the Peace Corps proposal.

Activity 3
One of the biggest foreign policy challenges facing the Kennedy administration was the rise of the Communist regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba, less than one hundred miles from the United States.

Castro came to power toward the end of the Eisenhower administration, and American officials believe that he posed a serious threat to American security. The Eisenhower administration had begun plans to remove Castro from office, but these plans had not yet been implemented when Kennedy was elected in 1960.

The new administration shared its predecessor's dismay at Castro's Cuba and immediately formulated its own plans for dealing with him. The administration's first initiative was to follow through with the Eisenhower administration's plans, which were implemented in the spring of 1961 as the Bay of Pigs invasion. After this initiative ended in disaster, the Kennedy team launched other plans, including assassination attempts.

Studying the various ways that the Kennedy administration tried to deal with Castro after the Bay of Pigs reveals the depth of its anti-Communist commitment, as well as the lengths to which the federal government seemed willing to go to secure its foreign policy goals. It also reveals that at a certain point, Congress exerted its watchdog function over the executive branch and looked into the ways the Kennedy administration, and its successors, tried to deal with Castro (and other leaders they opposed).

Within "The Cold War" go to:

• "Guidelines for Operation Mongoose"
• "Excerpt from Cuban Protests against U.S. Aggression"
• "Televised address by President John F. Kennedy on the Cuban Missile Crisis, October 22, 1962" (be sure to play the audio)
• "CIA Assassination Plots against Castro"
• "Summary of U.S. Senate Interim Report."

These sources may all be located by going to "Contents," then "Regions," then "Cuba," then select each item from the list.

Use the sources to answer the following questions.

1. What is noteworthy about the language of the first document? What are its aims, and how are those aims to be achieved? Do you see any possible problems that could develop if the goals of this document are implemented? If so, what are they?
2. What does Cuban president Osvaldo Dorticos Torrado detail in the second document as U.S. aggressive acts against his country and its leader, Fidel Castro? Why does he believe the United States has acted this way? What does he announce that Cuba is doing to protect itself?
3. How does Kennedy in the third document explain the danger that Soviet missiles in Cuba play for American security--and indeed, world security? Where does he lay the blame for the missiles being in Cuba in the first place? Why must the United States take a firm stand against the missiles in Cuba?
4. What does the recounting of the various U.S. plots against Castro in the fourth document reveal about the depth of U.S. disdain for him? How do these plots conform to traditional U.S. moral values?
5. Why does the final document condemn assassination as a tool of American foreign policy? What standards is the document trying to set for the conduct of American policy? Why are those standards important, not only for the way the American people view their government but also for the way the rest of the world views the United States?

Activity 4
In addition to dealing with foreign policy crises in relation to Cuba, the Kennedy administration also faced problems in Vietnam.

As we saw in Activity 9 of the unit on the "Cold War Era," the Eisenhower administration had committed the United States to supporting the non-Communist regime of Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam and hoped eventually to reunite the country under Diem's (or some other non-Communist's) leadership.

Kennedy inherited the U.S. commitment in Vietnam and expanded it by sending military advisers, support personnel, and economic aid. Despite these early commitments, the U.S.-backed regime in the South was not popular with the public, and by mid-1963 the Kennedy administration was having second thoughts about its long-term viability.

Exploring some sources pertaining to Vietnam from 1963 helps to illustrate the issues the Kennedy administration faced in formulating its Vietnam policy. It also reveals its growing disillusionment with Diem and its concern with U.S. credibility.

Within "The Cold War," go to:

• "Buddhist Crisis of 1963" (this document may be located by going to "Contents," then "Documents," then "B," then click on the title)
• "Vietnamese Monk Kills Himself in Protest" (you may locate this image by searching for the term "Vietnamese Monk" and selecting the second item in the list of items the search returns)
• "Cablegram from Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, August 29, 1963" (this document may be selected from the list of related items that appears at the top of the preceding image).

Use these sources to answer the following questions.

1. How do the first two sources demonstrate the instability and unpopularity of the Diem regime in South Vietnam? Why did this instability and unpopularity trouble the Kennedy administration? How did it undermine U.S. foreign policy in Vietnam?
2. How does the third source characterize Diem's regime? What reasons does it give for removing it? Take the widest possible perspective here, noting as many possible reasons for U.S. sanction of a move against Diem as you can.

Exploring the coup against Diem, which ended in the assassination of him and his brother, one of his closest aides, reveals the depth of the Kennedy administration's determination to save face in Vietnam. It also reveals that one action--the decision to support a coup--can often have unintended consequences--Diem's murder.

Within "The Vietnam Era," go to "Cable Urges Support for Coup, October 30, 1963," "Cable to Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.," "Washington Gives Green Light for Overthrow of Diem," and "Last Conversation with Diem, November 1, 1963." (All of these sources may be located by going to "Index," then "N," then "Ngo Dinh Diem," then select the titles from the list.)

Use these sources to answer the following questions.

3. What reasons does Ambassador Lodge give in the first document for overthrowing Diem? Do these seem sufficient justifications for removing Diem? Why or why not?
4. How do the first two documents reveal the U.S. State Department's efforts to cover itself in case an attempted coup against Diem failed? What does this say about U.S. policy overall? What do the instructions to Ambassador Lodge in these documents reveal about his personal responsibilities and authority in South Vietnam? How do the first three documents together demonstrate Lodge's role in pushing for the coup?
5. How does the last source, the transcript of the final telephone conversation between Diem and Lodge, portray the relationship between the two men--and by extension the relationship between their two nations? What most strikes you about the document? Why? What do the document, and what ultimately happened to Diem and his brother, suggest about the completeness of the Kennedy administration's planning in Vietnam? About the expendability of allies when they no longer serve U.S. purposes?

Activity 5
Upon assuming the presidency after Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed his intention to finish the job Kennedy had started, to fulfill JFK's legacy. One area to which Johnson paid special attention was civil rights.

Kennedy had come to support federal action in the area of civil rights only reluctantly. He knew that moving against segregation and voting rights interference in the south would be controversial, and he was unwilling to risk losing the support of influential southerners in Congress, many of whom were members of his own party. Kennedy also recognized that his slim margin of victory in the popular vote in 1960 (right around 118,000 votes) hardly constituted a mandate for change. Nevertheless, Kennedy had finally been pushed to act in the spring of 1963. In June he called the civil rights crusade a "moral" issue and introduced a sweeping civil rights program.

Kennedy was assassinated before Congress could take action on his proposals, so it was left to Johnson to shepherd the civil rights bill through Congress. As the following sources make clear, he did that, and much more, in the area of civil rights. As they also make clear, civil rights supporters within the general population helped to push him to action.

Within "The African-American Experience," go to "The March on Washington, August 28, 1963." (This source may be located by going to "Contents," then "Multimedia," then click on the title. Be sure to play the audio clip.)

Within the "Civil Rights" module, go to "Civil Rights Act of 1964" and "Address to Congress." (The first source may be located by going to "Contents," then "Years," then "1964," then select the title. The second may be selected from the list of related items that appears at the top of the first.)

Use the sources to answer the following questions.

1. What does the first source suggest about the attitude of civil rights supporters by 1963? How does their attitude convey a sense of urgency? Since the march came after Kennedy introduced his civil rights proposals, what was it primarily designed to do?
2. What areas of American life does the second document, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, declare must be integrated? What is significant about the law's requirements? How does the law reveal federal authority over the states?
3. How does the audio commentary that accompanies the second document assess the act's impact? Is it fair to say that it was one of the most sweeping pieces of legislation in U.S. history? Why or why not?
4. In what terms does the last document frame with issue of voting rights? How does that issue get at the heart of everything for which the United States supposedly stands? What does Johnson lay out in the speech as his goals as president, besides protecting African-American voting rights?
5. According to the audio commentary attached to the last document, what was the effect of the Voting Rights Act of 1965? What do you think was most important about the act? Why?

Activity 6
Although it proved difficult to achieve domestic stability in South Vietnam after the November 1963 assassination of Diem, the United States remained committed to a non-Communist government there. Like Kennedy, Johnson was determined that South Vietnam not fall to Communist control, at least not on his watch.

Accordingly, the Johnson administration gradually increased American involvement in Vietnam. By the end of 1965, U.S. ground troops had been deployed, and the war was well on its way to being an American show.

To explore the Johnson administration's escalation of the U.S. commitment to the war in Vietnam, users will need to work within two modules.

Within "The Vietnam Era," go to "Bleak Prospects in Vietnam," "McNamara Report, March 16, 1964 (NSAM 288)," and "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, August 7, 1964." (The first two documents may be located by going to "Contents," then "Authors," then "M," then "McNamara, Robert S.," then click on the titles. The third may be located by going to "Contents," then "Regions," then "Gulf of Tonkin, 1964," then click on the title.)

Within "The Cold War," go to "Rationale for Escalation: The U.S. Government 'White Paper' of 1965." (You may locate this document by going to "Contents," then "Regions," then "Indochina," then scroll down to the title.)

Use the sources to answer the following questions.

1. How do Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara's two reports portray the situation in South Vietnam? What do they lay out as possible U.S. actions? What recommendations does McNamara make? Do his recommendations carry any possible dangers for the United States?
2. What specifically does the third document, the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, empower the president to do? Why is this grant of power remarkable? What powers, in essence, does it transfer from Congress to the president? How might the power granted to the president by this resolution be abused?
3. How does the Tonkin Gulf Resolution amount to an escalation in the U.S. commitment to and involvement in Vietnam? What might the new commitments outlined in the document lead to in the future? Why might the resolution have generated opposition at the time it was pushed through Congress?
4. In arguing for greater U.S. involvement in Vietnam (it came just after the decision to introduce U.S. ground troops) the last document makes a number of misrepresentations and false statements. Using what you know of the situation in Vietnam from previous activities on that subject (both in this unit and in the preceding one), identify those falsehoods. Why do you think the report would deliberately include information that was known to be untrue? What possible tactic could such a tactic have served?
5. Taking all of these sources together, how do they portray the conflict in Vietnam? Why was the steady escalation in U.S. involvement necessary? What was that escalation designed to accomplish? Based on these documents, and your own general knowledge, was there a chance of achieving U.S. goals? Why or why not?

Activity 7
With the escalation of the U.S. military commitment to South Vietnam came an increase in domestic opposition to U.S. policy. Many Americans saw the war as interference in the right of the Vietnamese to choose their own government. Others objected to the draft, which forced Americans to take part in the war or risk legal prosecution as deserters. (An extended discussion of the opposition to the war may be found under the Key Topic "The Antiwar Movement" within the module "The Vietnam Era.")

If the war's domestic opponents had different motives, though, they were united in the goal of ending American involvement in Vietnam. And they believed that the best way to accomplish that goal was to stage massive demonstrations across the country that would, it was hoped, convince the Johnson administration to withdraw from a war that people at home opposed.

"The Vietnam Era" contains several sources on the antiwar movement. Go to:

• "African-American Protests against the War"
• "Resisting Military Service"
• "Antiwar Movement Enters the Political Mainstream"
• "Vietnam War Protesters Picket in Front of the White House, April 17, 1965."

The first three sources may be located by going to "Contents," then "Documents," then the first letter of each title, then the individual titles themselves. The last source may be located by going to "Index," then "A," then "Antiwar movement," then click on the title.

Use the sources to answer the following questions.

1. Compare the responses of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and Martin Luther King, Jr., on the war. Use specifics from their statements in the first document to explain your answer here.
2. Compare the positions of Dr. Benjamin Spock and his co-authors and the American Deserters Committee as outlined in the second document. How do the two parties take different routes to the same end? Be sure to use specifics from the document as you formulate your answer.
3. Compare the positions of Senator Eugene McCarthy and Senator Robert Kennedy as expressed in the third document. Consider such things as why they believe the war in Vietnam is wrong and how they believe they can heal the wounds the war has generated within American society. Make specific reference to each candidate's statements here.
4. How do the signs carried by the antiwar protesters in the last source suggest the interplay of foreign and domestic policies? How does that interplay suggest one of the fundamental ironies facing the Johnson administration--how to pay for both the Great Society at home (to be discussed in depth in Activity 9 below) and the war in Vietnam? How is this dilemma expressed in the written documents as well?
5. Taking all of these sources together, what do they reveal about the domestic costs of the war in Vietnam? Take the broadest possible conception of costs here, considering more than simply monetary measurements.

Activity 8
In early 1968, the North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front (NLF) launched a major offensive on targets throughout South Vietnam. The success of this offensive, which came on the Vietnamese New Year, Tet, shocked American policymakers and the public alike.

The Johnson administration had theretofore tried to portray the war not only as winnable but also as being won by the United States and its South Vietnamese ally. Clearly, the war was not being won, and some, even Johnson himself, now began to wonder whether it could be won.

Accordingly, Johnson announced at the end of March that the U.S. effort in Vietnam would be scaled back and that peace talks would begin with the North. He also stunned the nation by announcing his withdrawal from the 1968 presidential race. LBJ's political career had become yet another casualty of the war in Vietnam.

Within "The Vietnam Era," locate the following:

• "Saigon during the Tet Offensive, 1968" (be sure to play the video)
• "Report to Lyndon B. Johnson on Tet Offensive, February 27, 1968"
• "Meeting with Wise Men, March 26, 1968"
• "Speech, March 31, 1968."

All of these sources may be located by going to "Contents," then "Years," then "1968," then click on each title individually.

Use the sources to answer the following questions.

1. Assess the video footage contained in the first source. How would it have affected President Johnson and his advisers? How would it have affected the American people? What would have been the logical reaction of people after seeing this footage?
2. What picture does the second source paint of Communist strength in Vietnam? How can that strength be countered? What course(s) of action does this document recommend for the United States? Is it advocating a hawkish or a dovish position? Explain.
3. What is the tone of the discussion recorded in the third source? How do LBJ's advisers view the U.S. position in Vietnam after Tet? What do they recommend? Why?
4. In what terms does Johnson portray the South Vietnamese in the last document? Why does he seem to be puffing them up? What purpose would doing so have with the American people?
5. How does Johnson relate the war in Vietnam to American domestic society? What role was the war having on America? Why did its effects worry Johnson? How did he propose to counteract them in his speech? How does he fit himself and his decision not to run into the mix? Use specifics from the document when answering these questions.

Activity 9
Lyndon Johnson is most remembered for his role in escalating U.S. involvement in Vietnam, but that was not his wish. Instead, LBJ wanted to be known for his domestic program, which he called the Great Society. Johnson greatly admired Franklin D. Roosevelt and envisioned the Great Society as something to rival the New Deal. Unfortunately, Johnson's domestic accomplishments were overshadowed by the war, and the Great Society was sacrificed on the altar of the war.

To explore Johnson's domestic agenda, within "The Great Depression and the New Deal," go to "Johnson and the War on Poverty" and "Johnson's Great Society Speech." (Both of these documents may be found by going to "Index," then "J," then "Johnson, Lyndon B.," then click on each title.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

1. What does Johnson spell out as the consequences of poverty in the first document? Why are these consequences intolerable?
2. Why does Johnson believe that the federal government must make war against poverty? What are the components of his Economic Opportunity Act of 1964? Be specific about both the philosophy behind the act and its provisions (that is, the programs and agencies it would create).
3. In the second document, how does Johnson describe his Great Society? What are its main components? How do those components depend on public support?
4. What references does Johnson make to America's past in these two documents? Why does he do so? In what sort of context is he trying to place his War on Poverty and his Great Society?
5. Does Johnson's commitment to these domestic proposals seem genuine? How seriously does he seem to take them? In the end, the War on Poverty and the Great Society were scrapped or scaled back in order to fund the war in Vietnam. What did this say about the ultimate priorities of the administration during the Cold War? About the primacy of foreign policy concerns vis-à-vis domestic considerations generally?

Activity 0
At the same time that African Americans were organizing and demonstrating for their civil rights, women in the United States were doing the same thing.

One of the earliest calls for a reconsideration of the place of women in American society came in 1963 with the publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. This book, based on research the author conducted among her college classmates, stirred an entire generation of women to reconsider their lives.

Within "Women in America," go to "Excerpt from The Feminine Mystique." (One way to locate this document is to go to "Contents," then "Authors," then "F," then "Friedan, Betty," then click on the title.)

Use the document to answer the following questions.

1. What complaints does Betty Friedan lay out in the excerpt from her ground breaking book The Feminine Mystique? Be specific about the problems Friedan identifies, especially about why the women she interviewed were dissatisfied with their lives.
2. How does Friedan propose that women go about solving these problems? Why is doing so important not only for women but also for the country as a whole?

The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of the women's movement that came in the mid-1960s and beyond. (For more, see the Key Topic "The Second Wave: The New Women's Movement" in the module "Women in America.")

Within "Civil Rights," go to "Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII." (You may locate this document by going to "Contents," then "Years," then "1964," then click on the title.)

Within "Women in America," go to "National Organization for Women Statement of Purpose (1966)." (One way to locate this document is to go to "Index," then "N," then "National Organization for Women," then click on the title.)

Use these documents to answer the following questions.

3. How does the first document, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, protect women? (Consult especially the section of the act labeled "Unlawful Employment Practices" on p.
4. Why was the act path-breaking? How did it pave the way for improved conditions for women?
5. What problems was the National Organization for Women formed to combat? Why was it specifically necessary at the time? What does its founding statement spell out as the specific problems facing women in 1966 that need addressing? What philosophical ideas are proclaimed in NOW's founding statement? How do they compare to the ideas implicitly expressed in the excerpt from The Feminine Mystique explored above?