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Kennedy's 'New Frontier': 1960-63

     

    •  JFK elected in 1960, aged 44; charismatic, young family.

    •  Famous challenge: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.’

    •  Domestic policy branded the ‘New Frontier.’

 

The ‘New Frontier’ Programme

a. Economic Growth

    •  1961: 420k jobs created in construction; $400m to aid distressed areas.

    •  Lowered interest rates, cut business taxes, negotiated EEC trade tariff reductions.

    •  Opposed steel price rises to protect economy.

b. Space Race

    •  1961: USSR’s 1st in space; JFK pledged Moon landing by 1970 to reassert US dominance.

    •  Increased NASA’s Apollo funding.

c. Civil Rights & Women’s Rights

    •  Required govt contractors to adopt ‘’; formed Equal Employment Opportunity Committee (1961).

    •  Supported : banned segregation on interstate transport, proposed Civil Rights legislation (1963) – including desegregation of schools and public facilities, and full voting rights.

    •  Commission on Status of Women (1961) focused on women’s rights/ signed the Act into law (1963) but enforcement limited.

d. Alleviate poverty/ Housing

    •   Act (1961) raised minimum wage (1961) from $1 to $1.15.

    •  1961 economic stimulus package included a 20% increase in Social Security payments

    •  Social Security reforms: early retirement (62), wider benefits.

    •  Pilot programme, expanded free school meals to 750k more children.

    •  Housing Acts (1961-62): clearance, rural housing, senior housing loans.

e. Public Health/ Environment

    •  Medicare Bill proposed (rejected by Congress).

    •   Amendments (1961) improved care for disabled children & low-income prenatal care.

    •   Act (1963) regulated pollution; funds for water pollution control.

    •  Established national & conservation areas (e.g., Cape Cod, Padre Island).

f. Education

    •  Funded special education, school dropout prevention.

    •  Vocational training pilot programme.

    •   Act (1963) supported doctor/dentist training.

    •  Peace Corps (1961): 5k volunteers aiding developing nations by 1963.

 

Interpretations

    •  Assassination (1963) inspired praise: ‘’ myth (Theodore White, Arthur Schlesinger).

    •  Critics (e.g., Reeves) saw JFK as ineffective and flawed: failed to control Southern Democrats, personal scandals, health issues.

    •  Recent historians (Dallek, Clarke) credit JFK with inspiring hope and laying groundwork for LBJ’s ‘Great Society.