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1960 Election
This was the first of four televisd debated between candidates John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon. While Kennedy was looking sharp the day of the debate, which was being viewed by almost 70 million people, Nixon looked pale and exhausted. People who watched this debate said Kennedy was the obvious winner, but to those who only listened, it seemed as though Nixon won. After realizing that appearance was a major factor in who won the debate, Nixon tried to improve his image for the three others -
Kennedy's Inaugural Address
This is one of the most famous inaugural addresses ever made. Kennedy's inagural address was the first speech he made as president of the United States. Although not stated, every promise and every command within kennedy's speech was directed towards the Soviet Union. Changing his original idea, Kenndey most basically challenged americans to "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." -
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps was established. This sent american volunteers around the world on "missions of freedom" and to assist countries in poverty. These volunteers helped to provide technical, health, and educational servies to the unfortunate while other programs mainly stressed economic development. -
Bay of Pigs
This was when the CIA recruited Cuban exiles and trained them in guatamala. Shortly after the CIA led them in attacking Cuba. They attacked Cuba in order to overthrow Castro. They had been planning the attack since the embargo of Cuba in 1961. -
Berlin Wall
Just as Kennedy increased military spending, Khrushchev threatened peace by ordering the construction of the Berlin Wall. This was was built to separate the communist East and democratic West. As a result of the wall being built, Kennedy sent 1.500 troops to West Berlin, and for the first time Russian and American tanks were face to face yet niether side could claim a victory. -
Engel v. Vitale
Spanded within 1962. the problem with the court case taken up by the warren court was that NY students had to recite a prayer everyday in school. After discusing it over with the supreme court, who suppoted civil rights, civil liberties, voting rights, and personal privacy, it was decided that the school was violating the separation of church and state. Kids were now allowed to pray on their own but it was illegal to force prayer among the students. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
The United States found out that the Soviet Union was building nuclear missle sites in cuba. The U.S thought of this as an offensive plan while the Soviets claimed it to be defensive of Cuba. When the sites would be completed they would have a range to East Coast cities. Because of this Kennedy demanded a removal of the missles. As a result of Khrushchev Kennedy created a quarantine of cuba to precent the soviets from completing the bases -
Equal Pay Act
This is the day the Kennedy signs the Equal Pay act. The Equal Pay act required equal wages for "equal qork" in industries engages in cmerce or producing goods for commerce. This law was a crucial step to fair and equal employment even though it had various loop holes. By the next year congress was hoping to prohibit discrimination by employers on the basis of race, religion, origin, or sex. -
Nuclear test ban treaty
This was the furst nuclear weapon agreement among the Soviet Union and the United States. This treaty ended all aboveground nuclear weapon testing. Along with the two major countries and Great Britian, shortly after 36 other nations agreed to sign the treaty as well. -
Warren Commisson
The warren comission conducted a full official investigation of the assassination. Many people believe that Oswald did not act alone and that is what the Warren Commission hoped to find out. As a group, the classified Oswalk as a "lone killer" but still to this day no one knows what truly had happened. -
Civil Rights Act
This law outlawed discrimination in voting, education, and public accommodations. The act also demanded an end to discrimination in hospitals, restaurants, theaters, and other places open to the public. This act in creating fairness lead to the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commison which faught to end discrimination in hiring. -
Economic Opportunity Act
This act created the Job Corps which trained young men and women between the ages of 16 and 21 in work skills they needed to aquire better jobs and be able to move out of poverty. The act aslo created Volunteers in service to America which sent American colunteers into poverty-stricken American communities in order to solve the country's pressing economic, educational,and medical issues. -
immigration and Nationality Act
Specific date not found. The immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 altered America's quota system. 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere were allowed into the country. 120,000 immigrants from the Western Hemisphere were also welcomed. Along with these numbers, immigrants started pouring in from Latin America, Centeral America, the Caribean, and Asia. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
This act was enabled to aid schools in poorer communities. It provided federal funds to improve school libraries, learning centers, language laboratories, and servies in impoverished school districts. This act also increaded funding for Indian, inner city, and Mexican American Schools. -
Medicare and Medicaid
Johnson within his Great Society created the two programs Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare provided basic hospital insurance for Americans in the Social Security system who were the age of 65 and older. Medicaid provided medical services to poor and disabled Americans who were not part of the Social Secutiry system. -
man on the moon
by 1961 Kennedy was able to recognzie that there was a space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The idea of a space race meant the competition between the two countries to see who could land on the moon first. Kennedy had committed to landing on the moon by 1970, and he did. in 1962 Neil Armstrong landed on the moon on the spacecraft, Columbia.
