Kennedy’s New Frontier
Ch 15.1
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
• Daily goal:• Understand the role religion and television
played in the election of 1960.• Understand the significance of the Missile
Gap and the New Frontier
The Modern Campaign
• The election of 1960 was the first campaign in which both Democrats and Republicans spent heavily on Television advertising.
• The first Presidential Debate was on TV.
Think About it…
• How much does a candidate’s image affects their popularity?
Nikita Khrushchev
• Soviet leader Khrushchev claimed the Soviet were producing ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) “like sausages!”
• Americans feared they were falling behind the Soviets.
The “Missile Gap”
• Kennedy was concerned that America had fallen behind the Soviets in Missiles, so he expanded the Nuclear arsenal.
The first Catholic President
• Many suspicious of JFK because he was Catholic and wondered how his faith would affect his decision making.
JFK Quote
• “I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party’s nominee for President who happens to be a Catholic.”
• “I believe in an America where the separation of Church and state is absolute.”
Think About it…
• How much does a candidate’s religion influence whether or note you will support them?
The “New Frontier”
• Kennedy’s set out his legislative agenda to increase aid to education, provide health care for the elderly and help migrant workers.
• Congress defeated most of these programs.
Think About it…
• Would you support passage of Kennedy’s New Frontier programs? Why or why not?