The Democratic Party
Summary
[1]
The Democrats regained the White House in 1960 when John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who had served two terms in Senate, became president with Texan Lyndon Baines Johnson as Vice President. The Democratic platform for the election of 1960 set the tone for the decade. Social reform, civil rights, desegregation, participation in the space race, and modernization of the armed forces through intensified research and development were major issues Democrats advocated.[1]. A significant event that impacted the Democtic party in the 1960's was the assassination of JFK in 1963. LBJ took over the powers of the president and was also able to be elected president on his own in 1964. Johnson's main goal was to create new social service programs and push forward civil rights; however, Johnson was forced to focus more of his time and legislative efforts towards the conflict in Vietnam during the latter part of the decade. In the 1968 presidential election LBJ's vice president Hubert Humphrey ran as the Democratic presidential nominee. America appeared to fear Humphrey's connection with LBJ and as a result Richard Nixon won the presidency. {COMMENT:DOINA: THIS WOULD BE A GREAT PLACE TO PUT IN THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JFK AND LBJ--LBJ RESENTED JFK GETTING THE NOMINATION--BUT OVER ALL A GOOD QUICK SUMMARY OF THE DMEOCRATS AND WHAT WAS TO COME)
Origin:
The Democratic Party of the 1960’s began the decade with new ambition and motivation. On January 2nd, the party announced John F. Kennedy as their official presidential candidate, rivaling Republican Vice President Richard Nixon. [2] In his acceptance speech, John F. Kennedy presented his stance on ending the arms race, rebuilding the education system, maintaining order in the emergence of new nations, sustaining the agricultural and urban base economies, resolving the growth of inflation and unemployment, and preserving traditional American values throughout each step. [3] Kennedy appealed to the public by referencing the Democratic victory in 1932, and indicated that it was time to revive the party’s goals. The 1932 election laid the foundation for the New Deal coalition [4], which brought together a variety of groups due to economic concerns. Kennedy’s success in the election became a starting point for the Democratic Party throughout the 1960’s and early 1970’s.
Chronology:
(COMMENTS: WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANTS OF THESE EVENTS: MUCH OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS SUCCESS WAS NOT BECAUSE OF JFK BUT BECAUSE OF THE ACTIONS AND LOBBYING OF LBJ WHO WORKED BOTH THE HOUSES OF CONGRESS)
- 1960: Presidential Election of 1960-Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy wins vs. Republican nominee Vice President Richard Nixon. Kennedy had a narrow victory of 118,000 votes out of 69 million cast. [5]
- 1961: President Kennedy gives the first, live televised press conference. [6]
- May 5, 1961: American astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. went into outerspace in the Freedom 7 capsule as a product of Project Mercury, America's initial space program. [7]
- September 1962: James Meredith becomes the first African American student to attend the University of Mississippi when President Kennedy orders 500 U.S. marshals to protect Meredith. [8]
- August 28, 1963: March on Washington. A quarter of a million Americans, including Martin Luther King Jr., gathered on the Washington Mall to show congress their support for President Kennedy's civil rights bill.[9] (COMMENT:DOINA: (FYI)IT IS NOT GOOD TO CITE A TEXTBOOK WHEN WORKING ON A PROJECT)
- November 22, 1963: President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.[10]
- July 1964: Civil Rights Act of 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson ended legal discrimination of the basis of race, color, sex, religion, and national origin in federal programs, employment, voting, and public accommodation. Programs, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, were created to enforce this civil rights act through withholding federal funding and investigating claims of job discrimination.[11]
- 1964: Presidential Election of 1964-President Lyndon B. Johnson wins vs. Republican Arizona senator Barry Goldwater.[12] (COMMENT:DOINA: ONE PART IS THE PASSING OF THE LEGISLATION BUT A SECOND PART IS ACTUAL GAINS. DID LIVE IMPROVE FOR THOSE WHO WERE OPPRESSED?)
- August 1964: Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Resolution. Following attacks of U.S. destroyers by the North Vietnamese President Lyndon B. Johnson gained power to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the United States and to prevent further aggression".[13] This event forced Johnson to increase his focus on the conflict in Vietnam rather than focus on soical reforms.
- 1965: Voting Rights Act. This Voting Rights Act was created because not all states were observing existing Federal anti-discrimination laws and enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment.[14]
- April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by 42 year old James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee.[15]
- August 1968: Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL. Violence erupted as anitwar protestors gathered to campaign for antiwar candidate Eugene McCarthy.[16]
- 1968: Presidential Election of 1968-Republican nominee Richard Nixon wins; Democratic nominee Vice President Hubert Humphery; and Independent Governor George Wallace of Alabama. [17]
Significant People:
John F. Kennedy- Democratic presidential candidate in the 1960 election whose acceptance speech and inauguration speech addressed the majority of issues that were the focus of the party for the decade Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
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