Kennedy’s "New Frontier" Program Essay

From the start of the Space Race, the Soviet Union had the United States beat by sending the first satellite, the Sputnik, and the first man, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, into space. However, President Kennedy would not stand by as the Soviet Union began to run away with the space race. Kennedy addressed the nation by consulting Congress to “increase NASA’s budget by nine billion dollars”(Cox). This bold move made by Kennedy enabled the United States to make it to the moon first. Going to the moon first was a much higher feat than simply going into space because it required much more “precision while launching and higher equipped technology to go the extra distance”(Exploring Space). Due to the extra skill required to go to the moon, it showed how by the end of the Space Race the United States had superior technology. Since the Cold War was a fight for Global Power, going to the moon was a significant move for the United States because it showed that they had exceptional machinery. With this admirable technology, it solidified the United States’s reputation as a Global

In response, Martin Luther King wrote a letter hoping that he and all of the other African Americans would be treated with racial equality. King simply wanted the unjust laws reversed. According to text “He was near exhaustion from stress, and his speeches increasingly alluded to his possible death, as in the speech at the Mason Temple Church in Memphis, Tenn., on April 3, 1968, the night before he died: “I’ve been to the mountain top and seen the promised land” (Funk & Wagnalls,2014). The next item we found was the assassination of JFK newspaper. John Fitzgerald Kennedy also known as Jack Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States of America. Some of the remarkable events that happened while John F Kennedy was holding office in the 60’s was the space race, the Cuban missile crisis, and the establishment of the Peace Corps. John F Kennedy had served in the navy as a secretary before being elected as president and also served as senator. JFK had two brothers who died in action in the WWII. John F Kennedy when elected as president one of his first steps was creating the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps and with this program volunteers would help the weak nations with things such as farming, education, and

Kennedy. The most important impact he had ever made while he remained in office was the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He became an important icon to the lifestyle of American Culture. Stood for Civil Rights, equality in men, any changes that he made, the Civil Rights he made, affiliated with, and the reasons he would support to stand behind it. John F. Kennedy was the first President to establish the Peace Corps to bring American goodwill to the rest of the world. He made major adjustments in the Civil rights that affected the way some Americans lived their life and corrected history by allowing all Americans to share their thoughts equally and

Kennedy called his new legislation program the “New Frontier,” with which he planned to promote educational support, aid to health care, redevelopment in cities and civil rights. However, he wasn’t able to keep many of these promises; Congress refused the pass most of his proposals, including a medical plan for the elderly, tax reductions, and more civil rights. He concentrated on promoting present civil rights, sometimes dispatching troops to enforce racial integration in schools. Although action to improve civil rights and health care wasn’t very successful, Kennedy still managed to improve the economy (e.g. Increasing minimum wage) and negotiate a limited ban on nuclear testing.

Kennedy’s main executives orders were to get the peace corps in the department of the state. The second main executive order was the equal employment opportunity.

“The founding of the Peace Corps is one of President John F. Kennedy’s most enduring legacies.” (Founding). As soon as President Kennedy became the President, he vowed to help Americans be “active citizens.” One of his first moves in office was to create the Peace Corps. The way he came up with this idea of the Peace Corps was when he spoke to students at the University of Michigan during a campaign speech and challenged them to live and work in other countries to dedicate “themselves to the cause of peace and development.” (Peace). The main purpose for this was so “Americans can volunteer to work anywhere in the world where assistance is needed.” (John F. Kennedy, the 35th). This answers President Kennedy’s call to “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” (Founding).

From Eisenhower, Kennedy inherited the "Cold War" with the Soviet Union. In 1962, when American spy planes discovered Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the U.S., many thought the nation was at the brink of war. Kennedy imposed a blockade of Cuba but promised not to invade, and the Soviet Union dismantled the missile bases, resolving the confrontation. (Upon seeing photos of the dismantling, Adlai Stevenson, now Kennedy's Ambassador to the U.N, famously said, "We are eyeball to eyeball with the enemy, and I think the other fellow just blinked.") Kennedy also promised to send Americans to the moon and bring them back safely before the end of the decade, and although he did not live to see it, his promise came true. He called his program to make things better for Americans "the New Frontier" and he started the Peace Corps.

Before the causes and results of Kennedy’s decision to land on the moon can be adequately analyzed and discussed, it is necessary to understand the context of his time as President and the events that preceded it. Therefore, I will provide a small amount of context about the Cold War and the situation leading up to Kennedy’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech on September 12, 1962. (Citation).

On May 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy paved the way for the world’s first lunar landing when he announced the US’s ambitious goal to place an American on the moon before the end of the decade. This historic announcement was fueled by desires to beat the Soviet Union, and show the United State’s dominance, the need for a uniting cause among the American people, and a desire to lead the world in the scientific field.

Kennedy supported the country through foreign policy. One example includes the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union started to construct missiles in Cuba, causing increased tensions between the US and the Soviet Union. The Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted to invade the island, but JFK was fearful of another World War. JFK decided to implement a naval blockade surrounding Cuba; this was to keep the US from invading and attacking Cuba. Eventually, the negotiations between the US and Soviet Union were successful. Similar to the Wild West, JFK stood his ground to protect the US from another possible world war (Document J). JFK’s act of confrontation and lawfulness highlights how he is a great

In 1952 Republican Dwight Eisenhower became the new president, and Republicans took back the White House in 1952. During his presidency, Eisenhower was able to manage the tensions between the Soviet Union and the U.S. during the Cold War, strengthened Social Security, expanded unemployment insurance, and the minimum wage. In 1961 the Democrat, John Kennedy, delivered Inaugural Address focusing on foreign policy. He promised to get the country move toward a new direction and reduce tensions with Communists avoiding the next World War. Kennedy created the New Frontier program that focused on improving medical health care, financial aid for students, Social Security benefits, and other anti-poverty measures. The president also focused on American women who faced discrimination in the workplace and the legal system creating the Equal Pay Act in 1963.

He said like the Americans experienced hardships on the frontier in the 1900’s we had to face new challenges to achieve goals in space, science, and education. Kennedy also created the peace corps in 1961, which was a program where Americans volunteered to perform service in other nations. Kennedy promised a lot of things during his presidency but was sadly unable to complete them because of his assassination on November 22, 1963. Dwight D. Eisenhower, president from 1953 to 1961, also made an impact on the US during his presidency. During his presidency, he strengthened social security, created a huge highway interstate system but failed to protect African American rights.

The plan sent Americans into worse countries as volunteers to teach the people ways of advancing their own countries.In foreign problems, President Kennedy faced the continued problem of Communism and the threat of nuclear

In the beginning Kennedy lacked in making big decisions. When he was asked to invade Cuba and to take down Castro he went along because the CIA told him to invade. After the mission failed terribly he realized it was time to make his own decisions. Kennedy interfered between other countries battles to become communist or become capitalist leading to many little wars. Some of the little wars such as Turkey kept countries capitalist creating more allies to the United States. The fight with Cuba, led to increasing tension in the world which increased the chances of nuclear war. When the chance of nuclear war escalated to the point of pointing missiles at each other, Kennedy made a deal with Castro which decreased pressure between Cuba and the US. Kennedy strongly believed not only in helping your own country but helping those around the United States. Therefore, he created the Peace Corps. A volunteer organization which involves aiding other countries outside of the United

The within the leadership of Kennedy he was able to create an environment that opened more communication. Kennedy led in a way that all task to be covered under his administration were done that no one felt that he was a dictator. An example of this act is John F. Kennedy asked the congress to create the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps is a program created that was established by the Executive Order in 1961 and was authorized by the U.S. Congress. This is a volunteer program ran by the government with the mission of providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand the culture while helping American understand the culture of other countries. Kennedy also founded another program the New Frontier this program promised federal funding for education, economic aid to rural regions, medical assistant and care for the elderly and the intervention to bring a stop to the recession. Reagan policies known as “Reaganomics” were aimed at controlling inflation and spurring the economic growth this was to be done through tax cuts and the reduction in government spending.