John F Kennedy's Failures

Improved Essays
The 1960's was a time of great change in America. During this year John F. Kennedy was elected president. Being the first "tv president" and being so young made him quite popular among the generations. JFK's presidency was a mixture of both success and failure. When JFK was assassinated, Lyndon B. Johnson took over his role. LBJ focused his presidency on eliminating poverty and removing racial discrimination . Therefore, he created the "Great Society" and "War on Poverty." This decade differed from the 1950's in many different ways.
Although John F. Kennedy served only one thousand days in office, he had several major accomplishments. One of his accomplishments is that he founded the Peace Corps in 196. He established this program because
…show more content…
Kennedy also experienced failures during his "thousand day presidency." One of his biggest failures lies in foreign policy. JFK unsteadily floundered from one crisis to another. Due to his inability in handling the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Soviet Union decided to test JFK's resolution by moving Russian missiles into Cuba. Of course, though, Kennedy overreacted to this threat and got the United States into a war-like tensions. President Kennedy also made big increases in military spending. Another failure of his time was how he handled Congress. As a result of his lack of votes, many of his domestic proposals were enacted to law and he hardly pressed for social legislation. Additionally, although Kennedy inspired many Americans, his promises were not followed through. The "thousand day presidency." Produced no major progress for the U.S. citizens. However, I still believe that JFK's presidency should still be as highly regarded as it is because he still accomplished several great and important …show more content…
This program set up Medicaid and Medicare which greatly helped the elderly, disabled, low-income, and poor citizens. It also set up food stamps, urban renewal, college aid. Also, the "Great Society" created investment in elementary and high school education. The government assisted local school districts with a high percentage of low-income families. Head start programs were created in order to give underprivileged children a "head start" in school. The Civil Rights Act 1964 bloomed from these programs and outlawed discrimination in public schools. It discouraged job discrimination and promoted equal employment opportunities. Even though not all programs established during the "Great Society" were successful, overall many of them remain in use today. Some of the programs helped The low income citizens too much because they learn to rely on the government instead of going to get work. However, for those that were elderly and disabled, I believe they were and are very successful. The expansion of federal governmental programs changed the United States. The government created welfare programs that gave most individuals

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    The government persistently tried to find a way to get the poor to work instead of rely on financial assistance. The Great Depression also had a huge impact on welfare. Many families suffered greatly from financial problems. As a result, these families had no choice but rely on government assistance. This was the ultimate beginning of welfare as we know today.…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Eighty five percent of America favored Eisenhower as he valued and earned the honesty and trust of his people with his leadership during a time of fear when the threat of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. Eisenhower brought peace and prosperity to America by ending the Korean War, and his conservative fiscal policies brought an unprecedented expansion. Lastly, Eisenhower created an abundance of jobs when he initiated America’s interstate highway system. As President Kennedy was elected the next president, he struggled at first just based on the facts the he was a lot younger and more inexperienced versus Eisenhower, and the shift in America from a Republican to a Democrat leading the country. Since he was a leader during the Civil War, Kennedy had to show true perseverance and leadership as a U-2 spy plane incident occurred, tensions were high between America and the Soviet Union, and the spread of Communism was…

    • 1857 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John Fitzgerald Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 25th president of the United States of America, he was also much more; including a senator, state representative, and a naval officer. “JFK was something unique.” (biorgraphy.com) JFK would always reach his goals in life, he would let absolutely nothing stand in his way. John F. Kennedy had a very complex and interesting life, starting from his early professions, to his scandalous sex life, his time as president, and his assassination.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Latifa Boujia U.S History and Government How was Lyndon B Johnson’s Great Society Successful? The great society was successful because of the goals that were set and how Lyndon B Johnson took initiative to reach these said goals. For instance, two main social reforms and goals that The Great Society tackled were racial injustice and poverty. Johnson also tackled education, medical care, urban problems, transportation and the arts.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Dallek describes these events at the time Johnson wanted to run for the second term as a president. Dallek wrote President Johnson’s ambitions and his passions to legislate many laws for the society. In contrast, many of Johnson’s ambitions and characteristics are criticized by some historian as abuse, impatient, and an arrogant personalities. In the years between 1961 and 1965, American Citizens were depending on leader to bring stability to country. President Kennedy was the leader that many historians described him as the “one”.…

    • 1534 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Posco 458 The Vietnam War

    • 1698 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Kennedy, the movement advocating for the civil rights of African Americans and other racial minorities has gotten a steam to the point of no return without progress. According to a lecture from POSC 458 - the Vietnam Wars, President John F. Kennedy, who was to his credit, sensitive to this issue before things gotten steam promised reforms in the hope of not making matters worst. He advocated the United States Congress to pass pieces of legislation that will meet these goals. Furthermore, according to a lecture from POSC 458 - the Vietnam Wars, President John F. Kennedy took the most hawkish approach of any president before him during the Vietnam War era (1955 - 1975) by sending combat troops for a mission. Diém, the leader of South Vietnam would face an attempted assassination that would fail.…

    • 1698 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    John F Kennedy Dbq Essay

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages

    John F. Kennedy has done a significant amount of work to make America a better place. In Document E, it shows a graph where the GPD per Capita starts growing faster while JFK was the president. He played a major part in the economy growing during the 1960’s. After Kennedy passed, Johnson picked up where he left off and continued the growth. Another area Kennedy worked on was the way American citizens lived.…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lyndon B. Johnson became president in 1963 after John F. Kennedy was assassinated. LBJ was vaulted into the issues of the Vietnam War, civil rights, and a later declared “war on poverty”. Johnson immediately began to enact the policies Kennedy previously wanted such as a new civil rights bill and a tax cut. Along with Kennedy’s ideas, Johnson had a clear intent to implement his “Great Society” vision into the US. His Great Society included better education, Medicare and Medicaid, urban renewal, the big “war on poverty”, and improvement of depressed regions and the environment.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jfk Pros And Cons

    • 1352 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Being the President of the United States can be a very challenging job. Imagine being the most powerful man in the world. Today, the United States is considered to own the strongest military in the world . There is no doubt that any nation will think twice before declaring war against the United States. However, there was a time when every nation was fighting to be that number #1 on the list and they would do anything to be the strongest.…

    • 1352 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There was a lot of happenings , including the feminist revolution and even the tax cut bills. The “new frontier” was not in the best way going it had many bumps on the way, which lead congress with stalked key medical bills and educational bills. Another big issue was the stop of the economy, Kennedy built his campaign around the idea that he could refresh the economy after the downfall when eisenhower was president. Kennedy’s team settled an agreement with companies to keep prices stable. Kennedy also had to deal with what is known as the young rebellion, the young rebellion included drugs, and rock and roll experimented by many young people in the united…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1960s Dbq

    • 1300 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Kennedy won election to the presidency in 1960, one of the closest elections in American history. Kennedy announced a bold domestic agenda of reducing poverty and advancing civil rights. He did, however boost economic growth by advancing a series of sweeping individual and business tax reductions in 1963. Mr. Kennedy served in the Navy during World War II, earning the Navy and Marine Corps Medals and the Purple Heart. Following the war, he was elected to the United States Congress for three terms and to the United States Senate twice.…

    • 1300 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his reign as president he encouraged people and tried to make a positive impact. In his death he left a legacy of a president who was lost too soon and could have accomplished more if given the time to do so. Some people can still remember where they were when they heard the news of his death (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, 2017). He was not immune to the problems with presidency but he was focused on making a change for the nation (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, 2017). He encouraged people to put differences aside and work together for the good of the nation (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, 2017).…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lyndon B. Johnson was elected Vice President to John F. Kennedy in the 1960 campaign. When Kennedy was assassinated, on November 22, 1963, Johnson was sworn in as the 36th United States President. Johnson went into office as a Texan who had served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and had a vision that took action as he launched what he called a “Great Society” for all Americans. Regardless of his impressive domestic achievements Johnson’s legacy was equally construed by his failure to lead the nation out of the dilemma of the Vietnam War.…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy was thirty-fifth president of the US. He was the first young president to ever being elected into office and with whom youths in the country associated with as serving president born in the 20th century by the time of his presidency. He played a crucial role in the US history after addressing the Cuban Missile Crisis and began a movement to assist developing nations improve the living standards of their citizens. Kennedy accomplishes changed the course of history in the US before his assassination. Kennedy was born and raised in Massachusetts as the second born child in his family.…

    • 1461 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays