What are some of the successes and failures of Kennedy's new frontier?

Answer 1

In his acceptance speech as the Democratic Candidate in 1960 John F. Kennedy promised America a 'New Frontier'. "We stand at the edge of a New Frontier - the frontier of unfulfilled hopes and dreams. It will deal with unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus." This is an excerpt from his acceptance speech. However Kennedy's Presidency was cut short by a tragedy. Hi main time in office was spent on the foreign affairs such as the crisis in Berlin and the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought the world to the very brink of nuclear war. However in 1962 he sent troops to the University of Mississippi so that a black student, James Meredith could enrol in the school. By the year 1963, Alabama was the only state in America with a segregated education system. In that year, Alabama finally gave in and allowed integration as well. Kennedy increased the minimum wage to $1,25 an hour, and housing was improved and the period of unemployment benefit was increased as well. The Republicans in Congress opposed Kennedy, as did the Southerners within his own party, the Democrats. Many older, white politicians were quite annoyed at his appointments of young and black advisers. Many disliked his spending plans on education and on the elderly - some even called him Communist.