Student Question
What were the greatest achievements of the New Frontier?
Quick answer:
The New Frontier's greatest achievements included expanding government services and benefits, such as increasing the minimum wage, extending food stamps, and enhancing Social Security and unemployment benefits. It also granted federal employees the right to collective bargaining. While liberals view these as significant strides towards social justice, conservatives criticize them for increasing government intervention in the economy. These initiatives reflect the broader ideological divide over the role of government in society.
John F. Kennedy's New Frontier had great achievements if you are a liberal. If you are a conservative, however, the things that Kennedy did with this program do not seem like achievements. This is because the major achievement of the New Frontier was to increase the levels government services and benefits that were given to Americans.
For example, the New Frontier programs did such things as expanding the food stamps program and providing more in the way of Social Security benefits. The New Frontier increased the minimum wage and expanded it so that it applied to more workers. It also expanded unemployment benefits. Finally (in something that is a big political issue today) Kennedy gave federal employees the right to bargain collectively.
To liberals, these are great accomplishments because they increased the levels of what could be called social justice in the US. To conservatives, these were not so great because they simply increased the degree to which the government interefered with the economy.
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