ABSTRACT
President John F. Kennedy focused his 1961 inaugural address on foreign policy, vowing “that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” Southern Democrats were relieved that Kennedy had little interest in presenting civil rights legislation to Congress. Their problem, however, was not the federal government—it was Dixie’s restive black population. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI), which changed its name from the American Enterprise Association in 1962, wanted Goldwater in the White House. As a tax-exempt, non-profit educational organization, the AEI could not directly participate in the electoral process. Johnson viewed his landslide reelection as a mandate for the expansion of federal social-welfare programs, as well as an endorsement of more legislation against racial discrimination. Having entered politics in the age of Roosevelt, Johnson believed that the US government had the power to eradicate poverty, racism, and urban decay.
