Area Redevelopment Administration

Area Redevelopment Administration was a rural poverty program of the Kennedy administration, primarily in Appalachia.

Kennedy's anti-poverty policies

Kennedy said little about poverty in his campaign, but began talking about unemployment in his first State of the Union address in January 1961.

From his economic concerns, Kennedy created the Appalachian Regional Commission, VISTA, raised the minimum wage, and signed the Manpower Development and Training Act

News articles in 1962-1963 aroused Kennedy's concern for poverty in Appalachia, and he focused existing funds on pilot projects on the issue in 1963.

In late 1963, Kennedy said "the time has come to organize a national assault on the causes of poverty, a comprehensive program." In October 1963, Kennedy was planning a trip to bring national attention to rural poverty.

The idea of the War on Poverty began emerging from the white house in 1963, but Congress was rejecting virtually all of Kennedy's domestic legislation proposals at the time. Kennedy strongly prioritized foreign policy in his concerns over his domestic agenda.

Legislative history

Kennedy proposed and achieved passage of the Area Redevelopment Act, which provided federal funding to economically struggling regions of the country. The Area Redevelopment Act, a $394 million spending package passed in 1961, followed a strategy of investing in the private sector to stimulate new job creation. It specifically targeted businesses in urban and rural depressed areas and authorized $4.5 million annually over four years for vocational training programs.

Political impediments

On June 11, 1963, Kennedy delivered a Report to the American People on Civil Rights, proposing what became the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This aligned him with the African-American civil rights movement, which he had earlier distanced himself from to avoid upsetting Southern legislators. Kennedy's action had the anticipated effect: a motion in the House of Representatives to boost funding to the Area Redevelopment Administration as requested by Kennedy suffered a surprising defeat, 209–204, because of the opposition of Southern Democrats. Their rejection of the bill was widely viewed as a revolt against the President for his stance on civil rights. In discussing the failure with House Majority Leader Carl Albert, Kennedy lamented, "Civil rights did it." When historian and presidential adviser Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. complemented Kennedy on his remarks, the latter bitterly replied, "Yes, and look at what happened to area development the very next day in the House." He then added, "But of course, I had to give that speech, and I'm glad that I did."

References

• Ashley, Jeffrey S.; Jarmer, Marla J., eds. (2015). The Bully Pulpit, Presidential Speeches, and the Shaping of Public Policy. Lexington Books. ISBN 9781498501965. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Brinkley, A.; Schlesinger, A.M.; Wilentz, S. (2012). John F. Kennedy: The American Presidents Series: The 35th President, 1961-1963. The American Presidents. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-1-4299-7422-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Cohen, Andrew (2016) [2014]. Two Days in June: John F. Kennedy and the 48 Hours That Changed History (illustrated, reprint ed.). McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 9780771023897. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Duncan, J.K. (2013). John F. Kennedy: The Spirit of Cold War Liberalism. Routledge Historical Americans. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-17488-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Giglio, J.N. (2006) [1991]. The Presidency of John F. Kennedy. American presidency series. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1457-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Gillette, M.L. (2010). Launching the War on Poverty: An Oral History. Oxford Oral History Series. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-977986-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Reeves, Richard (1993). President Kennedy: Profile of Power. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-64879-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Risen, Clay (2014). The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act (illustrated ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 9781608198245. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Savage, Sean J. (2012). JFK, LBJ, and the Democratic Party. SUNY Press. ISBN 9780791484685. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Shogan, Colleen J. (2007). The Moral Rhetoric of American Presidents (revised ed.). Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 9781585446391. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Further reading

• Bogle, L.L. (2001). The Cold War: Cold War culture and society. The Cold War. Routledge. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-8153-3242-8.
• Dallek, R.; Rogers D. Spotswood Collection (1998). Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1961-1973. Lyndon Johnson and his times / Robert Dallek. Oxford University Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-19-505465-1.
• Kiffmeyer, T. (2008). Reformers to Radicals: The Appalachian Volunteers and the War on Poverty. University Press of Kentucky. p. 1,47f. ISBN 978-0-8131-7308-5.
• Knapp, D. L. (1970). Scouting the war on poverty: social reform politics in the Kennedy administration (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon).
• Sabato, L.J. (2014). The Kennedy Half-Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy. Bloomsbury USA. p. 266f. ISBN 978-1-62040-282-5.