The Union Front Steps

Let us set the scene. It’s fall 1960 and students at the University of Michigan are enthusiastic about the upcoming presidential election. A small, vocal cohort of campus activists didn't mind Kennedy, but overall, they found him too conservative. They also made it known that his opponent, Richard Nixon, had views that were even more conservative and outdated.

Contrary to what was vocalized on campus, in a poll taken among seven Big Ten universities—including the University of Michigan—all seven put Nixon ahead of his opponent. 

Regardless of student reception, on October 14th, 1960, right here on the steps of the Michigan Union, Kennedy delivered a riveting campaign speech, encouraging U-M students to dedicate a few years of their young lives to working in developing countries, an idea that had been locally advocated for by two U-M graduate students. This was the catalyst for University of Michigan to become a driving force in creating what we now know as the Peace Corps. 

This is memorialized right over here on this bronze plaque that states: “Here at 2:00 a.m. on October 14, 1960, John Fitzgerald Kennedy first defined the Peace Corps.”

In the wake of JFK’s death in 1963, the nation mourned as vice president Lyndon B. Johnson took the mantle as President. JFK wasn’t able to enact his entire policy agenda, and LBJ took some of these ideas—and added his own—building them into a suite of policies he called the Great Society. Johnson announced this vision to the world at the University’s commencement ceremony at the Big House on May 22, 1964. This speech would change the course of domestic policy in the 60’s. 

The University spent considerable time meticulously preparing for both the President’s arrival and speech. The University Hospital reserved a room with the top cardiologists and neurosurgeons, along with special routes to the hospital, and emergency press rooms were created in academic halls. 

Just 10 minutes after being flown by marine helicopters from Detroit airport to the stadium, LBJ began the first-ever televised commencement speech and ushered in a new era of policies. 

This speech, dubbed the Great Society Speech, introduced a series of influential policies which would translate to over 200 acts of legislation, many of them aimed at bettering the lives of everyday Americans,  and helping to relieve poverty and racial inequality. Some notable developments from the speech include: the implementation of food stamps, medicare and medicaid, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights act of 1965, and even the Immigration Act of 1965. 

The Great Society’s legacy is a bit more complicated, though. LBJ also highly increased US military presence in Vietnam, which forced Congress to make tough funding choices that impacted Great Society programs. By 1968, campus protests and urban unrest intensified, and LBJ decided not to run for reelection.

As it was recognized as a turning point in our nation’s social welfare policy, the Bentley Library at U-M requested the original note cards that President Johnson used, which were signed and then sent back here to stay.

Buzynski, Isabella, Scott Flake, and Estrella Salgado. University of Michigan Presidential Campus Tour (online exhibit, 2020). https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/65be786927eb412fbfab326fac46b78a.

International Center, University of Michigan. “History of the Peace Corps at the University of Michigan.” https://internationalcenter.umich.edu/abroad/peace/history.

Johnson, Lyndon B. “Remarks at the University of Michigan.” May 22, 1964. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-university-michigan.

Peckham, Howard H., Margaret L. Steneck, and Nicholas H. Steneck. The Making of the University of Michigan, 1817-1992. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library, 1997.

Tumulty, Karen. “The Great Society at 50.” Washington Post. May 17, 2014. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/05/17/the-great-society-at-50/.