Presidents Kennedy And Johnson

Word Count: 1778

Although President Kennedy wasn’t in office for very long, his actions in and out of the whitehouse are legendary. When President Kennedy took the oath of office in 1960 he wasted no time in cleaning up America. Several bills were enacted in President Kennedy’s tenor. A lot of the major ones had to do with crime control. A lot of President Kennedy’s bills were targeted at organized crime. Bill S1653 was singed into action on September 13 1961. This was an interstate travel bill. The bill made it a crime to travel or use any facilities in interstate commerce with intent to conduct violent crimes to further illegal gambling, liquor, narcotics, or prostitution business. This bill had a major effect shutting down a lot of “speakeasy’s” which took care of gambling, and betting. Customs got a lot tighter which had a great impact on the running of liquor to foreign countries such as Canada and Mexico. A lot of drug pushers were arrested and many Bordellos’ were also shut down. The senate passed Bill S1653 on July 28 and House on Aug 21. This was one of many anti-crime Bills that President Kennedy would enact throughout his term. A lot of his primary goals were oriented towards organized crime.
Another one of President Kennedy’s crime Bills to be passed in 1961 having to do with crime was Bill S1656. This Bill made it a crime for
2.
anyone in the betting business to knowingly use a wire communication facility to transmit in interstate commerce any bets or wager information. Also it made it a crime to be caught with any betting paraphernalia such as parley sheets or wager stubs. This authorized a lot of wire-tapping and surveillance. Bill S1656 was passed by the Senate on July 28 and by the house on August 21 and was signed September 13.
One other bill passed in 1961 by President Kennedy was the Fugitive felon act. This act made it a federal crime to cross boarders to avoid being prosecuted or remanded into custody after committing a violent crime or avoid giving testimony on a crime. This act was strongly enforced by local law enforcement agencies.
The Federal firearms act of 1961 was a major bill passed for President Kennedy in 1961. This act prohibited the shipment of firearms in interstate and foreign lands to people under inditment for certain crimes.
Not all of President Kennedy’s bills were directed towards the Mob and other such crime syndicates. President Kennedy also lobbied for the 1961 juvenile delinquency and youth offences control act. This act provided programs of federal assistance to state and local agencies to control delinquencies. It also authorized sections of health, education, and welfare to
3.
make grants for projects to improve methods of control, treatment and prevention of delinquency and to establish personal training programs. This bill was mainly focused at gang members, drug addicts, and first time offenders under the age of eighteen.
In 1962 President Kennedy continued his onslaught on organized crime. One of his first acts was to enact an anti-crime bill that put a stop to interstate travel of gambling machines. Bill S1658 broadened on the 1951 ban on interstate travel of gambling machines to include shipments to points in the U.S. through foreign commerce and any machines including roulette wheels. Roulette wheels were included simply for the fact that they are a machine that is wagered upon were the course of action can result in the transfer of currency and or property. This bill was ironically called the Gambling Devices act of 1962. The Senate passed this bill by voice vote on July 27, 1961 and by the House June 29. This Bill was then signed into law October 18, 1962.
Another bill that was going through congress was the eighth in a package of anti-crime bills proposed in 1962. Only two of the bills actually got anywhere. They were bills S1658 (the gambling machine bill) and bill

4.
S1655. This bill allowed the granting of court immunity to certain witnesse

This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Academic Library. Please register below now!

Subscribe to Academic Library When you subscribe to the Academic Library, you get 24-hour access to the online database containing full-text articles written by thousands of scholarly students. For only $8.95 per month, you receive unlimited monthly access to view and download all of our 40,000 articles available online. That is less than the price of one textbook! This price includes: 24-hours-a-day, 7 days a week unlimited access on any computer with Internet access Complete access to all 40,000 articles, essays, and research papers Ability to view and download virtually unlimited number of documents Ability to browse through perfectly arranged catalog of articles Superior search and relevancy ranking techniques using Google SiteSearch and our local search engine Instant access to the online database after registration You can pay by credit card, checking account. You get instant access after registration: You will be billed $ 8.95 every 30 days (recurring billing) starting on the day you subscribe. Your credit card will automatically be renewed for your convenience until you cancel. If you are already registered, please click here to login.