The term New Frontier was used by Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech, delivered July 15, to the 1960 Democratic National Convention at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The phrase became a label for his administration's domestic and foreign programs.
In the words of Robert D. Marcus: "Kennedy entered office with ambitions to eradicate poverty and to raise America's eyes to the stars through the space program."
Modern liberalism, often referred to simply as liberalism, is the dominant ideological variant of liberalism in the United States. It is most synonymous with the ideology of social liberalism, which is a variant of liberalism that moves beyond classical liberalism to account for poverty, seeking a balance between civil liberty and social equality via a social safety net. U.S. modern liberalism also takes inspiration from cultural liberalism and progressivism, and some (but not all) modern liberals explicitly identify with the contemporary U.S. progressive movement. Writing in 1993, American academic writer Ian Adams argued all major U.S. parties up to that point were "liberal and always have been. Essentially they espouse classical liberalism, that is a form of democratized Whig constitutionalism plus the free market. The point of difference comes with the influence of social liberalism."
Economically, modern liberalism accepts a role for government to protect against market failures, protect competition and prevent corporate monopolies, and supports labor rights. Its fiscal policy supports sufficient funding for a social safety net, while simultaneously promoting income-proportional tax reform policies to reduce deficits. It calls for active government involvement in other social and economic matters such as reducing economic inequality, expanding access to education and healthcare, and protection of the shared natural environment, in large part on the contention that advances in those areas create a thriving economy in the long run. Modern liberalism was formed in the 20th century in response to the Great Depression. Major examples of modern liberal policy programs include the New Deal, the Fair Deal, the New Frontier, the Great Society, the Affordable Care Act, and the Build Back Better Plan.
The Great Society was a series of domestic programs enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the United States between 1964 and 1968, aimed at eliminating poverty, reducing racial injustice, and expanding social welfare in the country. Johnson first used the phrase in a May 7, 1964, speech at Ohio University. The Great Society sought to build on the legacy of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal reforms of the 1930s, and planned to use the power of the federal government in order to address economic inequality, improve education and healthcare, and promote civil rights.
The post–World War II economic expansion had raised living standards for many Americans, but significant disparities remained, particularly for racial minorities and those living in impoverished rural and urban areas. The civil rights movement was gaining momentum, highlighting systemic racism and discrimination. Some of the Great Society initiatives were derived from New Frontier proposals which had stalled during the administration of John F. Kennedy, whom Johnson had succeeded in 1963. Johnson's success depended on his skills of persuasion and the Democratic Party's landslide victory in the 1964 elections, which made the 89th Congress the most liberal since 1938, with a supermajority in both chambers. In the 88th Congress it was estimated that there were 56 liberals and 44 conservatives in the Senate, and 224 liberals and 211 conservatives in the House. In the 89th Congress, by contrast, it was estimated that there were 59 liberals and 41 conservatives in the Senate, and 267 liberals and 168 conservatives in the House.