Kennedy wanted to get rid of communism with the new frontier. He also wanted to increase education mostly in the science and math areas. He wanted to increase education so we could exceed the Russians missile program. He started the Peace Corps so other Latin countries would not go to communism like Cuba did. He also passed a bill that would provide aid for rural and depressed industrial areas. Kennedy did not get anywhere with aid for education and medical insurance although these were the major areas of his concern. He wanted to increase federal spending to help lower unemployment. Most of the money went to big corporations instead of the workers. To prevent prices of products from going up because of wage increases his economic advisers proposed that only workers that were more productive could be eligible for a wage increase.
One of the steel companies broke the agreement to not increase prices. In return Kennedy got the pentagon to buy form the smaller steel companies. He really wanted to make good changes for the U.S. unfortunately most of his ideas did not work.
Nixon’s engagement policies included pulling troops out of Vietnam and focus more on peace talks. He believed this would help end the war. Nixon wanted to become friends with China so the Soviet Union would be more likely to settle things between us. Nixon pulled what was called the China card he wanted relations between china and the U.S. to be normal.
Later Nixon meets with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev because they wanted to trade with the U.S. Technology and grain was hi priority for them. Because Nixon pulled the China card he was able to have a meeting with the Soviet Union and help get the first Strategic Arms Limitations treaty signed.
During the cold war we believed that the Soviet Union would only respond when we used force. We also believed that the soviets and China were conspiring together. So before there was no chance for peace because we just kept fighting. Nixon realized he could calm them down by cutting back the military pressure.