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LBJ -Johnson encouraged the nation to move past the assassination -sent Congress a program to fix the nation’s problems
LBJ
-Johnson encouraged the nation to move past the assassination
-sent Congress a program to fix the nation’s problems
LBJ-Lyndon Baines Johnson- Texas
-became follower of FDR- really got involved in New Deal Policies
-showed remarkable ability to forge compromises-”LBJ Treatment”
LBJ
-showed remarkable ability to forge compromises
-helped pass Civil Rights Act of 1957- 1st Civil Rights Leg. Since Reconstruction: dealt w/voting rights
-” ..denied both the federal government and the state powers to deprive U.S. citizens of the right to vote on account of race, color or previous conditions of servitude.”
LBJ’s Agenda-large tax reductions: 10 Billion
in tax cuts to spur economic growth
-Civil Rights Act of 1964banned discrimination- based on race, religion & sex in Public Places
Gave Fed. Gov’t Powers to Enforce
-”Unconditional War on Poverty”1964 State of the UnionHead Start : edu Program 4 underprivileged preschoolersJobs Corps Youth Training ProgramVISTA : Volunteers in Service to America
-Election of 1964JohnsonBarry Goldwater
LBJ’s Agenda
-EOA: Economic Opportunity ACT
-”Unconditional War on Poverty”1964 State of the UnionHead Start : edu Program 4 underprivileged preschoolersJobs Corps Youth Training ProgramVISTA : Volunteers in Service to America
LBJ’s Agenda
-Election of 1964JohnsonBarry Goldwater: *didn’t believe the Gov’t had any business to control social & economical wrongs- *also attacked Social Security & TVA; wanted to use atomic weapons on Cuba & SU
Johnson won by a landslide!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDTBnsqxZ3k
Great Society-’64 election gives Johnson a
mandateLBJ sums up his vision of America 1. End Poverty 2. End Racial
Injustice -creating a higher SOL and
providing equal opportunity were objectives of Great SocietyOver 60 programs passed
-Secondary Education Act : 1 billion in Fed. Aid to help purchase text books
-Medicare :: hospital/low cost insurance for US citizens over 65
-Medicaid Extended health insurance to welfare recipients
Great Society-HUD : Administer Fed. Housing
Program, DEPT of Housing & Urban Development = low income housing
*LBJ appointed the 1st AA cabinet
member as Sec. of HUD- Robert Weaver
-National Endowment for the Humanities independent grant-making agency of the US gov’t dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities
Government Protection-Immigration Act 1965 : opened the door for many Non European Immigrants to settle in the US- *Over turned Nat’l Origins Act of 1924
-Department of Transportation DOT: Deals w/ national air, rail & highway transportation
-environmental protectionRachel Carson“Silent Spring” : exposed the dangers of pesticides & big Companies which were polluting streams Water Quality & Clean Air Act :required states to clean up Rivers
Government Protection
--consumer protectionRalph Nader – Wrote a book: “Unsafe @ any Speed” -Fair Packaging and Labeling Act
*Required truth in Labels/packaging & enacted auto safety standards on automobiles
* He is most commonly known as a six-time candidate for President, often running with the Green Party.
Warren Court-Chief Justice Earl Warren led
the Supreme Court on an activist stanceCourt began to interpret rights in a broader fashion
Warren Court
-Brown v. Board, 1954 : Overturned Plessy V. Ferguson (Separate is NOT equal)
-Mapp v. Ohio, 1961 : Evidence seized illegally can NOT be used in Court
-Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963 : Right to an attorney
-Miranda v. Arizona, 1966 Must be read RIGHTS when placed under arrest-- * You have the right to remain silent …..
Impact of the Great Society
-extension of federal power-rate of poverty did decrease
from 21% to 11%
-growing budget deficit (With Huge Tax cuts the Gov’t had to borrow more $$$)
-conservative backlash – Cali Gov, Hollywood Actor Reagan
-conflict in Vietnam-choice between war and the Great Society programs-”Guns or butter”
*1,000s of miles away, Communist forces in V began to over shadow the Goals of the G.S.
Johnson had seen many political successes, including the passage of his sweeping Great Society domestic programs (also known as the "War on Poverty"), landmark civil rights legislation, and the continued exploration of space. At the same time, however, the country had experienced large-scale race riots in the streets of its larger cities, along with a generational revolt of young people and violent debates over foreign policy. The emergence of the hippie counterculture, the rise of New Left activism, and the emergence of the Black Power movement exacerbated social and cultural clashes between classes, generations and races. Every summer during Johnson's post-election administration, known thereafter as the "long, hot summers", major U.S. cities erupted in massive race riots that left hundreds dead or injured and destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars in property. Adding to the national tension, on April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee sparking further mass rioting and chaos, including Washington, D.C., where rioting came within just a few blocks of the White House.A major factor in the precipitous decline of President Johnson's popularity was the Vietnam War, which he greatly escalated during his time in office. By late 1967 over 500,000 American soldiers were fighting in Vietnam and suffering thousands of casualties every month. Johnson was especially hurt when, despite his repeated assurances that the war was being "won", the American news media began to show just the opposite.
