Lesson 3: Warren Court and Johnson’ Great Society

1.What law was passed in 1964 to grant more rights to African Americans?

2. What was one reason JFK was assassinated?

3. Who stepped into the role of president after JFK’s death?

Earl Warren was appointed Chief Justice of the United States in 1953

Warren led the Supreme Court in making several decisions on key political and social issues

The Warren Court made decisions on famous cases such as :Brown vs. Board of EducationAnd Miranda vs. Arizona

A Mexican immigrant, Ernesto Miranda was interrogated (questioned) by police

He admitted the rape and kidnapping

His case was appealed because an attorney was not present

This violated his 5th Amendment and 6th Amendment (right against self-incrimination & right to legal counsel)

In the Miranda decision of 1966, the Supreme Court ruled that suspects must immediately be notified of their rights:

1 -Right to remain silent 2 -Right to a lawyer, even if they couldn’t

afford one

This case helped to guarantee equal rights to all citizen regardless of their economic situation

“You have the right to remain silent…You have the right to an attorney”

After the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson carried on many of Kennedy's plans including getting both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed into law

Johnson ran and won the 1964 Presidential election

Johnson declared a“War on Poverty”

The legislative programs received the nickname “Great Society Program”: A Plan

based on Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, and focused on expanding aid to the poor through a variety of programs

During a three year period, the Johnson administration passed over 60 programs as part of the Great Society

Medicare: program funded by federal government to provide medical aid to the elderly

Medicaid: health care for low income families that is funded by the state and the federal government together

Other Major Programs in Johnson’s Great Society included:• Food Stamps• School Breakfast programs• Environment Aid• Elementary and Secondary Education Act

(the law that No Child Left Behind re-vamped)

• Head Start

Do you believe we should fight the “War on Poverty?”

Directions: Read the following statement & pick which statement sounds most like you.A) People are poor because they are lazy.

B) When people are poor, the government should provide assistance.

C) It is the responsibility of citizens to provide a safety net of services for the people whose needs are not met by government assistance.

D) There are people in our community that need help

In late March, Martin Luther King Jr. went to Memphis, TN to help support a strike by African American

sanitation workers

In the early evening of April 4, Dr. King was shot and killed by James Earl Ray

This sparked a series of riots across the country

Robert “Bobby” Kennedy was John Kennedy's brother and served as the U.S. Attorney General under his administration

Robert Kennedy, supporting many of his brother’s civil rights policies, decided to run for president in 1968

As a Democratic candidate, Kennedy went to California in June of 1968 and won that state’s primary.

After greeting supporters at a hotel after his victory, Robert Kennedy was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan

By the end of 1968, two national leaders had been assassinated

A year of political and social revolutions around the world!

1. US Anti-Vietnam War Movement 2. Assassination of two US leaders

(MLK Jr. and Robert Kennedy)

The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, IL.

4,000 anti-war demonstrators (Vietnam War),

tried to march to the convention site but were met by over 11,000 army and National Guardsmen, and Chicago riot police

Chicago 7: group of 7 male protestors arrested and tried fortheir participation in theriots

Protesters and bystanders were met with tear-gas, and beaten by the police, all within the full view of television cameras

1. How did the Warren Court decision on Miranda v. Arizona improve the rights of those that are accused with a crime?

2. How did Johnson’s “Great Society” try to change America?

3. Do you think that the Warren Court decisions and Johnson’s Great Society program truly improved life in the U.S. in the 1960s? EXPLAIN!