THE NEW FRONTIER AND THE GREAT SOCIETY

KENNEDY AND JOHNSON LEAD AMERICA IN THE

1960S

Learning Objectives:Section 3 - The Great Society

• 1. Describe the political path that led Johnson to the White House.

• 2. Explain Johnson’s efforts to enact a domestic agenda.

• 3. Summarize the goals of Johnson’s Great Society.

• 4. Identify the reforms of the Warren Court.

• 5. Evaluate the impact of Great Society programs.

SECTION 3: THE GREAT SOCIETY

• A fourth-generation Texan, Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) entered politics in 1937 as a congressman

• Johnson admired Franklin Roosevelt who took the young congressman under his wing

• Johnson became a senator in 1948 and by 1955 he was Senate majority leader

Senator Johnson pictured in 1958 with a nerd

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LBJ’s Path to Power

From the Texas Hills to Capitol Hill• As Congressman, Lyndon Baines Johnson mentored, helped

by FDR• 1948, LBJ narrowly wins Senate seat

The Great Society3SECTION

Continued . . .

A Master Politician• 1955, LBJ becomes Senate majority leader• “LBJ treatment”—ability to persuade senators to support his

bills• Gets Civil Rights Act of 1957 passed—voting rights measure• LBJ helps Kennedy win key Southern states in presidential

election

JOHNSON’S DOMESTIC AGENDA

• As soon as Johnson took office, he urged Congress to pass the tax-cut bill that Kennedy had sent to Capital Hill

• The tax cut passed and $10 billion in cuts took effect

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964• In July of 1964, LBJ pushed the Civil Rights Act

through Congress• The Act prohibited discrimination based on race,

color, religion or national origin, and granted the federal government new powers to enforce the law

LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther King watches

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

• A – Why did Kennedy chose Johnson to be his running mate?– Johnson brought balance to the ticket

because of his experience and influence in Congress and his Southern Protestant background.

VOTING RIGHTS ACT 1964

• Part of the Civil Rights Act was to insure voting rights for all Americans

• The act prohibited literacy tests or other discriminatory practices for voting

• The act insured consistent election practices

"By the way, what's the big word?"

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The War on Poverty• 1964 tax cut spurs economic growth; lowers federal deficit• 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination, allows

enforcement• LBJ declares “war on poverty”• Economic Opportunity Act: education, training, small

business loans• Includes Job Corps, VISTA, Head Start, Community Action

Program

Johnson’s Domestic Agenda

Continued . . .

THE WAR ON POVERTY

• Following his tax cut and Civil Rights Act successes, LBJ launched his War on Poverty

• In August of 1964 he pushed through Congress a series of measures known as the Economic Opportunity Act

• The Act provided $1 billion in aid to the inner city

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT

THE EOA legislation created:• The Job Corps• VISTA (Volunteers in

service to America)• Project Head Start for

underprivileged preschoolers

• The Community Action Program which encouraged the poor to participate in public works program

Project Head Start is still going strong

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

• B – What problems in American society did the Economic Opportunity Act seek to address?– Poverty and lack of opportunity.

Guided Reading

Program or Law Objectives or Results

1. Tax-cut Bill of 1964

Tax-cut: Economic growth; an increase in consumer spending,

business investment, and tax revenues;a reduction in federal budget deficit

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continued Johnson’s Domestic Agenda

The 1964 Election• Republicans nominate Senator Barry Goldwater• Goldwater: government should not deal with social,

economic problems• Threatens to bomb North Vietnam, advocates intervention• LBJ says will not send troops to Vietnam; wins by landslide• Democrats big majority; Southern Democrats not needed to

pass bills

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THE 1964 ELECTION

• In 1964, the Republicans nominated conservative senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona to oppose Democrat Lyndon Johnson

• Goldwater opposed LBJ’s social legislation

• Goldwater alienated voters by suggesting the use of nuclear weapons in Cuba and North Vietnam

LBJ WINS BY A LANDSLIDE

• LBJ won the

1964 election

by a landslide• For many it was an anti-

Goldwater vote• Many Americans saw

Goldwater as a War Hawk• The Democrats also

increased their majority in Congress

• Now Johnson launched his reform program in earnest

LBJ easily defeats Goldwater in ‘64

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1968—A Turning Point in Civil Rights

King’s Death• King objects to Black Power movement,

preaching of violence• Seems to sense own death in Memphis speech

to striking workers• Is shot, dies the following day, April 4, 1968

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Reactions to King’s Death• King’s death leads to worst urban rioting in U.S.

history- over 100 cities affected

• Robert Kennedy assassinated two months later

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Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement

Causes of Violence• Kerner Commission names racism as main

cause of urban violence

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Civil Rights Gains• Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination

in housing• More black students finish high school, college;

get better jobs• Greater pride in racial identity leads to Black

Studies programs• More African-American participation in movies,

television• Increased voter registration results in more black

elected officialsContinued . . .

Guided Reading

Program or Law

Objectives or Results

2. Civil Rights Act of 1964

Civil Rights: Prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and gender;

granted the federal government new powers of enforcement

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continued Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement

Unfinished Work• Forced busing, higher taxes, militancy, riots

reduce white support• White flight reverses much progress toward

school integration• Unemployment, poverty higher than for whites• Affirmative action—extra effort to hire, enroll

discriminated groups• 1960s, colleges, companies doing government

business adopt policy• Late 1970s, some criticize policy as reverse

discrimination

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Guided Reading

Program or Law

Objectives or Results

3. Economic Opportunity Act of 1964

Economic: Funded youth programs, antipoverty measures, small business loans, and job training;

created the Job Corps, the VISTA volunteer program, Project Head Start, and the Community Action Program

BUILDING THE GREAT SOCIETY

• In May of 1964, LBJ summed up his vision for America in a phrase: “The Great Society”

• By the time he left the White House in 1969, Congress had passed 206 of LBJ’s Great Society legislative initiatives

EDUCATION

• Johnson considered education “the key which can unlock the door to the Great Society”

• The Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided $1 billion to help public schools buy textbooks and library materials

• This Act represented the first major federal aid package for education ever

Guided Reading

Program or Law Objectives or Results

4. Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Education: Provided federal aid to help public and parochial schools to purchase textbooks and new library materials and to offer special education classes

HEALTHCARE• LBJ and Congress

enhanced Social Security by establishing Medicare and Medicaid

• Medicare provided hospital insurance and low-cost medical care to the elderly

• Medicaid provided health benefits to the poor

Guided Reading

Program or Law

Objectives or Results

5. Medicare Medicare: Provided hospital and low-cost medical insurance to most Americans age 65 or older

Guided Reading

Program or Law

Objectives or Results

6. Medicaid Medicaid: Extended health insurance to welfare recipients

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

• C – How are Medicaid and Medicare similar?– Both provide govt sponsored health

insurance.

HOUSING

• LBJ and Congress appropriated money to build 240,000 units of low-rent public housing; established the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and appointed the first black cabinet member, Robert Weaver, as HUD’s first leader

Weaver

IMMIGRATION REFORM

• The Great Society also brought reform to immigration laws

• The Natural Origins Acts of the 1920s strongly discriminated against immigration by those outside of Western Europe

• The Immigration Act of 1965 opened the door for many non-European immigrants to settle in the U.S.

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

• D – How did the Immigration Act of 1965 change the nation’s immigration system?– It replaced the nations origins systems, which

discriminated against people from, outside Western Europe.

Guided Reading

Program or Law Objectives or Results

7. Immigration Act of 1965

Immigration: Replaced the national origins system -with a new immigration quota system that allowed more non-European immigrants to settle in the U.S.

THE ENVIRONMENT• LBJ also actively sought to improve the environment• The Water Quality Act of 1965 required states to

clean up their rivers and lakes• LBJ also ordered the government to clean up

corporate polluters of the environment

CONSUMER PROTECTION

• Consumer advocates also made gains during the 1960s

• Major safety laws were passed in the U.S. auto industry and Congress passed the Wholesome Meat Act of 1967

• LBJ said, “Americans can feel safer now in their homes, on the road, and at the supermarket”

SUPREME COURT REFORMS SOCIETY,

TOO

• Reform and change were not limited to the Executive and Legislative branches

• The Judicial Branch led by the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Earl Warren did much to protect individual rights

Warren

WARREN COURT AND SUSPECT’S RIGHTS

• In Mapp v. Ohio (1961) the Supreme Court ruled that illegally seized evidence could not be used in court

• In Escobedo v. Illinois the court ruled that the accused has the right to have an attorney present when questioned by police

• In Miranda v. Arizona the court ruled that all suspects must be read their rights before questioning

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

• E – What were the different reactions to the Warren Court decisions on the rights of the accused?– Liberals supported the decisions for protecting

individual rights, – Conservatives criticized the Court for

protecting criminal suspects and limiting police power.

IMPACT OF GREAT SOCIETY

• The Great Society and the Warren Court changed the United States

• No president in Post-WWII era extended the power and reach of the federal government more than LBJ

• The War on Poverty helped, the Civil Rights initiative made a difference and the massive tax cuts spurred the economy

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

• F – What events and problems may have affected the success of the Great Society?– Some programs contributed to the budget

deficit;– Federal spending, deficits and intervention

sparked conservative backlash;– The Vietnam War drew away funds and

attention.