The%20Great%20Society

1
Chapter 18

• Section 2
• The Great Society

2
Bell Ringer (on notes)

• What do you think is
• great about American
• society? Was it as great
• in Johnsons time? What
• differences are evident?

3
Great society

• President Johnson's proposals to aid public
  education, provide medical care for the elderly,
  and eliminate poverty.

4
Volunteers in service to america (VISTA)

• The federal program organized to send volunteers
  to help people in poor communities

5
medicare

• Federal program that provided medical benefits
  for older Americans.

6
medicaid

• Federal program that provides medical benefits to
  poor Americans.

7
Immigration act of 1965

• Law that ended quotas for individual countries
  and replaced them with more flexible limits.

8
Miranda rule

• Rule that police must inform persons accused of a
  crime of their legal rights.

9
apportionment

• Distribution of seats in the legislative body.

10
Main Idea

• The goals of Johnsons Great Society program
  were to improve the economy, education, and the
  environment as well as to offer government
  assistance to the poor.

11
After Kennedys assassination, Johnson found
himself thrown into the office of the President.
He declared that he would carry on where the
slain President left off. The theme of his term
became known as Let us continue.
12
LBJs Path to the white house

• Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ)
• Democrat from Texas
• House of Representative member in 1937
• Won a Senate seat in 1948
• Known for his talented work in the political
  machine in Washington
• Lost the Democratic bid for President in 1960,
  became Kennedys running mate
• LBJ was disappointed with the powerlessness of
  being Vice Presidenthe had had so much in
  Congress

13
Building the great society

• Political Platform
• Congress knew that the country needed healing.
• They quickly passed Kennedys Civil Rights Bill.
• Tax-cut bills followed
• Johnson sought bills to aid public education,
  medical care for the elderly, and eliminate
  poverty
• He began using the phrase Great Society in
  order to describe his plans

14

• Your imagination, your initiative, your
  indignation will determine whether we build a
  society where progress is the servant of our
  needs, or a society where old values and new
  visions are buried under unbridled unrestrained
  growth. For in your time we have the opportunity
  to move not only toward the rich society and the
  powerful society, but toward the Great Society.
• Lyndon B. Johnson
• (Speech at University of Michigan, 1964)

15
What are some examples of programs lbj wanted in
the great society?

• Tax Cuts
• Anti-poverty Programs
• Medicaid and Medicare
• Education Aid
• Immigration Reform

16
The election of 1964

• Johnson ran against Arizona Senator Barry
  Goldwater
• People thought conservative Goldwater was too
  radical for the nation
• He opposed civil rights legislation
• He believed that military commanders should be
  able to use nuclear weapons as they saw fit

17

• Johnsons Campaign
• Took advantage of Goldwaters shortcomings by
  airing TV commercials about nuclear warfare
• Johnson won 61 of the popular vote and 486 to 52
  electoral votes
• Democrats took control of the Congress
• Landslide Lyndon now had a mandate to move
  aggressively ahead

18
The tax cut

• The Plan
• Johnson continued Kennedys tax plans
• He used a tax cut along with a cut to government
  spending
• Outcome GNP rose, the deficit shrank,
  unemployment fell and inflation remained in check

19
The war on poverty

• 1964 State of the Union Address
• LBJ declared unconditional war on poverty.
• Economic Opportunity Act
• Passed in 1964 to combat causes for poverty

20
What are some causes for poverty?

• Illiteracy
• Unemployment
• Mental Health Issues

21

• Johnsons Campaign on Poverty
• 950 million set aside for 10 programs
• Created Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA)
  which sent volunteers to help poor people in
  communities
• The poor gained a voice in defining housing,
  health, and education policies in their
  neighborhoods

22
Aid to education

• Elementary and Secondary Act
• Aid based on economic need
• 1.3 billion to public and private schools
• Funding increased from below 1 billion in 1959
  to approximately 4.5 billion in 1972

23
Medicare and Medicaid

• Johnson leadership
• Trumans plan in the Fair Deal never made it
  through Congress
• Medicare provided hospital and low-cost medical
  insurance for most Americans age 65 and older

24
What is meant by these statements from LBJ?

• No longer will older Americans be denied the
  healing miracle of modern medicine.
• No longer will illness crush and destroy the
  savings that they have so carefully put away.

25
Medicare and Medicaid

• Johnson leadership
• Medicaid provided low-cost health insurance for
  poor Americans of any age who could not afford
  their own private insurance

26
Immigration reform

• Immigration Law History
• Previous legislation in 1920 1924 set quotas
  (numerical limits) for foreign nations
• Quotas from southern and eastern Europe were low
• Immigration from Asia was banned all together

27
Immigration reform

• Immigration Act of 1965
• Eliminated quotas for individual countries and
  replaced them with flexible limits
• Family members of US citizens were exempted from
  quotas as well as political refugees
• 1960s immigration increased by 350,000 people per
  year
• 1970s immigration rose to more than 400,000 per
  year

28
Earl warren

• American Biography
• Earned a law degree from University of California
• Served as district attorney and attorney general
  in California
• Governor of California
• Republican Vice President candidate in 1948
• Appointed Chief Justice of the United States by
  President Eisenhower in 1953
• Retired from that position in 1969

29
Earl warren

• Supreme Court
• Brown v. Board of Education 1954
• 1965 struck down law regarding the prohibition of
  use of birth control
• Prayer in schools violated the first amendment
  and was unconstitutional
• The Supreme Court defined obscenity laws

30
Criminal procedure

• Earl Warren, the Court, and Criminals
• Rights of people accused of crimes is protected
• Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
• Evidence seized illegally could not be used at
  trial
• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
• Those who cannot pay for a lawyer will receive
  free legal aid
• Escobedo v. Illinois (1964)
• Accused have access to an attorney while being
  questioned

31

• Miranda Rule
• Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
• Suspect must be warned of their rights before
  being questioned
• Miranda Rule police must inform accused persons
  that they have the right to remain silent, that
  anything they say can be used against them in
  court, that they have the right to an attorney,
  and that if they cannot afford an attorney one
  will be appointed for them

32
Congressional reapportionment

• Courts Decision
• Apportionment the distribution of a legislative
  bodys seats among electoral districts
• This was caused by not redrawing electoral
  districts
• Rural citizens were overrepresented while urban
  citizens were underrepresented

33
Congressional reapportionment (cont)

• Courts Decision
• Baker v. Carr (1962) declared that electoral
  districts were apportioned on the basis of one
  person, one vote.
• The ruling stopped parties in power from drawing
  district lines in unfair ways to give themselves
  more votes
• Today each of the 435 seats in the US House of
  Representatives represents an average of 575,000
  people

34
Effects of the great society

• At first glance
• LBJs approval rating was higher than Kennedys
  at the same time in his Presidency
• The state of the economy improved when Congress
  passed Kennedys tax bills

35
Effects of the great society

• And then
• Criticisms surfaced
• Not all demands of the new programs were met
• Americans complained that too much of their taxes
  were used on helping the poor
• Other said Great Society programs gave too much
  power to the federal government
• However, the number of people living in poverty
  was cut in half during the 1960s and 1970s

36
Effects of the great society

• And finally
• Michael Harrington, who had written the book The
  Other America, questioned if the money the
  government spent was enough
• Before long it was the war in Southeast Asia, not
  on poverty, that would consume LBJ and his
  resources