America and the ‘Great Society’

Before we start… If you were going to make a society ‘Great’ what would you do? To help you, imagine that you had part of society that was rich, but a lot of it was still very poor. Where would you start?

Lesson Objectives What was the ‘Great Society’ How did President Kennedy and Johnson implement it? How successful was it?

Why was America rich by the 1960s? Think Pair Share

Poverty in America Despite the overwhelming wealth of the country, much of America remained poor. Very poor. In fact, 35 million households were living below the poverty line. This would affect their quality of living, health and future of their children. President Kennedy and his successor President Johnson were determined to resolve this problem.

Click on JFK for his ‘New Frontier’ speech Click on JFK for his ‘New Frontier’ speech. What do you think he is trying to suggest?

The ‘New Frontier’ Presidents President Kennedy was the newly elected Democratic President in 1960. His election, for many, spelt a new direction for the Government. He had promised to fight to help the poorest people in America. His ‘war on poverty’ would shape the next 8 years and became part of the plan to create a ‘Great Society’ in America. President Johnson carried on after JFK’s shock assassination in 1963. But what were the aims of the ‘Great Society’? John F Kennedy US President 1960 - 1963 Lyndon B Johnson US President 1963 - 1969

What were the aims of the Great Society? “The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning. The Great Society is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and to enlarge his talents. It is a place where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect, not a feared cause of boredom and restlessness. It is a place where the city of man serves not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce but the desire for beauty and the hunger for community. It is a place where man can renew contact with nature. It is a place which honours creation for its own sake and for what it adds to the understanding of the race. It is a place where men are more concerned with the quality of their goals than the quantity of their goods.” President Johnson gave this speech in 1964. Read it and try to work out which areas he would focus on.

Aims for the Great Society This can be simplified to: C – Civil Rights for Black Americans improved H – Health – help support poorest. I – Improve education for poor. P – Poverty – end it! Extension of unemployment benefit. More aid to poor cities to improve housing and transportation. Increase in social security benefits. Aid to economically distressed (poor) areas. Expansion of rural electricity to help farmers. Improve medical care for the poor Improve Civil Rights for Black Americans

Recording your notes Aims Actions Impact Judgement C – Improve Civil Rights for Black Americans H – Health – improve for the poorest. I – Improve Education for the poor. P – Poverty ended! Additional

How did President Johnson do it? President Johnson, when he took over from JFK in 1963, was deeply concerned with the have-nots in society. He declared in May 1964, that he ‘declared an unconditional war on poverty’. He wanted the federal governments to take action to tackle the biggest problems in society. He was re-elected in late 1964 – meaning he could start his fight. Watch this video to see how it began

How did President Johnson do it? Johnson now passed a huge number of laws in Congress – he passed 435 bills in 1964 -1966. He soon ensured billions of dollars were used to help the elderly, schools, housing and rural poor. This was on top of helping black Americans to improve their civil rights across the country. But what Acts do you need to know?

How did he do it? The Civil Rights Act, 1964 Made discrimination in public illegal. The Economic Opportunity Act,1964 Provided training to disadvantaged youths aged 16-21; recruited volunteers to work & teach in poor areas. The Development Act, 1964 Inner city slums replaced with new houses. Medicare and Medicaid, 1965 Provided medical insurance for over-65s and hospital care for poor (Most Americans have private medical insurance – like BUPA here in Britain) Voting Rights Act, 1965 Ensured all Black Americans could vote

Did everyone like it? Not everybody liked LBJ and his Great Society ideas. Republicans thought it was too expensive and it had created a huge bureaucracy. They also claimed that it wasn’t working. Many black people remained poor – the outbreak of race riots at the end of the 1960s was proof that the Great Society was a failure.

Did the Great Society work? Watch this video – what does it suggest? What were the biggest successes?

Why did it end? Despite all of his efforts, Johnson could not continue with his Great Society. The Vietnam war (which we will study later) exploded under President Johnson. Although there had been some support for the war before 1968, things soon rapidly deteriorated. Johnson spent more and more of his time and money trying to solve the Vietnam problem. Eventually it forced him to stand down in March 1968. He was mainly remembered for his failures in the Vietnam war, rather than his successes in ensuring millions benefitted from the education and healthcare programmes of the Great Society.

How did you do? Aims Actions Impact Judgement C – Improve Civil Rights for Black Americans 1964 Civil Rights Act 1965 Voting Rights Act 1968 Civil Rights Act Outlawed segregation in public places; banned literacy tests meaning more black people could vote; ensured housing couldn’t be bought/sold based on race. Improved black American rights – assassination of MLK & Malcolm X, together with riots at end of the 1960s showed work still to do. H – Health – improve for the poorest. 1965 – Medicare & Medicaid created. Millions of old and poor now could get basic care in hospitals without the need for private insurance. Successful in helping the most vulnerable. I – Improve Education for the poor. 1964 - Economic Opportunity Act Project Head Start created for pre-schoolers. $1.5 billion spent on schools, Job Corps created to train young people in marketable skills. Poorest (usually black Americans) begin to make progress – but further investment stalled due to Vietnam war. P – Poverty ended! 1964 - The Development Act $2.9 billion on urban renewal Some slum areas reduced in cities – riots at end of 1960s highlighted work still to do – Vietnam war prevented this. Additional Clean Water and Air Acts; $1.1 billion to help rural areas Cars made safer; Rural areas protected, endangered species protected, preserved rivers and millions of acres of wilderness. Protected huge parts of America and it’s environment.

Main task Look at your notes from today. Consider the following quote: “The Great Society promised much but delivered little”. Explain whether you agree with this quote or not. Use specific evidence to prove your point.