Unit #14 – Politics and Society 1970s-the Present

Please copy the following in your Social Studies Notebook: Great Society: President Johnson’s goals in the areas of health care, education, the environment, discrimination, and poverty. 2) War on Poverty: President Johnson’s programs aimed at aiding the country’s poor through education, job training, proper health care, and nutrition.

Please copy the following in your Social Studies Notebook: 3) Affirmative Action: Policy that gives special consideration to women and minorities to make up for past discrimination. 4) Feminism: Theory that women and men should have political, social, and economic equality. 5) Roe v. Wade: Supreme Court case where abortion became legal in all 50 states during the first 3 months of pregnancy. 6) ERA: Equal Rights Amendment - Organization established by Betty Friedan to combat discrimination against women.

Please copy the following in your Social Studies Notebook: 7) Medicaid: Federal program created in 1965 to provide low-cost health insurance to poor Americans of any age. 8) Medicare: Federal program created in 1965 to provide basic hospital insurance to most Americans over the age of 65. 9) United Farm Workers: Organized by Cesar Chavez as a network of farmers’ organizations that worked for political and economic reforms.

Please copy the following in your Social Studies Notebook: 10) “Silent Spring”: Book written by Rachel Carson that highlighted problems within the environment and led to the modern day Environmentalist Movement. 11) Earth Day: Annual event of environmental activism and protest, begun in 1970. 12) EPA: Environmental Protection Agency; law passed in 1973 to protect endangered plants and animals.

Please copy the following in your Social Studies Notebook: 13) Detente: Flexible diplomacy adopted by Richard Nixon to ease tensions between the US, the USSR, and China. 14) Silent Majority: Phrase introduced by Richard Nixon to refer to a significant number of Americans who supported his policies but chose not to express their views.

Please copy the following in your Social Studies Notebook: 15) Watergate: Political scandal involving illegal activities that ultimately led to the resignation of President Nixon in 1974. 16) Stagflation: Term for the economic condition created in the late 1960s and 1970s by high inflation combined with stagnant economic growth and high unemployment.

Please copy the following in your Social Studies Notebook: 17) Liberal: A person who tends to support government intervention to help the needy and favor laws protecting the rights of women and minorities. 18) Conservative: Person who tends to support limited government involvement in the economy, community help for the needy, and traditional values.