Section 2 The Great Society Chapter 18 Section 2 The Great Society

Bell Ringer (on notes) What do you think is great about American society? Was it as great in Johnson’s time? What differences are evident?

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

Volunteers in service to america (VISTA) The federal program organized to send volunteers to help people in poor communities

Federal program that provided medical benefits for older Americans. medicare Federal program that provided medical benefits for older Americans.

Federal program that provides medical benefits to poor Americans. medicaid Federal program that provides medical benefits to poor Americans.

Immigration act of 1965 Law that ended quotas for individual countries and replaced them with more flexible limits.

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

Distribution of seats in the legislative body. apportionment Distribution of seats in the legislative body.

Main Idea The goals of Johnson’s Great Society program were to improve the economy, education, and the environment as well as to offer government assistance to the poor.

After Kennedy’s 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”.

LBJ’s 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 Kennedy’s running mate LBJ was disappointed with the powerlessness of being Vice President…he had had so much in Congress

Building the great society Political Platform Congress knew that the country needed healing. They quickly passed Kennedy’s 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

“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)

What are some examples of programs lbj wanted in the great society? Tax Cuts Anti-poverty Programs Medicaid and Medicare Education Aid Immigration Reform

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

Johnson’s Campaign Took advantage of Goldwater’s 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

Johnson continued Kennedy’s tax plans The tax cut The Plan Johnson continued Kennedy’s 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

1964 State of the Union Address 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

What are some causes for poverty? Illiteracy Unemployment Mental Health Issues

Johnson’s 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

Elementary and Secondary Act Aid based on economic need 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

Medicare and Medicaid Johnson leadership Truman’s 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

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”.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Congressional reapportionment Court’s Decision Apportionment: the distribution of a legislative body’s seats among electoral districts This was caused by not redrawing electoral districts Rural citizens were overrepresented while urban citizens were underrepresented

Congressional reapportionment (cont) Court’s 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

Effects of the great society At first glance LBJ’s approval rating was higher than Kennedy’s at the same time in his Presidency The state of the economy improved when Congress passed Kennedy’s tax bills

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

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