The Great Society Social Security Act changed Included Medicare (elderly) & Medicaid (poor & disabled) Elementary & Secondary Education Act – 1965 Improved school libraries, learning centers, language labs Increased funding for Indian, Hispanic and Inner city schools Project Head Start Federal $ for preschool for underprivileged children The Environment Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring Raised concerns about environment Ralph Nader’s Unsafe at Any Speed National Traffic & Motor Vehicle Safety Act Water Quality Act – 1965; Clean Water Restoration Act – 1966 Improve water and air standards

The Lasting Legacy of the Great Society HUD Housing and Urban Development Provides affordable housing for the poor Poverty rates & infant mortality rates decline Medical care to millions National Endowment of the Arts and Humanities 1965 Provided assistance for artists and scholars Wanted everyone to benefit from American wealth Created multi generational families who are dependent on government aid

The Activist Warren Court Mapp v. Ohio Evidence obtained illegally cannot be used in court Violated 4 th Amendment Gideon v. Wainwright Accused criminals have the right to a lawyer no matter if they can pay Escobedo v. Illinois Right to a lawyer before questioning Miranda v. Arizona Arrested individuals need to be advised of 4 th and 6 th Amendment rights All together = rights of the accused

How did we get involved? SEATO Geneva Accords North vs. South North ruled by Ho Chi Minh South ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem – backed by US National Liberation Front AKA Vietcong Challenged Diem Kennedy sent “advisers” to help train South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) Special Forces

Johnson Increases US Troops US destroyer “innocently” floating in Gulf of Tonkin USS Maddox North Vietnamese boat shot a torpedo USS Maddox fired back Johnson ordered air strikes GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION Congress gave “broad military powers” to the president Congress gave away power to declare war No official declaration of war It was a POLICE ACTION

An Unclear Enemy Who’s the Vietcong? How do you tell them from the rest of the South Vietnamese? Guerilla Warfare Unsophisticated weapons Underground networks

A Different Police Action General Wm. Westmorland Head of US troops in Vietnam War of Attrition Wear down the Vietcong; no clear objectives Search and destroy Napalm – jelly used to shoot flames Agent Orange – defoliant; used in the jungles

Low Morale & Low Support Soldiers in country were upset/depressed Body counts became a method for reward Great Society spending reduced ability to pay for Vietnam Living Room War Americans come home from work and watch the war on TV Credibility Gap What Americans see on TV different from what Johnson says

Opposition on the Home Front Hawks Want Johnson to be MORE aggressive Doves Felt like it wasn’t a huge fight to stop the spread of communism Wanted Johnson to withdraw College Campuses Deferments given to college kids Working class boys went in higher numbers Minorities went in higher numbers

Avoiding the Draft Continue to go to college Join the National Guard or Coast Guard Join another branch of the service My Uncle & Dad joined the Navy Escape to Canada, Mexico or other foreign country Fake illnesses

Student Protests Students for a Democratic Society SDS First organized to aid with Civil Rights Struggle New leaders; more radical Most college campuses had a chapter of the SDS Old enough to be drafted – not old enough to vote Talk of amending the Constitution