1. Section 2 The Great Society
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 Johnson’s 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. Federal program that provided medical benefits for older Americans.
medicare
Federal program that provided medical benefits for older Americans.

6. Federal program that provides medical benefits to poor Americans.
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. Distribution of seats in the legislative body.
apportionment
Distribution of seats in the legislative body.

10. 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.

11. 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”.

12. 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

13. 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

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. 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

18. 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

19. 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

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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

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
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

33. 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

34. 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

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