Kennedy and Johnson Social Programs Kennedy Nixon Debates

Kennedy and Johnson Social Programs

Kennedy – Nixon Debates • Comes off to the over 70 million as confident, spry, young, intelligent. • Wins election by narrowest of margins

New Frontier • Kennedy encourages people to become ‘pioneers’ • Has good ideas, but cannot get them through Congress – Peace Corps – Alliance for Progress – Problems in the South – Poverty Problem

• What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal? " If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal. " But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal, " then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal. "

Inauguration and the Memorable Address

The First ‘Television President’

LBJ and the “Great Society”

The Great Society • Congress passes the $10 billion tax cut • This spurs growth: – People spend more money – Businesses bring in more money – Businesses pay more taxes for what they are selling – the government deficit alleviated slightly

Civil Rights Act 1964 • Prohibits discrimination based on: – Race – Religion – National Origin – Sex/Gender • Grants the government new powers to enforce these provisions

Economic Opportunity Act • Fights the War on Poverty • Approves $1 billion for various projects – Job. Corps Youth Training Program – VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) – Project Headstart • Underprivileged preschoolers – Community Action Program • Poor people working in public-works programs

Education • Elementary and Secondary education Act of 1965 and 1966 provided $1 billion in funding to schools – Purchase textbooks and new library materials • Higher Education Act – Funded scholarships and low interest loans • National Foundation of Arts and Humanities – Assist artists of the day

Various Other Programs • Immigration Act of 1965 – ends quotas based on ethnicity/nationality • Environment • Consumer Protection • Healthcare • Housing

Supreme Court Rulings- “The Warren Court” • Brown v. Board of Education- 1954 • Engel v. Vitale - Prayer in public schools is banned • Mapp v. Ohio -1961 (illegal evidence) • Gideon v. Wainwright- 1963 (free counsel) • Miranda v. Arizona- Read their rights • Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District – free speech in schools (Allowed people to protest the Vietnam War)

Impact of the Great Society • • Poverty level drop 10% in 11 years Tax cut spurs economy Federal deficit grows Heavily contested: Too much government interference? ? – Conservatives don’t like it