LYNDON B JOHNSON The Great Society http www
LYNDON B. JOHNSON The Great Society http: //www. youtube. com/w atch? v=d. Ev. Eu. Rm. Im. Xc
Lyndon B. Johnson Sworn in as president on after the assassination of JFK
Johnson Takes Over • Very different than Kennedy • Loud and slightly crude • Loves to shock people with his language, stories & behavior • Physical • Grew up in both poverty and prosperity • Ambitious and hard working
Johnson Takes Over • U. S. Senate – Senate Majority Leader • Position has a great deal of influence over legislation • Master of compromise; seemed to find a middle on which most people could agree • First Cabinet meeting “the day is over when top jobs are reserved for men” • Appoints women and Mexican Americans to high positions “the Johnson treatment”
Establishing Continuity • Transition was skilled and tactful • “I felt from the first day in office that I had to carry on for President Kennedy, I considered myself the caretaker of both his people and his policies” • Focuses attention on passage of Kennedy’s tax cut bill and civil rights legislation • On March 15, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson calls on Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act. • LBJ's Voting Rights Speech: "The American Promise" • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=VNjlwwf 2 K 9 g
The War on Poverty • Kennedy’s antipoverty initiative; Johnson says “I’m sympathetic. Go ahead. Give it the highest priority. Push ahead full tilt. ” • Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) • $1 billion budget • Job Corps – work training program for people between 16 and 21 • Head Start – preschool for low income families • Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) – domestic version of the Peace Corps. • American Indians are also allowed to establish their own antipoverty programs on the reservations
1964 Election Lyndon B Johnson Barry Goldwater In your guts, you know he’s nuts” “In your heart, you know he’s right” http: //www. livingroomcandidate. org/commer cials/1964
Johnson and Congress • “Kennedy inspired, Johnson delivered” • Programs • Medicare & Medicaid • Elementary & Secondary School Act • $1. 3 billion to schools in poor areas • Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) • Quality of Life • Supports the Arts • Corporation for Public Broadcasting • Non profit organization dedicated to educational television programs • Environmental Issues • Beginning to discover the harmful effects of pesticides on humans and wildlife • Water Quality Act 1965, Air Quality Act 1967, Water Pollution Act 1968 • Creates several new national parks and wilderness areas
Warren Court Decisions • Chief Justice Earl Warren • Baker v Carr, Reynolds v. Sims, & Wesberry v. Sanders • Electoral districts must contain approximately the same number of voters to ensure fair representation for all Americans • Gideon v. Wainwright • States must provide a lawyer for poor defendants • Escobedo v. Illinois • Right to have lawyer present during police investigation • Miranda v. Arizona • Accused must be informed of their rights at the time of arrest • Ensure that the system doesn’t violate individual rights…or overstepped their boundaries? ? ?
Impact of the Great Society • People disagree whether changes brought about by the Great Society and the Warren Court decisions left the nation better or worse • “War on Poverty” does help • Number of poor people fell 21% in 1963, 1973 only 11% • Massive tax cuts spur the economy • Growing budget deficit to fund programs
DECLINE OF THE GREAT SOCIETY LBJ was far more interested in domestic policy, but foreign affairs demanded his attention
Foreign Policy • Dominican Republic • Sends 22, 000 American troops • Put a pre-American government in power • Vietnam • 1966 – government spends more money on Vietnam than on the War on Poverty
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