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Lyndon B. Johnson launched his Great Society program after passing major civil rights legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. As part of the Great Society, Johnson pushed through Congress major reforms and funding for education, healthcare, housing, immigration, the environment, consumer protection, and Supreme Court reforms protecting individual rights. By the time he left office in 1969, Johnson had passed over 200 legislative initiatives as part of his vision for the Great Society.
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- 1. SECTION 3: THE GREAT SOCIETY A fourth-generation Texan, Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) entered politics in 1937 as a congressman Johnson admired Franklin Roosevelt who took the young congressman under his wing Johnson became a senator in 1948 and by 1955 he was Senate majority leader Senator Johnson pictured in 1958 with a nerd
- 2. JOHNSON’S DOMESTIC AGENDA As soon as Johnson took office, he urged Congress to pass the tax-cut bill that Kennedy had sent to Capital Hill The tax cut passed and $10 billion in cuts took effect
- 3. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 In July of 1964, LBJ pushed the Civil Rights Act through Congress The Act prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin, and granted the federal government new powers to enforce the law LBJ signs the Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther King watches
- 4. VOTING RIGHTS ACT 1964 Part of the Civil Rights Act was to insure voting rights for all Americans The act prohibited literacy tests or other discriminatory practices for voting The act insured consistent election practices "By the way, what's the big word?"
- 5. THE WAR ON POVERTY Following his tax cut and Civil Rights Act successes, LBJ launched his War on Poverty In August of 1964 he pushed through Congress a series of measures known as the Economic Opportunity Act The Act provided $1 billion in aid to the inner city
- 6. ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT THE EOA legislation created: The Job Corps VISTA (Volunteers in service to America) Project Head Start for underprivileged preschoolers The Community Action Program which encouraged the poor to participate in public works program Project Head Start is still going strong
- 7. THE 1964 ELECTION In 1964, the Republicans nominated conservative senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona to oppose Democrat Lyndon Johnson Goldwater opposed LBJ’s social legislation Goldwater alienated voters by suggesting the use of nuclear weapons in Cuba and North Vietnam
- 8. LBJ WINS BY A LANDSLIDE LBJ won the 1964 election by a landslide For many it was an anti-Goldwater vote Many Americans saw Goldwater as a War Hawk The Democrats also increased their majority in Congress Now Johnson launched his reform program in earnest
- 9. LBJ easily defeats Goldwater in ‘64
- 10. BUILDING THE GREAT SOCIETY In May of 1964, LBJ summed up his vision for America in a phrase: “The Great Society” By the time he left the White House in 1969, Congress had passed 206 of LBJ’s Great Society legislative initiatives
- 11. EDUCATION Johnson considered education “the key which can unlock the door to the Great Society” The Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided $1 billion to help public schools buy textbooks and library materials This Act represented the first major federal aid package for education ever
- 12. HEALTHCARE LBJ and Congress enhanced Social Security by establishing Medicare and Medicaid Medicare provided hospital insurance and low-cost medical care to the elderly Medicaid provided health benefits to the poor
- 13. HOUSING LBJ and Congress appropriated money to build 240,000 units of low-rent public housing; established the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and appointed the first black cabinet member, Robert Weaver, as HUD’s first leader Weaver
- 14. IMMIGRATION REFORM The Great Society also brought reform to immigration laws The Natural Origins Acts of the 1920s strongly discriminated against immigration by those outside of Western Europe The Immigration Act of 1965 opened the door for many non-European immigrants to settle in the U.S.
- 15. THE ENVIRONMENT LBJ also actively sought to improve the environment The Water Quality Act of 1965 required states to clean up their rivers and lakes LBJ also ordered the government to clean up corporate polluters of the environment
- 16. CONSUMER PROTECTION Consumer advocates also made gains during the 1960s Major safety laws were passed in the U.S. auto industry and Congress passed the Wholesome Meat Act of 1967 LBJ said, “Americans can feel safer now in their homes, on the road, and at the supermarket”
- 17. SUPREME COURT REFORMS SOCIETY, TOO Reform and change were not limited to the Executive and Legislative branches The Judicial Branch led by the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Earl Warren did much to protect individual rights Warren
- 18. WARREN COURT AND SUSPECT’S RIGHTS In Mapp v. Ohio (1961) the Supreme Court ruled that illegally seized evidence could not be used in court In Escobedo v. Illinois the court ruled that the accused has the right to have an attorney present when questioned by police In Miranda v. Arizona the court ruled that all suspects must be read their rights before questioning
- 19. IMPACT OF GREAT SOCIETY The Great Society and the Warren Court changed the United States No president in Post-WWII era extended the power and reach of the federal government more than LBJ The War on Poverty helped, the Civil Rights initiative made a difference and the massive tax cuts spurred the economy