President Johnson - Domestic Policy

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Flashcards on President Johnson - US History, created by Emily Bevis on 04/04/2018.
Emily Bevis
Flashcards by Emily Bevis, updated more than 1 year ago
Emily Bevis
Created by Emily Bevis over 6 years ago
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Question Answer
How did Kenndy's assassination impact LBJ? - A sense of change felt by Congress/public - 'success' of the Great Society ? - LBJ used sympathy to pass legislation - e.g. civil rights and poverty bills - sympathy also allowed Democrat victory in 1964 - Used Kennedy's 'start' as an excuse to continue and increase Vietnam involvement
What was Johnson's Great Society? The identification and support of those who were forgotten by the affluent 'American Dream'. - increased involvment of the federal gov - racial equality, end of poverty, educational reform, modern housing - 75% approval rating and sympathy allowed LBJ to pass legislation
Great Society and POVERTY - most important element of reform? - "unconditional war on poverty" - Economic Opportunity Act passed by Congress = Office of $ Opportunity (OEO) By 1965 - 44 states had anti-poverty programmes - 35,000 college stdents on work-stdy programmes = earn federal $ - 35,000 adultts learning to read/write - 90,000 adults in basic education - 53 Job Corps = job training - 25,000 welfare fams on job training - Loans for small businesses/rural development - $17 mil rural loans (1968)
Great society and HEALTH - Elderly = large proportion of US poor - 1965 = MEDICARE - federal funded health insurance for 65+ and disabled - 1968 = MEDICAID - federal financial aid to states for essential medical treatments - 1966 = 19 million helped - by 1976 = 20% of US poplation benefit - Very popular = nobody dare to oppose
Problems with health reform? - gaps in Medicare and Medicaid = glasses not covered - more $ than expected - $1.3 billion = 1965 to $2+ billion = 1966 - Problem of reasonably priced healthcare remained by 1970s
What problems were there with education in 1964? - Problems in 1964 = 54 million never finished High School = 100,000 not afford college = Schools overcrowded = 8 million had less than 5 years of education
Great Society and EDUCATION - most contraversial reform? - believed to be responsibility of states - BUT LBJ doubled federal $ to $8 billion - 1965 = Elementary and Secondary Education Act - 1965 = Higher Education Act - By end of Pres = 13 mill benefitted - 1970 = 25% of college students $$ from HEA - % of HS dimploma's rose - Teacher shortages ended
Great Society and URBAN PROBLEMS - inner cities = poverty, poor schools and :( housing - Johnson struggle to achieve all his suggested refroms - Housing and Urban development department = support the 2/3rds of citizens with housing shortages - Demonstration Cities Act = 1966 = hihgly underfunded with only $1.2 billion (need double that) - Omnibus Housing Act = 1965 = financed rent supplement and low house income - Fair Housing Act = 1968 = unsuccessful
Great Society decrease - late 1960s = struggle between federal funding on GS or Vietnam War - $$ for Vietnam was underestimated - Between 1965-73 = $15.3 billion on GS and $120 billion on VW - War caused inflation/tax rises = unpopularity towards GS - "unrealistic dream" ?
Arguments the Great Society was successful - 19 million people :) from Medicare/aid - Unemployment 1967 = 3.9% (LOW) - Min. wage = up 35 cents - Population in poverty = decrease by 7% in 1970 - Federal spending on poor = increase by $7 billion ($20) = 1966 - 50,000 students benefit from Upward Bound programme (fed $ higher educ)
Arguments that the Great Society was unsuccessful - Liberals disappointed by amount acheived? - end poverty ?? - 1/3 non-white families lived bellow poverty line and unemployment rate = x2 white rate - 'silent majoirty' = :( at having to subsidise the poor - Rate of expenditure = unsustainable
1964 Presidential Election - Able to link campaign to legacy of JFK = sympathy - Rep. opponent = Goldwater - v. conservative and anti 1964 CR act - campaign suffered due to his controversial statements - JFK manipulate :) - ‘Daisy girl’ ads oppose Goldwaters extreme view on arms and FP - LBJ won 61% popular v - Goldwater = minimal success - only in Deep South - Democrats dominate Congress also - biggest HOR majority since 1936 - imp. Congress control to achieve legislation success of Great Society
Economy at the start of Johnson's presidency - GNP rose to 39% - $4-5b extra revenue from Kennedy's proposed tax cut - BUT aware of Vietnams growing strain on the economy
Economy 1964-66 1964 = low unemployment, limited inflation, :) GNP growth, 43 month unbroken business expansion 1965 = signs of overheating economy so force TUs/industries to follow wage guides = reduce inflation 1966 = :) view of past 5 years as -tax wages up 35% and unemploy. at 13 year low = BUT inflation at 10 year high = due to pressure wages/prices rose !!
Economy 1967 - over $10b budget deficit = forced to increase tax - 4.5% rise in prices and interest - GNP worst since 1960 recession BUT end of year = GNP up 4.5% and unemployment -0.1% (3.8%) - 60% believe cost of living = biggest problem
Economy 1968 - BIG problems - $19.8b fed. budget deficit - dollar weakened by trade deficit ($4b) and dying gold reserves (-40%)
Summary of LBJ economy - average growth rate $ = 4.1% - National debt = 40% (down from 60% 1960) - avoided signif. recession - BUT inflation at 4.7% :( - :( impact of VW
What were Johnson’s 3 acts in support of civil rights? 1) Civil Rights Act 1964 2) Voting Rights Act 1965 3) Fair Housing Act/CR Act 1968
1964 Civil Rights Act - gave Federal Gov power to end legal segregation in South - outlawed public discimination - Equal emplpyment commissiion established - part of Great Society = 'racial equality' - 68% of citizens supported Act - BUT 54 day filibuster by Dixiecrats = delaying bill in Congress - little to improve race relations = violent race riots - little to overcome voting discrimination - George Wallace attract southern support = Demo suffered
1965 Voting Rights Act - Voting Rights not addressed in 1964 - forced to act by Kings campaign in Selma - abolished impossible literacy tests - establishment of ‘Federal registrars’ = all needed was proof of citizenship and registration form - If still denied vote = dealt with by Fed. Gov
What impact did the 1965 Voting Act have? - 1966 = only 4 southern states had less than half of Af-Am population registered to vote - 1968 = even Mississippi had 59% AA registered - By 1980 Black registration only 7% less than white - led to more AA elected into office
1968 Fair Housing Act - follow to 1964 CR act - prohibited discrimination during sale/rental/finance of housing - Housing and Urban Development dep. investigate act enforcement - BUT act limited as gave Gov no new enforcement powers
Other ways LBJ helped Black Americans - GS education reforms benefit AA students - 20% more students graduate H.School (60%) - Medicare/aid half infant mortality rate - Fed. $ manipulated so desegregated schools got more $ = 88% of Southern schools deseg. by 1965 - ‘Affirmative action’ - 1967 = Thurgood Marshall Black SC judge
What prevented Johnson achieving more for civil rights? x6 1) TAX = GS spending already high - 50% fed $ spent on poor 2) CONGRESS = reflect 70% of whites against black/white neighbourhoods 3) VIETNAM = $ and attention distracted 4) BLACK POWER = summer of riots - 1964-66 riots in 38 cities 5) LOCALS = rely on reluctant local enforcement 6) HE COULDN'T = probem so deep rooted but society opposed large reform too qucikly
Name Kings 3 peaceful campaigns 1963-65 1) St Augustine, Florida 1964 2) Mississippi Freedom Summer 1964 3) Selma 1965
Florida 1964 - St Augustine - target cities with max media response - SCLC and NAACP - sit-ins, swim-ins, wade-ins - provoked local violence - put pressure of LBJ
Mississippi 1964 - SNCC and CORE - only 6.2% on Voting rolls - draw attention to violent response when voting - 3 activists found murdered (by KKK) which highlighted lack of federal protection - work to register/educate voters with 41 Freedom Schools
Impact of Mississippi Freedom Summer - only 1600/17,000 Af-Am residents were successful in attempted voter registration - Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party successful in getting few members seated at National Convention - Throughout = 1000+ arrests and 37 churches bombed - SNCC angry at high King focus but little gov response
Selma 1965 - 15,000 Black population but only 23 registered to vote - Local sherif - Clarke = racist - failed march attempt to court house - Clarke seen poking elderly black citizens and using electric cattle prod on students - murder of J.L Johnson by police = :((( - ‘Bloody Sunday’ evoked nat. criticism as protesters attacked with tear gas - End of month = 25,000 protesters march (biggest in South)
Impact of Selma? - arguably saw the start in rise of militant black power as the peaceful campaigns turned violent - Influential factor in passing 1965 Voting Rights Act - imp. in gaining widespread sympathy for Civil Rights movement - BUT events saw a split between SCLC and SNCC
Conditions of inner-city ghettos - tough lifestyle due to defacto/'white flight' segregation - overcrowding, high levels of crime, only factory employment available - inner city schools = low achievement - only 32% of Af-Am graduate (56% white) - black teenagers = 2x more likely to be unemployed. - 46% of all blacks = unemployed - income = 53% less than national av. - housing unsafe - creation of a POVERTY TRAP = difficult to break out of - NY, LA Washington DC, Detroit
Summer of ghetto riots - between 1965-68 = 238 race riots in over 200 cities - Most cities outside of south - Millions of dollars of damage - over 100 deaths - Watts, LA - 1965 = sparked by police brutality towards black drunk driver - required 14,000 troops and $40m in damage
Consequence of riots - worsening race relations - White americans became even more unsympathetic - Selfish attitude as black imprvement meant higher taxes and harm own prospects - Johnson felt betrayed by riots as felt he had worked hard for refom - Emergence of black power - away from King's peaceful campaign - showed need for socio-economic focus
What were King's 2 peaceful campaigns 1966-68 1) Chicago, 1966 (and later rally) 2) Poor People's Campaign 1967-68
Chicago 1966 - 700,000 of 3m inhabitants = black - Ghettos meant owercrowding in South/west of city - BUT problematic campaign - SCLC little organisation/relgious appeal to nothern ghettos - Major Daley met with King but didn't keep his promises - No police bruality = less media - Rally attended by 30,000 = disappointment as expected 100,000 - In march rocks and bricks thrown
Outcome of 1966 Chicago campaign - little success - won $4m federal grants from Johnson - BUT sense that SCLC had just abandoned after little success
Poor people's campaign 1967-68 - response to Chicago failures - ambitious plans along Washington mall with people of all races - put pressure on congressmen - Supported by Robert Kennedy - BUT postponed until summer 1968 - Assassinated before could take place
Nation of Islam - Malcolm X as key leader - saw little point of integration - drew attention to the awful conditions of the ghettos - insulted King's "dream" as a "nightmare" - Black power movement and violence - create government suspicion of civil rights movement - as high as 250,000 members 1969 - Inspired black self-confidence/religious outlook - BUT groups ideals = unrealistic
Position of SNCC and CORE in 1966 - division emerge after frustrations of lack of King progress? - both groups became more radical - CORE declared acceptable use of violence - Both excluded white membership - 1968 SNCC merged with Black Panthers - link with James Meredith death
Black Panthers - wanted to end police brutality, encourage full employment, improve housing, fair juries, black freedom - popular among AA working class - Newpaper = readership of 1m - 1968 = 'survival programmes' - Freedom schools, encourage health clinics and free school meals - 'Patrol with the pigs' = surveillance - BUT lack of respect due to criminal/violent nature of leaders - Huey Newton = charged rapist
Positives of the Black Power movement - provided practical help to those desperate in ghettos - keep issues on political agenda - connected with the NORTH + working cl. - create a more positive image of Black communtities - e.g. 1966 Marion Barry fight for local school administration - encouraged Af-Am to be proud of their culture/history/heritage
Emergence of a protest culture in 1960s - high wealth, low unemployment/inflation - BUT decade of protests - emergence of a 'counterculture' - no single group - Hippies, B.Panthers, Feminsits, Peaceniks - felt need for radical change against traditional system of elections
Student protests - 'New Left' as criticise trad. US policies - Vietnam, CW, wealth inequality - 1964, Free Speech movement - California - Vietnam = big issue - start of 1968 = 221 campaigns at Unis - BUT students lacked centre point = weakend campaigns - Criticisims of curriculum turned into :( about Uni buying land from poor
Emergence of the Hippie movement - San Francisco beame centre point - 1967 - Human be-in = march to celebrate freedom/environmentalism - Summer of Love = music festivals - hundreds of thousands attended -ALSO Woodstock, 1969 = NY rock festival
Impact of hippie developments Large flexibility of 'American dream' highlighted as diversity of people and issues in 1960s contrasted to 1970 Nixon election
Concerns of women in the 1960s - No. of working women = 23m in 1960 :) - 64% of women over 16+ not employed - Only 30% of married mothers had payed jobs in 1960 - Payed 57% less than men - wider in 1969 than 1963 - Many concern with female identity as believed to be defiined by men - Friedan
Radical Feminists - Romantic love = pyschological trap - Gloria Steinen = outspoken ciritic of Vietnam War, linked black power and feminist movement - BUT by end of 1960s radicals largely split from NOW - Attikinson + 'the Feminists' banned married women and men
National Organisation of Women - Pressure Group (NOW) - Betty Friedan - Equal Rights Amendment to protect equal rights of men/women
What were Johnsons 2 legal successes for the position of women? 1) 1967, Exec. order outlawing sexual discrimination in any fed working company 2) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Also promise employ 50 women into top positions
Lorena Weeks - 1967, Southern Bell v Weeks - Lorena Weeks challenge company as they promote lower qualified man - Her victory set judicial precident for future
NOW and the legal system - Southern Bell v Weeks - 1966 Jane Daniel = given more time than male partner for robbery - Emergence of reproductive rights campaigns - NOW pressure politicans for Bill of Rights for Women 1968
Success of women's movement - 1964 CR Act amendment of equal female rights - LBJ's executive orders - Southern Bell v Weeks - BUT Equal Rights amendment failed - Fadicals create disunity/neg reputation - Little abortion success until 1973 - Feminist movement/separatism seen as unattractive??
Anti-War protests - 47% supported sending more troops - Part of unorganised student movement - Students for a Democratic society (SDs) - protests in Boston, Madison, Seattle 1964 - 1964 men burnt their draft cards - Congress and Thurmond made it illegal - Gained large media publicity - Berkley protesters used smoke bombs against police - 1967 = 70,000 attend rally against police
Role of the media in 1960s protests - 1964 = 24% homes had colour TV - 'Bloody Sunday' coverage in Selma = Northern support for Voting Rights Act - BUT ghetto riots/violence = less support - TV focused on movement extremes - Black Panthers and Hippies - Vietnam War = first 'televised war' and show the true brutalities
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