LBJ and Nixon's Presidencies

The Great Society

focuses on progress, and abundance and liberty for all. This society wants an end to poverty and racial injustice, wants a place where all children can learn and a place where leisure is a chance to build and reflect. The Great Society would serve the needs of men and commerce but also the desire for beauty and the hunger for community, create a renewed contact with nature, honor creation and add to the understanding of the race, where quality is held higher than quantity. The Great Society is a ever-changing thing, “a destiny where the meaning of our lives matches the marvelous products of our labor;” LBJ’s plan

how the Great Society can be viewed as an extension of FDR’s New Deal

it wants to focus on many of the same things FDR wanted, like building homes, highways, and facilities in urban areas to make cities great again, preserve drinking water, food, and air against pollution, keep beautiful our parks, seashores, fields, and forests in rural areas, update schools and the curricula, create an excellent and large educational system, explore new techniques of teaching, and find new ways to have kids love learning and creativity. Creating various programs to help the US.

cities, countryside, and education

three issues the Great Society plans to focus on

issues the Great Society addresses

Some of the issues that LBJ plans to focus on with the Great Society include not enough housing and transportation for the millions of people that live in American cities, the countryside is becoming polluted and our food, water, and nature itself is threatened, and the classrooms of America and the education system are not adequate enough to enhance the learning of out children.

LBJ’s general plan

to pour funding into building houses and highways, preserving nature, and improving classrooms, curricula, and teachers’ training. He wants to create government programs to address these issues.

Economic Opportunity Act

created the Office of Economic Opportunity to coordinate a multipart program for “eliminating the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty;'“ mandated loans for rural and small business development; established the Job Corps; created VISTA; provided low-wage, public service jobs to young people; began a “work-study program” for college students; and authorized the creation of federally funded social programs to be planned in connection with local community groups

Medicare

nationally funded medical care/health insurance for the elderly

Medicaid

nationally funded medical coverage/health insurance for low-income citizens (those living below the poverty line), the disabled, children, pregnant women, and elderly adults

Department of Housing and Urban Development

a brand new Cabinet department responsible for pursuing urban renewal nationally

Voting Rights Act of 1965

created mechanisms for national oversight of state and local elections in the south, and banned racial and ethnic discrimination in voting. gave the Justice Department authority to monitor electoral procedures in jurisdictions with a history of discriminating against African American voters; came to require ballots printed in languages other than English

Model Cities Program

offered small-scale alternatives to urban renewal efforts; subsidized a number of objectives including low and moderate income housing, the demolition, renovation, and redevelopment of urban buildings, the construction of hospitals and schools and community centers and recreation facilities, and gave out rent supplements.

Head Start

provided educational help for children ages 4-5 considered educationally unprepared for kindergarten, who also come from disadvantaged backgrounds

CAP Initiative

grass roots movement; authorized local activists, working through neighborhood organizations, to design community-based progects that could be federally funded

Job Corps

work-training program that helped eligible young people, unemployed, and disadvantaged complete their high school educational transition for meaningful careers and assisted them with obtaining employment

VISTA

Volunteers in Service to America; domestic version of the Peace Corps; provided low wage public service jobs and created work-study programs in public colleges; anti-poverty program

Immigration Act of 1965

abolished the discriminatory “national origins” quota system established in 1924; now he same set of rules would apply to people wishing to immigrate to the US from any part of the world.

LBJ’s Great Society

promoting equity: urban renewal, declares a war on poverty, education, medical care, and civil rights

emulate

after JFK’s assassination, LBJ was trying to ________________ him and fulfill JFK’s destiny

tax cut

one of the many things LBJ does to emulate JFK; one of JFK’s original domestic goals

War on Poverty

LBJ declares this through his Great Society

Equal Opportunity Act

making sure there is equity in the hiring process

Civil Rights Act of 1964

created the EEOC and established Title VII

Title VII

outlines that you can discriminate against sex in the workplace

Freedom Summer

led by CORE, this was meant to target discrimination in voting; activists traveled down South and registered as many Black Americans as possible to vote. Wanted to draw attention to how the South was preventing Blacks from registering or voting

harassment, intimidation, bullying, and death

activists, as a part of the Freedom Summer, faced these issues

distance

as the Democratic Party in the South struggled with maintaining their hold on Southern voters, the party tried to ___________ themselves from civil rights

Freedom Democratic Party

Black politicians created this sect of the Democratic Party after they were refused participation in Mississippi. They wanted to do things on a national level, but were refused seats and recognition at the Democratic National Convention

Barry Goldwater

LBJ’s opponent in the election of 1964. Republican challenger from Arizona who was a “new” conservative and seen as extreme

Goldwater’s extremism

scared off many moderate Republicans who instead voted for the Democratic LBJ

Goldwater’s offensive comments

came back to haunt him: wanted to cut of the Eastern Seaboard (Liberals) and wanted to bomb Vietnam (LBJ did not want to intensify the conflict)

election of 1964

Democrats last win/success with promises of expanding domestic social welfare programs; after this, more people want to scale back LBJ’s programs/power

Ronald Reagan

many Goldwater supporters became big fans of this future president in 1980

Michael Harrington’s “The Other America”

LBJ’s inspiration for his Great Society. This reported that in the 60s, the US’s poverty rate was 20%, and of that impoverished population, 40% were Black Americans. This pointed out the inequity in America

food stamps

if you were below the poverty line, you could receive these, which would pay for food

aid to schools

LBJ increased funding to schools nationally

legal aid

LBJ’s administration granted a lot of constitutional rights to Americans that were not available before

hand up

many who disagreed with social welfare programs called them hand-outs and criticized that the programs weren’t encouraging people to change. LBJ said they were __________ -- giving a helping hand to pull Americans out of poverty

national power

LBJ’s Great Society made the federal government the most powerful it has ever been, and it was doing things and assuming power that had never been done before. Many people thought ____________________ was too much, and presidents after eliminate some/many of the programs.

Vietnam

destruction of LBJ; pulled resources away from the Great Society so it is unknown how successful it truly was.

economic downturn

in the late 60s, this eliminated tax revenue to pay for the social programs

Freedom Democratic Party

Developed in Mississippi in response to the Democratic Party in the state that refused participation from blacks; later refused seats on the floor of the Democratic National Convention

HUD

This cabinet department was added to improve coordination and execution of urban revitalization

VISTA

This was the domestic version of the Peace Corps that helped provide low-wage, public service jobs for young people and started a work study program for college students

The Other America

This book is said to be responsible for LBJ's War on Poverty; it claimed that approx. 25% of America was living in poverty, and 40% of the black population was considered impoverished

Model Cities Program

This offered small scale alternatives to urban renewal projects

Immigration Act of 1965

This ended the quota system

Economic Opportunity Act

This mandated federal loans to small businesses and rural development; also created VISTA and Job Corps

Barry Goldwater

Challenged LBJ for the presidency in 1964; too extreme for the moderate Republicans of his party

CORE

This civil rights group organized the Freedom Summer

War on Poverty

LBJ declared this; near and dear to his heart due to his own background

Job Corps

Work training program for the unemployed and disadvantaged

Title VII

This banned discrimination based on sex

Head Start

Provided educational opportunities for children who came from backgrounds deemed as “disadvantaged”

Voting Rights Act of 1965

This created a federal oversight program to monitor election procedures in the South

Medicaid

This provided low cost health insurance to welfare recipients

Freedom Summer

This helped blacks register to vote; mostly in the South

CAP Initiative

This empowered grassroots activists; worked together through community organizations rather than government

Medicare

This provided low cost health insurance to the elderly

Reagan

Many of Goldwater’s supporters will be attracted to this future Republican candidate

Mapp v. Ohio

Dollree Mapp was convicted of possessing obscene materials (bombs) after an illegal police search of her house without a warrant. She appealed her conviction on the basis of freedom of expression and that the fact that the evidence found in the illegal search was used in court violated the 4th Amendment.

ruling of Mapp v. Ohio

decided that evidence seized unlawfully, without a search warrant (4th Amendment), could not be used in criminal prosecutions in state courts, so Mapp’s case was thrown out

Gideon v. Wainwright

charged in Florida state court with felony breaking and entering. He was denied a lawyer because it was not a capital case (murder) even though he requested that the court appoint one for him. He could not afford an attorney, so he represented himself and was found guilty. He appealed that the trials court decision violated his constitutional right to be represented by counsel (6th Amendment)

ruling of Gideon v. Wainwright

the 6th Amendment’s guarantee of a right to assistance of counsel applies to criminal defendants in state court by way of the 14th Amendment. States now required to provide an attorney is a person cannot afford one on their own.

Escobedo v. Illinois

arrested and taken to a police station for questioning, where his repeated requests to see his lawyer were refused. During the police interrogation, w/o an attorney, he confessed to murder. He appealed to the Supreme Court because his confession ad been obtained after he had requested and been denied the assistance of counsel, violating the 6th Amendment

ruling of Escobedo v. Illinois

6th Amendment - as soon as someone is in the custody of law enforcement, they have a 6th Amendment right to speak to an attorney, and all interrogation must stop until they get the lawyer you asked for; case thrown out

Miranda v. Arizona

confessed guilt after being subjected to a variety of interrogation techniques without being informed of his 1st Amendment rights during an interrogation. A written confession was admitted into evidence at trial despite the objection of the defense attorney and the fact that the cops admitted they had not advised him of his right to have an attorney present.

ruling of Miranda v. Arizona

the 5th Amendment requires that law enforcement officials advise suspects of their right to remain silent and to obtain an attorney during interrogations while in police custody. procedural safeguards were created -- aka the Miranda Rights

Engel v. Vitale

the NY State Board of Regents authorized a short, voluntary prayer for recitation at the start of each school day. A group of organizations joined forces in challenging this prayer, claiming that it violated the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment (prohibits the government from establishing a religion and prohibiting state-sponsored churches)

ruling of Engel v. Vitale

the state cannot hold prayers in public schools even if participation if not required and the prayer is not tied to a particular religion. School-sponsored prayers were unconstitutional and violated the 1st Amendment

Warren’s Court

the most liberal Supreme Court in US history; proceeded over significant cases such as Mapp v. Ohio, Miranda v. Arizona, and Engel v. Vitale

Maddox

US destroyer USS (while performing signals intelligence patrol as part of DESOTO) was approached by three Vietnam People’s Navy torpedo boats, fired warning shots, and the North Vietnamese boats attacked with torpedoes and machine guns. Maddox was unharmed except for one bullet hole.

Turner Joy

US destroyer USS joined Maddox and the two destroyers continued the DESOTO mission. They opened fire on radar returns that had been preceded by communications intercepts which US forces claimed meant an attack was imminent. The commander of the Maddox task force reported that the ships were being attacked by North Vietnamese boats when there were no North Vietnamese boats in the area

napalm

A highly flammable sticky jelly used in incendiary bombs and flamethrowers, consisting of gasoline thickened with special soaps

Agent Orange

A chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides; used by the US military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971.

search and destroy missions

Military strategy used in the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War; strategy included inserting ground forces into hostile territory, searching out the enemy, destroying them, and withdrawing immediately afterward.

Operation Rolling Thunder

The codename for an American bombing campaign during the Vietnam War where the US military aircraft attacked targets throughout North Vietnam from March 1965 to October 1968. Was intended to put military pressure on North Vietnam’s communist leaders and reduce their capacity to wage war against the US-supported government of South Vietnam.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Congress passed this in August 1964, which would authorize LBJ to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia.

credibility gap

An apparent difference between what is said or promised and what happens or is true; used in journalism, political, and public discourse in the US during the 60s and 70s – most frequently used to describe public skepticism about the LBJ administration’s statements and policies on the Vietnam War

Tet Offensive

A coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. Was an attempt to stir up rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War.

hawks

People who wanted to step up the fighting in Vietnam

doves

People who wanted to slow down the fighting in Vietnam

Black Panthers

Marxist-Leninist and black power political and criminal organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, California.

airstrikes

LBJ believed that the best approach to take down North Vietnam was through these, but he needed Congress’s approval to start a bombing campaign, so he was just waiting for something to happen.

Maddox and Turner Joy

two US naval ships patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin that were allegedly fired upon by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. The crews claimed to have seen on radar torpedoes coming for them. They weren’t actually harmed, but it was LBJ’s golden ticket to begin bombing Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

a blank check to LBJ; basically, he could do whatever he wants through “any means necessary to restore peace and security in Vietnam”

no military experience or guidance

LBJ was not a veteran nor did he fight in any war. This advisors were not equipped for the job because they disagreed on strategies and were chaotic, confused, and messy

Operation Rolling Thunder

non-stop bombing campaign of North Vietnam by the US; also introduced ground troops who were in direct combat

Dominican Republic

LBJ was confident after his intervention here, where he had sent in ground troops who ousted the leftist communist government and placed a US sympathetic leader in place. He had false confidence that he could do the same in Vietnam

Vietcong

Communist opposition group in South Vietnam that were super hard to fight

guerrilla warfare

this style of fighting, along with their non-existent identifying characteristics (civilian looks) made it super difficult for US troops with their traditional style to fight the Vietcong

jungle

the region of fighting was ____________-like, with thick vegetation. Vietcong knew the area so they could hide, attack, and run away easily.

tunnel system

the Vietcong established this so they could pop out of the ground, attack, and disappear. When the US found out about these, Vietcong started booby-trapping entrance ways

controversial

the US response in Vietnam can be described as this

Agent Orange

leaf killing toxin that the US would drop from the sky to eat away the thick jungle leaves. Unfortunately, it would drift in the wind and destroy crops and go into villages, leading to sickness and cancers. The outside world was horrified that the US was hurting innocent civilians

napalm

gasoline based bomb that the US would drop and create a massive explosion. Unfortunately, the fire would spread and destroy crops and villages

search and destroy missions

the US army would hear rumors that a village was a Vietcong stronghold, so they would tear the village apart, taking artillery and killing any Vietcong they saw. To the outside world, it looked like they were tearing apart villages and leaving destruction behind carelessly.

North Vietnam

the world sympathized with _____________________ because of all the innocent civilians being killed

limited war

LBJ/Congress never formally declared war, so all legal protection was gone, and the media captured devastating images that spread all across the world. Information about the war was easier to obtain by US citizens because of this.

television

because the Vietnam War was a limited war, the world was exposed to live footage of the carnage.

credibility gap

LBJ says the US is winning, but the TV refutes this. There was a large part of the population questioning the government and saying that they were lying to us.