module 7 notes

lesson 1

the great society

johnson as president

• americans believed they were living the good life in the 50s and 60s

• poverty rate had declined since the 50s but still over 1/5 of americans lived below the poverty level

• many of these americans were children, migrant laborers and elderly

• a disproportionate number of these were african americans

• wealthy whites moved to suburbs to escape crowding, called the white flight

• lyndon b johnson was vice president for jfk, saw the president’s efforts in social reform fail because of the lack of support from southerners

• johnson had a tougher and more persuasive image to help the nation heal and transition to a new president

• in 1964 johnson pushed for kennedy’s reforms and shared his vision called the great society

the great society

• johnson’s goals were ending poverty and injustice, first steps toward creating the great society

• as he finished jfk’s term in office, we worked for a major tax cut and civil rights legislation through congress

• summer of 1964, johnson declared “war on poverty in america” and signed the economic opportunity act

  • created several programs aimed at education and employment

  • very liberal vision and not all americans supported his ideas

• republican party chose barry goldwater from arizona as a conservative to run against johnson

  • in the end, johnson’s success in legislation and the media’s portrayal of goldwater as a man who would not be afraid to use nuclear weapons helped johnson win the 1964 election with 61 percent of the vote.

the great society programs

• johnson was the most active in his domestic policy between 1964-1966

• made the largest set of social welfare programs since roosevelt’s new deal

• While the New Deal was born during an economic crisis that affected most Americans, the Great Society arose during a time of relative prosperity

• johnson saw the great society as fulfilling goals unmet in the years since the new deal, had same focus on experimentation and basic security yet went further

the end of the great society

• the great society benefitted most americans but not all were in support

• as american involvement in vietnam increased money became a big issue and johnson had to divert money away from his programs to support the military

• Both the New Deal and Great Society programs faced criticism that they cost the taxpayers too much, put the government in debt, and benefited only a portion of Americans

• Though Vietnam and conservatism overshadowed many of his Great Society programs, President Johnson's civil rights legislation endured. Many historians consider it his greatest achievement as president.

quiz questions

• Some critics of the Great Society believed that anti-poverty programs benefited which group the most?

  • african americans

• The poor in the 1960s were

  • disproportionately African American and suffered greater rates of disease and malnutrition

• One of the ways the Great Society is considered an improvement over the New Deal is that it

  • addressed civil rights

• One of President Kennedy's proposed pieces of legislation that President Johnson successfully passed through Congress was the

  • tax reduction act of 1964

• Besides creating jobs, what did President Johnson believe was the key to ending poverty?

  • improving education

• The image shows a restaurant that has closed its doors to African Americans. It reflects a reaction to what Great Society legislation?

  • civil rights act

• Great Society programs of the 1960s led to

  • decrease in the poverty rate

• To fight poverty in the United States, Johnson's Great Society focused the majority of its efforts on what aspect of society?

  • education

• The first Great Society program to address the "War on Poverty" was the

  • economic opportunity act

lesson 2

peace or power

the spark

• start of the modern civil rights movement is 1954 supreme court decision of brown vs board of education of topeka kansas

  • argued that separate school facilities were unequal and violated the 14th amendment

• education

  • 1896 supreme court ruled in plessy vs ferguson that separate facilities were acceptable as long as they were equal

• naacp

  • national association for the advancement of colored people was founded in 1909

  • many worked with this organization especially charles houston

    • lead many civil rights cases from 1930-1950 and mentored thurgood marshall

  • constance baker motley was the only female naacp lawyer that worked on the brown case

• bus boycott

  • dec 1, 1955 rosa parks bus

  • naacp decided to fight charges against rosa parks and the naacp also organized a community wide boycott over the city bus

civil disobedience

• mlk jr invited black leaders to meet in atlanta georgia

  • formed the southern christian leadership conference (sclc) whos goal was to use social activism and civil disobedience to demand an end to segregation

• feb 1960 sit ins at restaurants spread to 30 cities in 7 southern states

• mlk inspired the group to continue and expand nonviolent protests

review

• rosa parks

  • secretary of montgomery chapter of naacp

  • arrested for refusing to give up her seat in 1955

  • naacp decided to fight against her charges and launch boycott of buses

• reverend dr mlk jr

  • founded sclc

  • organized many protests

  • advocated nonviolent direct action

  • delivered i have a dream speech

• walter white

  • naacp leader who set up legal defense fund

• constance baker motley

  • only female naacp attorney to work on the brown vs board of education case

• malcolm x

  • joined nation of islam and later broke with it

  • advocated militarism and separatism

  • began to change views following trip to mecca

• stokely carmichael

  • delivered famous black power speech

• huey newton and bobby seale

  • founders of black panther party

• robert f kennedy

  • advisor to president kennedy

  • supporter of civil rights

  • ran for president in 1968

• phillip randolph

  • original planner for a march on washington during president roosevelt’s time

• whitney young

  • leader in national urban leagua, organization that assisted african americans who moved to northern cities

• james farmer

  • leader of core

  • freedom rides organizer

• fannie lou hamer

  • leader of sncc

  • freedom summer organizer

  • famous for singing hymns

lesson 3

minority rights

social movements

• civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s was famous for sit-ins, boycotts and marches

• women also marched and dc and other cities for equal rights

• native americans occupied property they argued was theirs by law and treaty

• hispanic farmers used strikes and boycotts to protest working conditions and low pay

• social movements of the 1960s focused on extending the protection of basic rights to marginalized groups

  • fannie lou hamer for example was also part of the womens movement, not only the civil rights movement

feminism

• the belief that women should have political, economic and social rights equal to men

• feminist movement or women’s liberation movement emerged out of frustration with women’s status in society

united farm workers

• many mexicans came to the us for work

• they faced discrimination and suffered a bad unemployment rate

• ww2 the bracero program drew more mexican workers to the us to fill a need for physical laborers

  • ended in 1964 but legal and illegal immigration still rose

• in 1962 cesar chavez began to organize farm workers to demand better pay and enforcement of california’s labor laws

• delano grape strike began in 1965 and lasted for 5 years

  • effort got support from mlk and senator robert kennedy

• in 1966 chavez led a march from delano to sacramento

  • chavez went to jail at one point but he stayed true to his commitment to nonviolent protest

• chavez’s labor union took the name united farm workers (ufw) and uncluded not only mexicans but filipino and other hispanics

native american power

• mid 20th century, native americans were the poorest of the marginalized groups in the us

• 1953 congress passed a law that accomplished 2 goals

  • ended status of native americans as wards of us

  • ended the reservation system and special services to native american tribes

• during ww2 native americans formed an intertribal group called the national congress of american indians (ncai)

  • they opposed 1953 laws, including the relocation program, describing them as an attempt to kill off their people

• most famous group is the american indian movement (aim)

  • responsible for a 1972 march called the “trail of broken treaties” that ended with an occupation to the bureau of indian affairs in washington dc to draw attention to their cause

  • The next year, two hundred members of the AIM armed with weapons occupied Wounded Knee, South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux Indians. The standoff lasted 71 days.

lesson 4

civil rights decisions

review section

Several key civil rights cases related to integration and affirmative action were decided during the civil rights era. Brown v. Board of Education ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional. The "freedom of choice" plan in Virginia was deemed illegal in Green v. County School Board though it could be acceptable if it worked to fully integrate schools. The court upheld busing as a method of integration in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg. According to University of California v. Bakke, the quota system one school used as part of the admissions process led to "reverse discrimination."

In the area of criminal justice, Mapp v. Ohio held that evidence taken illegally could not be used in court. Suspects have a right to be informed of their rights because of Miranda v. Arizona. In Gideon v. Wainwright, the court ruled that states must provide an attorney for a defendant when he or she cannot afford one.

In the area of reproductive rights, Griswold v. Connecticut ruled that couples have "marital privacy" in matters regarding the raising of a family. The Roe v. Wade decision said that states could not prevent women from having an abortion.