Download The Great Society - Amphitheater Public Schools

Stand 1: American History
Concept 9: Postwar United States
PO 2: Describe aspects of American
post-World War II domestic policy:
e. social reforms Great Society
and War on Poverty
 Students will comprehend the Great
Society of LBJ by identifying the
programs that were created.
Johnson Takes the Reins
 Just a few hours after
Kennedy’s assassination,
Lyndon B. Johnson was
sworn into office on Air
Force One
 Jackie Kennedy was still
wearing the blood stained
suit from earlier
 There is some controversy
over how quickly LBJ took
office, people seeing him as
insensitive to Jackie
 Shortly after Johnson took
office he urged Congress to
continue on with Kennedy’s
legacy and work for the poor of
America
 Although America was in a
boom, there were many
Americans who lived in
poverty
 Mostly those who lived in
hidden slums, Appalachia, the
Deep South, and Native
American reservations
 Johnson launched an
antipoverty crusade
 Although Johnson had similar
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beliefs to Kennedy, his style of
leadership was quite different
He spoke directly and
convincingly
He became president at age 55
and already had 26 years of
congressional experience
He had a reputation for a man
that got things done
He was able to build coalitions
very successfully
He was one of the most powerful
and effective leaders in senate
history
Also, his wife’s name was Lady
Bird
 LBJ had grown up in hard times
and he had been a teacher in a
low-income area for a time
 He also knew that JFK had been
trying to create antipoverty
programs and create a civil rights
bill
 This would give him support
because the public would
support the assassinated
president’s programs
 “Unfortunately, many Americans
live on the outskirts of hope –
some because of their poverty,
and some because of their color,
and all too many because of
both.”
 Very shortly after he gained office,
LBJ was up for reelection
 The republican candidate running
against him was Senator Barry
Goldwater from Arizona
 Goldwater was known for his
strong conservatism and said
“Extremism in the defense of
liberty is no vice. Moderation in
the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
 This made people nervous
because it seemed to aggressive
for a nation on the verge of
nuclear war
 Johnson won in a landslide
 After Johnson won the election he
started work on his “Great
Society”
 This created several important
programs
 Medicare and Medicaid –For
senior citizens and those living
below the poverty line
 Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 gave
millions of dollars to schools
 Project Head Start for created for
disadvantaged children
 The Civil Rights Act of 1964
barred many kinds of
discrimination
 The Voting Rights Act of 1965
protected voters from
discriminatory practices
 The immigration Act of 1965
ended the 1920s system of giving
preference to Northern
Europeans
 This allowed immigrants from all
over the world to enter the U.S.