Aim: To what extent did Lyndon B. Johnson symbolize
the spirit of the 1960s?
Topic: The Presidency of LBJ
Major Points on LBJ’s Presidency
An idealist in spirit, a realist in politics
Legislative Master- Senate Majority Leader during
Eisenhower Administration
Most powerful man in the Senate, a. Used the telephone
and “arm-twisting” to get his agendas pushed through
Congress
Other favorite stories of Sarajian-----LBJ and
pool/bathroom/boat./amphicar
A spirit of activism: the next FDR
LBJ saw his Great Society as the next stage of the New
Deal----Roosevelt Democrat—Roosevelt story
The Great Society
“More concerned with the quality of their goals
than the quantity of their goods.”
Medicare
and
Medicaid
Federal health care
State administered
War on Poverty: a federal initiative to combat
American poverty
Judicial Activism: the Warren Court
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): lawyers provided at
public expense in all cases.
Big U takes precedent over states.
6th amendment (right to counsel) and 14th
amendment (equal protection and due process)
Escobedo v. Illinois (1964): right to counsel during
police interrogations
http://www.oyez.org/cases/19601969/1963/1963_615
absolute right to remain silent
right to counsel during interrogation.
Miranda v. Arizona (1968): “You have the right to
remain silent…” Does this expand rights or just
make them tell you about them?
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Group answer!
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?s
mtid=2&psid=3329
“The act prohibited discrimination in voting,
employment, and public facilities such as hotels and
restaurants, and it established the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission to prevent discrimination in
employment on the basis of race, religion, or sex.”
How did opponents try to kill the bill?
By adding sex discrimination to those prohibited…they
never thought the men’s club would go for it!
From Digital History
July 2, 1964
LBJ is going to push this through….emotion of JFK, but
let’s give LBJ credit.
Filibuster-57 Days---Democrats and Republicans
Issues??? Business, or was that a smokescreen?
M. L. King, Jr. and Malcolm X
Voting Rights Group answer!
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?s
mtid=2&psid=3330
The next problem was voting. From DH we see that
there were impossible tests (interpreting sections of the
state constitution); varying levels of difficulty.
Also there were “poll taxes” in some states. Pay to vote.
Ex. Selma, Alabama…city of over 29,000. Blacks slightly
more than whites. Yet voting rolls were 99% white and
1 % black.
In 1965 King leads demonstrations and voter
registration drives. There were whites from North who
came to help. Whites and blacks beaten; some killed.
2 changes to help increase voting….
24th Amendment- No Poll Taxes in Federal Elections
Voting Rights Act of 1965- No Literacy Tests
Within 6 months 450,000 African Americans register to
vote.
But-not all easy… In 1966 during a “March against Fear”
to encourage voter registration among blacks, James
Meredith is shot (he survives…where did we first see
James Meredith).
1964
LBJ vs. Barry Goldwater
What’s at stake?
Daisy Ad….
LBJ forging his own identity.
LBJ’s new plan:
The Great Society
LBJ’s-vision of government-helping people
Big U
If LBJ was a FDR Democrat…this plan is the
descendant of the NEW DEAL.
"to build a great society, a place where the meaning of
man's life matches the marvels of man's labor."
Let’s look at the key components
 Civil Rights—already discussed
 CR Act 1964-discrimination in
public places.
 24th Amendment-poll tax
 Voting Rights Act-Literacy Tests
o Health
o Medicare-a federally sponsored
program to provide health insurance
for the elderly and the poor. Heywhat is today’s descendant of that?
 Medicaid-a part of the plan where
the federal government would
match state funds for certain
health programs
o Education
o Elementary and Secondary Education
Act-programs that were intended to
get money to schools with high
percentages of disadvantaged/poor
youth to try to improve conditions.
Provide programs for kids “at risk”
(might drop out/might be abused).
o Higher Education Act of 1965-$ to
colleges and universities-also help
students with low interest college
loans
o Both bills have been reauthorized
over the years and changed…
o Head Start
 Recognized importance of starting
learning at an earlier
age…particularly in urban areas.
o Other
o Economic Opportunities Act
 Key part of the War on Poverty
 Job Corps-job training for young
o HEY-what does this
sound like
 Work Study-funds for college kids
 VISTA-Volunteers in Service to
America—domestic Peace Corps
o Demonstration Cities Act
 To help manage federal programs
Funding building/construction
projects
Do you see how his Great Society and War on Poverty
were LBJ’s plan to create equality in America?
LET’s check this out…
If LBJ is the Father of this program…
Who is the grandfather? FDR
Who is the son? Obama
Why?
New Deal
Affordable Care Act
Wait-what early President would not be happy with
some of these acts?
Jefferson
What two parts of the Constitution are we looking at
here?
Article 1 Section 8 Clause 18-Necessary and ProperElastic Clause
Amendment 10
But the world is changing…
Black Nationalism and Black Power---Group answer!
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?s
mtID=2&psid=3331
The Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCDO)
was established by Stokely Carmichael in Alabama in
1964. This organization later changed its name to the
Black Panther Party
SF branch-Huey Newton and Bobby Seale 1966.
Chicago 1968
Original purpose-protect from police…medical clinicsfood for kids before school…10,000 a day.
Move to radicalization-some would say Marxist.
Was it police harassment or BP initiated violence?
FBI illegal wiretaps?
We couldn’t comprehend….
Portrayal
What else was happening?????
James Meredith….remember from????? What happensshot during Voter Registration Drive
Black Activism – A Shift ?
Nation of Islam
Founded 1931
More Urban-Drew from poverty
What did white America fear?
Malcolm X
Who was Malcom X----Malcolm Little-Detroit Red
X was his new name---Little was a slave name.
Connection to Marcus Garvey---who was he?
Video interview
Martin Luther King, Jr. vs. Malcolm X
What does it mean?
White America fears Malcolm X.
Malcolm X breaks away from Elijah Muhammad in
1965.
Assassinated by some affiliated by Nation of Islam.
Music-James Brown-Say it Loud –I’m Black and I’m
Proud”
"black is beautiful." A growing number of black
Americans began to wear "Afro" hairstyles and take
African or Islamic surnames. Singer James Brown
captured the new spirit: "Say it loud--I'm black and I'm
proud."
Dashikis
A shift in black culture…
The Civil Rights Movement Moves North-Group answer
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?s
mtid=2&psid=3332
The Great Society and the Drive for Black EqualityGroup answer
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?s
mtid=2&psid=3333
Consider how the War on Poverty relates to Civil
Rights?
‘Violence
Segregation in North---what kind?
Urban Explosion
1965-Watts-caused by arrest of a 21 year old black
for drunk driving.
1967 Newark and Detroit
Urban Flight-to where?
Cause and Effect?
Urban schools---white suburbs
Teaneck 1964 integration of schools
Activism in other parts of the African-american
Community…
Who was Cassius Clay? What happened to him?
Boxer
Olympic Champ
Heavyweight Champ
1967-Refusal to be drafted.“I ain’t got no fight with no
Viet Cong.”
Seeks “conscientious objector” status.
Convicted of draft evasion.
Stripped of Heavyweight crown
Loses prime years of career…
Supreme Court overturns conviction in 1971.
What was the controversy at the 1968 Summer
Olympics in Mexico City?
Boycott?
Black Power
De Jure and De Facto Segregation
De Jure is by law. De Jure Segregation- Government
actions that permitted segregation. Example-Jim Crow
Laws.
De Facto-by fact.-Not necessarily government action.
Segregation accomplished by other factors than
conscious government action. Ex….housing.
My source: West's Encyclopedia of American Law,
edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights
reserved.
Also, check out these sites:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USApantherB.ht
m
What can government’s role be in this?
Busing
Boston
Swann vs. Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of
Education-1971
Busing is ok to deal with defacto segregation
of schools caused by housing patterns.
Think “Remember the Titans…”
Other Issues
Women’s Rights….
A Change in the YOUTH culture
Consumer Rights and Safety
Unsafe at Any Speed-Ralph Nader
Seatbelts (were an add-on at first)
Environmental
Rachel Carson-Silent Spring