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1962, nearly 1 out of every 4
Americans was living below poverty level
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Many were elderly, single women, and minorities
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1950’s millions of middle class
Americans left the cities for suburbs
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Rural poor migrated to the inner cities

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Cities lost people and business
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Cities could no longer afford to maintain or improve schools, public transportation, and police and fire departments
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Suburban Americans were unaware of decay in the inner city

“ The Other America”
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Book written by Michael Harringtonissue of poverty in the United States
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Most African Americans, Native
Americans, and Latinos lived in crowded, dirty slums
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URBAN RENEWAL- The National
Housing Act of 1949 was passed to provide a “decent home and suitable living environment for every American family”
 Called to tear down neighborhoods

Poverty Leads to Activism
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African American Civil Rights movement was inspired to make a change
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1942-Mexican Americans through a program called braceros (hired hands) were allowed into the U.S. to harvest crops
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Many braceros were expected to leave the U.S. after their work was done but many stayed illegally to escape Mexico

Native Americans Continue their
Struggle
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Continued to fight for rights and identity
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1924 Snyder Act granted citizenship to Native Americans but they still remain 2 nd class citizens
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1944 established National
Congress of American Indians to ensure civil rights that whites had

The Termination Policy
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Termination Policy- eliminated federal economic support, discontinued the reservation system, and distributed tribal lands among individual native
Americans
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Termination policy was failure
►
Native Americans were left without medical care and jobs