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):
Escobedo v. Illinois (1964):
http://www.oyez.org/cases/19601969/1963/1963_615
Miranda v. Arizona (1968):
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?
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.
Literacy Tests
Poll Taxes
Registration
Ex. Selma, Alabama…city of over 29,000.
In 1965 King leads demonstrations and voter
registration drives.
2 changes to help increase voting….
24th AmendmentVoting Rights Act of 1965Within 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 governmentIf LBJ was a FDR Democrat…this plan is the
descendant
"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-.
 24th Amendment Voting Rights Acto Health
o Medicare Medicaido Education
o Elementary and Secondary Education
Acto Higher Education Act of 1965
o Both bills have been reauthorized
over the years and changed…
o Head Start
.
o Other
o Economic Opportunities Act
o Demonstration Cities Act
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?
Who is the son?
Why?
Wait-what early President would not be happy with
some of these acts?
What two parts of the Constitution are we looking at
here?
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 purposeMove 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?????
Black Activism – A Shift ?
Nation of Islam
What did white America fear?
Malcolm X
Who was Malcom X---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
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-Watts1967 Newark and Detroit
Urban Flight-to where?
Cause and Effect?
Urban schools---white suburbs
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
De FactoAlso, 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
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