Chapter Focus
Section 1 Business and Labor Policy
Section 2 Agriculture and
Environment
Section 3 Health and Public
Assistance
Section 4 Education, Housing,
and Transportation
Chapter Assessment
Chapter Objectives
•
Business and Labor Policy Describe the
interaction among government, business, labor,
and consumers.
•
Agriculture and Environment Summarize
past and current federal farm and
environmental policy.
•
Health and Public Assistance Identify the
role of the federal government in health care,
public assistance, and social insurance.
•
Education, Housing, and Transportation
Explain the federal government’s role in
education, housing and urban renewal,
and transportation.
Business and Labor Policy
Key Terms
mixed economy, laissez-faire, trust, monopoly,
interlocking directorate, oligopoly, securities,
collective bargaining, injunction
Find Out
• What are the overall aims of United States
business policy regarding competition and
consumers?
• How did the federal government help unions to
organize and grow?
Business and Labor Policy
Understanding Concepts
Free Enterprise Are government regulations
consistent with the principle of free enterprise?
Explain your answer.
Section Objective
Describe the interaction among government,
business, labor, and consumers.
In 1996 more than 47 percent of U.S.
households owned stock and earned
profits from them. Congress felt
increasing pressures from constituencies
to lower the federal capital gains tax on
profits made from owning stocks. In 1997
Congress passed the Taxpayer Relief Act,
cutting the capital gains tax from 28
percent to 20 percent.
I. Promoting and Protecting Business
(pages 575–576)
A. Government promotes or discourages trade
by placing tariffs on imports and uses tax
incentives, government loans, free services
and information, and direct cash payments
to subsidize businesses.
B. The Commerce Department provides
information services, financial assistance,
and research and development services
to businesses.
C. The Small Business Administration offers
credit subsidies, advice, and information to
small firms.
I. Promoting and Protecting Business
(pages 575–576)
Why do you think the federal government
should or should not help small
businesses? Explain.
Answers will vary. See Help for Small
Businesses on text page 576.
II. Regulating Business (pages 576–579)
A. The Constitution’s commerce clause allows
regulation of the economy.
B. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 regulated
monopolies and corporate trusts that tried
to restrain trade.
C. The Clayton Antitrust Act of1914 prohibited
price-fixing and interlocking directorates;
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
enforces the act.
D. Today oligopolies in some fields dominate a
particular industry.
II. Regulating Business (pages 576–579)
In what ways should Congress regulate
big business? Explain.
Answers will vary. For a partial list of
regulations, see Enforcing the Antitrust Laws
on text page 579.
III. Consumer Protection (pages 579–581)
A. The 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act makes it
illegal to sell foods or drugs that are
contaminated, unhealthful, or falsely labeled.
B. The Federal Trade Commission protects
consumers from misleading and
fraudulent advertising.
C. Congress set up the Consumer Product
Safety Commission in 1972 to protect
consumers from hazardous products.
III. Consumer Protection (pages 579–581)
D. Congress created the Securities and
Exchange Commission during the Great
Depression to protect small investors from
being misled about the value of stocks
and bonds and to investigate cases of
suspected fraud in the sale of securities;
in 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act required
the heads of large corporations to be held
personally responsible for improper
accounting procedures.
III. Consumer Protection (pages 579–581)
What new regulations do you think Congress
should pass to protect consumers? Explain.
Answers will vary. Students may consider the
need for protections due to expanding
international trade and electronic/
communications technologies.
IV. Government and Labor (pages 581–583)
A. The American Federation of Labor was
formed in the 1880s; workers organized
unions to negotiate labor contracts.
B. New Deal laws of the 1930s guaranteed
labor’s right to join unions, bargain
collectively, and strike.
C. The Wagner Act of 1935, creating the
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), was
modified by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.
D. The Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959 helped end
fraud in union elections and protect the
rights of union members.
IV. Government and Labor (pages 581–583)
IV. Government and Labor (pages 581–583)
Do you favor “right-to-work” laws?
Answers will vary. See definition of “right to work”
laws on text page 583.
Checking for Understanding
1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one
below to identify three laws passed by Congress
that resulted in the growth of labor unions.
Clayton Antitrust Act; Norris-LaGuardia Act;
Wagner Act
Checking for Understanding
Match the term with the correct definition.
___
D mixed economy
___
E laissez-faire
___
A trust
___
C monopoly
___
B injunction
A. a form of business consolidation in
which several corporations
combine their stock and allow a
board of trustees to operate as a
giant enterprise
B. an order that will stop a particular
action or enforce a rule or
regulation
C. a business that controls so much
of an industry that little or no
competition exists
D. a system in which the government
regulates private enterprise
E. the philosophy that government
should keep its hands off the
economy
Checking for Understanding
3. Identify Sherman Antitrust Act, Clayton
Antitrust Act, Wagner Act, Taft-Hartley Act.
The Sherman Antitrust Act was Congress’s first
attempt to halt monopolies.
The Clayton Antitrust Act prohibited charging
high prices in an area where little competition
existed while at the same time charging lower
prices in an area with strong competition.
The Wagner Act guaranteed the right of all
workers to organize and bargain collectively.
The Taft-Hartley Act was the federal
government’s first attempt to regulate certain
practices of large unions.
Checking for Understanding
4. What are the government’s main goals
regarding competition and consumers?
Its main goals are to maintain a competitive
business environment and protect
consumers’ interests.
Critical Thinking
5. Identifying Central Issues What general
problems do the Federal Trade Commission, the
Securities and Exchange Commission, and the
Consumer Product Safety Commission address?
They address protecting the public from
deceit or physical harm and ensuring fair
product standards.
Free Enterprise Interstate commerce
depends on an adequate system of
highways funded by the federal
government. Find out about highway
construction plans in your area. Create a
bulletin board display with a map of the
planned construction and pertinent
financial information.
Agriculture and Environment
Key Terms
price supports, acreage allotment, marketing quotas
Find Out
• How does American farm policy attempt to
stabilize farm prices?
• What is the working relationship between the
federal government and localities in carrying out
environmental policy?
Agriculture and Environment
Understanding Concepts
Civic Participation What can citizens do to help
protect the environment?
Section Objective
Summarize past and current federal farm and
environmental policy.
In December 1997, the United States and
150 other nations met in Kyoto, Japan, to
discuss the causes and effects of global
warming. Many scientists believe
increased emissions of carbon dioxide and
other gases pose a dangerous threat to
the environment. Even so, leaders of
industrialized countries and developing
countries found it difficult to agree on
which nations should take the lead in
cutting emissions.
I. The Federal Government and
the Farmer (pages 584–586)
A. Congress created the Agriculture Department
in 1862; the Morrill Act established colleges of
agriculture, the Homestead Act gave land to
those willing to farm.
B. In the 1920s, many farmers lost their land
due to market changes and drought.
C. During the 1930s Congress made loans to
farmers and limited crop production to
increase farm prices.
I. The Federal Government and
the Farmer (pages 584–586)
I. The Federal Government and
the Farmer (pages 584–586)
Why did farmers face problems in the
1920s and 1930s?
Low prices in declining markets followed by
drought caused many to lose their lands.
II. Aid for Farmers Today (page 586)
A. The Department of Agriculture provides
marketing services to farmers.
B. Three federal programs prevent farm prices
from falling below a certain level: price
supports, acreage allotments, and
marketing quotas.
C. Conserving the nation’s lands and forests
is a vital responsibility of the Department
of Agriculture.
II. Aid for Farmers Today (page 586)
What kinds of services should the
government provide for farmers?
Students may consider the value of marketing
services, price supports, and conservation.
III. Protecting the Environment (pages 587–588)
A. The concern for a deteriorating environment,
beginning in the 1950s, ultimately led to the
creation of the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) in 1970.
B. Air pollution regulation began in 1955 and
was strengthened in the 1960s. In the
1990s, clean-air laws mandated sharply
reducing car exhaust emissions and placed
restrictions on power company wastes.
C. Water pollution laws prohibit the discharge of
harmful amounts of petroleum and other
dangerous materials into navigable waters.
III. Protecting the Environment (pages 587–588)
D. The Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 set
the goal of completely eliminating water
pollution; since then, the law has been
changed and amended to make it easier for
states to comply with the Act’s standards.
E. As the EPA implemented environmental
laws, communities complained about
unfunded mandates. In 1996 Congress
restricted the imposition of requirements
unless funds were provided.
III. Protecting the Environment (pages 587–588)
Do you agree with the critics of the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who
say that its policies are often unrealistic and
unfair? Explain.
Answers will vary. Students should cite specific
examples of fair and unfair policies to support
their positions.
IV. Energy and the Environment
(pages 588–589)
A. Native Americans and early settlers found
clear lakes and rivers, unending forests,
and rich deposits of metal. Americans
used these resources to build a strong
industrial nation.
B. The 1973–1974 energy crisis resulted in a
new energy policy.
C. Competing interest groups, such as energy
companies and conservation organizations,
struggle to shape new policies and programs
that reflect their concerns; one example of
this is the debate over oil drilling in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge.
IV. Energy and the Environment
(pages 588–589)
What new energy policies do you think the
government should be planning?
Students should consider trade-offs between
energy costs and a clean environment.
Checking for Understanding
1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one
below to compare clean air legislation of the
1950s, 1960s, and 1990s.
1950s: Laws promoted research on air quality
and provided technical assistance to states and
communities. 1960s: Laws required states to
set clean air standards and to prepare
enforcement plans. 1990s: Laws required
reductions in automobile emissions and
industrial toxic chemical emissions.
Checking for Understanding
2. Define price supports, acreage allotment,
marketing quotas.
Price supports is the program under which
Congress buys farmers’ crops if the market falls
below the support price.
Acreage allotment is the program under which
the government pays support prices for farmers’
crops grown on an assigned number of acres.
Marketing quotas is a limit set among farmers
to market only an assigned portion of an
overproduced crop.
Checking for Understanding
3. Identify Department of Agriculture,
Environmental Protection Agency,
unfunded mandates.
The Department of Agriculture provides
support and assistance to farmers.
The Environmental Protection Agency, or
EPA, enforces and regulates laws related to the
environment.
Unfunded mandates are programs ordered but
not paid for by federal legislation.
Checking for Understanding
4. How does the federal government attempt to
stabilize farm prices?
The federal government stabilizes farm prices
with price supports, acreage allotments, and
marketing quotas.
Critical Thinking
5. Predicting Consequences Analyze the
economic and environmental effects of recent
air and water pollution legislation.
It will provide cleaner air and water, but
additional taxation may be required.
Civic Participation Choose a conservation
project that you can do in your community.
You might “adopt” a park, a pond, or a
roadside to clean up and to keep attractive.
Share your ideas with the class in the form
of a proposal presentation.
Health and Public Assistance
Key Terms
social insurance, public assistance,
unemployment insurance
Find Out
• What is the purpose of Social Security, and how
does it operate?
• What are the most recent changes in federal
public assistance programs?
Health and Public Assistance
Understanding Concepts
Federalism How do the states and federal
government work together to provide
unemployment insurance and public assistance?
Section Objective
Identify the role of the federal government in health
care, public assistance, and social insurance.
Most of the federal government’s public
assistance programs date from the Great
Depression. In the 1930s Americans
suffered great hardships and turned to the
federal government for help. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress passed
dozens of laws that began what critics called
“the welfare state.”
I. The Impact of the Depression (pages 590–591)
A. As the Depression deepened, private
charities and state and local governments
could not cope with the problems of the poor.
B. The New Deal included the Social Security
Act of 1935.
I. The Impact of the Depression (pages 590–591)
Do federal and local governments have a
responsibility to care for people who need
help? Explain.
Answers will vary. The degree of responsibility is
today’s issue.
II. Social Insurance Programs (pages 591–592)
A. The Social Security Act provides for Old Age,
Survivors, and Disability Insurance;
Medicare; and unemployment insurance.
B. Equal taxes on employers and employees
finance the Social Security system.
C. Beginning in 1981 a financial crisis
threatened the Social Security system
because cash outlays exceeded income.
D. Raising the retirement age, taxing some
benefits, and other changes attempted to
keep Social Security going.
II. Social Insurance Programs (pages 591–592)
E. In 1965 Congress added Medicare, which
pays a major share of hospital bills for senior
citizens, to the Social Security system. In
2003 Medicare was reformed to include
prescription drug coverage.
F. A tax on employers funds
unemployment insurance.
II. Social Insurance Programs (pages 591–592)
II. Social Insurance Programs (pages 591–592)
What kinds of changes in the Social Security
system do you support or oppose? Explain.
Answers will vary. See Changing the System on
text page 591.
III. Public Assistance Programs (pages 592–594)
A. In 1974 Congress set up the Supplemental
Security Income system for the aged, the
blind, and the disabled.
B. In 1961 the food stamp program was created.
C. In 1965 Congress established Medicaid to
help pay hospital, doctor, and other medical
bills for persons with low incomes.
D. Aid to Families with Dependent Children
(AFDC) was a program to aid families whose
main wage earner had died, but more than 80
percent of children receiving aid had living,
but absent, fathers.
III. Public Assistance Programs (pages 592–594)
E. Many Americans grew frustrated over the
mounting cost of welfare programs while the
level of poverty remained high.
F. In July 1996 Congress and the president
agreed on an overhaul of welfare. AFDC
was replaced with lump-sum payments to
the states, who could design and operate
their own welfare programs.
III. Public Assistance Programs (pages 592–594)
Do you agree or disagree with the 1996
changes in the federal government’s public
assistance programs?
Answers will vary. Students should consider the
results of welfare reforms.
IV. Promoting Public Health (pages 594–595)
A. Most federal spending on health goes for
Medicare and Medicaid.
B. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a
federal agency, tests food and drug products
and can ban or withdraw drugs it finds
unsafe.
C. Government funding promotes scientific
research with possible applications in
treating and preventing illness.
IV. Promoting Public Health (pages 594–595)
What do you think should be the goals
for federal programs in the field of
public health?
Answers will vary. Students should consider
how their proposals would be implemented.
Checking for Understanding
1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one
below to show who is eligible for Social Security
benefits and Supplemental Security Income.
Social Security: retirees, survivors, disabled
persons, Medicare recipients
Supplemental Security: anyone 65 or older,
blind or disabled persons, anyone with little or
no regular income
Checking for Understanding
2. Define social insurance, public assistance,
unemployment insurance.
Social insurance is government programs
designed to help elderly, ill, and unemployed
citizens.
Public assistance consists of government
programs that distribute money to poor people.
Unemployment insurance is programs in
which the federal and state governments
cooperate to provide help for people who are
out of work.
Checking for Understanding
3. Identify Medicare, Medicaid.
Medicare is a government program that pays
a major share of the total hospital bills for
the elderly.
Medicaid is a government program that helps
pay doctor, hospital, and other medical bills for
people with low incomes.
Checking for Understanding
4. How did the welfare overhaul in 1996 affect Aid
to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)?
It replaced it with lump-sum payments to states.
States were given authority to design and
operate their own welfare programs.
Critical Thinking
5. Predicting Consequences Research the
ethical arguments over stem cell research.
Analyze the information and predict
consequences of using or not using stem cells
in research.
Some helpful drugs might come on the market
sooner, but other, possibly harmful drugs would
also become available.
Public Policy Interview three senior
citizens who have used Medicare. Ask
the following: How does the Medicare
system benefit you? What problems
have you had with the system? What
improvements could be made to
Medicare? Compare your answers with
your classmates.
Education, Housing, and Transportation
Key Terms
urban renewal, public housing, mass transit
Find Out
• What steps has the federal government taken
since 1980 to support public education?
• Why has federal housing policy been a political
battleground for many years?
Education, Housing, and Transportation
Understanding Concepts
Federalism How do the states and the federal
government work together to carry out
transportation and housing policies?
Section Objective
Explain the federal government’s role in education,
housing and urban renewal, and transportation.
The passage of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act was part of a
sweeping legislative program—the Great
Society program— proposed by President
Lyndon B. Johnson. Other Johnson
programs included Medicare, Medicaid, the
Voting Rights Act, the War on Poverty, the
Model Cities Program, and the Community
Action Program.
I. Public Education Programs (pages 597–599)
A. Public education remains a local
responsibility under state guidelines.
B. The federal government aids local schools
and higher education institutions.
C. The Morrill Act of 1862 granted states public
land for colleges. The G.I. Bill financed
education for veterans of World War II and
later wars.
D. The first general aid-to-education act was
passed in 1965.
E. Federal aid for education is controversial;
critics charge education should be a state
and local concern.
I. Public Education Programs (pages 597–599)
F. In 1983 President Reagan appointed a
commission to study why American students
performed less well than European and
Asian students.
G. In 1994 Congress passed the Goals
2000: Education in America Act to
improve graduation rates and raise
academic standards.
H. Through legislation like the No Child Left
Behind Act, President George W. Bush’s
administration has focused its education
reform on testing and increasing student
and teacher accountability.
I. Public Education Programs (pages 597–599)
What is controversial about the federal
government’s policy of providing general
federal aid to public schools?
Some people believe that federal aid leads
to federal controls in an area that belongs to
the states and therefore erodes local control
of education.
II. Housing and Urban Programs (pages 599–600)
A. The federal government began providing
loans for homes and farms during the
Great Depression.
B. The Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) is in charge of the
Federal Housing Administration, which helps
low-income families purchase homes.
C. Urban renewal has restored older
neighborhoods but has also driven out
lower-income residents.
II. Housing and Urban Programs (pages 599–600)
D. Public housing has faced serious problems
in attempting to provide affordable urban
housing as many projects have become highrise slums and centers of crime.
E. In the 1990s, reforms to the nation’s
housing policy gave more control to state
and local officials and focused on closing
the gap between white and minority home
ownership statistics.
II. Housing and Urban Programs (pages 599–600)
What are the main arguments of those
who support and oppose public
housing programs?
See Public Housing Programs on text
page 600.
III. Transportation Programs (pages 600–602)
A. In 1811 the first National Road was
constructed. Federal funds have helped
construct canals, dams, ports, highways,
railroads, and airports.
B. In 1966 Congress created the Department of
Transportation (DOT) to coordinate national
transportation policies and programs.
C. DOT has numerous federal agencies,
including the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) and the Federal
Highway Administration (FHA).
III. Transportation Programs (pages 600–602)
D. The Federal Road Aid Act of 1916 first gave
aid to states that matched funds; states now
receive billions each year to maintain the
interstate highways.
E. Since 1995 the FHA has focused on
transportation needs such as road
maintenance and reducing traffic fatalities
and congestion.
F. The Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century (TEA-21) provided funds
to improve mass transit and develop
high-speed rail systems.
III. Transportation Programs (pages 600–602)
Why do you support or oppose federal
programs for mass transit in urban areas?
Answers will vary. See Mass Transit on
text page 602.
Checking for Understanding
1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one
below to contrast the Democratic and
Republican views on housing policy.
Democrats: wanted the government to provide
more low-income housing
Republicans: wanted to get the government out
of the housing business
Checking for Understanding
2. Define urban renewal, public housing,
mass transit.
Urban renewal is programs under which cities
apply for federal aid to clear slum areas and
rebuild.
Public housing is government-subsidized
housing for low-income families.
Mass transit is systems such as subways that
are used to transport a large number of people.
Checking for Understanding
3. Identify Federal Housing Administration,
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Federal Housing Administration, or FHA,
guarantees banks and other private lenders
against losses on loans they make to those who
wish to buy or build homes.
The Department of Housing and Urban
Development, or HUD, administers federal
housing programs and offers rent assistance to
low-income families.
Checking for Understanding
4. Describe three programs the government
initiated to aid education in the 1990s.
Choice: students could choose any school;
Goals 2000: adopted 8 goals; charter schools:
to raise performance standards
Checking for Understanding
5. What was the role of the FHA in helping
individual families afford housing?
The FHA guarantees banks and other private
lenders against losses on loans they make to
people who wish to build or buy homes. In so
doing, the FHA has enabled many low- and
middle-income families to get mortgages.
Critical Thinking
6. Demonstrating Reasoned Judgment Why do
governments at all levels spend so much money
to support education?
An educated public is a means to ensure
democratic government; educated people are
able to earn better incomes and thus help the
economy and pay more taxes.
Federalism The federal government
has developed several programs to
ensure adequate housing for the people
living in the United States. Find out
about such programs that are
established in your community that build
or remodel homes for low-income
families. Find out how the programs
operate and who administers them.
Share your findings with the class.
Reviewing Key Terms
Write the term or concept that best completes each sentence.
mixed economy
public assistance
social insurance
laissez-faire
urban renewal
marketing quota
securities
oligopoly
mass transit
acreage allotment
acreage allotment method to
1. The government tries the ________________
avoid storing overproduced grain.
2. A small number of powerful companies controlling a market
is called an ________________.
oligopoly
3. A hands-off government approach to the economy is called
________________.
laissez-faire
4. Stocks and bonds are forms of ________________.
securities
marketing quota is an agreement among farmers to
5. A ________________
sell only a portion of an overproduced crop.
Reviewing Key Terms
Write the term or concept that best completes each sentence.
mixed economy
marketing quota
public assistance
securities
social insurance
oligopoly
laissez-faire
mass transit
urban renewal
acreage allotment
6. A federal program of ________________
public assistance provides a certain
minimum standard of living to those who do not earn
enough income.
7. Federal ________________
social insurance programs are designed to
provide insurance against such social problems as old age,
illness, and unemployment.
8. A _______________
mixed economy is one in which the government both
supports and regulates private enterprise.
9. The federal government supports ________________
urban renewal in
cities to help replace old buildings.
mass transit
10. Cities build ________________
systems to provide a
substitute for automobiles.
Recalling Facts
1. Describe the business environment that led to
the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts.
Large corporations abused workers, squeezed
smaller companies out of business, fixed prices,
and created monopolies.
2. What commission was created in 1972 to
protect consumers against hazardous products?
The Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) was created to protect consumers
against hazardous products.
Recalling Facts
3. What three programs does the federal
government use to prevent low farm prices?
The government uses price supports, acreage
allotments, and marketing quotas to prevent low
farm prices.
4. Why did the government enact the Social
Security Act of 1935?
The act was the first social insurance
program to come out of the Depression. It
was designed as a long-term solution to the
problem of providing economic security for
American citizens.
Recalling Facts
5. What are the four major public assistance
programs of the federal government?
They are Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
food stamps, Medicaid, and Job Opportunities
Basic Skills program (JOBS).
6. How is the federal government involved
in education?
The federal government provides direct aid
to local public schools and additional funds
to be distributed through the states. The
government provides even more support
for higher education.
Understanding Concepts
1. Civic Participation What debated issues have
prevented the United States from having a clear
and consistent energy policy?
Conflicts between saving the environment and
saving jobs and money, as well as conflicts
among interest groups, have prevented the
United States from having a clear and
consistent energy policy.
Understanding Concepts
2. Federalism Which clause of the U.S.
Constitution underlies federal regulation of
the economy?
The Constitution grants Congress the power to
“lay and collect taxes” for the general welfare
and to “regulate commerce . . . among the
several states.” The commerce clause in Article
1, Section 8, provides the constitutional basis
for government regulation of the economy.
Critical Thinking
1. Identifying Assumptions What underlying
assumptions about social problems can you
identify in Arthur B. Laffer’s assertion that “The
solution rests in less—not more—government”
and in Victor Kamber’s view that “. . . we set up
regulatory agencies in the first place to protect
the public interest”?
Answers will vary.
Critical Thinking
2. Predicting Consequences Use a graphic
organizer like the one below to show how a
rapid rise in the elderly population and slower
growth for the population under 30 could affect
the Social Security system.
Then: the reserve funds will be depleted by
paying more benefits out of less income.
Interpreting Political Cartoons Activity
1. How does the cartoonist present the difficulties
of Social Security reform?
The cartoonist presents Social Security reform as an
uphill battle. The government is attempting to push the
large (number of) baby boomers up the hill of Social
Security reform. (As baby boomers retire, a large
segment of the population will not be working and
contributing to Social Security, thereby depleting funds.)
Interpreting Political Cartoons Activity
2. How does the cartoonist portray baby boomers?
as large and bloated; Baby boomers represent
a large segment of the American population.
Interpreting Political Cartoons Activity
3. According to the cartoon, who will financially
support retired baby boomers?
the United States government
What is OSHA? What does it do?
The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, an agency of the
Department of Labor, enforces federal
laws concerning health and safety in
the workplace.
1) Possible answers include the
impact of the Great Depression of
3) Answers will vary.
the 1930s on workers.
2) Many workers joined unions and membership grew.
1) New Jersey
2) Nevada
3) No; land that is not built-up can include forests, parks, and waste
lands as well as cropland, pasture, and rangeland.
1) more than three
times larger
3) Answers will vary.
2) The actual dollar amounts are
affected by inflation.
1) odd numbers which
increase from west to east
2) even numbers which
increase from south
to north
3) running east to west in the
middle of the country
Making a Scrapbook Collect visual evidence of
government regulation in your life, such as warning
labels on various products and in newspaper and
magazine advertisements, content labels,
disclaimers, product-use cautions, and so forth. You
may make individual scrapbooks of the material you
collect, or you may collaborate on a bulletin board
display. Note that all warnings are the result of
government regulation. Some are included to protect
the manufacturer from liability in the event of misuse
of the product by the consumer.
Meat Inspection In the late 1800s, many people
called the impure meat they ate “embalmed beef.”
In 1906 the government required inspection of meat
in interstate commerce. Then poultry inspection
was mandated. Recent moves to inspect fish show
that government involvement in this area continues
to expand.
Spending for Social Programs Since the end of
World War II, the United States has greatly
increased its funding for social insurance and public
assistance. In 1950, for instance, the federal
government spent $2.1 billion on social insurance.
About 40 years later the amount was nearly $400
billion. Public aid expenditures went from $1.1
billion to $80 billion in about the same period.
President Lyndon Johnson
School expenditures
President Lyndon Johnson signed the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act in a one-room
schoolhouse in the presence of his first teacher. He
signed the Voting Rights Act in the room where
Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation
Proclamation, and he signed the Immigration Act in
the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.
The average per pupil expenditure for public schools
in the United States in 1998 was $6,662. The range
by state went from a high of $10,233 in New Jersey to
a low of $4,256 in Utah. The national average for
schoolteachers’ pay was about $41,575. The range
went from an average of $52,500 in Connecticut to
$29,145 in South Dakota.
More About Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990
The ADA defines disability as “a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits one or more of the
major life activities of . . . [an] individual, a record of
such impairment, or being regarded as having such
an impairment.” Among the conditions covered by the
act are orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing
impairments; infection with the HIV virus; muscular
dystrophy, diabetes, and learning disabilities.
G.I. was originally the abbreviation for galvanized
iron, which was the army clerks’ term for metal
items such as trash cans. In time, people decided
G.I. stood for general issue or government issue,
and used it to mean any equipment issued by the
army, and eventually the soldiers themselves.
Hang Ups
An important job of the Federal Trade Commission is to
alert consumers to fraudulent and deceptive business
practices. One growing form of consumer abuse is
telemarketing. The FTC offers this advice: Never give your
credit card, checking account, or Social Security numbers
to a caller you don’t know. If a telemarketer offers you a
prize, particularly one you have to pay for, be very
suspicious. Don’t buy something just because a free gift is
being offered. Resist being pressured into making a
decision on the spot. Hang up if a telemarketer calls
before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.—it’s illegal. Telemarketers
are not allowed to call you if you’ve already asked them
not to. If they call again, hang up. Above all, if you are
ever in doubt about an offer, ask to see it in writing.
Analyzing a Statement Read the following
statement made by economist Adam Smith in the
1700s: “People of the same trade seldom meet
together, even for merriment or diversion, but the
conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public
or in some contrivance to raise prices.” Is this
statement true or false? Support your response.
Federal Versus Local Control of Education Find
out more about the controversy over federal control
versus state or local control of education. In
addition to researching the issue, you may
interview parents, teachers, administrators, and
school board members. Present your views during
a panel discussion with the other students.
Improving Your School’s Environment Identify a
problem or an issue in the school’s neighborhood
(traffic problems, inadequate lighting, graffiti, crime,
for example). Then formulate a plan for
improvement. Do neighbors or nearby businesses
need to be involved? The police? Community
leaders? Are funds needed? Would a car wash or
bake sale provide enough funds to get started? If
possible, carry out your plan.
Literature In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John
Steinbeck chronicles the experiences of a farm
family forced to leave Oklahoma as a result of the
terrible dust storms that swept the Great Plains in
the 1930s.
Henry B. Gonzalez
Henry B. Gonzalez (1916–2000) was the first Hispanic
American from Texas to be elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives. Although Gonzalez grew up in an
educated, economically comfortable family, he, like all
Mexican Americans of the time, had to face prejudice and
discrimination. He emerged from the experience a strong
defender of the poor and a fighter against discrimination in
all its forms. In fact, in 1946 Gonzalez resigned his new
position as chief probation officer for the Bexar County
(Texas) Juvenile Court when he was refused permission to
hire an African American staff member.
Activity: Find out why Gonzalez, in January 1991, called
for the impeachment of President George Bush.
Frances Perkins (1882–1965)
Frances Perkins (1882–1965) became the first
female cabinet member when President Franklin
Roosevelt appointed her secretary of labor in 1933.
Trade unionists vehemently opposed the
appointment of a woman and made their opinions
clear in a meeting with the president, but Roosevelt
stood firm. According to a story at the time, he told
his wife Eleanor (a firm supporter of women’s
rights) that he did not mind the controversy
because, he quipped, “I’d rather have trouble with
them for an hour than trouble with you for the rest
of my life.”
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