Lyndon B. Johnson
~Domestic Issues~
Sworn in hours
after the
assassination of
JFK November
22, 1963

Elected on his
own in 1964

I. President Lyndon Baines Johnson
A. LBJ continued the ideas of the
Kennedy administration: civil rights, war
on poverty, and continued containment
B. In the mid-1960s, the U.S. had the
highest standard of living in the world
1. Michael Harrington—The Other
America (1962) wrote that
“pockets” of poverty remained in
America
2. Harrington claimed that as many as 40
million Americans (1/4 of the
population) were poor, and they were in
the slums of central cities and rural
areas—Appalachia, the Deep South, and
Native American reservations
II. Election of 1964
Johnson v Goldwater
A. Johnson used goals of social justice to
campaign for the presidency, aiming to
reach all Americans
1. Platform was the Great
Society: fight American
poverty, discrimination,
unemployment, pollution, etc.
2. Also promised major tax cuts for
individuals and corporations
B. Goldwater was an outspoken
conservative—opposed the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, had lukewarm
feelings about Social Security,
thought military commanders
should be allowed to decide for
themselves whether to use nuclear
weapons
C. Johnson’s wide appeal won him
more than 60 % of the popular vote
D. Goldwater carried only Arizona and
five Southern states, where
“Dixiecrats” switched to the
Republican party
E.
Johnson declared a
and began the Great
Society programs.
Johnson Wins in 1964
III. Specific Problems facing the US
A. Improvements in technology
decreased jobs
B. Small farmers could not compete
with agribusiness
C. Training was unavailable for new
jobs
D. Programs did not adequately cover
medical expenses for older citizens
E. Johnson declared a
on January 8, 1964:
1. He developed programs to deal with
America’s problems such as job corps,
neighborhood youth corps, VISTA,
Project Head Start, Operation Upward
Bound, college work study
2. The programs were well-received
because people saw benefits for
themselves.
Impact of Economic Opportunity Act
 The
act decreased poverty in
America by helping the
working adults aged 18 to 24.
IMPACT OF GREAT SOCIETY
a. The Great Society
and the Warren
Court changed the
United States
b. No president in
Post-WWII era extended the power and reach of the
federal government
more than LBJ
c. The War on Poverty helped, the Civil Rights initiative
made a difference and the massive tax cuts spurred the
economy
“The Great Society rests on abundance and
liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty
and racial injustice… every child can find
knowledge to enrich his mind…”
- Lyndon Johnson, 1964
Stop and individually complete
Assignment #5: Johnson’s
Great Society - Use the blue textbook
1. Civil Rights Act 1964• Banned discrimination in voting,
public facilities, federally-assisted
programs, and employment
• (2) Eliminate racial injustice
(You may put just the #)
2. Voting Rights Act 1965
• Prohibited
discrimination in
voter registration;
provided federal
registration if
necessary
• (2) Helped end
racial injustice
By the way, what’s the big word?
3. Civil Rights Act 1968
• Banned racial discrimination in
the sale and rental of most
housing
• Eliminate racial injustice (2)
4. 24th Amendment• Ended poll taxes in federal
elections
• Eliminate racial injustice (2)
5. Medicare• Provides health insurance
coverage for those 65+
• Addition to Social Security
• Eliminate poverty (1), share the
abundance (6), overcome disease (4)
6. Medicaid• federal and state program to pay
medical bills for low income
families/individuals
• Overcome disease (4), eliminate
poverty (1)
7. Immigration Act, 1965
• Ended national origins quota
system, admitted immigrants on
the basis of family relationships
and national needs
• Permit life of freedom (7),
eliminate injustice (2)
"This bill we sign today is not a revolutionary bill. It
does not affect the lives of millions. It will not
restructure the shape of our daily lives.” – LBJ
YEAH, RIGHT!!!
IMMIGRATION REFORM
- The Great Society also brought reform to immigration laws
-The Natural Origins Acts of the 1920s strongly discriminated
against immigration by those outside of
Western Europe
-The Immigration
Act of 1965 opened
the door for many
non-European
immigrants to settle
in the U.S.
8. Department Of Housing
and Urban Development• cabinet-level agency to administer
public housing programs, seeking
to increase home ownership /
decrease homelessness
• Revitalize the cities (5)
9. Dept Of Transportation• reorganized administration of
transportation services under
cabinet level agencies
• Revitalize the cities (5)
10. Elementary and
Secondary Edu Act, 1965• granted $ directly to public
schools, funding professional
development, instructional
materials, etc.
• End ignorance (3), permit a life of
freedom (7)
Bilingual Education Act of 1968
-– its purpose was to provide school districts
with federal funds, in the form of competitive
grants, to establish innovative educational
programs for students with limited English
speaking ability.
- Expanded access to Public Education
11. Higher Education Act, 1965• Increased federal $ to universities,
created scholarships, financed
loans for students, and established
a Teacher Corps
• End ignorance (3), permit a life of
freedom (7)
SUPREME COURT
REFORMS SOCIETY
- Reform and change
were not limited to the
Executive and
Legislative branches
- The Judicial Branch
led by the Supreme
Court and Chief Justice
Earl Warren did much to
protect individual rights
Warren
WARREN COURT AND
SUSPECT’S RIGHTS
• In Mapp v. Ohio (1961) the Supreme Court ruled that illegally
seized evidence could not be used in court
• In Escobedo v. Illinois the court ruled that the accused has the
right to have an attorney present when questioned by police
• In Miranda v. Arizona the court ruled that all suspects must be
read their rights before
questioning
• In Gideon v. Wainright the court ruled that state courts are
required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to
provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants who are
unable to afford their own attorneys.
• In Brown v Education the court ruled against the “Seperate
But Equal Concept” (Pressy v Ferguson)
Back to notes!
The Civil Rights
Movement under
Johnson
I. Remember Segregation and
Integration…
a. Segregation is separation
by race or class in society.
b. Integration is to join or
open to all racial groups or
classes.
II. Mississippi Freedom Summer
Project
A. Summer of
1964
B. 800 College students from all over the
US met in Ohio to be trained for voter
registration in the South by SNCC.
C. The focus of the project was the MS
Delta and McComb.
D. Discouraged by constant opposition of
Mississippians.
- While working to register African
Americans to vote, 3 workers went
missing in Neshoba County
*On June 21, 1964, three
young civil rights workers
— a 21-year-old black
Mississippian James
Chaney and two white New
Yorkers Andrew Goodman,
20, and Michael
Schwerner, 24 —were
murdered
*June 21, 2005: Edgar Ray
Killen, the supposed
mastermind of the crime,
was sentenced to 60 years
in jail for the crimes.
III. Selma Voting Rights March
A. March, 1965: MLK led a 54-mile
walk from Selma to Montgomery to
pressure for voting equality.
B. The demonstrators were tear-gassed,
clubbed, spat on, whipped, trampled by
horses, and jeered by others for
demanding the right to register to
vote. Television and newspapers
carried pictures of the event that
became known as "Bloody Sunday."
C. As a result, Lyndon B. Johnson
urged the passage of the Voting
Rights Act; will become law in August
of 1965.
IV. Watts Riots
A. 1965
B. Riots occurred
in the Watts
neighborhood in L.A.
C. Over $40 million in property
was destroyed; over 1,000
people injured!
D. Over 30 people died, most
of them black
E. MLK was furious, saying that
the black population was
destroying themselves.
F. In response, Watts residents
said “we won because we made
them pay attention to us.”
V. Legislation under Johnson
A. 1964 Civil Rights Act
1. Barred discrimination in public
facilities
2. Directed the Attorney General to
sue segregated schools,
businesses, etc.
3. Stopped discrimination in
employment due to race, sex,
color, religion, or national origin.
B. 24th AmendmentEliminated the poll tax.
C.1965 Voting Rights
Act- ended reading
test and the
grandfather clause for
black voting. Federal
officials came to the
south to oversee voting.
VI. Civil Disobedience during the
Civil Rights Movement
A. NAACP- Attacked Jim Crow laws
B. Thurgood Marshall toured the
south helping African Americans
in need of law representation.
NAACP representatives toured
cities and began local chapters.
Jeopardy answer of the day:
- first black American appointed to the
Supreme Court
Question:
Who is
Thurgood
Marshall?
C. Martin Luther King, Jr.
1. Originally from Atlanta, Ga.
2. Led the Montgomery Bus boycott.
3. Embodied the movement.
4. Enforced nonviolence and pacifism
and the “turn the other cheek”
philosophy.
5. Did encounter frustration from
many African Americans who
were “sick and tired of going to
funerals of black men”
D. Black Power
1. Leader: Stokely Carmichael
2. Emphasized racial pride and social
equality for African Americans
through the creation of political
and cultural institutions
3. Called for black separatism
4. The symbol of Black Power was the
raised, gloved fist in the air. Black
Americans were to find a new
sense of identity.
5. Carmichael’s “black power” greatly
influenced Huey Newton and Bobby
Seale to start a a new movement
known as the Black Panther Party, a
revolutionary push for equality and
defense of African Americans.
E. Death of a hero…
1. April 4,
1968:
Memphis
Tennessee
2. MLK killed
by a sniper’s
bullet
3. James Earl Ray: arrested in
June of 1968 for killing MLK jr.
4. Sentenced to 99 years in prison;
died in 1998.
5. Hinted he was only part of the
conspiracy
6. Many African Americans will
respond to this tragedy through
violence. At the end of a week of
rioting, almost 50 were dead!
 Isn’t this exactly what MLK
preached AGAINST?!?!
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do
that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and
toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of
destruction. The chain reaction of evil………must be
broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of
annihilation."
~Dr. MLK, Jr
Results of the Civil Rights Movement:

Segregation became illegal

Right to vote
South would never be the same again
 Black citizens served in politics at all
levels


Ended an Era
Civil Rights campaigns in the South led by
peaceful moderates
 Lets go North!

25th Amendment: This amendment deals
with succession to the Presidency,
also establishing procedures both for
filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice
President, as well as responding to
Presidential disabilities. Ratified in 1967
 Miranda v. Arizona (1966): A person in

custody must be informed of his
rights (to remain silent, that statements
made may be used against him in court,
and of his right to an attorney).