Johnson' personality and politics (his background, domestic policy and the economy)

What were Demonstration Cities or Model Cities? What was the Demonstration Cities Act? (1966)

1) Demonstration cities were a suggestion by Johnson that 6 main cities e.g. Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles would have the local community and all levels of government work together on affordable housing, transportation, recreational facilities and slum clearance. 2) The Demonstration Cities Act aimed to put this in place.

How effective was the legislation to help reduce urban decay 1965-66?

1) Despite the legislation of 1965-66, the ghettos continued in their dire state and housing became a major cause of ghetto discontent. 2)four-fifths of the Detroit ghetto rioters arrested in 1967 had jobs paying over $120 weekly, suggesting that it was housing and alienation rather than poverty that caused their dissatisfaction.

What was Johnson's greatest interest?

1) His greatest interest was domestic policy but his escalation of the Vietnam War consumed the later years of his presidency and made him one of America's most unpopular presidents.

Who was president Johnson? What were the main aspects of his presidency?

1) President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" offered Americans the most idealistic version of the American Dream yet, but many considered his dream illusory and that the "Great Society" failed. 2)Some African Americans participated in protests against continuing poverty and discrimination. 3)Young people protested against what was perhaps unfairly termed "Johnson's War"(the Vietnam war). 4) The Vietnam War did great damage to Johnson and his presidency, and to many of those who fought there, to the economy and to perceptions of American identity abroad.

How did people view Johnson?

1) Some saw Johnson as nothing more than an unprincipled politician but his domestic policies indicates that he was an idealist who wanted to make the United States a better and fairer place for its inhabitants.

What act established Medicare and Medicaid? What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?

1) The Social Security Act of 1965 established Medicare and Medicaid. 2)Medicare, was federally funded health insurance for over 65s and those with disabilities, regardless of their income or existing medical conditions. 3)Medicaid, was federal government giving financial assistance to states to help them to provide medical treatment to impoverished residents who could not afford essential medical services.

Why did Johnson change his position on civil rights?

1) The south had to accept desegregation in order to make economic advances (racial tensions made the South unattractive to investors). 2)It was important to uphold the Constitution and the place of the Supreme Court within it. The brown ruling therefore must be respected due to the sovereignty of the Constitution. 3)He had to appeal to beyond the racist south if he wanted to fulfil his presidential ambitions (he was one of the 3 southern senators who refused to sign the Southern manifesto against Brown.). 4)The Democrats were in danger of losing Northern black voters to the Republicans, Brown and the Montgomery bus boycott had shown that change was inevitable and it made sense to go along with it.

What suggests that Johnson was successful in the War on Poverty?

1)19 million Americans benefited from Medicare and Medicaid in 1966. 2)Over 13 million children and young people benefited from Johnson's education legislation. 3)A million children benefited from his Head Start programme and 50,000 children from his Upward Bound programme. 4)The percentage of the American population in poverty fell from 17% in 1965 to 11% in the early 1970s. 5)The 3.9% unemployment rate in 1967 was a 13 year low. 6)The minimum wage rose by 35cents. 7)Federal expenditure on the poor rose from $13 billion in 1963 to $20 billion in 1966.

When did Johnson become senator and what did he do as senator? What was the Johnson Treatment?

1)After a narrow defeat in a 1941 campaign for the Senate in which his opponent falsified voting figures, Johnson won his next Senate race in 1948 by doing the same.(he obtained 1028 votes in one precinct in Jim Wells County, where only 600 people were registered to vote). 2)In 1955, Johnson became Senate Majority Leader. 3)As Senate Majority Leader, he knew each senator's weaknesses, prejudices and ambitions. 4) He stood nose to nose with other senators, invading their person space to intimidate them, bullied and cajoled them to get them to vote as he wished, the was known as "the Johnson Treatment".

What poverty and urban problems existed under Johnson? What did Johnson want to do about these problems?

1)American inner cities were characterised by poverty and poor schools and housing. 2)Envisaging a Great Society without urban decay and urban housing problems Johnson suggested legislation and Congress responded with varying degrees on enthusiasm and effectiveness.

By the end of Johnson's presidency who benefited by his education reforms?

1)By the end of Johnson's presidency, over 13 million children had benefited from federal aid to education. 2) the percentage of those with a high school diploma rose. 3) The shortage of teachers had been ended and new school buildings had been constructed. 4)The accessibility of a college education increased(by 1970, 25% of college students received some financial aid from the HEA. His educational reforms led to a better society.

How did Johnson aim to create cheaper and desegregated housing? Was it successful?

1)Congress passed the Omnibus Housing Act (1965) which financed rent supplements and $8 billion of low and moderate income housing. 2)The Fair Housing Act(1968) which was ineffective in the face of White opposition. 3)Through federal loans and the Johnson Treatment, Johnson persuaded builders to construct reasonably priced housing.

What are arguments against Johnson's great society and his supposed achievements?

1)Conservative critiques attacked this level of federal expenditure on the poor as unsustainable, while liberal critiques demanded even more expenditure. 2)Johnson failed to completely eradicate poverty. For example, a third of non-white families still lived below the poverty line, with infant mortality and unemployment rates nearly twice those of whites. 3)He made politically unrealistic promises and he had weaknesses in the planning and implementation of some of his anti-poverty programmes.

Was the Demonstration Cities Act successful?

1)Even though Congress passed this act, at $1.2billion the programme was underfunded, Johnson estimated the total cost at $2.4 billion. 2)The New York Times argued that New York City alone needed $6 billion to solve problems with urban decay. 3)It failed because members of Congress wanted concessions in return and Johnson did not give in. The money was spread too thinly and instead of the 6 cities proposed it was stretched to 150 cities.

What was "the Great Society"?

1)For most people, the American Dream consisted of ever-increasing affluence. 2)In a May 1964 speech, Johnson offered a new version of the American Dream, in which the federal government would engineer a Great Society

What was Johnson's role in 1935 and did this influence his great society?

1)In 1935, following on from his teaching career, Johnson was appointed Texas Sate director for the National Youth Administration(NYA), a Roosevelt New Deal agency. 2)In this role he helped over 28,000 young Texans gain employment on government projects such as the construction of roadside parks all over Texas.

When was Johnson elected to Congress and what were his achievements?

1)In 1937, Johnson was elected to Congress, he demonstrated great talent for getting on with the powerful, including President Roosevelt who called him "the most remarkable young man". 2)Johnson strongly supported Truman's Foreign Policy, but he was Conservative on domestic issues. 3)Along with his fellow Southern Democrats, he voted against Civil Rights measures that aimed to prevent lynching, eliminate poll taxes and deny federal funding to segregated schools.

What is evidence to show that Johnson was an idealist rather than racist?

1)In 1949 when a segregated Texas cemetery refused to bury a Mexican-American war hero, Johnson arranged a burial in Arlington National Cemetery, which won him front page praise in the New York Times. 2)Some white Texans interpret this as an attempt to win minority votes, however it took courage to do this in Texas where most Texans were white. 3)Johnson worked quietly to get black farmers and black schoolchildren equal treatment in his congressional district. 4)In 1938 he obtained federal funding for housing in Austin, Texas which benefited poor Mexican-Americans and white people. 5)Privately referred to black people as "******s". 6)Johnson appeared inconsistent on race because of the combination of the need to keep with voters of all colours and his own ambition and idealism.

Why was Johnson chosen as JFK's VP?

1)In 1960, Johnson was defeated by JFK to be the Democrat candidate for the presidency. 2)Kennedy chose Johnson as his running mate in 1960 which shocked both Democrat liberals and conservative Southern Democrats 3)Kennedy chose Johnson to help him win the South.

Why did many think the post-war boom would never end? What led to it's decline?

1)In many ways it seemed as if the American post-war economic boom would never end. 2)Under Eisenhower there had been a 19% growth in GNP, but under Kennedy and Johnson it was 39%. 3)96% of Americans in the first half of the 1960s believed their standard of living would continue to improve, 4) For most of his presidency LBJ rightfully boasted that the economy was booming. 5)The Vietnam War had a dramatic and adverse effect on the American economy because of the inflationary pressures that resulted from federal overspending.

What did Johnson use the Kennedy legacy to do?

1)Johnson brilliantly used this desire to memorialise Kennedy to obtain anti-poverty legislation and a civil rights bill. 2)Johnson introduced bills with emotive references to Kennedy for example by saying "John Kennedy did not live or die in vain" in order to get bills passed on the basis it is what Kennedy would have wanted.

What did Johnson consider to be the most important element of his Great Society? What was the EOA and what did it establish?

1)Johnson considered ending poverty the most important element of his Great Society, thus in January 1964 he declared an "unconditional war on poverty" and persuaded Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act(EOA)in 1964. 2)The EOA established an Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to co-ordinate the war on poverty.

How did Johnson persuade Congress to pass the Great Society legislation?

1)Johnson had a 75% approval rating in the polls, much owed to Kennedy's death(the Kennedy legacy). 2)The feeling that the nation should rally around JFK's chosen successor in the case anything happened which was Johnson. 3)As a result of this Johnson persuaded Congress to enact an exceptional quantity of reforming legislation that impacted on millions of lives.

What achievements did Johnson make in Education?-money from congress, ESEA and HEA.

1)Johnson obtained congressional agreement that federal expenditure on education be doubled to $8 billion in order to solve the problems he had highlighted. 2) The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Higher Education Act (HEA) in 1965 channelled money towards the poorest states and the poorest children.

How were Medicare and Medicaid successful?

1)Johnson rightfully boasted that he had produced "a healthcare revolution". 2)Medicare lifted millions of elderly Americans out of poverty. 3) Medicare and Medicaid, helped 19 million Americans in 1966. 3)Within a decade, Medicare became so popular that no president dared to oppose it lest he alienate the powerful "grey vote"

What was Johnson's changing position on civil rights?

1)Johnson was one of the few Southern politicians who supported the Supreme Court's Brown decision in 1954. However in 1956 he killed a civil rights bill in Congress. 2) but then he orchestrated the passage of two Civil Rights Acts(1957 and 1960) that although diluted helped prepare the way for further civil rights legislation.

What is evidence to show that LBJ was racist? How did LBJ defend his actions which could show him to be Racist?

1)Johnson's Texas was 15% black and 12% Hispanic, anyone who sought elected office had to appeal to white segregationist voters. 2)Johnson opposed Truman's civil rights programme which can be argued to show he was racist. 3)LBJ giving no support to Truman's civil rights programmes are arguably valid within the contemporary Southern political context. 4)LBJ argued the bills would never have passed anyway, he was not anti-black but pro-states' rights and he believed improved housing, education and healthcare would help African Americans and Hispanics much more than civil rights legislation would.

What economic developments occurred in 1967?

1)Johnson's advisers had been pressuring him to call for a tax hike. 2)The prospective budget deficit of over $10 billion finally persuaded him to seek a tax increase in his Jan 1967 budget message. 3)There was a 4.5% increase in consumer prices in the previous 18 months and interest rates were rising. 4)The GNP's performance in the first quarter of 1967 was the worst since the 1960 recession. 5)During the summer and autumn there was a 4.5% increase in the GNP and a fall in unemployment to 3.8%, but problems remained with an increasing federal budget deficit, inflation and rising consumer prices. 6)In October, 60% of people saw the high cost of living as their number one problem(only 5% named Vietnam).

What was Johnson's pre-political career? Did this influence him?

1)Johnson's family could not afford college fees, so Johnson took a teaching job in 1928. 2)Johnson taught in a segregated school in Texas and recalled his 28 Mexican American pupils suffered prejudice and struggled with school work. 3)Johnson believed education would be their escape route. His job as a school teacher may have influenced his ideas of the great society as his students were poor and disadvantaged.

What role did JFK give Johnson that was of significant importance? Did Johnson achieve anything significant in this role?

1)Kennedy asked Johnson to chair his Equal Employment Opportunity Commission(EEOC). 2)The EEOC although had good intentions made little progress. 3)Johnson could not push contractors on equal employment in case it damaged him and the administration. 4) However, federal jobs held by African-Americans increased by 17% in 1962 and 22% in 1963.

What were the problems with Medicare and Medicaid?

1)Medicare and Medicaid proved far more expensive than the Johnson administration anticipated. 2)Medicaid increased the amount spent by the federal and state governments on healthcare for poorer citizens from $1.3 billion in 1965 to over $2 billion in 1966. 3)In 1966, a House of Representatives committee estimated that the cost of Medicare would rise to $12 billion by 1990 but that turned out to be $98 billion. 4)Although one-fifth of the population benefited from Medicare and Medicaid by 1976, there was still a problem of reasonably priced healthcare for all Americans.

The 14 Key Dates in Johnson's Presidency

1)November 1963-Kennedy is assassinated and Johnson becomes president. 2)1964-8 Annual summer riots in black ghettos. 3)July 1964-Civil Rights Act 3) Autumn 1964-Berkeley Free Speech Movement begins. 4) February 1965- Operation Rolling Thunder begins 5)March 1965-The first ground troops in Vietnam 6) March 1965-Selma 7) April 1965-Medicare and Medicaid, the Education Act. 8) April 1965-Watts Riots 9) August 1965-Voting Rights Act 10)January 1966-Chicago Freedom Movement begins 11) June 1966-Mereditih March, National Organisation of Women Established. 12) October 1966 Black Panthers established 13)January 1968-The Tet Offensive 14) April 1968-Martin Luther King Jnr. Assassinated.

What did Johnson come to the Presidency with in 1963? What was Johnson aiming to bring about his own version of and what helped him?

1)The death of President Kennedy on 22nd November 1963 made VP Johnson president. Johnson came to the presidency in 1963 with great legislative experience and admirable ambitions for a better America. 2)The combination of experience and ambition, his exceptionally forceful presidency and the emotions aroused by the assassination of President Kennedy gave him the opportunity to try and bring about his version of the American Dream "The Great Society".

What was the Kennedy Legacy?

1)The death of the youthful, charismatic President Kennedy traumatised the nation. Many of Kennedy's White House insiders e.g. Bobby Kennedy saw LBJ as a usurper not to be trusted with the Kennedy legacy. 2)Kennedy's death also generated a feeling in Congress and the nation that there should be some legislative tribute and that the nation must change and improve.

Why was healthcare legislation needed? But why was it opposed? What healthcare legislation did LBJ successfully achieve?

1)The elderly had always constituted a large proportion of America's poor, partly because healthcare was a great expense for them. 2)Democrats such as Johnson had long advocated federal financial support for healthcare. 3)Healthcare legislation was opposed because Conservative Americans insisted that subsidised or free healthcare smacked of Communism. 4)With Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress and Johnson's forceful persuasion, Congress established Medicare and Medicaid in the Social Security Act of 1965.

Why did the Great Society run out of steam?

1)The escalation in Vietnam meant a reduction in money to domestic policies (Between 1965 and 1973, $15.5billion was spent on the Great Society and $120 billion on Vietnam.) 2)The Vietnam war precipitated inflation and tax rates that made the Great Society unpopular. As a result Congress made LBJ agree to cuts in his programmes. 2)Taxpayers were never going to grant unlimited funds to help thhe poor, Nixon declared the Great Society a "cruel hoax".

What did the Kennedy Legacy contribute to other than allowing Johnson to pass reforming legislation?

1)The national mourning for Kennedy translated into sympathy for Johnson and Kennedy's party that contributed to the Democrat triumphs in the 1964 elections. 2)Kennedy greatly increased the US involvement in Vietnam and Johnson escalated this further, and one of his reasons for escalation in Vietnam was that he felt he must continue Kennedy's policies.

Why is there disagreement over the Kennedy legacy?

1)There is considerable disagreement over the Kennedy legacy. 2)This disagreement resolves over whether or not Kennedy would have got out of Vietnam, over whether Kennedy could have got the Civil Rights bill through Congress and over whether Johnson's "War on Poverty" was simply a continuation of Kennedy's policies. 3)It can be argued that Johnson's "Great Society" was a far more radical vision than Kennedy would have created.

In 1965 what economic developments occurred?

1)There were signs that the booming economy was overheating. 2)In August Johnson tried to persuade labour and Industry to prevent inflation by following wage and price guidelines. 3)He persuaded steel workers and bosses to co-operate and in December approved an interest rate rise designed to cool the economy down.

Overall assessment of Johnson's Great Society

1)When Johnson greatly increased the role and expenditure of the federal government in areas such as education and welfare conservatives argued his social welfare programmes created dependency whereas liberals argued it didn't go far enough as it failed to end poverty and had limited impact on cities and even less on rural areas. 2)For many of the poor, elderly, sick and unemployed Johnson made a considerable difference. He went further than any previous president except FDR. 3)The great Newark ghetto riots of July 1967 demonstrated that civil rights and anti-poverty legislation had done little to help African Americans. 4)Broken promises led to disillusionment and damaged liberalism. (Nixon's election).

Why was the legislation to reduce urban decay unsuccessful?

3)However, white taxpayers did not want to fund large-scale improvements and the majority opposed integrated housing. 4)In 1968, Johnson focused on obtaining an end to discrimination in housing. This would cost taxpayers nothing but hopefully alleviate ghetto overcrowding. (Congress responded with the fair housing act of 1968 but it proved unsuccessful because of white opposition).

When did Johnson become President?

After Kennedy's Assassination on the 22nd November 1963, Vice President Lyndon Johnson became President.

What were the economic developments in 1968? Overall what facts show the poor economic situation

By early 1968 the USA's economic problems was great: 1)The federal budget deficit for 1968 was an estimated $19.8 billion. 2)Although the United States had a trade deficit in 17 out of the previous 18 years, the 1967 trade deficit of nearly $4 billion was 3 times that of 1966. 3)America's problems with inflation and trade and federal budget deficits were frightening financial markets everywhere. 4)The trade deficit was made up by sending gold abroad, so that by 1965 US gold supplies had decreased by 40% since 1945. 5)The dwindling gold supplies caused a run on the dollar: when reserves dropped to $12.4 billion(the lowest since 1937) the dollar was greatly weakened.

In 1964 what economic developments occurred that LBJ boasted about?

In 1964, Johnson boasted about the following. 1)43 months of unbroken business expansion(the longest such period since the Second World War). 2)Limited Inflation 3)Low unemployment 4)Pleasing GNP growth

What did Johnson say in his 1966 State of the Union address that proved wrong?

In his January 1966 State of the Union address, Johnson said America could afford both the Great Society and the War but his War on Poverty became a casualty of the War in Vietnam. By 1966, there was a growing belief that his Great Society had run out of Steam.

What did Johnson do that was called "Johnson's masterpiece" by the Washington post in 1957?

Johnson ensured that Eisenhower's 1957 civil rights bill obtained sufficient Democrat votes to pass. (However he contribute to the Bill's dilution, he still persuaded Congress to agree on the principle that African Americans deserved the vote).

What progress did the OEO make by February 1965? 6 key facts but remember to emphasise there were others

Johnson informed Congress of the following progress of the OEO in February 1965: 1)44 States had anti-poverty programmes, with the 6 remaining states to follow. 2)35,000 college students were on work study programmes, under which poorer students could earn federal funding through part-time work. 3)35,000 adults were learning to read and write. 4)90,000 adults were enrolled in basic education programmes. 5)Over 4 million were receiving AFDC benefits (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). 6)Loans were being given for small businesses and rural development. For example, $17 million was distributed in rural loans in 1968.

What economic developments occurred in 1966?

Johnson pointed out the following had occurred since 1961 in a speech in 1966: 1)after tax wages had risen by 35% 2)corporate earnings had risen by over 65% 3)farm income had risen by nearly 40% 4)unemployment was at a 13 year low. 5)Johnson assured Americans that the USA could afford the Great Society and the Vietnam War. 6)With inflation at its highest for 10 years many people doubted that it could. 7)The pressure to raise prices and wages mounted and in late 1966 the dam broke, funding from the war needed to come from unpopular taxes.

What problems in education did Johnson highlight in 1964?

Johnson's "Great Society" promised improvements in education for the following reasons: 1)54 million Americans had never finished high school. 2)8 million had under 5 years of schooling. 3)100,000 high school graduates with proven ability could not afford to enter college. 4)Schools were overcrowded, run down and short of good teachers.

What would the Great Society be characterised by?

The Great Society would be characterised by the following things: 1) Racial equality 2) The end of poverty 3)educational reform 4)modern housing 5)the end of urban decay 6)peace with other nations

What new government department did Johnson suggest and why?

The Housing and Urban Development department, to co-ordinate the various programmes to combat housing shortages and decay in cities in which over two-thirds of Americans lived. Congress agreed to the HUD in 1965.