LBJ & THE COLD WAR

LBJ

Lyndon Baines Johnson=LBJ Grew up in Texas Background in politics Advocate for civil rights

Urged congress to pass civil rights & tax cut bills JFK introduced

Tax cut spurred economic growth

War on Poverty

Declared unconditional war on poverty Created the Job Corps Youth Training

Program Community Action Program encouraged

the poor to work in public-works programs

1964 Election

Republican- Barry Goldwater Believed federal government had no business

trying to right social and economic wrongs Democrat: LBJ

Believed the government could & should help solve nation’s issues

Campaigned against nuclear weapons LBJ won by a landslide; Democrats

increased their majority in congress

Great Society

Great Society- program designed to end poverty and racial injustice

LBJ idolized FDR Addressed issues of education and

healthcare Got 206 laws passed by congress

Housing and The Environment

Passed laws to build low-rent public housing

Established the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Silent Spring- book written by Rachel Carson that exposed the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment

LBJ ordered government to find worst chemical polluters & clean up rivers

Warren Court

Liberal Supreme Court led by Earl Warren Took stance on leading issues of the day Banned state-sanctioned prayer in public

schools Limited the power of communities to

censor books & films (Free speech) Reapportionment- way in which states

redraw election districts based on the changing number of people in them

Rights of the Accused

Gideon v. Wainright- required criminal courts to provide free legal counsel to those who could not afford it

Miranda v. Arizona- all suspects must be read their rights before questioning

Impact of Great Society

No president post WWII extended the power & reach of the federal government more than LBJ

Poverty fell from 21% to 11% Funding led to budget deficit Conservative backlash Fear of communism still existed