I saw The Great Society at the Dallas Theater Center on 3/17/2018. My first impression was astonishment. It was so outstanding I stayed after to listen to a lead actor answer any questions from the audience. LBJ fights a “war on poverty” at home, the war in Vietnam starts to spiral out of control. Besieged by political enemies, Johnson desperately fights to pass civil rights legislation and some of the most important social programs in American history, even as the country turns against him and descends into chaos. Filled with a cast of legendary characters—from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Bobby Kennedy and Richard Nixon—The Great Society is an exhilarating examination of power, morality and change. I liked how it was presented with such special
Each timeline shared several commonalities regarding the socio-cultural, economic and political occurrences during the reign of President Kennedy and President Johnson. Such similarities include the overall flow of each group’s paper, which for the most part either introduced Kennedy’s assassination followed by Johnson’s presidential accession or the Civil Right’s movement. In my opinion, the former and the latter were significant ingredients to the Great Society Program’s magnitude because out of “respect for the slain president,” ambitions, new legislation was created to equalize the playing for the poor (who where mainly minorities) (U.S. Department of State, n.d.). Hence, the beginning of Johnson’s notable proclamation for a “war on poverty”
In the mid-1800’s abolition was high on the priority list for many northerners. The main purpose was the immediate emancipation of all slaves and to end the racial discrimination that African Americans faced. Although the politics of abolition were different amongst the men who sought the freedom of slaves. Some sought immediate emancipation while others were more moderate and argued for the gradual release of slaves. In addition to radical abolitionists and moderate abolitionists a group calls “free Soil” abolitionists fought to contain the spread of slavery into new western territories.
Throughout the history of time, people named certain time periods based on the events that occurred. People considered the time from the 1890s to 1916 as a shift of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era when many things changed dramatically. The “Gilded Age” was the time of innovation, invention, and rapid growth, but the presence of monopolies sprouted everywhere in American’s economy and led to social inequalities. Then the Progressive Era responded to the exploitation of the Gilded Age and reformed America economically, socially, and politically. The movements during the Progressive Age tremendously categorized presidential leadership while redrafting the economic and political systems to give social equality to working class. Although the Gilded Age enhanced American’s economic growth in the world, businessmen gained economic power to make workers suffered from social inequality. Fortunately, new politics and economic arrangements ameliorated the situation; the actions of reformers and the government which mitigated social inequalities were revolutionary benefitting workers because the regulation of Acts enhanced the economic powers for them.
The term Gilded age comes from Twain and Dudleys book named the Gilded Age. The world Gilded itself means something that is covered in gold but actually has nothing of value underneath. The gilded age was an attempt to fix a broken system after reconstruction had finished, but in reality it was just putting a blanket over the real problem. The gilded age was a good time for the higher ups, those who owned business or were in the government, they were able to benefit at the cost of American workers. Gilded age is a good name for this era because for all the inequalities found in the companies related to intensive labor, including unions and strikes, and the lack of rights for immigrant workers.
This investigation will analyze until what extent was Lyndon Johnson the Great Society a success or a failure. The Great Society was a set of domestic programs created by democratic president Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and 1965, the intention of The Great Society programs was to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. After John F. Kennedy's assassination, Johnson was left with the duty to finish Kennedy's job on creating a new frontier for americans. Issues addressed in The Great Society program were education, poverty, urban planning, medical care and transportation. Many of The Great Society proposals were similar to John F. Kennedy's “New Frontier” and were aimed to complete Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal agenda.
Johnson’s Great Society had many policies that offered the United States in the long run.
After reading “The Great Society” by Johnson, I felt it gave an outline on why higher education is important and why many people cannot accomplish their goals. I also felt, he gave an insight on why going to college has a great aspect on us, and makes a change. For example when he says “The purpose of protecting the life of our nation and preserving the liberty of our citizens is to pursue the happiness. I strongly agree with what he said because, we our basically fighting for our freedom so that we can be happy in the end. “It will be task of your generation to make the American city a place where the future generations will come not only to live, but to live the good life. His point in this part meant that, he wants
The Great Society was one of the greatest movements to ever happen within America. It’s programs provided assistance to disadvantaged Americans who struggled with racism, unemployment, and education. The movement was a huge motivation for President Johnson as it barred discrimination, provided jobs for those living in poverty, advocated education for all Americans, and created significant health programs for a more sanitary society. During Johnson’s term, Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act, a program that was able to defeat “inadequate public services, illiteracy, and unemployment”. With the program, he was able to lower the poverty rate of America to approximately 10%. The Great Society program also allowed many “black Americans
Interesting post once again. I particularly was enticed by your words’ “ … he succeeded in changing laws, he failed to change attitudes in America…” One law or even a Supreme Court ruling cannot change attitudes. In particular, the Great Society was riddled with fraud, waste and corruption (Hamby 1992, 261). President Johnson was not the one to change attitudes anyway. Johnsons’ persona and the overreach of liberalism might have dome more harm to liberalism than good.
As Johnson campaigned in 1964 he challenged Americans to build a "Great Society". The main goal of the "Great Society" is to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. Some of the programs from the Great Society that are still around to this day our Medicare, Head Start, and Urban Renewal. The programs were designed to address education reform, racial discrimination, and health care for seniors
The Great Society would not provide Americans with a safe harbor, a resting place, a final objective, a finished work, but rather a challenge constantly renewed, beckoning us toward a destiny where the meaning of our lives matches the marvelous products of our labor. To stimulate the economic growth needed to produce the Great Society’s abundance, Johnson emphasized the importance of cutting taxes. Lobbying members of Congress who opposed the budget deficits that tax reductions would produce, he secured passage of the $10 billion tax-cut package JFK had proposed earlier. Its supporters hailed the measure as the guarantor of continuing economic growth. The most ambitious and controversial part of the Great Society was its initiative to end
On 1964 Lyndon Baines Johnson delivered the speech, “The Great Society”. He traveled to Ann Arbor on May 22 to give his speech at the University of Michigan. Previously, Lyndon Johnson first mentioned “the great society” at the Ohio University. He stated, “ And with your courage and with your compassion and your desire, we will build a Great Society. It is a Society where no child will go unfed, and no youngster will go unschooled,”(Remarks in Athens at Ohio University line 51-52). However, it is at the University of Michigan where Lyndon B. Johnson elaborates and establishes the importance of “The Great Society” ,and where he delivered his famous speech. Lyndon Baines Johnson in The Great Society, creatively combines the unique use of
A final way Johnson’s Great Society ameliorated the lives of minorities in America is by providing more Americans with access to healthcare. The main bill passed regarding healthcare was Medicare. The bill authorized “$154-million to expand and revise public health services in the states to stimulate the development of new health services” (“Johnson Signs 8 Bills”). Medicare provides healthcare for the elderly and disabled, specifically those who receive social security. It is funded through the Social Security Trust Fund and whether or not you receive Medicare depends on age and social security, not income. Recipients must be sixty-five or older and do not have to be retired. Medicare is divided into 2 programs, hospital insurance and supplementary
John Stuart Mill and Gerald Dworkin have distinctly opposing views on legal paternalism in that Mill is adamantly against any form of paternalism, whereas Dworkin believes that there do exist circumstances in which paternalism is justified. Both agree that paternalism is justified when the well being of another person is violated or put at risk. Mill takes on a utilitarian argument, explaining that allowing an individual to exercise his freedom of free choice is more beneficial to society than deciding for him what is in his best interests. Dworkin, on the other hand, feels that certain cases require the intervention of either society as a whole or its individual members. He breaks Mill's argument down into two
Money is the driving force behind everything in modern day society. According to Ford, a character in Noah Hawley’s A Conspiracy of Tall Men, money is what keeps society together. “You know what keeps us from sliding back into barbarism? Money. That is the one constant.”(Hawley, 362) Linus, the main character in Hawley’s novel, does not want to be a part of this society because he is afraid of money and what it represents.