The Great Society Dbq Essay

Before a Joint Session of Congress, a new President Lyndon Johnson gave speech to Americans. “ All I have I would have given gladly not to be standing here today,” he said.In 1963, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy gave shock to the United States and the world. In November 22, 1963, Johnson was sworn in as President on the Air Force One. To succeed the legacy of Kennedy, Johnson practiced his new program, the Great Society, in 1964-65, in order to reduce poverty, and to provide safety and to promote a better quality of life in the U.S. However, while he was practicing many programs during the Great Society, many people thought the government was caring people too much, therefore it created “welfare state.” Because the government

During Johnson’s presidency, the federal government significantly extended its domestic responsibilities in attempt to transform the nation to what Johnson called the “Great Society,” in which poverty and racial intolerance ceased to exist. A previously unsurpassed amount of legislation was passed during this time; numerous laws were passed to protect the environment, keep consumers safe, reduce unfairness in education, improve housing in urban areas, provide more assistance to the elderly with health care, and other policies to improve welfare. Johnson called for a “War on Poverty,” and directed more funds to help the poor; government spending towards the poor

The Social Security Act of 1965 established Medicare and Medicaid which are health insurance programs for the poor and elderly people of the United States. It is funded by a tax on the earnings of employees and contributions by the employers. “It is now broadly apparent that those who opposed Social Security in 1935 and Medicare in 1965 were wrong in their fears…” (Nicholas Kristof  “The Wrong Side of History”).

Lyndon Baines Johnson introduced the Great Society, a strategic plan of action to propose environmental cleanup, decreasing poverty, and helping to further fund education during his state of the union address in 1965 in a poetic manner. He spoke of it as a destination that the American people would work toward. Johnson’s address gave many Americans hope and faith in a better world after feeling so much pain following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Americans were anxious to move forward as a nation in support of the changed Johnson proposed.

In 1964, Lyndon Johnson set out to enact the “Great Society” program in order to expand upon and complete Roosevelt’s New Deal. This was a liberal program set up to ensure that the government staked more claim in aiding the citizens of the United States. This program touched on issues such as civil rights, education, and health care which were prevalent issues at the time, and that still have a major impact on society today. John Andrew lays out in detail in the book Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society these issues, as well as others. He gives each major topic a chapter, and goes into great detail of how he feels Johnson set out to change the American political and social structure.

Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society altered the character and scope of the federal government by making a significant statement by the social programs he put into to place and by sending help to the public in order to battle poverty after his declaration that he had begun a war on poverty. It directly acknowledged that the American people needed help and that help was in the process of coming. The character of the

The Medicare and Medicaid programs were signed into law on July 30, 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson ("Centers for Medicare," 2012). Before this decision was even taken into consideration, many other healthcare reforms had previously been introduced by earlier presidents, but failed to pass the Senate. Healthcare issues have always been on board for the United States, but during this time the elderly and the poor were desperately screaming for help. The government had no choice but to come up with a solution to their healthcare needs; these two

The Enlightenment was a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasizing reason and individualism rather than tradition. The French Revolution gave rise to Enlightenment ideas as for it gave people a language to articulate injustices. During the time of the French Revolution, there were many social conflicts that cause individuals to question the ideas of the Enlightenment and present their views and thoughts of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was initially seen as positive effect; however, the social conflicts and the amount of violence and events that occurred within the French Revolution resulted in people challenging the Enlightenment views of society, politics, and human nature. Documents two, three, four, five, six, ten, and eleven are representations of how the social conflicts caused people to seek freedom and better privileges, and uses their view of Enlightenment to achieve their goal.

President Johnson recognized America’s need of support from the government. As it is said in Doc. A “the nations aged now face another aspect of insecurity.”, which is the high costs of healthcare. Abraham Ribicoff, secretary of health, education, and welfare, testified before the House of Representatives in 1961 “with life spans lengthened, with medical science breaking into undreamed realms of discovery”, this statements makes one wonder if the government will aid the older generation as society progresses? Though Johnson was not in office during this time, his later creation of medicare, which survives to this day, provides the elderly with necessary funds to cover costly pharmaceuticals. Not only does medicare aid the elderly but is a form of federal welfare assistance. As stated before, Johnson recognized the

President Kennedy and his successor, President Johnson, both wished for a more prosperous country, yet took varying approaches to fixing the problems that plagued their nation. President Kennedy said “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” demonstrating President Kennedy’s wish for the people to contribute to their country, not wanting to depend on their government for basic needs. President Johnson, on the other hand, promoted a set of initiatives similar to the New Deal, attempting to wage a “war on poverty,” which he called the “Great Society.” While he didn’t deal with the ongoing Vietnam War very effectively, the minority protections- while not received well- and the war on poverty produced

To add on, this gave people that could not afford lawyers the right to defend themselves. As a result, Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society has really shaped America to what it is

In 1963, when President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was shot in the streets of Dallas, Texas, Lyndon Baines Johnson was elected into office. Grief-stricken Americans suffered greatly from Kennedy’s assassination, while Johnson used the shock of tragedy to his advantage. Johnson was extremely crafty, and little to almost none noticed how he used grief to his advantage. Johnson compelled Americans that Kennedy would have wanted the Great Society if he was still president, and people were captivated by his words, and swayed into action. Numerous things, both beneficial and detrimental came out of the Great Society. The Great Society was Johnson’s cure to America’s problems.

A landmark change in providing for the elderly came in 1935 with Franklin D. Roosevelt 's Social Security Act. While this provided aid to people with disabilities and mothers with children, aid was also mainly intended for the elderly. The premise of the act was that an individual would pay into the government through the years that they worked and upon retiring that person would receive benefits. Elderly Americans relied on this system to help pay for expenses that they might incur after they reached an age where they could no

When Lyndon Johnson went into office more than 60% of the voters supported Medicare (HNN). With large gains in both houses Johnson was swayed to push forward with the Medicare act in 1965 Congress passed Medicare and the Social Security act that included the health benefits and Medicaid which was provided to lower income Americans (HNN).

Great society was a reform program and an idealistic call promoted by Lyndon Johnson in 1964 for improved environmental, conservation, racial, educational, and health programs. Johnson wanted to build a better American by government 's help and funding. In 1965, Congress passed many Great Society measures, including Medicare, civil rights legislation, and federal aid to education. It represented government began to reform the society and started to play a more significant role in the country.