History 2301E Lecture 24: March 20 LBJ and Vietnam
2 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lyndon Baines Johnson and the Great Society
March 20, 2018
- 1963-1969
- Unfortunately, largely blamed for Vietnam, in the shadow of JFK
- Very liberal southern democrat
- Relatively poor family
- Teacher before getting into politics – taught in poor black neighbourhoods
- Joined the New Deal administration in his early 20s
o Worked in a youth new deal education program
- Gets married – always called Lady Bird Johnson
o From a rich Texas family
o LBJ is now rich and can move into public service
- “The Johnson Style”
o Big, tall guy – used his physicality to intimidate people – hold onto someone until
they changed their minds
- Photographic memory – knew all the secrets and scandals of Washington, used them to
gain power
- Kennedy chooses LBJ as his Vice President
o Hated each other
o Usually sent abroad as VP
Had to deal with poverty in America
- Tackle it systematically
- Harvest of Shame, CBS
o Poverty in farming communities
- Sociologist Michael Harrington – The Other American, 1962.
o Real poverty problem in the US
o Hidden, socially invisible
o Stats about poverty
▪ 1/5 (35 000 000) of Americans lived under the poverty line
• 70% white
• 50% of the black population
o These people don’t have a spokesperson (like MLK for black people)
o Also invisible because of where they lived
- Journalists begin to document poor areas/houses/people
- Needed to examine why people were poor
- Beginning of the idea of the cycle of poverty
o Health costs
o Appalling housing standards
▪ Ghettos overrun by rats who carried disease
▪ Adds to illnesses
▪ Lack of aspirations
▪ Stress/mental distress
- LBJ declares war on poverty
o Mobilize the government and resources to fight poverty
- The Economic Opportunity Act, August 1964
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
o Training programs for skills for jobs
o Community programs – every area had its own issues
o Increase welfare for mothers with dependent children and the disabled
- Radical changes that LBJ was attempting
1964 Election
- Conservative challenge to LBJ
- Barry Goldwater (republican) – father of modern conservatism
o Sets stage for Reagan and Nixon
o Jewish Southerner
- Opposition to the New Deal and federal intervention
- Wanted to end the war in Vietnam with atomic bombs
- Was saying the wrong things to the wrong audiences
- Johnson picked up on the nuclear bomb issue
o Focuses on being a “peace candidate”
o “Won’t send Americans to fight in the rice patties of Asia”
o TV commercial
▪ Cute little girl, pick flower petals, nuclear bomb goes off in her eye
▪ Vote for me or you will dies
- Greatest landslide vote in history – 90% of electoral vote
- For the first time, the deep south voted for the Republican
The Great Society
- LBJ’s war on poverty
- Continue Economic Opportunity Act
- Targets issue of medical costs
o Increases funding for hospitals
o Increases funding for doctors and nurses
o Mental health and addiction facilities
- Medicare for anyone over 65 – national health care
- Medicaid for the poor
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964
o Federal government intervention
o Racist southern republican tried to kill the bill by adding something he thought
would kill it, added a part called Title Vii
▪ Gender equality in education
▪ Passes, now women have equal rights in education
- The Voting Rights Act of 1965
o Protect voters from violence
o MLK was there – good allies
- The Warren Court
o Liberal activist court
o Brown in 1954
o No longer illegal to have communist sympathies
o Calls school prayer illegal
o Legalizes birth control (pill for married women)
o Interracial marriage – the Lovings
o The Miranda ruling – 1966
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Unfortunately, largely blamed for vietnam, in the shadow of jfk. Teacher before getting into politics taught in poor black neighbourhoods. Joined the new deal administration in his early 20s: worked in a youth new deal education program. Gets married always called lady bird johnson: from a rich texas family, lbj is now rich and can move into public service. The johnson style : big, tall guy used his physicality to intimidate people hold onto someone until they changed their minds. Photographic memory knew all the secrets and scandals of washington, used them to gain power. Kennedy chooses lbj as his vice president: hated each other, usually sent abroad as vp. Harvest of shame, cbs: poverty in farming communities. Needed to examine why people were poor. Beginning of the idea of the cycle of poverty: health costs, appalling housing standards, ghettos overrun by rats who carried disease, adds to illnesses, lack of aspirations, stress/mental distress.
