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Driving Questions Surrounding The Driving Question Of The Great Society

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Starting in the 1960s, President Lyndon B. Johnson envisioned the Great Society to address long-term social problems, including poverty, economic inequality, and lack of social justice in the United States of America. The central question of the Great Society was ‘What do Americans have to do and what does their government have to do about social and economic inequality’. This essay will be about the questions surrounding the ‘driving question’ of the Great Society, its legislative achievements, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, its comparison with the New Deal, conceived by Franklin Roosevelt, and its impact on the American people and their government. The Great Society emerged at a time when the US …show more content…

Like Roosevelt's New Deal, the Great Society expanded the role of government in promoting the welfare of its citizens (Foner 997). Both presidents believed in the power of government intervention to improve lives and ensure economic stability. President Johnson thought of himself in the vein of his hero, Franklin Roosevelt, when regarding the role of the federal government in addressing social and economic problems (Foner 992). Just as Roosevelt’s New Deal saw a greatly expanded state role in the nation’s economy and society (Foner 997), the Great Society witnessed a similar expansion regarding the role of government in securing the general welfare. Both these presidents believed that government power could rescue lives and protect the economic health of the public. Like Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Great Society emphasized government intervention in social and economic life: they both offered new programs that aimed to provide social benefits to people in need and secure the economy (Foner 999). Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid all arrived as a result of the New Deal as well as the Great …show more content…

For it is a legacy of the distinct relationship the American people created with their government, the relationship of social responsibility and social action. The federal government intervention in the public health sphere we find during the COVID-19 pandemic only adds to the government’s ongoing bid for the welfare of its citizens, backed up by mandates to wear masks and vaccines, and an attempt to direct public health conduct by federal fiat and themes that echo the welfare state in the 21st century. The Great Society remains one of the highest documented expressions of the American people’s collective and still vital struggle to mitigate the social and economic forces of inequality. Lyndon Johnson’s broad ambitions, realized in such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, were designed to help his country reach ‘its richest promises of

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To do this they both implemented numerous programs to reach the goal of relief, recovery, and reform. However, they also differed in many ways. While the New Deal’s focus was the economy, the Great Society’s focus was health and education and was more successful than the New Deal. When it came to unemployment rates, during Roosevelt’s presidency it was the entire economy, while for Johnson it was clustered around minorities. In addition Roosevelt did not support civil rights legislation, and Johnson supported and protected civil rights

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During the 1960’s when Lyndon B Johnson was president the Great Society was successful. One example to prove that the Great Society was successful is written in document C by Joseph A Califano Jr. and he states, “Great Society's food stamp program helps feed more than 20 million men,women, and children in more than 8 million households. Since it was launched in 1967, the school breakfast program has provided a daily breakfast to nearly 100 million schoolchildren.” This quote boldly illustrate how amazing the great society is by providing food for the poor. Another great example of how the great society was successful by Joseph A Califano Jr. states, “The Voting Rights Act of 1965. .

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The transition between presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt marked the transformation from a weak, to a strong form of government, which became directly involved in the lives of the people. This was primarily caused by the difference in the executive leaders ideologies, where Hoover was more focused on individual responsibility and capitalism, Roosevelt was more concerned with immediate action based on government intervention. Overall, the New Deal sacrificed the amount of personal responsibility that the people had with their own economic security. The power of the federal government was strengthened, but the long-lasting effects based on the social and economic policies was beneficial for the United States. Herbert Hoover began

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President Lyndon Baines Johnson, John F. Kennedy’s former Vice President, had magnificent aspirations concerning the future welfare of the country. At the University of Michigan’s commencement speech, exactly six months after John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Texas, Johnson spoke of his vision of ‘The Great Society.’ The intent of this vision was to transform the state of the U.S. and build a better, tougher, stronger nation that would be a witness to its own substantial progress through its domestic programs. It would be a nation where the whole society was cared for; it would be a nation where segregation and racism ceased to exist; it would be a nation where all were welcomed to come. He understood the undertaking that awaited him in the

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Roosevelt enacted The New Deal reforms and Johnson aspired to mold the country into The Great Society. Although they bear some minor similarities, the long-lasting effects of the New Deal and the Great

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A mass body of people pointed out what they liked and disliked. Throughout history, one can clearly see change is made through citizen’s inputs that eventually makes an impact on the quality of life. During the Progressive Era, America was portrayed as the “best country” in the world. However, no one bothered to bring up the fact that one out of three people were starving to death or only six out of ten children were attending school due to financial instability in American households. The government was well aware of the poverty issues but they did not make an effort to help the people.

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The Great Society which was a set of domestic political programs in the US created by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 had many goals, but the two most important goals of the reforms were to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. During his speech at the University of Michigan in May 1965, president Johnson first revealed the program in details. At that time, the society was racially divided. Only whites could vote which showed the injustice to black and native americans. The rich people were getting richer with all the advantages and the poor people were left with nothing.

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The Great Society Program was good for so many reasons like the poverty for people has drooped down from 22.2% to 12.6%. Now say that Lyndon B. Johnson have not did this program; then, the poverty percent for people would go up past the years. He also had made this for families that are poor to have their kids have a head and have to start the same time as the kids in a rich family. Lyndon made the food stamp act of 1964. This act

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A great nation consists of its political systems, its freedom, its liberty, and its ability to be led towards economic success. American history is filled with the necessary changes needed to become the ideal of a great nation. Between the Civil War and the Great Depression, America has been able to present a great extent of change through the Freedmen’s Bureau, The Monroe Doctrine, The Johnson-Reed Act, and The National Industrial Recovery Act. These political documents represent the progress America has had toward a more democratic society. Leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt were able to help shape this progress with their ideas that focused on the betterment of the nation.

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President Lyndon B. Johnson once said, “The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all,” in his speech that changed American’s views on society and the outcomes that can occur (“Great Society”).With the death of President Kennedy in November of 1963, it was Johnson’s duty to follow the path of Kennedy’s vision of making America and its future great for everyone. President Johnson named his vision and passion for the future of America that he strived to lead the Great Society(“Great Society”). Johnson’s speech on May 22, 1964 was played out for America and its people to educate the importance to supply our society with wealth, wisdom, and experience to successfully build a country where the struggled labor becomes a value for the

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However, while this is true (African Americans were not helped, unemployment had risen after the federal government stopped subsidising jobs), FDR’s New Deal changed the role of the federal government in American society from a quite passive role to an active one. Through the Great Depression, Hoover had a laissez-faire approach. This meant that the government lets America figure out the dilemma themselves. One of the most important key turning point of the New Deal was the change in the relationship between the government and the nation.

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