1 social welfare and environmentalism under kennedy

Question 1

workers

what did Kennedy do for the workers?

Answer 1

• Area Redevelopment Act 1961: Granted $394m to extend opportunities in states such as West Virginia
  created 26,000 jobs
• raised minimumn wage from $0.25-$1.00 through the minimum wage act 1961
• National highway systen extended creating more jobs

Question 2

workers

drawbacks?

Answer 2

• 350,000 poorly paid workers, including 150,000 laundry workers and other large institutions did not benefit - mostly black americans

Question 3

the elderly

successes?

Answer 3

• ## planned to increase social security taxes by 0.25%

Question 4

the elderly

drawback

Answer 4

• wilbur mills killed off the measure by refusing to give it enough time to be discussed

Question 5

minorities

successes?

Answer 5

• committee on equal employment opportunity allocated a proportion of federal jobs to black americans

Question 6

minorities

drawbacks

Answer 6

• by the end of 1961, little change had taken place in the levels of black american unemployment

Question 7

poor people

successes?

Answer 7

• food stamp programme fed 240,000 people at a cost of $22m annually
• Social Security (amendment) act 1961: expanded elderly and disabled benefits
• he also used his executive powers to focus federal purchasing power on high areas of unemployment and directed the Department of Agriculture to double food distributions for the poor and unemployed:D

Question 8

trade

successes?

Answer 8

- trade expansion act 1962
- cut in tarriffs by 35% between the USA and the EEC

Question 9

education

SUCCESSES

Answer 9

• provided job training for the poorly educated
• 700,000 children got a daily free school meal
• 85,000 more schools recieved fresh milk
• Development and Training Act 1962
• Higher Educational Facilities Act 1963 $14m in grants for graduate schools in STEM subjects

Question 10

education

drawbacks?

Answer 10

catholic schools were excluded from these proposals :(

Question 11

women

successes?

Answer 11

Equal Pay Act 1963

Question 12

women

drawbacks?

Answer 12

first president since 1933 who did not have a woman in his cabinet. And, the EPA did not cover all women..

Question 13

new frontier

what was it? what were it’s priorities?

Answer 13

• Kennedy’s social welfare, environmentalism, and space programmes
  1. first priority was to boost the economy, cutting military spending by 20%.
  2. peace corps… aiding previously colonised countries in their new independence in the hopes that they would grow to love capitalism and the USA

Question 13

environmentalism

acts? national park service? what did this lay the groundwork for? air pollution research

Answer 13

• Clean Air Act 1963 the first legislation on air pollution, limiting pollution emissions from cars and factories
• National park service: Stewart Udall served as the secretary for the interior. In 1964 his book the Quiet Crisis warned of dangers of pollution and threats to the USA’s natural resources
• he acquired 85m acres of land, 20 historical sites, 50 wildlife refuges, and 8 national seashores for the national park service
• laid the groundwork for allowing canyonlands, redwood, north cascades, and guadalupe mountains to become national parks in the following years.
• federal program with the US public health service authorised research into techniques for monitoring and controlling air pollution.

Question 14

unimpressive?

some critics argue Kennedy’s legislative record is actually unimpressive, why is this? (financial aid)

Answer 14

• federal financial aid for elementary and secondary education was REJECTED in 1961.

Question 15

unimpressive?

tax cuts

Answer 15

tax cuts to stimulate the economy was rejected in 1963

Question 16

unimpressive?

civil rights bill

Answer 16

to end Jim Crow Laws in the south was stuck in congress when Kennedy was assassinated:(

Question 17

unimpressive?

department of urban affairs..

Answer 17

failed to get the department of urban affairs and housing to coordinate programmes to halt urban decline

Question 18

unimpressive?

senior citizen healthcare

Answer 18

failed to get senior citizen healthcare to alleviate the poverty from which many of the elderly suffered because of medical bills, rejeced in 1963

Question 19

unimpressive?

summary.. what di he really pass? although, what can he be credited with?

Answer 19

much of what congress passed was not new frontier legislation, but extensions of existing programmes.
- it could be argued kennedy put healthcare, urban decline, civil rights legislation on the national legislative agenda though! :) (deffo bc who else)

Question 20

why was there a need for social welfare and environmentalism programmes?

Answer 20

1. US going through a recession
2. unemployment rose to 6.5%
3. infaltion at 6.3%
4. not all americans benefitted from prosperity. eg. the Appalachian area
5. elderly americans on low income lacked healthcare provision