Johnson Complete Flashcards
What political experience had Johnson acquired by 1964?
- he won a seat in the House of Representatives in 1930
- Won a seat in the Senate after WW2
- Ran against Kennedy for the Democrat nomination but Kennedy chose him as his running mate in the ‘60 election and VP after
When did LBJ take over as President?
After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963
How was Johnson able to get his way?
He used intimidation, for example the ‘Johnson treatment’
How many pieces of legislation did Johnson pass as President?
60
What did Johnson use far less than Kennedy to govern?
Executive Orders
How did Johnson continue Kennedy’s domestic policy foucs, what were the names of his policies/
Great Society and War on Poverty
What issues did the Great Society address?
Poverty and inequality
Describe Johnson’s 1964 election victory.
A complete landslide
What did Johnson’s success in the 1964 election mean that he had for his policies?
His policies had a clear mandate
By 1976, what % of Americans were using Medicare and Medicaid?
20%
What did Johnson persuade Congress to pass to coordinate the war on poverty?
the Economic Opportunity Act and an Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO)
How had Johnson’s anti-poverty legislation been successful by 1965?
- 44 states had anti-poverty legislation
- 53 job corps centres were created
- over 4 million were recieiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
What aided Johnson to be able to pass the Social Security Act of 1965, creating Medicare and medicaid?
Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress
Who was Medicare meant to help? WHo was Medicaid meant to help?
Medicare - providing normally unaffordable treatment to the elderly
Medicaid - providing normally unaffordable treatment to the very poor
What did COngress agree to with the federal expenditure on education?
They agreed to double it to $8bn a year
Which acts were passed in 1965 which directed funds towards poorer states for education?
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act
How had Johnson’s War on Poverty succeeded?
There were 15 million fewer poor families in ‘68 than there had been in ‘59
What did the Fair Housing Act do and when was it passed? Was it successful?
1968, it was designed to end discrimination in the sale and rental of housing, but it failed because of white resistance
Between 1965 and 1973, how much money was spent on the war on poverty and how much was spent on VIetnam?
$15.5bn on the War on Poverty, $120bn on Vietnam
Describe the economy under the first two years of LBJ?
He pushed through JFK’s proposed tax cut giving him an extra $4-5bn to spned in his first 2 years. GNP rose by 9% and inflation was low at 1.4%
Why were Southerners suspicious of LBJ after Kennedy’s death?
He had refused to sign the Southern Manifesto
What was LBJ seen as when it came to the economy?
A ‘safe pair of hands’
How did the economy become a problem for LBJ from 1967?
In ‘67 the federal budget deficit prompted Johnson and Congress to raise taxes and by 1968 the deficits and inflation weakened the dollar, unemployment was rising and 60% of Americans viewed the high cost of living as their major concern
How many advisers were there in Vietnam when Johnson became President?
17000
What did the SCLC and NAACP organise in ‘64?
Freedom Rides and Sit Ins
Why did Johnson continue the uS involvement in Vietnam?
- containment and domino theory
- Kennedy administration had collueded in assassination of Diem
- Continuing the Kennedy legacy
- Did not want to be first President to lose a war
Who reported that the war was unwinnable after the Tet Offesnive?
Walter Cronkite - a famous broadcast journalist who was known as ‘the most trusted man in American’
What the Northern liberal Democrats worried about with LBJ after Kennedy’s death?
Worried Johnson had southern values
What did the North Vietnamese and Vietcong launch in January 1968 against South Vietnam?
The Tet Offensive
How did LBJ honour the legacy of Knnedy?
He continued his policies including the tax cut, the civil rights bill and the New Frontier -> Great Society. The NASA launch centre in Florida was named after him
When did Operation Rolling Thunder begin?
Feb ‘65
By 1968, how many American ground troops were there in Vietnam?
535,000
How many Americans approved of Rolling Thunder?
67%
Who was the commander of American troops in Vietnam?
William Westmoreland
What ws the Freedom Summer and when was it?
‘64 - A project to increase black voter registration helped by over 700 mostly white volunteers
How did LBJ increase US involvement in Vietnam?
the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964 - gave President Johnson authority to increase U.S. involvement in the war between North and South Vietnam.
When were there US troops in Vietnam?
March ‘65
How had the Vietnam war ruined Johnson’s presidency?
By 1968, his approval had fallen below 40% and he decided not to run in the ‘68 election
Who was assassinated in February 1965?
Malcolm X
How many of America’s 40 allies sent troops to help in Vietnam?
4
What did the 1964 Civil Rights Act actually do?
It gave the federal government the legal tools to end de jure segregation in the South and prohibited discrimination in public place, furthered school desegregation and established an Equal Employment Commission
Who was the biggest international critic of the Vietnam War and what did he do?
Charles de Gualle - President of France
- He repeatedly assured other European nations that America could not be counted on
- He withdrew from NATO in 1966
- Along with West Germany, established economic links to the Soviet Bloc
How had America’s ‘special relationship’ with Britain suffered from the Vietnam War?
British PM Wilson privately criticised the war
Who pressured LBJ to sign JFK’s civil rights bill?
Martin Luther King
How was the role of MLK decreasing in 1966?
He targeted Chicago in ‘66, but the campaign failed and Chicago mayo Richard Daley clashed with MLK and blamed him for causing $2million in damages and only 30,000 supporters turned up to a rally where over 100,000 were expected
What was the worst day of violenece by the authorities in the Selma March known as?
Bloody Sunday
What did the ‘64 Act not help?
Black voting
What did the Selma March encourage Congress to pass?
The 1965 Voting Rights Act
Who was the Sheriff of Selma were King targeted for a protest?
Jim Clark
What did King organise with the SCLC in 1965?
The Selma March to draw attention to voting rights.
What did the ‘65 Voting Rights Act do?
Abolished literacy tests and made anyone working in voting offices government employees
How has the Voting Rights Act successful by 1966?
All but 4 southern states had over 50% of their black population registered to vote
Why were many black Americans radicalised in the 60s?
The combination of Malcolm X, ghetto problems and disillusionment with white America
What did the 1968 Civil Rights Act do?
Outlawed racial discrimination in housing
How did Johnson respond to the riots?
They angered him and he commissioned the ‘Kerner’s Report’
When did 1000 of Columbia Univeristy’s students protest the Uniersity’s involvement in weapons research?
1968
Who criticised King’s campaign in Selma?
SNCC criticised King for creating ‘embittered cities’
When was MLK assassinated and what did this spark?
1968, sparking riots
What did the Kerner Report say and when was it?
1968 It blamed riots on poliice practices, unemployment and inadequate housing
What did 1965-68 see across American ghettos?
Riots
When was the Detroit riot, a city that had previously seen racial harmony? What happened?
1967, 40 died and 2000 injured. Johnson had to send in federal troops to restore order
Which was the first ghetto riot and what did it lead to (deaths/damage)?
Watts, LA. It led to 34 deaths, 3,500 arrests and $40million of damage
How did the hippie movement grow under Johnson?
There was a growing counterculture movement which was furthered by music, film and art
What motivated students to protest in the 60s?
- student numbers had increased, found safety in numbers
- they resented college authorities treating them like children
- the civil rights movement provided inspiration and practice
- they opposed the Vietnam War
What was the first significant student protest?
The Berkley Free Speech Movement in 1964, campaigning to allow political activity on campus
Which books sparked a growing feminist movement?
Sex and the Single Girl (Brown ‘62)
The Feminine Mystique (Betty Friedan, ‘63)
How many hippies were there in America according to the Times magazine?
300,000
How did many Americans still support interbention in Vietnam in 1968?
49% favoured invading North Vietnam
What feminist organisation was set up in 1966?
NOW - the National Organisation of Women
What anti-war protest was organised in 1967?
Stop The Draft week, over 100,000 attended
What happened to university students in the 1960s?
They became increasingly politicised, especially at university
What notable events were organised by hippies?
1967 ‘Summer of Love’ in San Francisco and the Woodstock music festival in 1969 that attracted 400,000 people
What does MOBE stand for?
The Mobilisation Committee to End the War in Vietnam (idk why the letters dont make sense)
What did MOBE organise in 1967?
Rallies attended by 200,000 in NYC and by 50,000 in San Francisco
What tactics did NOW employ?
- litigation
- political pressures eg petitioning politicians for reproductive rights
- public information campaigns
- protests
What event was targeted by more militant feminists in 1968?
the Miss America Pageant
Who was the leader of SNCC in 1966?
Stokely Carmichael
When were bans for contraception removed?
1965
What did black campigners feel wasn’t working after the ‘67-68 riots?
Non-violence
What did SNCC do in 166 and CORE did in 1968?
Expelled white members
What was the SNCC’s chant of ‘freedom now’ replaced with?
‘black power’
Where was the ‘Black Power’ chant born?
The 1966 Meredith March
How did SNCC have to change their name?
They had to replace non-violent with national
What was a famous example of the black Power salute being used?
Two African Americans raised a black-gloved fist when on the podium at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Why did the Black Power movement soon decline?
Hostile authorities, disagreements over aims, the expelling of white members had limited their funding and many had been killed or imprisoned
How did the number of soldiers drafted increase between ‘65 and ‘67?
5000 a month in ‘65 to 50,000 a month in ‘67
What did the increased number of soldiers being drafted lead to?
A huge march in Washington ‘67 where 70,000 clashed with police
