presidents Flashcards

1
Q

what were Kennedy’s successes in civil rights under the new frontier?

A

-hired Thurgood Marshall (black civil rights activist) as a federal judge
-suppourting James Meredith in 1962
-introducing the civil rights bill to congress in 1963
-threatening legal action against Louisiana for refusing to fund schools that weren’t segregated

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1
Q

when was kennedy the president?

A

from 1960-1963

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2
Q

what was kennedy’s policy called?

A

the New Frontier

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3
Q

what did Kennedy want as a president?

A

to create a fairer society with greater oppourtunity for all

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4
Q

why did people not entirely like kennedy to start with? (5)

A

-first catholic president
-may argued he was trying to change things to quickly - accused of being socialist
-inexperienced
-southern congressmen disliked his commitment to civil rights
-only narrowly won the election

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5
Q

what did Kennedy do economically under the new frontier?

A

-cut taxes to increase spending and boost the economy
-increased spending on defence and space tech (created jobs)
-increased minimum wage by 25 cents
-$900 million for public works

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6
Q

what social schemes did Kennedy set up?

A

-planned to start Medicare to provide cheaper state health insurance
-Housing Act 1961 to redevelop the inner cities
-social security act 1962 = financial help for elderly and unemployed

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7
Q

why were Kennedy’s reforms limited?

A

his assassination in 1963 limited his reforms

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8
Q

in what years was johnson president?

A

1963-68

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9
Q

why were Johnson’s successes often overshadowed?

A

-the reputation of JFK
-US involvment in the Vietnam War

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10
Q

what was Johnson’s policy called? what did he want to do?

A

-the Great Society
-continue the work of JFK
-war on poverty
-end racial discrimination

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11
Q

what were Johnson’s sucesses?

A

-as he was from Texas he could deal with southern democrats opposition
-more sucessful than any other president at passing bills
-passed the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965)

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12
Q

what did Johnson do about healthcare?

A

Medical Care Act 1965 - attempted to ensure that everyone had access to healthcare through Medicare for the old and Medicaid for the poor

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13
Q

what did Johnson do about education?

A

passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to ensure the quality of education was equal across the US - federal money was used to ensure this

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14
Q

what did Johnson do to improve living conditions in big cities?

A

The Model Cities Act 1966 - provided federal funds for slum clearance and the provision of better services

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15
Q

what did Johnson increase the minimum wage by?

A

15 cents

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16
Q

what were arguments against Johnson’s great society?

A

-republicans said he overspent on welfare and undermined rugged individualism
-accused of not helping inner cities enough (as there were riots in 1967)
-US involvement in Vietnam meant that money that would be spent on the great society had to be spent on war instead

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17
Q

why did LBJ eventually have to cut spending on the Great Society?

A

when he had to pay for the vietnam war

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18
Q

when was Nixon president?

A

1968-74

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19
Q

why was Nixon forced to resign?

A

the Watergate scandal

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20
Q

what was CREEP?

A

the organisation that Nixon set up to get him re-elected using whatever means necessary

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21
Q

when and why were five members of CREEP arrested?

A

-June 1972
-for breaking into Watergate offices (the Democrats HQ)

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22
Q

how did info about the Watergate scandal get out?

A

the Washington Post were the ones who found out that the criminals were from CREEP and that CREEP was funded by the white house

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23
Q

what was Nixon’s reaction to the Watergate scandal getting out?

A

he denied his involvment but admitted that two of his advisors were involved

they resigned

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24
Q

what had Nixon installed in the white house?

A

-he had installed a tape recording system in the white house
-he initially refused to hand over these tapes

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25
Q

did Nixon hand over the tapes right away? elborate.

A

-in 1973 he handed over 7/9 tapes with 18 minutes missing from one
-in 1974 he had to hand over all of the tapes and they revealed his involvment

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26
Q

why did Nixon resign?

A

to avoid impeachment

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27
Q

when did Nixon resign?

A

Aug 1974

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28
Q

what did Ford (the president after Nixon) do?

A

pardoned him of any criminal acts

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29
Q

what were the effects of the Watergate scandal?

A

-damaged Nixon’s rep and the attitude towards politics
-USA was made a laughing stock - the USSR used it as fuel against capitalism (plus it was at the same time they were withdrawing from Vietnam.)
-showed how well the legal system worked
-series of laws passed (privacy act, congressional budget act)

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30
Q

when was Regan president?

A

1981-89

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31
Q

what economic problems did Regan inheret?

A

world recession - factory closures, rising unemploment, inflation and oil shortages

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32
Q

what was Regan’s economic policy called?

A

Reaganomics

33
Q

what was Regan’s economic theory and what did he do as a result?

A

-he believed that wealth trickled down (rich people will spend and this will benefit lower classes) so the government wouldn’t have to spend as much on social welfare programs
-he cut taxes for buissnesses and the wealthy so they could spend more (by $33 billion)
-Medicare benefits were cut
-cut welfare spending by over $20 billion a year

34
Q

what happened as a result of Reganomics?

A

-the gov was getting hardly any income so they coudnt pay for services
-he increased spending especially on defence (which doubled in his presidency) so national debt increased to $1 trillion as gov had to borrow money
-people in all sectors lost their jobs and inflation soared
-sever stock market crash in 1987 (almost as bad as ‘29)

35
Q

what happened in 1987?

A

biggest stock market crash since 1929

36
Q

what happened to Medicare when the US started going barkrupt thanks to Reagan?

A

the benefits introduced by JFK and Johnson were cut

37
Q

What disastrous things happened for the space program during Regans presidency?

A

-challenger exploded killing all seven people on board
- Titan exploded while carrying secret military equipment
-the development of the Star Wars programme was very expensive

38
Q

what two things did Regan oppose?

A

-MLKs bday becoming a national holiday
-abortion

39
Q

when was Bush president?

A

1989-1993

40
Q

What was bush’s reputation?

A

He was a safe pair of hands

41
Q

What did Bush promise but not go through with?

A

He promised to cut taxes but had to go back on this as recession developed

42
Q

What did Bush do economically?

A

-increased direct taxes
-reduced the number of people exempt from tax
-had to cut military spending
-increase taxes on luxury items

43
Q

What level did unemployment reach under Bush’s presidency?

A

7.8% (highest since 1984)

44
Q

How many people were living in poverty in 1992?

A

14.2%

45
Q

What did Bush sign in 1990?

A

The Americans With Disabilities Act (most important anti-discrimination legislation since the civil rights act)

46
Q

What did the Americans With Disabilities Act forbid?

A

Discrimination based on disability in employment, accommodation and transport

47
Q

What was the Clean Air Act of 1990? (Bush)

A

Aimed to reduce smog, acid rain and eliminate emissions of toxic chemicals

48
Q

What did Bush do surrounding drugs?

A

-he promised to tackle the issue of drugs in America
-he gave several billions of dollars to the drug enforcement agency
-this made little impact though

49
Q

What shows that Bush wasn’t successful in dealing with civil rights?

A

There were race riots in LA, Atlanta, Birmingham etc in 1992 following the arrest and beating of Rodney King

50
Q

When was Clinton president?

A

1992-2001

51
Q

What was Clinton’s political standing?

A

He was a democrat

52
Q

What were two main features of Clinton’s domestic policies?

A

-reduce deficit/move away from Reaganomics
-welfare and social reforms

53
Q

What did Clinton manage to achieve by 1998?

A

He balanced the budget for the first time since 1969

54
Q

What were some indicators that Clinton was a successful president?

A

-balanced the budget
-value of the stock market tripled
-unemployment at lowest rate in 30 years
-high levels of home ownership

55
Q

What was the level of home ownership in Clinton’s presidency?

A

67.7%

56
Q

How was the US export market boosted in Clinton’s presidency?

A

The North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico

57
Q

Give an example of how employment rose in Clinton’s presidency

A

22 mil jobs created in less than 8 years

58
Q

What two groups found themselves more employed in Clinton’s presidency?

A

-African Americans and Hispanics
-women (highest level in 40 years)

59
Q

What did Clinton pass in 1993?

A

Family and Medical Leave Act as previously Americans had to take unpaid leave to look after their newborn or sick family member

60
Q

When and what was the whitewater scandal that Clinton was involved with?

A

-1996
-two of his former business associates were convicted of multiple fraud over a housing development in Whitewater

61
Q

Was there ever any evidence that Clinton was involved in whitewater?

A

No.

62
Q

Who found proof of Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky?

A

Kenneth Starr (who lead the Whitewater enquiry)

63
Q

Why was Clinton impeached?

A

He lied under oath about not having the affair and was therefore impeached for the obstruction of justice in 1998

64
Q

When did senate acquit Clinton?

A

1999 (found him not guilty of his impeachment charges)

65
Q

When was Clinton made president?

A

1992

66
Q

What things demonstrated that the economy prospered under Clinton’s presidency?

A

-he balanced the budget for the first time since 1969
-value of the stock market tripled
-highest level of home ownership in the history of the US
-unemployment was at its lowest in 30 years

67
Q

How did Clinton increase home ownership?

A

Reduced interest rates so families could buy houses (67.7% home ownership)

68
Q

What did Clinton sign to stimulate the US export markets?

A

The free trade agreement between US, Canada and Mexico that set up a free trade area between the three countries

69
Q

When did Clinton sign the family and medical leave act and why?

A

-1993
-over 20 million Americans had taken unpaid leave to care for a newborn or sick family member

70
Q

What did Clinton try to pass but got refused by Congress?

A

-an ambitious attempt to introduce a system of universal health insurance
-the Health Security Bill was attacked by the insurance and American Medical Association
-was therefore rejected by congress

71
Q

What did Clinton set up to decrease the infant mortality rate ?

A

-the Clinton Administration
-expanded efforts to give mothers and newborns with health care

72
Q

Was the Clinton Administration successful?

A

By 2000, 82% of all mothers receieved anti natal care

The infant mortality rate dropped from 8.2 per 1000 in ‘92 to 7.2 per 1000 in ‘98

73
Q

What scandal was Clinton involved with in 1996?

A

The whitewater scandal

74
Q

What was the whitewater scandal?

A

Two of Clinton’s former business associates were convicted of fraud over a housing development in white water

No conclusive evidence against Clinton and Hillary

75
Q

What did Kenneth Starr, the man leading the whitewater enquiry, find evidence of?

A

Clinton had been having an affair with Monica Lewinsky, a member of the White House staff

He had denied any affair so was forced to make an apology

76
Q

What were the consequences of Clinton’s affair?

A

He was impeach for obstruction of justice in 1998

In 1999 however, Senate acquitted him of impeachment charges

77
Q

What did Reagan do about aids?

A

-initially dismissive
-by 1989, the federal government was spending $2.3 billion on reaserch

78
Q

Who were the reporters of the Washington post that uncovered watergate?

A

Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

79
Q

When did Reagan announce a ‘war on drugs’ and what did he create as a result?

A

-1982
-in 1988, he created the Office of National Drug Control Policy to coordinate drug-related policy throughout the government