USA Topic 4 Flashcards
What was the New Frontier
Programme of reform and change to make the USA a fairer and more equal society
What opposition did JFK face?
His position wasn’t as strong as president as he only won by a narrow margin
Older members of Congress thought he was too young and inexperienced
Southern congressmen didn’t like his focus on equal rights
He was the first Catholic president which created suspicion among older Protestants
What did the New Frontier do for civil rights?
5 federal judges appointed
Forced Louisiana to fund schools which weren’t segregated
Introduced a bill to give black people equality in housing and education but this was defeated in congress
What did the New Frontier do for the economy?
JFK deliberately didn’t balance the budget to increase economic growth and employment
Introduced a general tax cut
More spending on space tec, defence and public works. Grants given to high tech companies to train workers
What did the New Frontier do for social reform?
Plans to increase minimum wage from $1 to $1.25 an hour and to start Medicare(health insurance)
Manpower and Training Act offered retraining for long term unemployed.
Housing Act provided cheap loans for redevelopment of inner cities.
What did the Great Society Plan do for the economy
Cut taxes to give more money to spend and create more jobs
Improved railways and highways
Goods had to be labelled fairly and clearly and people could exchange and return faulty goods
What did the Great Society plan do for civil rights?
Civil Right Act banned discrimination in public places and set up Equal Opportunity Commission to implement the law
Interracial marriage made completely legal
Who made the Great Society Plan?
Lyndon Johnson
What did the Great Society plan do for social reform
Medical Care Act provided Medicare for older people and those in poverty
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Model Cities Act
Minimum wage goes from $1.25 to 1.40 an hour
New schemes to help those in poverty
What did the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 1965 do?
Provided first ever major federal support for state education. Ensured that education in all states was equal.
What did the Model Cities Act do?
Urban renewal in the centre of big cities, federal funds for slum clearance and provision of better services
What were the oppositions to the Great Society?
Republicans thought Johnson was wasting money
People thought he didn’t do enough to tackle the problems of inner cities
The costly war of Vietnam made him unpopular
When was Nixon elected ?
1950
When did the Watergate Scandal begin?
1972
What happened in the Watergate Scandal
Nixon set up CREEP to break into the Watergate offices of the Democrat party and plant bugging devices. They were arrested.
