The Affluent Society

• Written in 1958 by John Kenneth Galbraith

• Criticized American consumerism and stated that more money should be devoted to public education

• Sought to clearly outline the manner in which the post–World War II United States was becoming wealthy in the private sector but remained poor in the public sector, lacking social and physical infrastructure, and perpetuating income disparities

• Credited with popularizing the term "conventional wisdom"

Ralph Nader

• His book Unsafe at Any Speed protested the flaws of car safety

• An American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes

• Ran in the election of 2000

John F. Kennedy

• A Democrat and a Roman Catholic

• He was popular because of his good looks and his attractive wife

• An American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination near the end of his third year in office

• The youngest person to assume the presidency by election

New Frontier

• 1960 - Created by JFK

• Used by Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech in the 1960 United States presidential election to the Democratic National Convention at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as the Democratic slogan to inspire America to support him

• Unemployment benefits were expanded, aid was provided to cities to improve housing and transportation, funds were allocated to continue the construction of a national highway system started under Eisenhower, a water pollution control act was passed to protect the country's rivers and streams, and an agricultural act to raise farmers' incomes was made law

Détente

• Implemented by JFK

• The relaxation of strained relations, especially political, by verbal communication

• Focused on the US existing peacefully alongside the USSR

• Contributed to the thawing of Cold War tensions

Peace Corps

• 1961

• Implemented by JFK

• A volunteer organization that sends volunteers to help developing nations

• Assists developing countries by providing skilled workers in fields such as education, health, entrepreneurship, women's empowerment, and community development

Bay of Pigs

• 1961

• A failed landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles who opposed Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution, covertly financed and directed by the U.S. government

• Took place at the height of the Cold War, and its failure influenced relations between Cuba, the United States, and the Soviet Union

• Its failure severely hurt JFK’s reputation

Cuban Missile Crisis

• 1962

• A 13-day political and military standoff in October 1962 over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores

• The U.S. agreed to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s (1894-1971) offer to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade Cuba

• Prevented nuclear warfare

Kennedy Assassination

• President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas

• Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson automatically became president upon Kennedy's death

Lyndon B. Johnson

• Won the Election of 1964 alongside Barry Goldwater

• His domestic policy was aimed at expanding civil rights, public broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education and the arts, urban and rural development, and public services

• Signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968

• Escalated the Vietnam War

Great Society

• 1965 - Created by Lyndon B. Johnson

• Included civil rights legislation, the War on Poverty, Head Start, Medicare and Medicaid, consumer safety, etc.

• When more money for the Vietnam War was needed, funding for the Great Society decreased

Affirmative Action

• 1961

• Race was removed as a factor during hiring processes, making the playing field more equal

• More African Americans were now included in hiring and promotions

War on Poverty

• 1964 - Created by Lyndon B. Johnson

• Helped the underprivileged break the poverty cycle by helping them develop job skills, further their education and find work

• Tasked state and local governments with creating work training programs for up to 200,000 men and women

Barry Goldwater

• A Republican and anti-communist

• Was against presidential programs

• Wanted the US to play an aggressive and offensive role in the Vietnam War

Medicare & Medicaid

• 1965 - Created by Lyndon B. Johnson

• Medicare is a federal program that provides health coverage if you are 65+ or under 65 and have a disability, no matter your income

• Medicaid is a state and federal program that provides health coverage if you have a very low income

• Is routinely expanded to help as many people as possible

Head Start Program

• 1965 - Created by Lyndon B. Johnson

• Designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs

• Enthusiastically received by education, child development specialists, community leaders, and parents across the nation

Fiat Currency

• 1971

• A government-issued currency that is not backed by a commodity such as gold

• The Coinage Act of 1965 eliminated silver from American coins

• Fiat money gives central banks greater control over the economy because they can control how much money is printed

Silent Spring

• 1962 - Written by Rachel Carson

• A true story using a composite of examples drawn from many real communities where the use of DDT had caused damage to wildlife, birds, bees, agricultural animals, domestic pets, and even humans

• Believed that humans were misusing powerful, persistent, chemical pesticides before knowing the full extent of their potential harm to the whole biota

Democratic Convention in Chicago

• 1968

• Held during a year of riots, political turbulence, and mass civil unrest

  • The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in April of that year inflamed racial tensions to an unprecedented level

• As delegates flowed into the International Amphitheatre to nominate a Democratic Party presidential candidate, tens of thousands of protesters swarmed the streets to rally against the Vietnam War and the political status quo

• Vice President Herbert Humphrey received the presidential nomination

Stonewall Rebellion

• 1969

• New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in Greenwich Village in New York City

• Sparked a riot among bar patrons and neighborhood residents as police roughly hauled employees and patrons out of the bar, leading to six days of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement outside the bar

• Resulted in more LGBTQ+ activism

Warren Court

• Earl Warren served as the Chief Justice

• Changed the application and interpretation of the Constitution

• Focused on creating an equal society and guaranteeing civil liberties to all

• Brought an end to de jure racial segregation in the United States through Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

• 1954

• A landmark 1954 Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional

• Helped establish the precedent that “separate-but-equal” education and other services were not, in fact, equal at all

• Southern schools protested against the result of the court case

Escobedo v. Illinois

• 1964

• Didn’t let Danny Escobedo talk to his lawyer while being questioned

• The court ruled that as soon as someone is in the custody of law enforcement, he or she has a Sixth Amendment right to speak to an attorney

Miranda v. Arizona

• 1966

• Didn’t inform Ernesto Miranda of his rights

• The court ruled that if a confession was obtained before the Miranda rights are read to someone, their confession would be unusable in the court of law

BIG PICTURE

• Kennedy administration - Foreign affairs + Progressive domestic agenda

• Johnson administration - Great Society (domestic reform)

• Presidential programs → Conservative backlash

• Cold War - Wars + nuclear weapons

• Warren Court - Civil rights issues