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Economic Expansion
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill of Rights / GI Bill), made money available to send former WWII soldiers to school. This bill raised educational levels and stimulated the construction industry; this helped to create the economic expansion that started in the late 1940s. -
The Struggle for Civil Rights
JFK had gained the black vote by stating that he would pass civil rights legislation, but he was slow to pass legislation during his presidency he didn't want to lose support from southern Congressmen).In 1960, groups of Freedom Riders in the South tried to end segregation in facilities serving interstate bus passengers. When southern officials did nothing to stop violence that had erupted at these protests, federal marshals were dispatched to protect the freedom riders. -
Stepping into the Vietnam Quagmire
In 1961, Kennedy increased the number of "military advisors" in South Vietnam to protect Diem (president of South Vietnam) from the communists. -
Cuban Confrontations
In 1961, President Kennedy signed the Alliance for Progress, which was essentially the Marshall Plan for Latin America. Its primary goal was to help the Latin American countries close the gap between the rich and the poor, thus quieting communist politicians. Results were disappointing as America's money did not impact Latin America's social problems. -
The struggle for civil rights 2
Martin Luther King, Jr. launched a campaign against discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama, the most segregated big city in America. Civil rights marchers were repelled by police with attack dogs and high-pressure water hoses. Kennedy delivered a speech to the nationin which he dedicated himself to finding a solution to the racial problem. Martin Luther King, Jr. led 200,000 black and white demonstrators on a peaceful March on Washington in support of the proposed new civil rights legislation. -
Killing of JFK
On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was shot and killed as he was riding in an open limousine in Dallas, Texas. The alleged gunman was Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald was shot and killed by self-appointed avenger, Jack Ruby. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office, retaining most of Kennedy's cabinet. Kennedy was praised more for his ideals than what he had actually achieved. -
The LBJ Brand on the Presidency
President Johnson convinced Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, banning racial discrimination in most private facilities open to the public. It strengthened the federal government's power to end segregation in schools and other public places. It also created the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to eliminate discrimination in hiring (race, national origin, gender). -
Battling for Black Rights
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave the federal government more power to enforce school-desegregation orders and to prohibit racial discrimination in public accommodations and employment.
P Johnson realized the problem that few blacks were registered to vote. The 24th Amendment, passed in 1964, abolished the poll tax in federal elections. In response to racial violence across the South, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which sought to prohibit minorities from being disenfranchised -
Killing of heroes
Malcolm X was an African-American Muslim minister who rallied black separatism. In 1965, he was shot and killed by a rival Nation of Islam.
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed by a sniper in Memphis, Tennessee. Black voter registration eventually increased, and by the late 1960s, several hundred blacks held elected positions in the South. -
The Great Society Congress
Congress passed many bills in support of the Great Society plan. In the War on Poverty, Congress gave more money to the Office of Economic Opportunity.In regards to the Great Society plan, LBJ's big four legislative achievements were: aid to education, medical care for the elderly and poor, immigration reform, and a new voting rights bill. Johnson gave educational aid to students, not schools. In 1965, Congress created Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor