Great Society:
· Progressive expansion
o Biggest since New Deal
· “war on poverty”
· OEO
o Network of federal programs to attack poverty and social issues faced by Americans
· Neighborhood youth corps
o Work for 2 million young people
o Low paying jobs, dead end
· Job corps
o Gives vocational training for people that need it
o Manufacturing, welding, etc.
o Some jobs are obsolete with new technologies coming out
· VISTA
o Volunteers in Service to America
o Domestic version of Peace Corps
o Community service
· Community Action Plan (CAP)
o Urban areas are experiencing plight
§ People are now leaving to go to suburbs
o Helps people in poor communities to mobilize
§ Give them a voice politically
· Medicare
o Established in 1965
o Healthcare for elderly
§ Social medicine
· Expanded social security benefits
· Look at page 1062
· ***spending on social welfare jumped***
o Departure from what other presidents were doing
§ From foreign to domestic
· Great Society only did a fraction of what it was meant to do
o Sometimes aid didn’t go to where it belonged
o Spent too much money & time on the war
1968:
· Vietnam war officially becomes unpopular
o Majority opposes it
· Tet offensive
o Lunar new year for Vietnamese
o Vietcong launch offensive to strike urban areas in South Vietnam
o US succeeded by…
§ We stopped it convincingly
o US failed by…
§ Civilian casualties are very high
§ US citizens are against it
§ No advances
§ Credibility gap is shattered
· Claimed that the war was pretty much over
· Media shows people in despair, fighting, etc
o US military asks Congress for more troops
§ They deny
· 1968 election
o LBJ starts running
§ Doesn’t do well in primaries
§ Decides not to run again
o Robert Kennedy
§ Appeared to be a strong candidate
§ Progressive
§ Attorney general
§ Against Vietcong
· Goes against LBJ
§ Assassinated
· Sirhan Sirhan
o Eugene McCarthy
§ Popular amongst youth
§ Anti-war
§ Once delegates saw that Robert Kennedy wasn’t there, LBJ gone…
· Huburt Humphrey
· Democratic party divided
Nixon Presidency:
· Southern strategy
o Democratic party split over Vietnam
§ LBJ takes blame
o Johnson signs Civil Rights Act of 1964
§ “delivered South to Republicans for a very long time”
o Sunbelt communities
§ Modern agricultural techniques
§ Southern and Midwestern
o Richard Nixon doesn’t win the deep south
§ George Wallace wins in 5 states
· 13% of popular votes
o “just and honorable peace in Asia” –Nixon
§ Wins presidency
o Henry Kissinger
§ Part of the national security council
§ Wins Nobel Peace Prize
§ Advises Nixon that US needs to look strong
· Can’t afford a loss in Vietnam
o “stabilize Vietnam then leave”
§ Majority of Americans feel like it was a mistake to send troops to Vietnam
o Summer 1969
§ Nixon withdraws 60,000 troops
§ One final attempt to win the war
· Take it to Cambodia and Laos
o Cut off supply lines
· US doesn’t support this
o Protesting
o Senate outlaws use of military in Cambodia
§ Doesn’t pass in House of Representatives
§ Nixon can still put his plan into action
o Advance into Laos was a failure
§ Guerrilla tactics
§ Nixon pulls troops out
o Nixon sends Kissinger to start a treaty with Vietnam
§ Cease-fire
· South Vietnam doesn’t want to sign this
· March 1973
o US troops leave
o $150 billion
o Objective was a failure
· 1975
o North Vietnamese take over South Vietnam
· War crimes
o Murdering civilians
o Raping and beating civilians
o Happened more than once
· American soldiers take bad reputation with them when they come home
o “baby killers”
· Nixon & China
o Détente with China
o US sees China as a good trader
o Ease tensions between the USSR and US
o Pros:
§ Opens up an opportunity
§ Eases Cold War tensions
§ SALT
· Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
· US and USSR moving towards peace
o Cons:
§ Fighting Communism in Vietnam but keeping peace with Communism in China
§ Double dipping
§ Nationalist Government in Taiwan
· They rely on us
· US has less relations with them
· Watergate
o Nixon considered imperial president
o Uses wiretaps and CIA
o Pentagon Papers
§ “deceiving American public” about operations in Vietnam
o Nixon tries to bar Pentagon papers from getting to the NY times
§ They do anyway
o Age of dirty tricks
§ Readddd
o Committee to Reelect the President
