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History Post War America America and the 'Great Society' …
History
Post War America
America and the 'Great Society'
REVISION USA 1920-1973
Social Policies of JFK and LBJ
KENNEDY:
1960 - JFK became president
.His policy was The New Frontier- His aim was to eliminate poverty, inequality and deprivation.
Medicare - medical help for the elderly and a Civil Rights Bill.
PROBLEMS KENNEDY HAD TO FACE:
The decline of towns due to unemployment
Poverty
Increased crime
Civil Rights matters
USA's involvement in the Vietnam war
JOHNSON:
Continued to develop Kennedy's ideas
The Great Society - to end poverty
Office of Economic Opportunities
Operation Headstart - gave money to schools to provide better education for the poor
Passed the Civil Rights act in 1964
PROBLEMS JOHNSON HAD TO FACE:
Continued civil rights protests
Vietnam
Poverty
Fight for Equal Pay
John F Kennedy passed the Equal Pay Law. It was signed into law on June 10, 1963, as part of his New Frontier Program.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a United States labor law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex.
Feminist movements 1960's/1970's
The second-wave feminism of the “women's movement” peaked in the 1960s and '70s and touched on every area of women's experience—including family, sexuality, and work.
An example of a feminist movement was the National Organisation for Women (NOW)
August 1970- Women's Strike for Equality - a nationwide wave of protests, marches and sit ins.
Supreme Court Ruling on Equal Rights 1972
Supreme court rules that contraception should be legally available to unmarried couples,not just married.
Led to moral and religious debates in the country
Opposition to Equal Rights Amendment
Some didn't approve, like Phyllis Schlafly, who thought that equal rights would lead to women being subjected into conscription, same-sex marriages, the elimination of single sex bathrooms and women being threatened the security of middle-aged house wives with no job skills.
It failed to make much of a difference and it was unable to get the 8 additional ratification's by the 1982 deadline.
All of these acts passed in such a hurry which created a lot of debate in America, because new laws didn't necessarily mean that people beliefs and practices changed over night.
Not all women agreed wit these changes. Many disagreed with premarital and abortion. A lot of women enjoyed their status in society and didn't want change. Working class women were not interested in feminism on a moral scale, just practical like equal pay.
Many religious groups used the Bible to justify male domination in and outside the home,
National Organisation for Women
Brought women together, knowing they weren't alone. This made them feel more powerful.
They were slowly gaining equality with men as the Equal Pay Act and the Equal Rights Amendment had been passed.
By the end of its second year, NOW had just 1,035 members and was racked by ideological divisions.
Set up by Friedan and adopted a Bill of Rights:
Enforcement of laws banning employment discrimination
maternity leave rights
Child-care centres that could enable mothers to work
Tax deductions for child-care expenses
Equal and unsegregated education
Equal job-training opportunities for poor women.
Roe V Wade 1973
Abolished laws that criminalized or restricted access to abortions
Women finally had a choice whether or not they decide to give birth
They could now have abortions without it being illegal or getting arrested
Now they had a say/voice about their own body, which empowered a lot of women.They now had a choice and freedom.
Sparked a huge debate between those in favour of and those who opposed abortion