Response Questions for Journal 15:
1. During the presidency of Lyndon Johnson, was the United States growing more united and inclusive, or divided and contentious? Explain. Johnson lobbied for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, and gender illegal. Johnson’s Great Society programs were also created to eliminate social injustices in America. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Johnson’s war on poverty were attempts to ensure a more united and inclusive country. However, the South still disagreed with the extension of civil rights, and many people disliked the increase of government involvement. The civil rights movement was successful in the early 60s with the Great Society programs and Chief Justice …show more content…
As more young Americans were drafted to fight, more people opposed and protested the war. The My Lai Massacre also turned public opinion against the war.
2. Why did the United States escalate the Vietnam War? What were the social and cultural consequences of that escalation? In 1964, US Navy destroyers reported that they were attacked by North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, though there was no evidence of attacks. After this event, Johnson asked Congress to give him more power to protect US interests in Vietnam. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in August 1964. Johnson later ordered a series of air strikes called Operation Rolling Thunder. He hoped that the strikes would show America’s dedication to stopping the spread of communism. Ground troops first arrived in Vietnam in 1965. The escalation of the Vietnam War led to more negative views of the military. There were also class tensions, as the wealthy were able to escape the draft.
3. On balance, were the foreign policies of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon a continuation or a departure from previous Cold War policies? …show more content…
What were the roots of the public anger with government that fueled the conservative reaction in the 1980s? How did the culture wars of the decade represent a clash of competing views of what it meant to be an American? There were more evangelical Christians who wanted to return to traditional values. They wanted small government and low taxes. Also, an anti-tax movement caused less support for liberal social programs. Thirdly, more conservative intellectuals began to emerge against outspoken liberals. One culture war was the gay rights movement. Conservatives viewed gay rights as unnatural. Also, more people were immigrating to America. Many white Americans thought that American culture would not be able to work with so many different cultures, and disagreed with immigrants who didn’t try to assimilate. There were more conflicts between individual liberties and morality. This debate between rights and religion turned to abortion. Pro-choice advocates argued that allowing abortion would address gender inequalities, while abortion opponents thought that motherhood was a woman’s most important job. However, in all of these culture wars, there was no black and white side. People’s opinions fell on a spectrum ranging on either side of the debates, indicating that there was no consensus of what it meant to be an American at this
1. During the presidency of Lyndon Johnson, was the United States growing more united and inclusive, or divided and contentious? Explain. Johnson lobbied for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, and gender illegal. Johnson’s Great Society programs were also created to eliminate social injustices in America. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Johnson’s war on poverty were attempts to ensure a more united and inclusive country. However, the South still disagreed with the extension of civil rights, and many people disliked the increase of government involvement. The civil rights movement was successful in the early 60s with the Great Society programs and Chief Justice …show more content…
As more young Americans were drafted to fight, more people opposed and protested the war. The My Lai Massacre also turned public opinion against the war.
2. Why did the United States escalate the Vietnam War? What were the social and cultural consequences of that escalation? In 1964, US Navy destroyers reported that they were attacked by North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, though there was no evidence of attacks. After this event, Johnson asked Congress to give him more power to protect US interests in Vietnam. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in August 1964. Johnson later ordered a series of air strikes called Operation Rolling Thunder. He hoped that the strikes would show America’s dedication to stopping the spread of communism. Ground troops first arrived in Vietnam in 1965. The escalation of the Vietnam War led to more negative views of the military. There were also class tensions, as the wealthy were able to escape the draft.
3. On balance, were the foreign policies of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon a continuation or a departure from previous Cold War policies? …show more content…
What were the roots of the public anger with government that fueled the conservative reaction in the 1980s? How did the culture wars of the decade represent a clash of competing views of what it meant to be an American? There were more evangelical Christians who wanted to return to traditional values. They wanted small government and low taxes. Also, an anti-tax movement caused less support for liberal social programs. Thirdly, more conservative intellectuals began to emerge against outspoken liberals. One culture war was the gay rights movement. Conservatives viewed gay rights as unnatural. Also, more people were immigrating to America. Many white Americans thought that American culture would not be able to work with so many different cultures, and disagreed with immigrants who didn’t try to assimilate. There were more conflicts between individual liberties and morality. This debate between rights and religion turned to abortion. Pro-choice advocates argued that allowing abortion would address gender inequalities, while abortion opponents thought that motherhood was a woman’s most important job. However, in all of these culture wars, there was no black and white side. People’s opinions fell on a spectrum ranging on either side of the debates, indicating that there was no consensus of what it meant to be an American at this