Author Question: To what extent was the Great Society the logical conclusion to the philosophy and goals of the New ... (Read 61 times)

APUS57 · **on:** Sep 11, 2019

Question 1

What role did television play in the civil rights movement?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

To what extent was the Great Society the logical conclusion to the philosophy and goals of the New Deal?

What will be an ideal response?

dellikani2015 · **Reply #1 on:** Sep 11, 2019

Answer 1

By the 1960s, television had become the medium of choice for most Americans to learn about the world. Though options were more limited then, television still offered a level of immediacy that no other medium could match. Students should examine how television coverage of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s campaigns in Birmingham and Selma, as well as the March on Washington brought the problem of segregation home to Americans throughout the country. Also, the Watts Riot revealed that African Americans faced challenges not just in the South. The television coverage made these events much more real and made Americans more sympathetic to the cause of civil rights, even if they lived far from the site of the events.

Answer 2

Most students will identify several common elements. Both movements expanded the degree of federal involvement. Both significantly added to the welfare state. Both reached out to the elderly (the New Deal created Social Security, the Great Society created Medicare). An important departure for the Great Society was its straightforward advocacy of racial justice. Furthermore, it did not follow up on the New Deal's commitment to labor.