President's Kennedy and Johnson both promised regeneration for the USA.
JFK led the New Frontier programme and LBJ led the Great Society programme.
Poverty declined in the 1960s but inequality remained.
Access to education and healthcare improved.
Critics argued that the New Frontier and Great Society could have achieved more.

Common misconception

Government policies in the 1960s were only focused on improving civil rights in the USA.

The New Frontier and Great Society were both varied programmes that involved policy action to improve many different aspects of life in America.

Keywords

Regeneration - the process of improving a place or system, especially to make it more active or successful
Social Security - benefits system which provided payments to vulnerable groups such as the elderly or unemployed
Congress - the group of politicians who vote on laws for the whole of the USA

Before Task C, ask pupils to do mini-comparisons first which focus on different areas of life (i.e. civil rights, education, healthcare, poverty etc). This could be done as a purely verbal discussion with students asked to identify a clear example for each programme to support each judgement.

Teacher tip

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.

Write the missing word. Legislation refers to passed by the government.

Correct Answer: laws, Acts, Laws, acts

Q2.

Which president signed the 1964 and 1968 Civil Rights Acts as well as the 1965 Voting Rights Act?

Truman

Eisenhower

Kennedy

Correct answer: Johnson

Nixon

Q3.

Which civil rights law was also known as the Fair Housing Act?

1964 Civil Rights Act

1965 Voting Rights Act

Correct answer: 1968 Civil Rights Act

Q4.

What percentage of African American teenagers were unemployed by 1970?

10%

25%

Correct answer: 50%

85%

Q5.

Which of the following laws was a response to police attacks on protestors at Selma?

1964 Civil Rights Act

Correct answer: 1965 Voting Rights Act

1968 Civil Rights Act

Q6.

Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.

1 - Brown v. Board case

2 - Little Rock Nine gain national attention

3 - Civil Rights Act passed

4 - Voting Rights Act passed

5 - Fair Housing Act passed

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.

Write the missing keyword: refers to the process of improving a place or system, especially to make it more active or successful.

Correct Answer: regeneration, Regeneration

Q2.

Who introduced the New Frontier as president?

Franklin D Roosevelt

Harry S Truman

Dwight D Eisenhower

Correct answer: John F Kennedy

Lyndon B Johnson

Q3.

How did JFK change the minimum wage?

abolished it

increased it from $0.50 to $1

reduced it from $1 to $0.50

Correct answer: increased it from $1 to $1.25

reduced it from $1.25 to $1

Q4.

Name either of the healthcare insurance schemes introduced by LBJ in 1965.

Correct Answer: Medicare, Medicaid, medicare, medicaid

Q5.

Which statement about US poverty levels between 1959 and 1970 is most accurate?

Correct answer: overall poverty levels fell

overall poverty levels rose

poverty levels only fell for white Americans

poverty levels only fell for black Americans

Q6.

Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.

1 - JFK elected president

2 - minimum wage increased

3 - JFK assassinated

4 - LBJ passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act

5 - Medicare and Medicaid introduced

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