Sources for America’s History: Printed Page 707
Do you think Goldwater and Billy Graham (Document 26-3) appealed to the same audience of Americans? What point of view about human nature, God, and the role of government did they share? Who was excluded by their ideology?
What lesson about the extent of American power did Vietnam teach John Kerry? To what extent did the American experience in Southeast Asia refute Goldwater’s boast that the defense of liberty at home and abroad justified “extremism”?
Compare the contrasting visions of American society as articulated by Johnson and Goldwater, the major party candidates for president in 1964. What choice did they present to the American people? Does Johnson’s victory tell you anything about the mood of the American people?
Several sources refer directly to the civil rights movement. From your analysis and comparison of this chapter’s documents with those by Fannie Lou Hamer (Document 27-3) and Malcolm X (Document 27-4), what conclusions can you draw about the evolution, goals, and strategies of the broadly defined civil rights movement?
Compare the 1920s and the 1960s as two eras of reform. Do their similarities (in goals and effects) outweigh the differences you see? Which era speaks more directly to the issues we face today?