Liberalism at High Tide

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Liberalism at High Tide

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

How did the Kennedy and Johnson administrations exemplify a liberal vision of the federal government?

At the Democratic National Convention in 1960, John F. Kennedy announced "a New Frontier" that would confront "unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus." Four years later, Lyndon B. Johnson invoked the ideal of a "Great Society, [which] rests on abundance and liberty for all [and] demands an end to poverty and racial injustice." Acting under the liberal faith that government should use its power to solve social and economic problems, end injustice, and promote the welfare of all citizens, the Democratic administrations of the 1960s won legislation on civil rights, poverty, education, medical care, housing, consumer safeguards, and environmental protection. These measures, along with pathbreaking Supreme Court decisions, responded to demands for rights from African Americans and other groups and addressed problems arising from rapid economic growth.