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20th Century United States

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The 20th Century United States The 20th century was a time of considerable transition for the United States. Going from the countries lowest point in history, to becoming the strongest nation in the world, left Americans and their leaders confronted with many difficult decisions. The decade of depression that had preceded World War II had produced enormous changes in US politics and the American political and economic systems. Beyond politics, Americans also faced challenges in their day to day lives as American culture and society was also going through transitions. The ways in which these questions and problems were attempted to be answered, the balances of power that resulted, and the significance of wartime government were …show more content…

Still, there was movement occurring, and hope remained as President Kennedy was working on a Civil rights Act, and he was suspected to pull out of Vietnam. This potentially would have aided the civil rights movement, and arguably due to the importance Robert Kennedy put on reforming African American’s rights, JFK would have addressed this issue now with more vigor. In 1963, however JFK was assassinated and Lyndon B Johnson took office, thus changing the course abruptly. LBJ passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed segregation in schools, public places, and employment. He also proposed a set of domestic programs which he called “The Great Society” which goal was to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. There was a major increase in spending that addressed problems outlined in the New Deal such as education, medical care, urban problems, and transportation but differed from the New Deal in types of programs enacted. However well-intended these programs might have been, its goals were not being met at the rate in which civil rights activists would have liked. Part of the reason being that in opposition to Kennedy’s plan for Vietnam LBJ decided to continue fighting. Most of his attempts to increase the standard of living failed, partly due to his involvement in

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