Compare And Contrast The Progressive Era And The New Deal
Both the Progressive Era and FDR’s New Deal reforms focused on the discrepancies between the rich and the poor. Both sought to bring the poor on a more level playing field with the rich. They did this by involving the government. The Progressives did this by offering a minimum working wage and establishing unions to protect the workers from greedy monopolies. In the throes of the Great Depression, Roosevelt focused on economic recovery and also on the promotion of labor unions to make better working conditions. He also introduced Social Security, a government subsidy to help the elderly.
When Lyndon B. Johnson became President approximately 35 million Americans were living below the poverty line. Again, the government stepped in with
programs, “moving beyond the provisions of the New Deal…taking on a federal responsibility for the problems of housing, income, employment, and health.” In the same vain as previous reform traditions, Johnson introduced his new ideology at the University of Michigan commencement address on May 22, 1964. It would become known as the ‘Great Society’. “The label described an America where poverty and racial injustice would have no place, where the elderly would be cared for, where education would be placed at a premium, and where the nation's natural resources would be cherished and protected.” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/lbj-domestic/
In my opinion, I think LBJ had a utopian viewpoint as he envisioned a society without poverty or discrimination. Just as with the Progressive and New Deal Era, the government proposed reform legislation to help ‘lift people out of poverty and provide a safety net for those unable to provide for themselves.” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/bonus-video/presidents-economy-lbj/ He proposed to do this as follows:
• War on Poverty. (raised minimum wage, job training programs, (Job Corps) federal housing programs – HUD)
• Education. (student loans, scholarships, and grants, Head start, Elementary and Secondary Education Act)
• Racial inequality. (Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Affirmative Action)
• Medicare and Medicaid.
Here are some of the ways the ‘Great Society’ built upon previous reforms movements.
• Raising the minimum wage was a continuation of acts from the Progressive Era.
• The Federal Housing program “HUD” (Housing and Urban Development) stems from the New Deal’s formation of the FHA (Federal Housing Agency).
• The Medicare and Medicaid programs are an extension of the Social Security program introduced in the New Deal.
When Lyndon B. Johnson became President approximately 35 million Americans were living below the poverty line. Again, the government stepped in with
programs, “moving beyond the provisions of the New Deal…taking on a federal responsibility for the problems of housing, income, employment, and health.” In the same vain as previous reform traditions, Johnson introduced his new ideology at the University of Michigan commencement address on May 22, 1964. It would become known as the ‘Great Society’. “The label described an America where poverty and racial injustice would have no place, where the elderly would be cared for, where education would be placed at a premium, and where the nation's natural resources would be cherished and protected.” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/lbj-domestic/
In my opinion, I think LBJ had a utopian viewpoint as he envisioned a society without poverty or discrimination. Just as with the Progressive and New Deal Era, the government proposed reform legislation to help ‘lift people out of poverty and provide a safety net for those unable to provide for themselves.” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/bonus-video/presidents-economy-lbj/ He proposed to do this as follows:
• War on Poverty. (raised minimum wage, job training programs, (Job Corps) federal housing programs – HUD)
• Education. (student loans, scholarships, and grants, Head start, Elementary and Secondary Education Act)
• Racial inequality. (Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Affirmative Action)
• Medicare and Medicaid.
Here are some of the ways the ‘Great Society’ built upon previous reforms movements.
• Raising the minimum wage was a continuation of acts from the Progressive Era.
• The Federal Housing program “HUD” (Housing and Urban Development) stems from the New Deal’s formation of the FHA (Federal Housing Agency).
• The Medicare and Medicaid programs are an extension of the Social Security program introduced in the New Deal.