PC 1 Federal Power-Johnson and Reagan-Federal Power-Student Program

8/2/2019 PC 1 Federal Power-Johnson and Reagan-Federal Power-Student Program

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Presidents and the

ConstitutionLyndon Johnson/Ronald

Reagan and

Two Views on Federal Power

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Presidents and the Constitution Resources

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The biggest problem people have in thinkingabout the Founding Documents is that they look atthem with contemporary eyes. They dontrealize the fear of powerful government, the bitter

debates and tremendously difficult compromises,or any of the other concerns the Founders had in1770s-1791.

Directions: Read Dr. David Marions Essay The

Presidency and Federal Power on pages 4-6.Underline or highlight the facts you think areimportant.


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The President and Federal Power

Constitutional Connection Activity

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Critical Engagement

QuestionHow did PresidentJohnsonsGreat Society Speech and

President Ronald Reagans FirstInaugural Address reveal their

views on the constitutionalpowers of the federalgovernment?

Objectives

Understand Lyndon Johnsons stated goals for the Great Society. Understand Ronald Reagans stated goals for his administration. Contrast and evaluate the two Presidents views on the scope of

constitutional federal power.

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Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan


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Background/HomeworkHandout A: Lyndon Johnson

and Ronald Reagan:Two Views

on Federal Power

1.What were the Goals of the Great Society outlined in Johnsons May

1964 speech?2. What types of measures did Johnson recommend to Congress in 1965?3. What was the key message of Reagans First Inaugural Address?4. What actions did Reagan take to bring about this goal?5. How would you assess the constitutionality of each Presidents

actions? 5



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Warm-Up

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Review Handout B: Who said it? Cut, copy, or paste these comments around the room and decide

which President said each phrase.

For those using polleverywhere.com or another response gatheringsite/software, Ive written the responses on the following slides.


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1. The purpose of protecting the life of our Nation and

preserving the liberty of our citizens is to pursue thehappiness of our people.

11%

89%1. Johnson

2. Reagan

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Lyndon Johnson and Ronald ReaganHandout B: Who said it?


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2. Those who do work are denied a fair return for theirlabor by a tax system which penalizes successful

achievement.

90%

10%

1. Johnson

2. Reagan

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3. I intend to establish working groups to prepare a

series of White House conferences and meetings on thecities, on natural beauty, on the quality of education, and

on other emerging challenges.

10%

90%1. Johnson

2. Reagan

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4. We are a nation that has a governmentnot the other

way around. And this makes us special among thenations of the Earth.

78%

22%1. Johnson

2. Reagan

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5. Our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to

the intervention and intrusion in our lives that resultfrom unnecessary and excessive growth of government.

100%

0%1. Johnson

2. Reagan

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6. We have always prided ourselves on being not only

America the strong and America the free, but Americathe beautiful.

20%

80%1. Johnson

2. Reagan

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Activity

ReadHandout C: The Great Society, 1964 andHandout D: First Inaugural Address: Ronald Reagan, 1981

As you read, make notes and underline

items you think are important. Write down words that come to mind todescribe the speech.(i.e. hopeful,inspiring, etc).

Highlight sentences where the speaker

mentions increasing federal power inone color Highlight sentences where the speaker

suggests scaling back federal power inanother color

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Activity continued Compare and contrast your

highlighted phrases and seewhat patterns emerge

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Examples of sentences indicating increasing federal power (blue)

and those scaling back federal power (green)

First Inaugural Address, Ronald Reagan, 1981The Great Society, Lyndon Johnson, 1964

We will have to build homes,highways, and facilities equal to all

those built since this country was firstsettled. So in the next 40 years we mustre-build the entire urban United States

In this present crisis, government is notthe solution to our problem;

government is the problem.

It is time to check and reverse thegrowth of government, which shows

signs of having grown beyond theconsent of the governed.

We have always prided ourselves onbeing not only America the strong and

America the free, but America thebeautiful. Today that beauty is in danger.The water we drink, the food we eat, thevery air that we breathe, are threatenedwith pollution.

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Examples of sentences indicating increasing federal power (blue)

and those scaling back federal power (green)First Inaugural Address, Ronald Reagan, 1981The Great Society, Lyndon Johnson, 1964

It is my intention to curb the size andinfluence of the federal establishment

It is no coincidence that our presenttroubles parallel and are proportionate tothe intervention and intrusion in our livesthat result from unnecessary and

excessive growth of government

.We must seek an educational systemwhich grows in excellence as it grows in

size.

We are going to assemble the bestthought and the broadest knowledgefrom all over the world to find thoseanswers for America.

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Activity II Review the important words you

marked on the handouts andChoose several words or phrasesthat describe the general tone,

feeling, or summarizes Johnsonsspeech and write them on the

board. How do these words flesh out

or describe the speech? Repeat this process for theReagan speech.

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Wordle Activity

Go to wordle.net and paste in textversions of Johnsons Great Society

speech and Reagans First InauguralAddress to create your own wordle map.

Play around with the fonts and style ofthe generated wordle map.


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Wordle Activity continued

1) How do the wordle maps of each speech compare to each other?2) Are students surprised by the wordle maps or do they make you

see the speeches differently?

**if you dont have internet access, examples of wordle maps are on the next few

slides.

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Lyndon Johnson and Ronald ReaganHandout B: Wordle.net/create

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Wrap-up

Review Articles I, section 7 and Article II of Appendix B: TheUnited States Constitution.

Are the actions of Presidents Johnson and Reagan discussed inthis unit constitutional or unconstitutional? Why or Why not?

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Homework

1) Because a federal law is well-intentioned or a good idea, does thatmean it is constitutional?

2) If not, what is the difference?

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Extension

Select a Great Society law or program and researchthe following questions:

1) What was the laws goal(s)?2) What programs were put in place under this

law?3) What were arguments for/against the program?4) What was the outcome of the law? Did it meet its

goal?5) Is this law/program still in place? If not, why was

it repealed or discontinued? If so, whatarguments exist in favor/against itscontinuation?

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ExtensionSome Great Society programs you maywish to research:

Economic Opportunity Act of 1964

Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 Elementary and Secondary Education

Act of 1965 Social Security Act of 1965

Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 Truth in Lending Act of 1968 Bilingual Education Act of 1968

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PC 1 Federal Power-Johnson and Reagan-Federal Power-Student Program

Documents

Transcript of PC 1 Federal Power-Johnson and Reagan-Federal Power-Student Program