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Learning Target 31: Explain why the government’s role in the economy, environmental protection, social welfare, and national security became the topic of political debates between 1945 and 1994.
Learning Target 31: Explain why the government’s role in the economy, environmental protection, social welfare, and national security became the topic of political debates between 1945 and 1994.
The role of the federal government expanded greatly in the 1930s and early 1940s as a result of the New Deal and World War II. This expanded role continued to be the focus of political debates in the post-World War II period. Some people favored a more activist role of the government to correct inequities in society. Others believed that the government should be less involved and let the marketplace work. Public opinion on this issue was often influenced by the current state of the economy.
The debate on the government’s role to protect the environment in the postwar period increased during this period. This was due to research on the effects of pesticides, pollution and waste disposal and concerns about conservation and global warming. Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, exposed the harmful effects of pesticides and contributed to the rise of the environmental movement. Demands from environmentalists led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970.
The government’s role on social welfare issues attracted intense debates, particularly relating to poverty, unemployment and on the idea of a national health insurance. In the 1960s, the debates centered on President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society and “war on poverty.” During his administration, Head Start, a preschool program for disadvantaged students, was established, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided increased funding to public schools. Medicare was created to provide healthcare for the nation’s elderly.
The controversies surrounding the federal government’s role in protecting the country reappeared during times of perceived threats. Fears concerning communist infiltration of the government during the 1940s and 1950s, and anti-war protests during the Vietnam Era, led to debates over national security.
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