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8th grade · Social Studies · Unit 14 of 15

The Great Society & Beyond

Johnson, Vietnam, Watergate and the courts

What your child practices

The Great Society, the Vietnam War's effect at home, Watergate, the 1970s economy and the fiscal conservatism of the 1980s, and Supreme Court cases on civil liberties, including Engel v. Vitale from New York.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 8.9c; 8.9d; 8.9e · the Great Society and Vietnam, the shift toward fiscal conservatism, and debates over civil liberties and the federal government

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society created Medicare (for older people) and Medicaid (health care for people with low incomes) in 1965.
  2. The Vietnam War divided the country, and the Watergate scandal led President Nixon to resign in 1974.
  3. Civil liberties are basic freedoms, like speech and religion, that government may not take away.

Example: What did the Watergate scandal lead President Nixon to do? Watergate involved a break-in and a cover-up. Nixon faced impeachment. He left office in 1974. Answer: resign

The Great Society & Beyond in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 14 of 15 in 8th grade Social Studies, after A Changing Population and before Timeline 1865–2001.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    The Vietnam War hurt the Great Society because it…

    • created new programs
    • united every American
    • cost nothing
    • drained money and divided Americans

  2. Question 2

    Deregulation means…

    • banning trade
    • adding many new rules
    • removing or reducing government rules on businesses
    • breaking up every company

  3. Question 3

    The 26th Amendment (1971)…

    • lowered the voting age to 18
    • gave women the vote
    • banned poll taxes
    • ended Prohibition

  4. Question 4

    Ronald Reagan was elected president in…

    • 1980
    • 2000
    • 1932
    • 1960

  5. Question 5

    Many young people protested the Vietnam War, especially…

    • the draft that sent young men to fight
    • the end of the Cold War
    • the moon landing
    • the Marshall Plan

  6. Question 6

    How did the Great Society change the role of the federal government?

    • it gave all power to the states
    • it made no change
    • it took a bigger part in health care, education and fighting poverty
    • it ended all federal programs

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