Compare And Contrast Presidents Johnson And Reagan

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Comparing Presidents Johnson and Reagan Presidents Johnson and Reagan led the United States in two very different eras, and have left much different legacies from their time in office. Their social policies while President were almost completely opposites. Johnson was focused on making social reforms to benefit all Americans, while Reagan wanted to lessen the aid given to those in poverty. When Johnson took over the Presidency following the assassination of Kennedy, he was determined to push through the Great Society agenda. President Johnson used the recent death as a reason to quickly enact laws for social reform in memory of Kennedy. Despite Republican opposition, Johnson was able to get the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 passed through congress, …show more content…

Johnson led America in a time of many social movements, and the power of the Civil Rights Movement only added to the importance of passing the Civil Rights Act as soon as possible. Now that the inequality and injustice of minorities was brought to attention, Johnson had the power and motivation to put the Great Society reforms into action, which Democrats had been working towards since President Roosevelt and his New Deal programs. Reagan, however, was president during a time of greed. Reagan came into office during a poor time for the economy, and the upper and middle class Americans were more upset about their taxes being spent on poor Americans through welfare programs. There was also concern for people taking advantage of these programs. Reagan reflected these views and used his views on deregulation of businesses and tax cuts to benefit his supporters in the wealthy portion of Americans. With the passing of several laws benefitting minorities in America, social movements had faded from public view while America’s unrest had subsided, and Reagan didn’t need to have a strong support of civil rights. When the economy eventually rebounded due to Reagan’s economic policies, the success of wealthy businessmen brought about even more greed as the small portion of upper class Americans showed enjoyed luxuries and reaped the benefits of less social

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