American History - 12 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

American History - 12 - Essay Example †¢ The Civil Rights Act (1968) banned racial discrimination and desegregation. †¢ The Voting Rights Act (1965) banned discriminatory methods of denying suffrage to African Americans †¢ Medicare was created to offset the costs of health care for the nation's elderly. †¢The Fair Housing Act (1968) provided funds to construct low-income housing †¢ The Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided major funding for American public schools. †¢ The National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities used public money to fund artists and galleries. †¢ Congress tightened environmental controls with stronger Air and Water Quality Acts. †¢ Johnson secured several gains before Conservatives gained control of Congress. 2. _ Roe vs. Wade (1973) ______ †¢ Historic Supreme Court decision on abortion in the USA. †¢ Struck down an 1857 Texas statute that made abortion illegal except where the life of the mother was in danger. †¢ The Court ruled that the right to terminate a pregnancy is part of a woman's constitutional right to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment. †¢ The State cannot regulate the right to abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. †¢ All abortions to be performed only by licensed physicians under medically safe conditions. †¢ In the second trimester abortions are subject to State regulations regarding qualifications and licenses of the physicians. †¢ In third trimester, abortions legal only to save the health and life of the mother. †¢ Rejected contention that life is present from conception. †¢ Defined the rights of the fetus as emerging when it can survive independently outside the womb.   †¢ Set the terms of the abortion debate for decades to come. 3. ____Equal Rights Amendment_____ †¢ Holds that â€Å"Equality of rights under the law shall not be abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.† †¢ First proposed in Congress by the National Women's Party in 1923.   †¢ Approved by the House in 1970. †¢ Approved by the Senate in 1972. †¢ Opposed by social conservatives, such as Phyllis Schlafly, envisioning a threat to traditional family structure. †¢ Support spearheaded by the National Organization for Women. †¢ Ratified by thirty-five of the necessary thirty-eight states by 1977. †¢ Granted extension by Congress until June 30, 1982 †¢ Reintroduced in Congress in July 1982. †¢ The ERA is still not a part of the US constitution 4. __The Vietnam War________ †¢ Theater of the Cold War and the longest war in American history. †¢ US supports the anti-communist government of South Vietnam, led by the unpopular Ngo Dinh Diem. †¢ The communist Viet Cong, supported by the North’s Ho Chi Minh, unleashes guerilla war in the South. †¢ Diem is overthrown by a military coup in 1963, and assassinated with tacit US approval. †¢ The Gulf of Tonkin Re solution, passed in 1964, escalates the war and the involvement of US troops. †¢ Despite decades of hostilities, billions of dollars, and nearly 60,000 American casualties, the United States fails to achieve its objectives. †¢ Mounting casualties and media reports turn American public opinion decisively against the war †¢ The Paris Peace Accords of 1972 end the Vietnam War †¢ President Nixon signs a ceasefire in January 1973 that formally ends the hostilities. †¢ In 1975, Ho Chih Minh’s communist forces from the north overrun the south and unify the nation.   5. National Organiza