“Your imagination, your initiative, and your indignation will determine whether we build a society where progress is the servant of our needs, or a society where old values and new visions are buried under unbridled growth. For in your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society. The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning. The Great Society is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and to enlarge his talents. It is a place where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect, not a feared cause of boredom and restlessness. It is a place where the city of man serves not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce but the desire for beauty and the hunger for community."

Question

- Presidential remarks at the University of Michigan, May 22, 1964

What was the MAIN reason some politically liberal groups during the 1960s criticized the application of Great Society programs?
Responses
A The Great Society ideals seemed inconsistent with the escalating war in Vietnam.The Great Society ideals seemed inconsistent with the escalating war in Vietnam.
B They feared the government would become too powerful under the Great Society plan.They feared the government would become too powerful under the Great Society plan.
C The Great Society ideals would require large financial investments on many levels.The Great Society ideals would require large financial investments on many levels.
D They believed moral and cultural traditions would decline under the Great Society plan.

Answer 1

The MAIN reason some politically liberal groups during the 1960s criticized the application of Great Society programs was:

A. The Great Society ideals seemed inconsistent with the escalating war in Vietnam.

While concerns about government power (B), financial investments (C), and the decline of moral and cultural traditions (D) were valid points of debate, the most significant criticism among liberal groups was the inconsistency of Great Society ideals with the spending and involvement in the Vietnam War, which diverted resources and attention from domestic social programs.