Lyndon B. Johnson's Creation Of The Great Society

On November 22, 1963, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated. The

unexpected death of the president left the American citizens in shock. In need of stability, the next president Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in. Johnson’s determination to carry on John F. Kennedy’s legacies fueled his desires to combat poverty, to offer healthcare, and to expand social reforms of the New Deal which helped shape his idea of the “Great Society.”

In President Johnson’s State of the Union message, he pledged, “This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.” The newfound president quickly signed the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, which aimed at the origin of American poverty. Former president, JFK,

had the same intentions of the Great Society, which were to fund education and provide health insurance. In accordance with Kennedy’s belief, Johnson also believed that a budget deficit was essential to improve the economy. He also cut government spending. Lyndon Johnson’s vision for America was influenced by his early on lifestyle. Growing up in an impoverished area of Texas, he understood the agony of poverty. His family struggled financially, so Johnson went on to pursue a teaching career. Comparable to him, he witnessed the grim poverty amongst his students. As the new president, he was determined to expand Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. In 1964, statistics show that just below half of the senior citizen population had little to no medical insurance. In turn, this caused the elderly to be driven into poverty. Johnson created Medicaid and Medicare to lift the elderly, poor, and disabled out of impoverishment. Medicare was and still is a substantial change to the elder community. This coverage was described as “the biggest management job since the invasion of Normandy.” (PBS)

The assassination of Kennedy was the jumpstart of the Great Society. On November 22, 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson took the presidential oath and was sworn into office. In his Commencement Address at the University of Michigan, he said, “Men come together in cities in order to live, but they remain together in order to live the good life. It is harder to live the good life in American cities today.” (Aristotle) Thus, he collaborated with John Gardner. Gardner was sworn in as the secretary of health, education, and welfare. Gardner launched Medicare, which provided health insurance for all people 65 and older. He joined President Johnson not only as a cabinet member, but also as the engineer of his Great Society. During this time, the president and Gardner worked to pass the Civil Rights Act, which President Kennedy intended to pass, to insure that the federal funds were not distributed discriminatorily. Together they had success and helped multitudes of Americans. During this time, author Michael Harrington wrote the book The Other America: Poverty in the United States. His book focused national attention on the millions of Americans still in poverty. Harrington’s work is credited as the spark of Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty.

As a result of the national attention, President Johnson signed multiple legislations.

One in particular which provided funds for education. He signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The act provided $1.3 billion in aid to poor schools, special education programs and Head Starts. The Head Start program was designed to help disadvantaged students. These impoverished schools also received assistance such as volunteer teaching. The next initiative that Johnson took to improve schools was the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, which added breakfasts to the school lunch program. His addition of Medicare and Medicaid played a significant role in the establishment of the Great Society. In addition of helping the elderly with his $6.5 billion Medicare bill, Medicaid was created to provided medical care to the poor and disabled. With this in effect, the disabled would now be eligible to receive benefits after incompetency. Children of deceased, retired or disabled workers would also be able to collect insurance benefits until the age of 22 if they are enrolled in school. Medical insurance is said to bring “the light of hope and realization” to Americans. (Johnson) He created the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which established the Housing Act. The Housing Act issued funds to construct low income housing, including rent subsidies. Because of the success from the Great Society, the deficit decreased. In turn, the Gross National Product rose. Unexpectedly,

President Johnson inherited a problem, the Vietnam War. In hopes of ending communism, he insisted on aiding the military to prevent a North Vietnamese victory. Along with funding his domestic agenda, the two issues placed an immense strain on the economy. Although many applauded this “war on poverty,” some also discredited it by claiming that too much was being spent on the poor. The critics believe that Johnson’s plan made “unrealistic promises to eliminate poverty.” They also attacked the program for being “inefficient and too costly.” (Newman)

Fifty-two years later, America still deals with aspects that the Great Society created. The Food Stamp Act created food stamps, which helps the underprivileged afford food. Medicare and Medicaid also still exist and are more helpful to society now more than ever. The government continues to fund education, and poverty in America decreased. Between the 1960’s and 1970’s, the number of Americans living in impoverished areas was cut in half. Unfortunately after funding the Vietnam War and the war on poverty simultaneously, the economy still suffers as a consequence of programs initiated during the Great Society. (Higgs)
Lyndon B.

Johnson sponsored the largest reform since the New Deal. (Independence) The impact of this agenda, which was designed to uplift Americans, is currently undisputed and controversial. Today, these programs remain contestable. Supporters of the Great Society claim that without this plan, Americans would still live in poverty. As opposed to their belief, the opposing side claims that the plan for social reform was misguided and placed too much authority in the government’s hands. The opposers believed that instead of helping poor families, the antipoverty programs weakened the less fortunate. The families that were built on welfare became more dependent on government aid rather than jobs. Many political leaders still tussle with how to combat the issues of poverty, healthcare and education. Overall, this program established permanent health care, combated poverty and provided more than $1 billion to improve education. President Johnson, along with supporters, worked hard to achieve the goals of the Great Society. Quoted from the Speech at the University of Michigan, he said, “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 [unrestrained] growth. For in your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward toward the Great

Society.”