Lyndon Baines Johnson: The Great Society

Melinda Amador
Mr. Wenzinger
U of F History
23 April 2015
The Great Society
Idealism is the practice of pursuing ideals that are unrealistic. Realism is the practice of accepting the situation and dealing with it appropriately. Some might say that Lyndon Baines Johnson was an idealist for wanting to end poverty and racial injustice. The two main goals of his Great Society were; elimination of poverty and racial injustice. Although the Great Society was not necessarily “great” it still aided Americans and continues to aid Americans today.
Johnson was elected as a senator for Texas in 1948. Quickly advancing with his connections, he became the youngest minority leader in Senate history in 1953. Since democrats had won control of the Senate

in the following year, Johnson was elected majority leader. By the year 1960 Johnson had his sights set on the White House, although overwhelmed by a young and energetic senator, John F. Kennedy. After winning the presidency Kennedy offered the position of Vice President to Johnson, and Johnson accepted. Johnson only two cars away from Kennedy, on November 22,1962, witnessed Kennedy’s death. A few hours later, Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president aboard Air Force One on its return to Washington, D.C. Over the next year Johnson endorsed the late president’s program and pushed through Congress a few programs of his own. On of his own programs included a tax cut and the Civil Rights Act of 1964-being the first effective civil right law since Reconstruction.
In his presidency Johnson enacted nearly 200 pieces of legislation known as the Great Society. The pieces of legislation were programs aimed at improving the everyday life of the American. The two main goals of his Great Society, as stated in the introduction, were to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. “In pursuit of his Great Society, Johnson sent a special message to Congress on March 16, 1964. calling for a “war on poverty.” He proposed a $962 million program, expanded to $3 billion by 1966, which would bring relief to the most poverty-stricken areas in rural and urban America.” (Feross Aboukhadijeh, “LBJ-Lyndon Baines Johnson”)
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by Johnson on July 2, 1964. “We believe that all men are created equal, yet many are denied equal treatment.” (Johnson) This law outlawed discrimination based on race, color, gender, a person’s origin, and religion. Lawsuit were brought up against schools practicing segregation by the attorney general and discouraged job discrimination through the creation of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He later added on to those protections by implementing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, parts of the act were revoked by Supreme Court in 2013. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 sought to eliminate discrimination in housing. The black voter registration rates some of the Southern states had increased an average of 67% from 1964 to 1968 because Johnson had retracted the literacy tests the Southern states required voters to take. There were 1,469 black elected officials in 1970 and by November 2011, there were more than 10,500.
In 1984 60.6% of blacks had been reported for voting in presidential elections. In 1993, it went down to 59.2%. In 2011, 66.2% of black voted in presidential elections. The voting done by Whites and non-Hispanics was 66.4% in 1984. Their highest percentage was in 1993 with 70.2% of the race voting in presidential elections. But they slowly declined, and in 2011 had 64.1% voting. Hispanics in 1984 were at exactly half of the race voting with 50%. Their percentage went up 1.6% by 1993, recording 51.6% of Hispanics that voted. In 2011, went down to 48%. Asians were highest in 1993 with 53.9%. They slowly declined, then went back up, with 47.3% recorded voting in the presidential election.
“The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics concluded that an African American male born in 2001 has a 32% chance of going to jail in his lifetime, while a Latino male has a 17% chance, and a white male only has a 6% chance. In 2010, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reported that African Americans receive 10% longer sentences than whites through the federal system for the same crimes. A survey in 2011 revealed that 52% of non-Hispanic whites expressed anti-Hispanic attitudes. In 2012, 51% of Americans expressed anti-black sentiments in a poll; a 3% increase from 2008.” (11 Facts About Racial Discrimination)
The Economic Opportunity Act was signed on August 20, 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This act was the foundation of the War on Poverty. It directed and coordinated, educational, employment, and training programs that “laid its groundwork” by establishing the Office of Economic Opportunity. Spending to help the poor doubled between 1965 and 1968. Doubling spending seems risky and also sounds like a possible increase in debt, but within 10 years, the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line had declined to 12% to 20%. In the past 50 years the rate has fluctuated greatly from that 12% to 15.9% of Americans living in poverty in 2012. Johnson’s Council of Economic Advisors had used a board measure. The board measure included tax credits and benefits such as food assistance. “Today for the first time in all the history of the human race, a great nation is able to make and is willing to make a commitment to eradicate poverty among its people.” (Johnson) The Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 was also created and implemented to invigorate those in poverty. All of his efforts helped despite the abolishment of the Office of Economic opportunity in 1981.
In 1960, 3 years before Johnson’s term, 22.4% of the U.S.

population was in poverty. When Johnson’s term began, in 1963, 21% of the U.S. was in poverty. In 1966, poverty was at 14.7%. At the end of his term 12.1% were in poverty. In 2011, 15% of the U.S. population was in poverty. The most recent year documented in the U.S. Census Bureau is 2012 with 15% of Americans in poverty, no change from 2011. The only way that the government had prevented the poverty rate from climbing higher are the social welfare programs created by the New Deal. Programs like unemployment, insurance, and food stamps are helping many families from going into

poverty.
Today, Obama urges that Medicaid programs should be expanded to poor, childless adults, an increase in minimum wage, and funding for early childhood programs. Conservatives argue that the government has been misspending their “safety-net” money and need to focus on putting that money into more economic and job opportunities and less on support. Also today, four in ten black children live in poverty and for Hispanic children three in ten. Economic and sociological trends have helped explain why there are so many children and adults that are poor and remain poor (the effects of recession set aside). Today there are more single parents, and some of those single parents have children born out of wedlock (marriage). There are higher incarceration rate, especially among black men, which is another factor that contributes in aiding to the single parenting that occurs in many households. An estimated 30% of single mothers live in poverty. “Over the last 30 years, growth has generally failed to translate into income gains for workers — even as the American labor force has become better educated and more skilled. About 40 percent of low-wage workers have attended or completed college, and 80 percent have completed high school.” (Annie Lowrey, “50 Years Later, War on Poverty Is a Mixed Bag”) Earned-income tax credit is an example of aid that has helped increase employment among single mothers. It also kept six million Americans above the poverty line in 2011. Food stamps, another program that aided many Americans, known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits helped to keep four million Americans out of poverty in 2011.
Eight months later, on April 11, 1965, President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This act committed the federal government to help local school districts whose students came from low-income families. “As a son of a tenant farmer, I know that education is the only valid passport from poverty,” (Johnson) Being a teacher before launching his political career Johnson understood the importance of education and the long-term benefits that can be derived from it. Johnson had started another program we have today, Head Start. Head Start was designed to give underprivileged kids a “head start” before entering the first grade. In 1965 he had also launched the Higher Education Act. This act was intended to open up college to anyone who wanted to attend through scholarships and low-income loans. The Higher Education Act also established a national teacher corps. “In the 1963-64 school year, $879 million in federal grants were given to students, almost all to veterans or members of the military, and $849 million was doled out in student loans.” (Evaluating the Success of the Great Society)
Today high school students can obtain financial aid for school through a scholarship, loan, grant, work-study, or from filling out the FAFSA. Another option some high school students consider as a way to receive money for college is joining the military. An undergraduate student can get up to $5,500 per year in Perkins Loans, depending on financial needs, the amount of aid received, and the availability of funds that the college or career school can present a student with. An undergraduate student can also receive $5,500 to $12,500 per year in Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans depending on the year in college the student is in. A graduate student can receive up to $8,000 each year in Perkins Loans depending on financial need, the amount of aid received, and availability of funds that the college or career school can present a students with. A graduate students can also receive up to $20,5000 each year in Direct Unsubsidized Loans.
The amendment to the Social Security Act was signed on July 30, 1965 by Johnson. This act created Medicaid and Medicare. These are health insurance programs were designed for the elderly, as well as low-income individuals and families. “No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracle of modern medicine. No longer will illness crush and destroy the savings that they have so carefully put away over a lifetime so that they might enjoy dignity in their later years…” (Johnson)
During 1966, an estimated 19 million people were enrolled in Medicare, most were elderly.

In 2010, a little under 47 million people participated in Medicare, this included both elderly and disabled. During the 1960s 9% of people in the U.S. were enrolled in Medicare. Around 1975 is when people started to enroll in Medicaid, with 10.2% of people in the U.S. enrolled. Medicare keeps increasing throughout the years, as a result of the slow growth 15.2% were recorded enrolled in 2010. Medicaid was recorded at 22.4% in 2010. There are currently 62 million people that participate in both programs. As of 2012 16% of people in the U.S. are Medicare beneficiaries. There are 69,975,289 people in the U.S. that enroll monthly for Medicaid and CHIP. The acronym CHIP stands for, Children’s Health Insurance

Program.
In Conclusion, these are just a few of the many acts Johnson had implemented throughout the time in his presidency. The Social Security Act is a program that is still in effect today, and the other programs were a way of social reform that had actually benefit our society at the time and helped provoke the need for change schooling, economy, and other aspects. The positives of the Great Society were a decrease in poverty because the unemployment numbers went down, and schooling was incentivised by scholarships, grants, etc. Also, with the benefits given people had been given a “push”. Negatives of the Great Society were, the amount of spending that was being done to provide all of these benefits, because of the spending our national debt increased. Another negative is that some people take advantage of these benefits by enrolling in programs that they do not qualify for. Also, there are some people that do not look at the programs as a “push”, they enroll and see it as a reason not to work. Some of these people in poverty think they do not have to work because they are already getting this money with no effort involved, so why work.

Works Cited
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Lowrey, Annie. “50 Years Later, War on Poverty Is a Mixed Bag.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 May 2015.

Quigley, Bill. “11 Facts About Racial Discrimination.” 11 Facts About Racial Discrimination. Do Something, 1 Mar. 2014. Web. 04 May 2015. .

“Lyndon Baines Johnson.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015. .

“Federal Student Loans for College or Career School Are an Investment in Your Future.” Loans. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2015. .

“Total Monthly Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment.” Total Monthly Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Web. 04 May 2015. .

"Medicare Beneficiaries as a Percent of Total Population." Medicare Beneficiaries as a Percent of Total Population. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015. .