1. THE GREAT SOCIETY
LBJ’s War on Poverty

2. JFK Left Much Undone...
In 1963, just before he was assassinated, JFK asked his advisors to draw up some plans for an attack on poverty
In his first State of the Union address, LBJ declared a “war on poverty”,
expanding JFK’s plans

3. The Battle Plan
Johnson developed the Economic Opportunity Act of The act included several proposals...
Head Start
Job Corps
Work-Study programs for college students
VISTA (domestic Peace Corps)
Basic education and adult job training
Community Action Programs
local control of social reform

4. FUNDING THE WAR...
This was bold (if not radical) legislation, but critically under-funded.
The Congress appropriated $1 billion for all the the Economic Opportunity Act’s programs

5. The (Kennedy) Tax Cut
The American economy experienced a slow-down after the prosperity of 1950’s
LBJ passed JFK’s proposed $10 billion tax cut
The cut was a huge success
Over the next 6-8 quarters, spending rose $45 billion, GNP soared, and the federal tax revenues actually increased
Keynesian economics had been fully accepted by federal policy makers

6. THE GREAT SOCIETY
Following in the tradition of FDR, LBJ announced his “Great Society during the 1964 Presidential campaign against Barry Goldwater

7. “The Great Society must be based on the elimination
of poverty and racial injustice. A place where
men are more concerned with the quality
of their lives than the quantity of their goods.”

8. “ATHREE LEGGED STOOL”

9. ELECTION of 1964 Johnson was challenged by Republican Barry Goldwater
Goldwater supported:
Abolition of the income tax
End of public works
End to social security
Johnson won (61% of votes); many liberals were elected on his coattails

10. The 89th US Congress
The liberal 89th Congress accomplished the following:
Achieved goals of the Fair Deal
Achieved the goals of New Frontier
Medicare programs
Elementary and Secondary Ed. Act
Housing and Urban Development programs

11. More 89th Accomplishments
“It was a Congress of accomplished hopes, a Congress of realized dreams.”
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Clean air and water regulations
End to immigration quota system established in 1920’s
City planning programs

12. “If only it hadn’t been for Vietnam…”
President Johnson could have been remembered for his advocation of social reform, for his leadership in passing civil rights laws and declaring a “War on Poverty”, if it hadn’t been for Vietnam.
The Vietnam War was the longest war in US history, and the only one we didn’t win
It proved to destroy LBJ’s political career