The Great Society (1964–1968)

Question 1

What was The Great Society?

Answer 1

• Aimed to eliminate poverty and racial injustice.
• Key themes: Civil Rights, Economic Opportunity, Healthcare, Education, and Urban Renewal.

Question 2

What policies were made by the War on Poverty?

Answer 2

• Economic Opportunity Act (1964): Created the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to oversee anti-poverty programs
• Job Corps: Provided vocational training for young people
• Head Start: Early education for underprivileged children
• VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America): Domestic Peace Corps
• Community Action Programs (CAPs): Encouraged local solutions to poverty

Question 3

What healthcare reforms did Johnson make?

Answer 3

• Medicare (1965): Healthcare for the elderly
• Medicaid (1965): Healthcare for the poor
• Big impact but spiralling costs, some gaps (like glasses) and problems (fees set by doctors and hospitals)
• By 1976, 1/5th of the population benefited from these policies

Question 4

What education reforms did Johnson make?

Answer 4

• Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965): Provided federal funding to schools, especially those in low-income areas
• Higher Education Act (1965): Increased access to college through loans and scholarships
• 13 million children benefited from federal aid in education, % passing the high-school diploma rose, as did the number of teachers, and now school buildings were built
• 25% of students’ colleges received some federal financial aid

Question 5

What civil rights policy did Johnson make?

Answer 5

• Civil Rights Act (1964): Banned discrimination in public places, employment, and federally funded programs. Progressed school segregation and established an Equal Employment Commission. African Americans argued it did not go far enough- riots occurred
• Voting Rights Act (1965): Due to King’s march from Selma to Montgomery was attacked by state troopers on ‘Bloody Sunday’. Removed all literacy tests and state constitution tests.
• Fair Housing Act (1968): Prohibited housing discrimination
• The GS led to increased African American voting, sped up desegregation of schools, helped black colleges, decreased black unemployment (by 34%) and reduced the number of black people in poverty by 25%

Question 6

What urban reform was made by Johnson?

Answer 6

• Model Cities Program: Targeted urban decay with federal funds
• Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act (1966): was underfunded and failed to create the model cities it was meant to, there was not enough money, and it was spread too thin (initial 6 cities became 150)
• Highway Safety Act (1966): Set safety standards for cars and roads
• Fair Housing Act (1968): Congress passed it following pressure from Johnson to end discrimination in housing but the bill largely failed

Question 7

What were the successes of the Great Society?

Answer 7

• 19 million Americans lifted from poverty
• The infant mortality rate declined
• College attendance rose
• Medicare and Medicaid provide crucial healthcare

Question 8

What were the failings of the Great Society?

Answer 8

• The Vietnam War drained funds and limited further reform
• Criticism from conservatives who opposed government intervention
• Racial tensions persisted despite legislation

Question 9

What tension was there with race relations under LBJ?

Answer 9

• Civil Rights Movement became more radical (Black Power, Malcolm X, Black Panthers)
• Watts Riots (1965): Violent uprising in Los Angeles due to police brutality
• Kerner Commission Report (1968): Concluded that America was dividing into “two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal.”

Question 10

What opposition did Johnson face?

Answer 10

• Conservatives criticized his big government spending
• Liberals and youth opposed Vietnam War escalation
• Media coverage of Vietnam eroded public trust

Question 11

By 1965 what anti-poverty progress had been made?

Answer 11

• 4 million people receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children
• 90,000 adults in basic education programmes
• $17 million in rural loans distributed to aid development
• 8000 Volunteers in Service to America helping the most in need

Question 12

What were the problems with the education system in the US in 1964?

Answer 12

• 54 million Americans had never finished High School
• 8 million have less than 5 years of schooling
• Schools were overcrowded, shortages of teachers, and school buildings were in poor repair
• Many who graduated HS could not afford college
• The USA spent 7x more on a ‘youth gone bad’ than they did on one staying in school

Question 13

What was the biggest drain on Johnson’s Great Society?

Answer 13

• During the Vietnam War, between 1965 and 1973, $15.5 billion was spent on the Great Society compared to $120 billion on the Vietnam War
• ‘Peace with other nations’ was not successful

Question 14

What economic development was made during the Great Society?

Answer 14

• Johnson carried out the tax cut that Kennedy had proposed, and this stimulated the economy
• Economic growth increased the money available to Johnson by around $4-5 billion
• Inflation was initially low but picked up during Johnson’s term in office
• Unemployment low: 1.4%
• The economy grew by an average of over 4%
• National debt fell significantly
• Issues with the trade deficit