Great Society Programs

THE GREAT SOCIETY WAS a term coined by President Lyndon B. Johnson to describe his program to eradicate poverty in the United States and create a fairer society. Described by some as a second New Deal, Johnson hoped to move the federal government to attack poverty, racism, and environmental issues. Johnson's Great Society ideas were outlined in a speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, delivered to students at a commencement on May 22, 1964.

In the speech, Johnson said the nation had an opportunity “to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society but upward to the Great Society.” He went on to say, “The Great Society … demands an end to poverty and racial injustice. … But that is just the beginning. The Great Society is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and enlarge his talent … where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect, not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce but the desire for beauty and the hunger for community,” and “where man can renew contact with nature.”

Johnson used this speech to embark on the most ambitious domestic legislative agenda ever attempted by a president and Congress since the 1930s New Deal. The central piece of this Great Society was a War on Poverty designed to eradicate the causes of poverty within the United States. Johnson was concerned by statistics that showed that almost 25 percent of American families were living below the poverty line. He was even more concerned by the idea that entire regions of the country were almost totally oblivious to the economic growth and prosperity associated with the post-World War II era.

Areas like central Appalachia continued to languish in desperate conditions, despite the material advancement of American society. Johnson was also concerned about the changing technology associated with industry, which required advanced training and skills for existing employees.

He saw the handwriting on the wall, which pointed to the disappearance of well-paying, low-skilled jobs. He also understood the relationship between education and economic opportunity. Those whose educations failed them were the least likely to succeed in the increasingly technological society. Johnson believed that he had to act quickly to attack the causes of poverty and despair to ensure a stable and successful workforce in the future.

[Page 441]The first piece of legislation passed by Congress as part of this Great Society was the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, which called for nearly $1 billion in government spending to attack poverty. In a message to Congress, he called for a War on Poverty that would strike “at the causes and not just the consequences of poverty, one which would treat not just poor individuals but poor communities as well.” On March 16, 1964, Johnson sent Congress his controversial Economic Opportunity Act, and on August 20, 1964, Johnson signed the legislation. The bill was far-reaching and future-ori-ented. The bill created 12 new programs designed to attack the causes of poverty. It created the Job Corps, which was modeled on Franklin Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps. It provided job training to dropouts and other low-skilled people. College Work Study programs designed to help more lower- and mid-dle-class students attend college. It created a domestic version of the Peace Corps called VISTA, Volunteers In Service To America.

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