Johnson’s Great Society Overview

Great Society

A set of domestic reforms introduced by Lyndon B Johnson to reduce poverty and racial injustice and improve quality of life

Aims of the Great Society

To eliminate poverty, expand civil rights, improve education, healthcare and living standards

Wealth gap 1963

The richest 1% owned 28% of wealth while the bottom 50% owned only 1%

Unemployment under Johnson

Unemployment fell by 7% between 1964 and 1968

Federal deficit

The deficit fell to $1 billion as unemployment dropped below 5%

Economic growth causes

Military spending, consumer confidence and government intervention

Education programmes

VISTA, Head Start, Job Corps and CAPS aimed to improve skills and opportunity

1964 Tax Act

Cut taxes to stimulate demand and avoid economic downturn

Poverty reduction

Poverty fell by 3.5% between 1964 and 1968

Support for the poor

Job training, education, housing and community development

Criticism of economic impact

Poverty reduction was slow and limited

Quality of life concerns

Pollution, water quality and welfare dependency

Major welfare legislation

Medicare and Medicaid expanded healthcare access

Urban policy

Great Society legislation focused on inner-city poverty

Education progress

By 1968 over 75% of Black Americans finished high school

Black poverty reduction

Poverty fell faster among Black Americans than white Americans

Appalachian support

Investment aimed to reduce rural poverty

Minimum wage

Johnson increased the minimum wage

Social security

Social security extended to 2 million more Americans

Education funding

Secondary Education Act gave $1 billion to poorer students

Parochial schools

Religious schools benefited indirectly from education funding

Voting Rights Act 1965

Removed barriers to Black voting

Civil Rights Act 1964

Banned discrimination in employment and public places

Affirmative action

Johnson supported policies to help minorities access jobs and education

Criticism of racial reform

Some believed Johnson did not go far enough

Black family income

Black income rose from 54% to 59% of white family income

Limits of racial progress

Racial inequality still remained

Community Action Programmes

Gave local control but angered state governments

Conservative opposition

Republicans and Southern Democrats resisted reforms

Vietnam War impact

Vietnam diverted attention and resources away from reform

Underfunding

Many Great Society programmes lacked sufficient funding

Shift in priorities

Domestic reform declined due to Vietnam

Political challenge

Johnson struggled to balance reform and war

Vietnam War spending

20 times more spent on Vietnam than welfare programmes

Effect on reforms

Financial and political support for Great Society weakened

Political damage

Vietnam undermined Johnson’s presidency

Social conflict

Domestic reform conflicted with war pressures

Kennedy comparison

Kennedy focused more on foreign policy

Continuation of Kennedy ideas

Johnson expanded and passed Kennedy-era proposals

Public perception

Many reforms credited to Kennedy

Minimum wage exclusion

Some workers excluded from wage increases

Labour criticism

Key worker groups felt left out

Overall comparison

Johnson’s domestic impact far greater than Kennedy’s

Overall success

The Great Society achieved major reform but did not eliminate poverty

Key achievements

Civil rights, Medicare, Medicaid, education funding

Main limitations

Vietnam War, underfunding and political opposition

Historical judgement

Johnson reshaped US society but fell short of full ambitions