Johnson's Great Society

Housing:

What were “model cities”? What was it hoped that they would do?

What was the 1966 Demonstration Cities Act? Why did it fail?

• Chicago, Detroit + LA to become “model cities”

  • Local communities and all levels of govt would work on facilities and slum clearing

• Demonstration Cities Act 1966:

  • Underfunded; estimated $2.4bn price, but NYC alone needed $6bn.

  • Congress demanded something for their cities, so 6 cities became 150

    • Money/resources spread too thinly to be effective.

What was the 1965 Omnibus Housing Act?

Was it successful?

• Financed rent supplements + $8bn worth of low to moderate income housing in ghettos

• Johnson successful in encouraging builders to construct reasonably priced housing

• Ghettos remained to be dire, with taxpayers unwilling to help.

Education:

What was the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965)?

Was it successful? Who benefitted from it?

How was it limited?

• A.K.A ESEA

• 6.7 million poor children benefitted

• 1985: National Institute of Education reported ½ of expenditure went to children above the poverty line

  • May have been a necessary measure to make the act politically acceptable

• Hard for fed. govt to reach into local school districts

What was the Higher Education Act (HEA) 1965?

What percentage of children had received funding from the HEA by 1970?

• Provided $650 million to help poorer students- 11 million benefitted

  • 1970: 25% of college pupils received some kind of funding from HEA

What was Johnson’s overall impact on education?

• % of those with a high school diploma rose

• Shortage of teachers ended

• New buildings constructed

• Accessibility of college education up

Healthcare:

Why were Medicare/Medicaid important to establish at this time?

What helped their passage?

• Elderly made up a large % of the population, with healthcare being a main cause of their poverty.

• Large % of Democrats in congress= establishing of Medicare/aid in the 1965 Social Security Act

What did Medicare provide?

How was it successful?

In what ways was it limited? (3)

• Provided federal-funded health insurance for 65+ and the disabled regardless of income or position

• Helped lift many out of poverty; well liked

• 1/5 of population benefitted

  • But… problem of reasonably priced healthcare still remained

• Gaps in coverage (glasses)

• More expensive than Johnson anticipated; allowed hospitals to set fees ($100 mil cost by 1990)

Civil Rights Laws:

What was the Open Housing Law (1968)?

What did Johnson believe about slums?

Why did this law generate backlash?

What was the law eventually passed as and what was this due to?

• Johnson in favour of integrated housing; believed slums increased tension and division

• Whites opposed to integrated housing; due to racism and lowering of housing prices in integrated areas

• Receives backlash, so Congress appeals until MLK’s assassination- then passed as the Fair Housing Act 1968

What was the 1964 Civil Rights Act?

How was it successful?

How was it limited?

• Ended legally-enforced segregation in south

• Did not ensure black people in south could vote

  • Selma campaign sparked by this…

What was the 1968 Fair Housing Act?

How was it successful?

How was it limited?

• Prohibited discrimination in sale/rental of housing

• BUT… difficult to enforce in the face of white opposition