Poverty, Housing and Education - Johnson’s Great Society

Great Society

What domestic vision did Johnson outline in May 1964?

End of poverty

One aim of the Great Society

Racial equality

One aim of the Great Society

Educational reform

One aim of the Great Society

Modern housing

One aim of the Great Society

End of urban decay

One aim of the Great Society

Renewed sense of community

One aim of the Great Society

Environmentalism

One aim of the Great Society

Peace with other nations

One aim of the Great Society

Unconditional war on poverty

What did Johnson declare in January 1964?

Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) 1964

Which act launched the War on Poverty?

Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO)

Which body coordinated the War on Poverty?

February 1965

When Johnson reported progress on the War on Poverty to Congress

Head Start programme

Programme helping poor pre-school children prepare for school

Nearly 1 million children

Number helped by Head Start

Upward Bound programme

Linked poorer students with higher education institutions

50,000 students per year

Annual participants in Upward Bound

Food Stamp programme extension

Anti-poverty measure expanded under Johnson

35% rise in minimum wage

Economic reform under the Great Society

Critics of War on Poverty

Why was Johnson criticised over poverty policy?

Spending too high AND too low

Conflicting criticisms of funding levels

Failure to eradicate poverty

Overall judgement on War on Poverty

One-third of non-white families below poverty line

Evidence poverty persisted

Unemployment nearly twice as high for non-whites

Evidence of continuing inequality

Infant mortality nearly twice as high for non-whites

Evidence of continuing inequality

54 million Americans never finished high school

Education problem in 1960s

8 million Americans had under 5 years of education

Education problem in 1960s

100,000 high school graduates couldn’t afford college

Education problem in 1960s

Overcrowded schools

Education problem in 1960s

Shortage of good teachers

Education problem in 1960s

$8 billion education spending

How much Johnson persuaded Congress to spend on education

Higher Education Act (HEA) 1965

Main aim of the HEA

11 million poorer students benefited

Impact of the HEA

25% of college students by 1970

Proportion receiving HEA financial aid

College attendance rose 15% to 32% (1950–1970)

Impact of HEA on participation

Greatly increased opportunity for low-income students

Why HEA was praised

Helped poorly funded black colleges

Additional impact of HEA

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 1965

Johnson’s key anti-poverty education act

6.7 million poor children benefited

Impact of ESEA

Johnson framed ESEA as helping all children

Why ESEA was politically acceptable

1985 National Institute of Education finding

Criticism of ESEA spending outcomes

Money went to children above poverty line

Criticism of ESEA

Federal government struggled to control local districts

Criticism of ESEA

Federal aid to schools reinforced

Why liberals supported ESEA

Encouraged greater state investment in education

Impact of ESEA

Urban poverty, poor housing and pollution

Problems in American inner cities

Congestion in inner cities

Problem facing cities in the 1960s

Congress accepted several housing reforms

How Johnson tackled housing problems

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 1965

Purpose of HUD

Coordinated housing and urban renewal programmes

HUD role

Over ¾ of Americans lived in urban areas

Context for housing reform

Demonstration Cities Act 1966

Official name of the Model Cities programme

Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington DC

Original model cities

Model cities tackled housing, transport and recreation

Aims of model cities

Programme underfunded at $1.2 billion

Main weakness of model cities

Johnson estimated $2.4 billion was needed

Funding criticism

New York Times said NYC alone needed $6 billion

Criticism of funding

Robert Kennedy called it a “drop in the bucket”

Criticism of model cities

Expanded from 6 to 150 cities

Why model cities failed

Money spread too thin

Why model cities failed

Omnibus Housing Act 1965

Aimed to improve ghetto housing

Rent supplements provided

Policy under Omnibus Housing Act

$8 billion for low- and moderate-income housing

Funding under Omnibus Housing Act

Federal loans and persuasion used

How Johnson encouraged builders

Ghettos remained in poor condition

Outcome of housing policy

White taxpayers unwilling to help

Obstacle to housing reform

1968 housing focus

What Johnson prioritised late in presidency

Ending discrimination in housing

Aim of 1968 reforms

Would cost taxpayers nothing

Johnson’s argument for fair housing

Reduce overcrowding in ghettos

Aim of fair housing

Fair Housing Act 1968

Legislation passed by Congress

Job Corps

OEO programme providing job training

53 Job Corps centres

Scale of Job Corps

Thousands of applications daily

Evidence of demand

25,000 welfare families in work training

Impact of work training schemes

35,000 college students in work-study

Impact of work-study programmes

35,000 adults learning literacy

Impact of literacy programmes

90,000 adults in basic education

Impact of adult education

Neighbourhood Youth Corps

Programme giving young people jobs

Helped young people stay in education or training

Aim of Youth Corps

49 cities and 11 rural communities

Scale of Youth Corps

VISTA

Service to America volunteer programme

8,000 VISTA volunteers

Scale of VISTA

Helped needy children, Native Americans and migrant workers

Groups helped by VISTA

Aid to Families with Dependent Children

Anti-poverty welfare programme

Over 4 million recipients

Scale of AFDC

Loans for small businesses and rural development

Economic support policy

$17 million in rural loans (1968)

Evidence of rural development support