Although often overshadowed by his connection to the Vietnam War, Lyndon Johnson also was responsible for the most significant social welfare reforms since the New Deal. Many elements of his Great Society have become lasting American institutions, such as Medicare and Medicaid. How did Johnson's plan change the federal government's role in the United States?
Fig.1 - Lyndon Johnson with a Great Society Advisor, Sargent Shriver
Purpose of the Great Society
The Great Society differed in its fundamental purpose from the New Deal. While the New Deal worked to lift the American economy out of a crisis, the Great Society brought along those left behind in a time of prosperity and increased equality. Johnson first uttered the words "Great Society" in a spring 1964 speech at the University of Michigan. Like Kennedy with "New Frontier" and Franklin Delano Roosevelt with "New Deal," he continued to reference "Great Society" in his speeches and addresses, eventually becoming the name by which his domestic social welfare plan was known.
Creating the Great Society
Throughout 1964, the Johnson administration assembled several task forces comprised of academics and civil servants to look at American social problems and offer policy recommendations to address those problems. This work was done in secret and not discussed during the 1964 election campaign, although he did make a public tour of poverty in Appalachia during the campaign. With public sympathy strong on Johnson's side due to President Kennedy's assassination in 1963, he was re-elected along with a new liberal Democratic majority in Congress. The new majority allowed an override of Republican and Southern Democrats' opposition to Civil Rights and other social legislation championed by President Kennedy.
Fig.2 - Johnson in Appalachia
Great Society Programs of the 1960s
A massive amount of social welfare programming that changed America for decades was enacted under the Great Society programs of the 1960s. The new Democratic Congressional majority passed several bills developed in response to the task forces Johnson had put together. The sweeping effects of this legislation would work toward balancing the conditions of poorer communities and providing a social safety net to those in need.
Medicare and Medicaid
The program Medicare provides health insurance to the elderly, while Medicaid is a similar program for the poor. Both of these groups had low numbers of insured individuals in the 1960s. With the Social Security Act of 1965, any American over 65 or receiving welfare benefits was now medically insured through Medicare and Medicaid.
The War on Poverty
Besides the "Great Society," Johnson also talked about the "War on Poverty." Although Johnson did expand direct government help for Americans, such as with the Food Stamp Act of 1964, many War on Poverty programs focused on developing Americans' skills and education and helping them find jobs. The Job Corps helped young Americans gain skills while working on conservation projects. Volunteer-led Community Action Programs provided utility bill assistance and created local food banks.
Volunteers in Service to America, VISTA, was created in 1964. The organization provided a small cost-of-living stipend to volunteers who would spend one year serving impoverished communities. The service could take many forms, focusing on health, housing, and education.
The idea began with President John F Kennedy. It was one of many pieces of legislation that Johnson could get passed as president in the wake of Kennedy's assassination. Kennedy had previously created an internal version of the program known as the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps sought to place foreign countries on the US side of the Cold War by mobilizing American experts to advise developing countries. With VISTA, this sort of work was turned on domestically.
Education
Before becoming a politician, Johnson had been a high school teacher in Texas. As president, Johnson worked to promote the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which significantly increased federal funding for education. With federal involvement in schooling being controversial then, the act provided grants to local areas with a significant degree of latitude on how to spend them.
Fig.3 - Urban Renewal Development Plan
Urban Renewal
After WWII, many middle-class Americans left cities for booming suburban housing developments, accessible by the many new highways built in the 1950s. As a result of the middle class leaving, many urban areas were left with only their lower-income populations, causing urban areas to decay. The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 granted urban Americans money for home improvements and assistance in paying rent. The act also provided funds for the construction of new utilities like sewers and water treatment plants.
Johnson created the Department of Housing and Urban Development to oversee urban renewal as a permanent part of the executive branch. The secretary of Housing and Urban Development leads the department, a presidential cabinet member. The two previous presidents, Eisenhower and Kennedy, had considered creating similar departments.
The Arts
The National Foundation on Art and Humanities Act created the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The act followed up on concerns among academics that education was becoming too heavily on science at the cost of the humanities and the arts. The endowments supported museums, research, education, and other cultural preservation forms.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was created by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which assisted existing local public television channels. In 1970, the Public Broadcasting System, PBS, was incorporated, creating PBS as a national television network.
Other Areas of the Great Society
Some controversies over the Great Society stemmed from how it put the federal government into even more areas of American life. Some of the other issues addressed by the Great Society agenda included:
- Water quality
- Air quality
- Automobile safety
- Public transportation
- Minimum wage
Fig.4 - Lyndon Johnson Signing Economic Opportunity Act
Impact of the Great Society
The impact of the Great Society, like the New Deal, has been debated. Poverty rates did decrease during the time, but they had already been going down since 1959. The Great Society represented so many issues that it can be challenging to evaluate them as a whole. The following effects can be noted during the period:
- More Black Americans were registered to vote
- More Americans were covered by health insurance
- Car exhaust produced much less pollution
- Increased immigration
- New warnings appeared on labels, such as that smoking is hazardous to health.
Critique of the Great Society
Although Johnson came into office riding on public sentiment about the Kennedy assassination, support for Johnson did not last. From both the left and the right, Johnson was heavily criticized, so much so that he declined to run for reelection in 1968. How did the Great Society become opposed by opposite ends of the political spectrum?
Conservative Opposition
Many Americans were upset over unrest in major cities in the Johnson years. As a result, the Great Society's focus on inner city and minority issues was much less popular than broader programs such as Medicare and money for education. Many conservatives resented "handouts," believing the recipients did not deserve the aid. Conservative commentators argued that the impact on poverty was low, and generational welfare reliance was created due to the Great Society. They felt that this proved direct government intervention was not the proper solution to poverty.
Radical Opposition
On the left, some, like Martin Luther King, felt that the policies did not go far enough and were not comprehensive enough. The Vietnam War, heavily identified with Johnson personally, was also very unpopular on the left. As the costs of the Vietnam War escalated, money was withdrawn from the War on Poverty programs, which were viewed with further outrage by those on the left.
The Great Society - Key takeaways
The Great Society was first mentioned in a 1964 speech.
The plan included the "War on Poverty".
It attempted to provide government solutions to many social problems.
The Great Society created Medicare and Medicaid.
Federal funding was granted to schools.
Conservatives described The Great Society as "handouts."
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