The Great Society
Chapter 49
1
• Johnson helped push New Frontier programs
through Congress, such as Kennedy’s Civil Rights
legislation. But he quickly took things much
further, propelled by his own Great Society vision.
Examples: Voting Rights Act of 1965, Civil Rights
Act of 1968, War on Poverty, Economic
Opportunity Act, and dozens of other laws and
government agencies to address housing, health
care, education, culture, immigration, the
environment, and consumer protection.
2
• Liberals like Johnson believed that the power
of the government should be expanded to
promote the common good. Conservatives
like Goldwater wanted limited government,
believing that its most important role was to
preserve and extend freedom.
3
• Vista was modeled on the Peace Corps,
sending volunteers to live and work in poor
areas to help serve the needs of local
communities by teaching and providing job
training.
4
• In 1965, Congress established Medicare and
Medicaid, health insurance programs to
ensure that elderly and poor Americans
receive health care.
5
• Johnson pushed several measure to improve
the nations education system, including the
Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965,
providing federal aid to school districts
nationwide. Funds went to needy students
rather than to schools, helping finance both
public and parochial education. Project Head
Start set up nursery schools for low income
children.
6
• This act eliminated immigration quotas based
on national origin, which Johnson saw rooted
in prejudice. As a result immigration
quadrupled, with immigrants arriving from all
over the world.
7
• Some argued the war on poverty was not the
best approach to ending poverty; rather
government should try to change the economy.
Others claimed that the programs were creating
an underclass of Americans dependent on
government welfare. While some felt the
government should spend more on programs,
others argued that great Society programs cost
too much. At the heart of the debate were
questions about the role of government in a
democracy.
8
• Both cases involved redrawing voting district
boundaries to ensure that they reflected
population changes. In Baker v. Carr, the
Court ruled that reapportionment was a
question for federal courts, not just sate
legislatures, to consider. The Court's decision
in Reynolds v. Sims caused states throughout
the country to redraw legislative districts to
support the principle of “one person one
vote”.