th
10 American History
Unit V- A Nation Facing Challenges
Chapter 17 – Section 3
The Great Society
The Great Society
The Main Idea
President Johnson used his political skills to push Kennedy’s proposals
through Congress and expanded them with his own vision of the Great
Society.
Reading Focus
•
Why was Lyndon Johnson’s background good preparation for becoming
president?
•
Why was Johnson more successful than Kennedy in getting Congress to
enact Kennedy’s agenda?
•
In what ways did Johnson’s Great Society change the nation?
•
What foreign-policy issues were important in Johnson’s presidency?
Lyndon Johnson
Personality
 Large and intense with none
of Kennedy’s good looks,
polish, or charm
 Hardworking and ambitious
 Genuine desire to help
others
 Greater concern for the poor
and underprivileged than
Kennedy
 Believed in an expanded
role for government in
making Americans’ lives
better
Political Experience
 School teacher in Texas
 Served as Texas Congressman
 Served as U.S. Senator
 Served as majority leader in
the Senate after one term as
senator
 By 1960, Johnson had more
influence in Washington, D.C.,
than any other Democrat.
Reputation

Bull Dog
• “A Machiavelli in a
Stetson.”
In the shadow of JFK
 Political assets
 Tender ego

• “Why don’t people like
me.”
The Beginning of Johnson’s
Presidency
Johnson’s mastery of the political process, along with his
years of experience in Washington, allowed Johnson to
make a smooth transition to the presidency.
He vowed to continue to carry on the New Frontier.
Johnson called on members of Congress to pass Kennedy’s
programs so that Kennedy did not die “in vain.”
Johnson wanted to go beyond the Kennedy
administration’s plans; he sponsored anti-poverty
programs, tax-cut bills, and civil rights legislation.
Johnson Becomes President
Why was Lyndon Johnson’s background good
preparation for becoming president?
 Explain – Why was Lyndon Johnson unhappy
as vice-president?
 Make Generalizations – In addition to his
political skills, what other strengths did
Johnson bring to the presidency?
 Predict – How might President Kennedy’s
legacy have been different if Johnson had
remained Senate Majority leader instead of
becoming Vice-President?

Enacting Kennedy’s Agenda
War on Poverty
 Kennedy
was influenced
by Michael Harrington’s
The Other America, a
study of poverty that
shattered the popular belief
that all Americans had
prospered from postwar
prosperity.
 Johnson
launched the War
on Poverty when he asked
Congress to pass the
Economic Opportunity Act
in 1964.
Economic Opportunity Act
 Funded
several new antipoverty programs
 The
Job Corps offered
work-training programs
for unemployed youth.
 VISTA
was a domestic
version of the Peace
Corps.
 Other
programs provided
education for adults, work
for unemployed parents,
and help to fight rural
poverty and assist
migrants.
Maryland; Job Core Trainees Arrive for Training (01:00)
What was the War on Poverty?
 The
War on Poverty (1964-1968)
• a campaign of legislation and social services aimed at reducing or
eliminating poverty in the United States of America. The term was
first introduced by Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union
address on Jan. 8, 1964. The legislation was designed in response to
the poverty affecting over 35 million Americans as of 1964. The
poverty line was on a sharp decline and not a rise nor fluctuation at
the time Johnson was campaigning.

• "This administration today, here and now, declares
unconditional war on poverty in America." - Lyndon B. Johnson
Forty programs that were intended to eliminate poverty by
improving living conditions and enabling people to lift themselves
out of the cycle of poverty.
Enacting Kennedy’s
Programs—Other Initiatives Passed

Johnson pushed for the passage of Kennedy’s tax-cut bill.
• Congress demanded that the president promise to hold
government spending to $100 billion.
• Johnson used the press to help him convince Congress to pass the
Tax Reduction Act in 1964.
• The nation’s economy grew by more than 10 percent and
unemployment declined.

Johnson pushed for the passage of Kennedy’s civil rights
bill.
• After a year of debate, Congress passed the landmark Civil
Rights Act of 1964.
Enacting Kennedy’s Agenda





Why was Johnson more successful than Kennedy in
getting Congress to enact Kennedy’s agenda?
Recall – What two things made it easy for Johnson to
assume the presidency?
Draw Conclusions – Why do you think that President
Johnson retained President Kennedy’s cabinet
members?
Recall – What were the effects of the Tax Reduction
Act?
Contrast – What was the difference between VISTA
and the Peace Corps?
President Lyndon B. Johnson



36th President- 1963-1969 - Democrat
Who was LBJ?
Election of 1964
•
•
•
Republicans- Barry Goldwater
Democrats- LBJ
Issues–
–
–
–
–
–
•
Foreign Affairs - Vietnam
Civil Rights
War on Poverty
Nuclear Test Ban
Welfare
Programs to meet new problems
Outcome - LBJ won largest majority
in history. 43 million votes to 27
million and 486 electoral votes to
52.
The Great Society
In 1964 Johnson told the nation that he had his own plans for
the United States. He called the domestic programs of his
administration the Great Society.
In order to launch Johnson’s Great Society, he needed to win
the 1964 election.
• Chose Hubert Humphrey as his running mate
• Republicans selected Barry Goldwater as their nominee.
Barry Goldwater’s views were very different from Johnson’s.
• He suggested using nuclear weapons to end Vietnam.
• Attacked the Great Society with claims that people were
only equal in the eyes of God and that government
programs to help people were similar to communism
The Great Society (04:22)
LBJ’s Great Society

Great Society- abundance and liberty for all; end to poverty
and racial injustice; every child can find knowledge; renew contact with
nature; a challenge constantly renewed
•
War on Poverty: forty programs that were intended to eliminate poverty by
improving living conditions and enabling people to lift themselves out of the
cycle of poverty.
•
Education: sixty separate bills that provided for new and better-equipped
classrooms, minority scholarships, and low-interest student loans.
•
Medicare & Medicaid: guaranteed health care to every American over sixtyfive.
•
The Environment: introduced measures to reclaim our heritage of clean air
and water.
•
National Endowment for the Arts and the Humanities: created with the
philosophy that artists, performers, and writers were a priceless part of our
heritage and deserve support.
•
Job Corps: provided enabling skills for young men and women.
•
Head Start: program for four- and five-year-old children from disadvantaged
families that gave them a chance to start school on an even basis with other
youngsters.

Although the Great Society program made significant contributions to the
protection of civil rights and the expansion of social programs, critics
increasingly complained that the antipoverty programs were ineffective and
wasteful.

The Great Society was never fully funded because of the Vietnam War, which
drained available resources.
Creating the Great Society

Elementary and Secondary Education Act - first large scale program
of government aid to public schools

The Higher Education Act - created the first federal scholarships for
needy college students

Head Start – education program for preschool children of low-income
parents

Omnibus Housing Act – created Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD)

Medicaid – program that provides free health care for poor people

Medicare – health care program for people over age 65

The Great Society emphasized the environment; laws were passed to
improve water and air quality.

Lady Bird Johnson worked to preserve the outdoors and natural
beauty of the United States.
• Pushed for the Highway Beautification Act (came to be called
Lady Bird’s bill)
Medicare Bill Signed; Truman is Witness of Historic Event (01:01)
Policies
 July 1965 - Medicare bill
• citizens over 65 received low-cost hospital
insurance.
– Financed by an increase in the social security tax.
– Medical insurance and out-of -hospital expensesgov’t would pay 1/2
• Medcaid- from taxes.
– Provided federal funds to the states that wanted to
set up their own plans to help needy people under
age 65..
Decline of the Great Society
Between 1965 and 1966, Congress passed 181 of the 200 major
bills that President Johnson requested. Some members of
Congress were concerned about the rapid pace of reform.
The midterm elections of 1966 allowed the Republicans to gain
seats in both houses of Congress—which slowed down Johnson’s
legislative program.
The new Congress did enact some Great Society programs:
• Public Broadcasting Act (1967) — Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, Public Broadcasting System (PBS), and
National Public Radio (NPR).
• The Truth-in-Lending Act (1967)
• A 1968 law to establish the nation’s wild and scenic rivers
program
LBJ Faces Crises (03:37)
The Great Society
In what ways did Johnson’s Great Society
change the nation?
 Recall – How did President Johnson describe
himself?
 Analyze – What do you think Goldwater meant
when he said that government programs to
help people were similar to communism?
 Explain – What was the Elementary and
Secondary School Act?

The Great Society
– How was Congress able to slow
down Johnson’s legislative program?
 Evaluate – Do you think that PBS and
NPR serve as important alternatives to
commercial television in today’s society?
Explain.
 Recall
LBJ’s Vietnam

Vietnam
• Undeclared War
• Domino Theory
• Tonkin Gulf Incident
and Resolution
• Escalation + Bombing
• Credibility Gap
• Peace Movement
• Tet Offensive
• My Lai Massacre
Johnson’s Foreign Policy

By the end of 1966, some 385,000 U.S. combat troops were in
Vietnam, and the government was spending $2.5 billion a month on
the war.

“We cannot have guns and butter.”

Policy dictating that revolutions in Latin America were more than
local concerns if communism was involved. The U.S. would
intervene.

Johnson sent troops to end a revolt in the Dominican Republic in
1965.
Vietnam
Johnson
Doctrine
Johnson’s Foreign Policy
Relations
with
Soviet
Union
Pueblo
Incident

Continued Kennedy’s effort to improve relations with Soviet
Union

Signed treaty to protect each country’s diplomats from
harassment by authorities in the other country

United States and Soviet Union (along with 58 other nations)
signed agreement to ban weapons in outer space.

In January 1968 North Korea captured a U.S. Navy spy ship—the
Pueblo—off the coast of Communist North Korea.

The United States claimed it was in international waters and
called up troops.

The North Koreans released the crew, but kept the ship.
Johnson’s Foreign Policy
 What
foreign issues were important in
Johnson’s presidency?
 Recall – Which war occupied the Johnson
administration?
 Describe – What were the focal points of
President Johnson’s foreign policy?