Section 3- The Great Society

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Johnson Takes the Reins Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Lyndon Johnson took office during what seemed like a prosperous time for the United States.  In reality, however, away from the nation’s affluent suburbs were some 50 million poor.  Kennedy and Johnson made the elimination of poverty a major policy goal. (pages 854–857)

Johnson differed from Kennedy’s elegant society image.  Johnson, a Texan, spoke directly and roughly at times.  He sought ways to find consensus, or general agreement.  His ability to build coalitions made him one of the most effective and powerful leaders in Senate history. Johnson Takes the Reins (cont.) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. (pages 854–857)

Johnson declared that his administration was waging an unconditional war on poverty in America.  By the summer of 1964, Congress had created the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), which focused on creating jobs and fighting poverty.  The election of 1964 had Johnson running against Republican candidate Barry Goldwater. Americans were not ready for Goldwater’s aggressive message, and Johnson won in a landslide. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Johnson Takes the Reins (cont.) (pages 854–857)

The Great Society Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Johnson promised a Great Society during his campaign.  It was the vision of a more perfect, more equitable society.  Between 1965 and 1968, over 60 programs were passed, including Medicare and Medicaid.  Medicare was a health insurance program for the elderly funded through Social Security. (pages 857–859)

Medicaid financed health care for those on welfare or living below the poverty line.  Johnson’s interest in education led to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and to the preschool program Project Head Start, which was administered to disadvantaged children.  VISTA put young people to work in poor school districts. The Great Society (cont.) Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. (pages 857–859)

Johnson urged Congress to act on legislation dealing with the deterioration of inner cities.  Congress responded with the creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in  Its first secretary, Robert Weaver, was the first African American to serve in a cabinet. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The Great Society (cont.) (pages 857–859)

“Model Cities,” a broad-based program with matching funds from local and state agencies, supported programs in the areas of transportation, health care, housing, and policing. The Great Society (cont.) (pages 857–859)

The Immigration Reform Act of 1965 played a key role in changing the composition of the American population.  The Great Society (cont.) (pages 857–859) It kept a strict limit on the number of immigrants admitted to the United States each year.  It also eliminated the national origins system, which gave preference to northern European immigrants. Immigrants arrived in the U.S. from all parts of Europe and from Asia and Africa. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.

Legacy of the Great Society Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The impact of the Great Society was felt by all aspects of American life and improved many lives.  Some Americans opposed the massive growth of federal funds and criticized the Great Society for intruding too much in their lives.  There is a continued debate over the success of the Great Society.  It did result in many Americans asking questions, questions Americans continue to ask today. (pages 859–860)

Civics Eleanor Roosevelt remained a popular and active political figure after her husband’s death. During the 1960 presidential campaign, she appeared in a television commercial urging people to vote for Kennedy because he was the man to improve human rights. Her appearance indicated to traditional Democrats and women that Kennedy was the man for the job.

Camelot In December 1960, Camelot, a musical starring Richard Burton and Julie Andrews, opened on Broadway in New York City. The Kennedys attended the show, which told the legend of the heroism of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and so enjoyed it that they listened to the music often. The president’s favorite song included the lines: “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.” In later years, the Kennedy presidency became known as “Camelot,” largely because of Mrs. Kennedy. Shortly after the president’s death in 1963, she told a journalist that all she could think about was the president’s favorite line. She went on to say: “There’ll be great presidents again,... but there’ll never be another Camelot again.” Journalist Theodore H. White later wrote that “all she could repeat was, ‘Tell people there will never be that Camelot again.’” In the legendary Camelot, leaders sat at a round table. With no head of the table, it was implied that rule was by all, not just by one.

The 1960 vote was so close that Nixon considered demanding a recount, but then decided against it. He explained that if there were a recount, “the organization of the new administration and the orderly transfer of responsibility from the old to the new might be delayed for months. The situation within the entire federal government would be chaotic.”

John Kennedy, his wife, and their two small children were the youngest family to live in the White House since Theodore Roosevelt’s days.

Since the Peace Corps was established in1961, over 160,000 volunteers have served in 135 countries. Volunteer sectors include education, environment, health, business, and agriculture. In 2001 there were 7,300 Peace Corps volunteers serving in 72 countries.

The names of the early manned space programs, Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, were based on mythology. In Roman mythology, for example, Mercury was the messenger of the gods. In Greek mythology, Apollo carried the sun across the sky in his chariot each day.

Although the city of Berlin had been divided into East Berlin and West Berlin since the end of World War II, in August 1961 an actual wall of concrete, barbed wire, and stone was erected.

When Head Start began, it was a summer program, but by 1970 most programs were year round. In 1999 Head Start enrollment was over 800,000 and cost an average of $5,400 per child.

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Proud Words Almost two years after the Berlin Wall was built, President Kennedy paid tribute to the spirit of Berliners when he spoke to a crowd gathered near the wall. He said, “All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin. And, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ (I am a Berliner).”

What’s In a Name? Lyndon Baines Johnson was the second man named Johnson to assume the mantle of the presidency after an assassination. Andrew Johnson became president after President Lincoln was killed.