The Great Society

 With JFK’s assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson takes over as president  Background  LBJ was a very strong minded politician who came form a poor family  He was an inner city teacher before he turned to politics  Saw first hand the poor side of American life  Worked his way up through Congress to be one of the most influential senators  Used the “Johnson treatment” to get things passed  Bargained, twisted arms, did favors

The Great Society  The Public was concerned as to how Johnson would treat the ideals that JFK had tried to pass through  Johnson felt the same as JFK and continued with the policies that he had started  Tax cuts, passed a major civil rights bill  War on Poverty  This became what Johnson had fought for the most  Came up with the Great Society

The Great Society  The Great Society  Government programs that were designed to help America become a perfect and equitable society  Health and Welfare  Medicare, Medicaid  Education  Head Start  War on Poverty  Housing and Urban Developing Act  Consumer and Environmental Protection  Clean air acts

The Great Society  Did it work?  Some people saw many benefits  Thousands of lives were improved  Programs were not thought out  Hard to manage  Very costly  Problems were too great for them to change overnight  Some programs still around