Embedded Files
Lyndon B Johnson’s War on Poverty
Michael Harrington's book, The Other America (1962), showed the 40 million Americans living in poverty.
In 1964, President Johnson declared an "unconditional war on poverty."
The Election of 1964
Johnson and Senator Hubert Humphrey ran on a liberal agenda.
Republicans nominated Senator Barry Goldwater, who wanted to end the welfare state, including Social Security.
A Democratic ad portrayed Goldwater as a dangerous extremist.
Johnson won by a landslide with 61% of the popular vote, surpassing FDR’s 1936 victory.
Democrats controlled both houses of Congress by a two-thirds margin, enabling the passage of economic and social reforms.
Great Society Reforms
Food Stamp Act (1964): Expanded federal assistance for low-income people to buy food.
National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities (1965): Provided federal funding for arts and scholarly projects.
Medicare (1965): Offered health insurance to people 65 and older.
Medicaid (1965): Provided funds to states for medical care for the poor and disabled.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965): Funded poor school districts and special education programs.
Higher Education Act (1965): Offered federal scholarships for postsecondary education.
Immigration Act (1965): Abolished discriminatory quotas based on national origins.
Child Nutrition Act (1966): Added breakfast to the school lunch program.
Changes in Immigration
Before the 1960s, most immigrants to the U.S. were from Europe and Canada.
By the 1980s, 47% of immigrants came from Latin America, 37% from Asia, and fewer than 13% from Europe and Canada.
The shift was influenced by refugees from Cuba and Vietnam after Communist takeovers.
The Immigration Act of 1965 ended ethnic quotas favoring Europeans and opened the U.S. to immigrants from all over the world.
Legal immigration increased significantly, with around 400,000 immigrants entering annually in the 1970s, and over 1,000,000 in many years between 1990 and 2020.
Undocumented Immigrants
By the mid-1970s, about 12 million foreigners were in the U.S. illegally.
The rise in immigrants from Latin America and Asia led to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
The Act penalized employers for hiring undocumented immigrants but also granted amnesty to those who had arrived by 1982.
Despite the Act, many Americans felt the country had lost control of its borders.
Political Impact of the Great Society
Johnson’s Great Society programs included legislation to end racial discrimination.
Johnson predicted the Democratic Party would lose Southern support due to its liberal social policies.
The mid-1960s marked the peak of federal efforts to achieve racial equality.
The conservative resurgence in the following decades aimed to reverse much of the Great Society legislation.
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