Lyndon Johnson's Great Society

543 Words3 Pages
The Pinnacle of Liberalism: Johnson’s Great Society Liberalism is based on an ideology of social freedoms and human rights and tolerance. 1960’s Liberals were united in their opposition to McCarthyism. President Lyndon Johnson’s message on the 1964 Civil Rights Bill stated, “We are engaged in a great adventure--as great as that of the last century, when our fathers marched to the western frontier. Our frontier today is of human beings, not of land.” John Gardner became the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and the architect of President Johnson’s outline of social reform known as the "Great Society." The pinnacle of liberalism was the formation the Great Society and the genesis of copious social programs and acts that changed America. President Kennedy's assassination in 1963 sparked a surge of public support that allowed President Johnson to pass a number of Kennedy Administration proposals including the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Based on this energy, Johnson introduced his own vision for America, “the Great Society", in which America would end poverty, promote equality, improve education, rejuvenate cities, and protected the environment. Johnson declared a "War on Poverty" as central to building the Great Society. Despite the prosperity of the early part of the decade, many American families were living below the poverty line. Technological advances in industry changed job requirements for American workers. Those good-paying, unskilled jobs of the past were disappearing. Those without education and skills were being left behind. The Economic Opportunity Act 1964 aimed to offer people opportunities to get out of poverty. The bill created Job Corps vocational training and the Head Start pre-school program designed to prepare children for success in public school. The bill also funded community action programs and extended loans to small
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