The Great Society: The End Of Poverty In The United States

Thomas Jefferson remains one of the first advocates for public education, which was later termed the Common School Movement. He recognized the inequality in education, for the wealthy stood the only ones capable of affording an education, thus the poor stayed poor and the rich stayed rich. Jefferson aspired to change the apparent injustices in the education system. He felt all children possessed the right to and education regardless of prosperity, heritage, and circumstances. Even though Jefferson remained not able to create the change he so desperately sought to make, he never stopped trying and since education stayed revolutionized, for his persistence in equality. James Conant, former president of Harvard University stated, “In short, as I view the American scene of the 1960’s, I am ready to declare without hesitation that Jefferson’s proposals have become incorporated in the pattern of our educational structure” (Mercer, 1993).

Education reformers sought to expand equality by increasing educated people. Not only were poor children able to attend school instead of working in factories, but the deaf, mute, and blind could now be taught. Men such as Thomas Gallaudet and Dr. Howe sought to create new methods for the disabled to read and write. Education for everyone greatly increased the sense of equality among lower class citizens. Document E gives an example of a little boy who is content with what he has since he works hard and goes to school. He doesn’t feel disadvantaged by being poor. Equality improved the moral of many Americans.

Great Society: The Great Society was launched by the Democratic President Lyndon B Johnson in 1965 to 1965. Its purpose was to eliminate poverty and racial injustice, and expand educational opportunities in the United States.

Access to free public education was first addressed by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877. Hayes did not scrutinize based on a family’s economic standing. A child of a poor family benefitting from free stuff was not his concern, nor did he believe that the wealth of a the family should exclude a child from the program. Hayes simply believed, education was the basis for full political and economic participation, and full participation was the basis for a prosperous economy. Therefore, education should be free and available to everyone regardless of their background. Today, education is universal and free to all from kindergarten through twelfth grade. In the 1950’s, it was possible to graduate from high school and move straight into a decent-paying

Most of us now live in or near major cities and wealthy areas. This causes us to not see the poverty in our country. I have had the advantage of being exposed to this

The Great Society was a proposed plan of actions intended to benefit the American people. Johnson developed the Great Society in a utopian fashion that proposed programs concerning the cities, the environment and education which in return brought modern liberalism into turmoil and broadened the administrative state. Taking office after the assassination of John F. Kennedy put tremendous pressure on Johnson. Not only did he have his own ideas, he also needed to fulfill the legacy left by Kennedy. In order to do both, he created the Great Society. Johnson wished to create the glue that kept the American people together and according to Paul C. Aiken and John M. Redding (1965) he fulfilled his famous words of, “Let us continue...” while addressing the country after that fatal day in Dallas and passing several acts to better the country.

In 1964, Lyndon Johnson set out to enact the “Great Society” program in order to expand upon and complete Roosevelt’s New Deal. This was a liberal program set up to ensure that the government staked more claim in aiding the citizens of the United States. This program touched on issues such as civil rights, education, and health care which were prevalent issues at the time, and that still have a major impact on society today. John Andrew lays out in detail in the book Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society these issues, as well as others. He gives each major topic a chapter, and goes into great detail of how he feels Johnson set out to change the American political and social structure.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930’s and President Lyndon B. Johnson Great Society in the 1960’s had several policies, which led to some good outcomes and some not so much. New norms that guided and redefined administration organizations led to the development of schools and educators and to the courses offered for the students. The great society held instruction with less eagerness yet viewed as not that critical. Rather the great society concentrated on more positions globally and acquiring government relief. The New Deal was to fix the unemployment by creating jobs and improve the economy. The Great Society was supporting Civil Rights, lower the unemployment, create a welfare state, and desegregation in education.

The 1960's were a period of change and expansion in American society. The election of John F. Kennedy, who was widely seen as a symbol of youthfulness and change, foreshadowed the wide changes that were beginning to take hold in American society. One of the problems that these changes attempted to confront was poverty in America. It was during this time that Congress passed a flurry of legislation that was collectively known as Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society. Reminiscent of the days of the New Deal, these programs attacked poverty by equipping workers with the skills they needed to secure employment.

One of the determining factors of how the Great Society turned out is its historical and social context. The beginning of the 1960s was a tumultuous period, as much economically as socially. During the 1960-1961 recession, the country had 7% unemployment, which was considered enormous at the time, though Kennedy quickly reacted with a major tax cut, which was enacted under Johnson and helped bring unemployment back down. Socially, civil rights were becoming the central issue with, for example, Martin Luther King’s March on Washington, the Birmingham riot, or the 16th street Baptist Church bombing, and the country was shaken by Kennedy’s assassination on November 22,

These measures greatly expanded the powers of the federal government, and they completed and extended the social agenda that had been stalled in Congress since 1938. (Foner pg. 987) B. Unlike the New Deal, however, the Great Society was a response to prosperity, not depression. The mid 1960’s were a time of rapid economic expansion, fueled by increased government spending and a tax cut on individuals and business initially proposed by Kennedy and enacted in 1964. (Foner pg. 987) 1.

Poverty is a vicious cycle that inevitably affects future generations. By breaking the cycle of poverty with education, better government

The Great Society was not a misguided and ill conceived but rather an attempt to help the economic situation of the time. There were struggle for black equality, housing discrimination, job discrimination, poverty and President Lyndon B. Johnson had to look at how to help improve American lives and the economy. The Great Society programs were launched in the 1964-65 to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. As a result, the number of Americans living below the poverty line dropped from 22.2% to 12.6% between 1963-1970 (source). This dramatic reduction in poverty was the combination of the different acts passed by the Congress to change the role of the federal government to benefit the lives of millions of Americans. The two major acts passed

Great society was a reform program and an idealistic call promoted by Lyndon Johnson in 1964 for improved environmental, conservation, racial, educational, and health programs. Johnson wanted to build a better American by government 's help and funding. In 1965, Congress passed many Great Society measures, including Medicare, civil rights legislation, and federal aid to education. It represented government began to reform the society and started to play a more significant role in the country.

Education received a huge investment doubling the expenditure of each student and a preschool program for students from low-income backgrounds. The president wanted education to be available to the masses regardless of their income which meant the poorest child had an opportunity to receive adequate education. In agreement with President Johnson each child considered as an American citizen needs the public provided education funded by the government when they need aid. Since education involved an individual child required the funds despite the school they attended. The classroom then became the new freedom where American youth would prepare for the modern world because they are the nation’s resources.