Building a Great Society

Lyndon Johnson entered the Oval Office in November 1963 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Although Johnson was morally committed to the principle of racial equality, he also recognized that the political future of the Democratic Party hinged on its ability to mobilize the millions of African-American voters across the nation. Taking advantage of the relative degree of political unity that followed the death of JFK, Johnson used his celebrated persuasive powers to push the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 through Congress.

In May 1964, with a presidential election only six months away, Johnson gave the commencement address at the University of Michigan. During his speech, Johnson outlined his domestic policy agenda, challenging America to achieve what came to be known as the "Great Society." He proposed to marshal the resources of the federal government to fight a "War on Poverty" and bring an end to racial injustice.

Johnson won the November election by one of the largest margins in American history, and the Democrats gained a large majority in both houses of Congress. In the 1965-1966 legislative session, Congress passed nearly two hundred bills designed to enact Johnson's vision of a "Great Society." Included among the programs launched at this time were Medicare, Medicaid, and Head Start, which continue to assist millions of Americans today.

The Great Society programs resulted in the largest expansion of the federal bureaucracy since FDR's New Deal. However, unlike the earlier anti-poverty efforts, the Great Society agenda was initiated during a time of relative economic prosperity, as Johnson sought to ensure that all Americans could enjoy the benefits of the nation's economic vitality. Once they were created, it became difficult for opponents of "big government" to reduce the size of the new bureaucracies without incurring serious political risks.

Although some of the luster of the Great Society vision was tarnished by the racial violence and anti-war protests that marked the remainder of Johnson's presidency, considerable progress was made during this time in fighting the War on Poverty. Between 1960 and 1968, the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line declined from 20 to 12 percent; among African Americans, the decline went from 55 to 27 percent.