2.8: 1960s-70s The Great Society
- Page ID
- 211881
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)LBJ and The Great Society (1960s)
Although many other issues pertinent to social welfare occurred in the quarter-century following the Social Security Act, the next major push for the expansion of the social welfare system was under President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s. Johnson had taken over as President following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. He saw the United States experiencing less prosperity than he believed possible, and noticed systemic inequality that he didn’t believe should exist in our country. As a result, he declared a “War on Poverty” and aimed to move the United States forward as a “Great Society” (Ambrosino, Heffernan, Shuttlesworth, & Ambrosino, 2005). Johnson and his administration saw poverty not as evidence of individual faults held by poor people, but an indication that there was a problem with the economic system that caused such wide earning and achievement gaps.
("President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with Civil Rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, and James Farmer" by Jared Enos is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Programs and laws launched under Johnson to assist in the War on Poverty included:
- The Economic Opportunity Act: Passed in 1964, the EOA established a number of programs aimed at helping people in poverty to have a greater chance at social mobility. Two such creations were Job Corps and Head Start, both of which remain in operation today. Job Corps aims to provide vocational training to at-risk youth ages 16 to 24, at no charge, and sometimes while day care is provided for children of the trainees. Head Start provides access to preschool programs for children in poorer households, so everyone has a chance to attend preschool before kindergarten and therefore begin their formal education on the same footing (Vinovskis, 2005).
- The Older Americans Act: Passed in 1965, this act formed a foundation for programs designed to assist seniors, from recreational resources to Meals on Wheels (Ambrosino et al., 2005). (This act is discussed further in Chapter 16.)
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964: The most famous legislation of the 1960s, the Civil Rights Act was an attempt to eliminate the discrimination suffered by nonwhite Americans in many spheres, from employment to banking to education (Ambrosino et al., 2005)
- Medicare: Health care benefits were made available to the aged, with the basic benefits free of charge and some others available for a fee (Ambrosino et al., 2005).
- Medicaid: Established in 1965 (like Medicare), Medicaid provided people on public assistance with access to medical care free of charge (Ambrosino et al., 2005).
Attribution: Social Work & Social Welfare: Modern Practice in a Diverse World. (opens in new window) Mick Cullen & Matthew Cullen.