ew industries and enacting improved welfare measures were all part of Johnson’s War on Poverty. The passage of the Civil Rights Bill and huge tax reductions in personal and corporate income tax were undertaken as a means of leveling the playing field between rich and poor, minorities and whites, and they were seen as a means of stimulating the economy and new industries. In 1961 when Eisenhower was president, only 45 domestic social programs were in existence, but by the time Johnson left office that number had rose to 435 while federal social spending rose from $9.9 billion to $25.6 billion (Did 1). As one historian notes, “Johnson’s ‘war on poverty’ represented the broadest attack Americans had ever waged on the special problems facing poor and disadvantage families. It declared decisively that the problems of the poor—problems of housing, income, employment, and health—were ultimately a federal responsibility” (Did 1). We can see how far away in ideology this kind of thinking was in comparison to the ideology on these social issues exhibited during the Reagan and Bush eras.
Over twenty percent of American families lived in poverty when Johnson took the oath of office, a figure that dropped to 13 percent by the time he left office – a figure we hover near today (Did 1). As part of the War on Poverty, the Johnson Administration created many programs to assist the poor, including Medicaid, loans for education, food stamps, job training and others. His Model Cities program focused on community action as a means of rebuilding urban centers hard hit by poverty and decay. The Model Cities prog
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