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LBJ & THE WAR ON POVERTY This research paper di

This research paper discusses and analyzes the impact made on American society by the War on Poverty launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) and authorized by the Congress during the mid-to-late 1960s.

The War on Poverty was oversold by LBJ and others and never lived up to its initial expectations. However, it did make if only temporarily a substantial dent in the rate of poverty in the United States. Certain anti-poverty programs including Medicare and Medicaid, Headstart and some others, which stood the test of time, made lasting contributions to the welfare of the American people. The basic reasons why the War on Poverty failed in material respects were that it was under-financed, largely due to the demands of the Vietnam War, poorly managed and over-politicized.

When LBJ took the helm after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, he made up his mind to persuade the conservative Congress, which had stalled much of JFK's legislative agenda, to enact it. This included a proposed tax cut and civil rights, anti-poverty, medical and education bills. LBJ made the War on Poverty a centerpiece of his domestic goals for several reasons. 1. Andrews (1998) said he had been exposed to poverty during his "childhood in the hardscrabble hills of central Texas, teaching poor children in South Texas, and working for New Deal agencies," including his stint as Texas Director of the National Youth Administration (p. 10); 2. resources appeared to be available to tackle the problem of poverty. The country was prosperous. As a result of the tax cut which LBJ pushed through Congress in 1964 federal revenues increased from $94 billion in 1961 to $150 billion in 1967 (Andrews, p. 15); and 3. LBJ needed a cause behind which to rally the nation in support of his re-election. His civil rights legislation was divisive in its impact on the electorate. According to Johnson (1998), by the mid-1960s there arose "a rising demand, throughout th...

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LBJ & THE WAR ON POVERTY This research paper di. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 00:42, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1701946.html