Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society Review 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. The
This was seen through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Here funding was granted to schools in order to provide the children with a better education. This also helped push civil rights, because southern states did not want to lose funding for not integrating. Andrew is very critical of Johnson on this chapter. He feels that Johnson just blindly throws money at these acts with little plan and little efficiency. He did give him credit for instilling these programs, but at the whim of public support. Andrew felt that this is not the consensus of the people, and hurt Johnsons appeal due to his blind ambition of the betterment of every citizen. The fourth chapter deals with the Model Cities program. This was set up in 1965 to help rebuild the cities and update the infrastructure as well as social services for the citizens. It gained opposition which led to urban violence and rioting which again led to lost support. Before the model cities program, Johnson sets up the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help combat issues such as rioting and poverty in the cities, and help the people in the cities who are affected by the job losses. Andrew described this act as an “under funded, unattainable program”(Andrew 137). He saw it like this, due to the under funding by the government of this program which led to it ultimate demise. Andrew is critical because there are