Lyndon Johnson became President when Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. A master of Congress, he won a landslide in 1964 (486 electoral votes to Barry Goldwater's 52) and a large majority in Congress, and set out to finish the work of the New Deal.
Key idea
Johnson's Great Society (1964 to 1966) included the War on Poverty, Medicare and Medicaid (1965), federal aid to schools, and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which ended the national-origins quotas.
| Law or program | Year | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Economic Opportunity Act (War on Poverty) | 1964 | Job Corps, VISTA volunteers, community action; Head Start for preschoolers followed in 1965 |
| Elementary and Secondary Education Act | 1965 | Federal money for schools in poor districts |
| Medicare | 1965 | Health insurance for people 65 and older |
| Medicaid | 1965 | Health care for people with low incomes, run with the states |
| Immigration and Nationality Act | 1965 | Ended the 1924 national-origins quotas; favored family ties and skills |
| Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act | 1964, 1965 | See the civil rights unit |
Why it works
Johnson believed a rich country could end poverty. Michael Harrington's book The Other America (1962) had shown millions of poor Americans whom the suburbs did not see. The official poverty rate fell from about 19 percent in 1964 to about 11 percent in 1973, and poverty among the elderly fell sharply. Supporters credit the programs; critics argue that growth did much of the work, that some programs created dependence or did little, and that costs rose fast. The war in Vietnam drew money and attention away, and riots in many cities from 1965 on and rising inflation weakened support.
Work it through
Worked example: Ending the quotas
How did the 1965 immigration law change the system set up in 1924?
- The 1924 law set quotas by national origin, favoring northern and western Europe.
- The 1965 law ended national-origins quotas and gave preference to relatives of citizens and to workers with needed skills.
- Over the following decades, immigration from Asia and Latin America grew greatly.
Answer: It replaced national-origins quotas with family and skill preferences.
Common mistake
Students mix up Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare covers people 65 and older (think "care" for elders); Medicaid covers people with low incomes (think "aid"). Both were signed on July 30, 1965.