The Great Society Program

The Great Society Program

• In Spring 1964, President Lyndon Johnson outlined his "Great Society" program at the University of Michigan, aiming to surpass the Kennedy legacy.
• The Great Society program sought to fairly distribute rising wealth through measures addressing poverty and education, mirroring the New Deal.
• The program rejected national wealth and personal income as sole objectives, seeking to enrich national life and safeguard traditional values from unbridled growth.
• It envisioned a civilization where leisure fosters reflection, cities prioritize beauty and community, and individuals prioritize quality over quantity, emphasizing morality and spiritual fulfillment.
• These aspirations aimed to be a significant social reform, propelled by historical events like Kennedy's death, the civil rights movement, awareness of poverty scale, and eased US-Soviet tensions.
• The program sought to harness growing affluence to improve American life, responding to concerns that wealth creation threatened humanity and the environment.
• Consumerism, environmentalism, women's liberation, and civil rights movements protested system deficiencies and limitations on human fulfillment.
• Shifting conditions and attitudes convinced Johnson that the Great Society was an inevitable progression, not a utopian vision, thus driving progressive action.

Johnson's Political Approach

• Effective political leaders adapt to ongoing changes; ineffective leaders resist or misinterpret them.
• Johnson's ambitions resonated with the national sentiment, garnering praise from figures like Martin Luther King and Henry Luce.
• Johnson's landslide victory in the 1964 election and opinion polls indicated popular support and confidence in the nation's potential.
• Johnson's achievements relied on aligning his actions with popular desires; lacking this harmony, his efforts would have been futile.
• Critics suggesting the Great Society was a mistake or a deceptive fraud were largely ignored.
• Johnson's Inaugural Address conveyed limitless faith in American potential.
• Special circumstances, similar to the New Freedom and New Deal eras, fueled change during Johnson’s early presidency.
• Johnson's influence transformed opportunity into achievement, demanding unprecedented Congressional compliance.
• Johnson was viewed as a manipulator due to his intense political skills.
• Johnson held a deep-seated belief in limitless possibilities for common welfare, advocating for this belief to the very end.
• He believed the US could afford to provide for the happiness, education, health, and environment of its citizens.
• He saw a need for everyone to restrain their appetites and address greed to deal with the nation's problems.
• The 1964 election granted Johnson legitimacy to act on his ambitions, independent of his predecessors' legacies, enabling uniquely personal influence.

Johnson's Presidential Style

• The President dominated public life more than almost any other president.
• Johnson's administration lacked independent figures who challenged his views unlike previous administrations.
• Johnson's focused on programs, personally managed congressional support, signed bills, greeted people, settled disputes and supported black rights.
• Johnson connected with people through phone calls to publishers to astronauts, starting work at 7 A.M. watching three TV networks, ending late into the night.
• Johnson was deeply discussed like the pulling of his beagle's ears and abdominal scars, sparking public reaction.
• Washington became focused on Johnson's personality, dominating any setting.
• Diplomats to administrators were fascinated by Johnson's primitive behavior with imperial power.
• Power for Johnson meant how well he could dominate behavior and conditions.
• Johnson sought to surpass previous administrations in achievement, inspired by the New Deal, influences, personal conflicts, and his desire to help others.
• He believed helping others increases the man's authority that achieves those accomplishments.
• Johnson wanted to provide for as many peoples needs as possible and expand his role.
• Johnson could no longer achieve greatness by just influencing other groups.
• The presidency caused Johnson to feel the need that the effects he left behind would impact lives generations down the line.

Presidential Leadership and the Great Society

• The President's most difficult task is discerning right from wrong, guiding a democracy without special foresight.
• Johnson's vision connected with his origins: transforming barren land in Pedernales River Valley to be abundant.
• Johnson said a president doesn't make a vision of America but the president collects the hopes of the American past.
• The president's goal is for every person to share progresses and responsibilities.
• Johnson exceeded equality of opportunity by wanting to ensure a decent life.
• Johnson wanted to provide everything at once without delays, driven by ambition to achieve leadership.
• Johnson believed in the coupling circumstances with his newly received mandate to act successfully.
• The Great Society was set up for almost everybody.
• Medicare for the old, education for the young, tax rebates for business, minimum wage for labor, subsidies for farmers, training for unskilled, food for hungry, housing for homeless, clean highways, protection for blacks, schooling for Native Americans, benefits for unemployed, auto safety, and consumer protection.
• Johnson thought non of these desires were unattainable and it was accompanied by thought that he would erode his mandate swiftly.
• Johnson pushed on every front for this reason to not lose any more support and be down to 8 million.
• His feeling was he had to act swiftly to secure long term consensus.
• This strategy shaped the substance and the style of the Great Society having to define all of society's deficiencies.
• He cared about success to much than fame in a politics with haste.
• He designed his legislative program to meet the urgencies of the moment, and techniques reflected giving importance towards movement and speed.
• In 1965 Johnson had 63 separate segments toward action, for legislative.
• These proposals stemmed from 17 task forces.
• In each area experts were asked to develop creative ideas providing a structural brilliant conceptions and solutions.
• The politics of haste injured some work.
• American Liberal movement was disrupted and still trying to comprehend and fit for changing conditions.
• New Deal formulas directed at unresolved problems lacked in liberal thought since there were now new afflictions.
• New Deal efforts to restore prosperity remained a goal since millions remained in poverty.
• There was growing problems such as monopoly, bureaucracy, technology, waste, and alienation.
• No task force could draft actions to rebuild cities, restore community, of fix the nature of work.
• Basic knowledge did not exist to provide reasoned analysis.
• The need for haste brought on lack for precise definition.
• Legislative solutions passed prior to in depth issues researched.
• The focus became on the delivery method since in a time where everyone agreed more could be done.
• Passing the bill and worrying later became the white house strategy.
• Legislators must attract support to make it easier for congress to join with Johnson.
• Their was not enough time spent on if government were best to organize the Great Society.
• No time was spent on if there was any inadequacies in solving centrally.
• The white house just mostly rehearsed the arguments people were expected to say.
• The only success standard was getting to pass the law.
• Johnson demanded confident support for his program.
• He persuaded to move to his America just like the entrepreneurs moved people to the Western frontier.
• He turned towns into cities and taverns into hotels.
• It did not matter Johnson's enthusiasm confused sometimes the dream with the reality.
• Johnson said by building strengths rather than needs the Great Society would fulfill what New Deal could not.

LBJ's Legacy and Civil Rights

• The Great Society could be regarded as much more important than FDR.
• In his desire to inspire, he often presented hopes as certain, asserting "No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracles of modern medicine" in Medicare.
• "A national war on poverty" expected inevitable "total victory," etc.
• There was a failure to acknowledge the elements of social problems due to his impatience.
• Johnson ignored the obstacle of tradition, economic power, and preferring their own ways.
• There was no deception other than consequences of the limits to his own perceptions.
• Nothing was beyond the ability with a united America.
• He believed his policies represented the wisdom approach toward America and that everyone should desire it.
• This helped Johnson believe he could convince the nation with his will and powers, though this could also mean resentment.
• His flaws wouldn't appear till later.
• In 1965 the Great Society was about healing and enriching.
• LBJ may have been able to impose his personal ways to an entire society like a great persuader that renewed belief.
• The executive was now to complete requests and write detailed drafts of bills.
• Patterns in the New Deal were now routine that modified the previous institutional relationship.
• President was now expected to show programmatic agenda.
• Johnson gave his fellow citizens a specific outlet for manageable emotion and assured his support for urgent events.
• Johnson gave a speech with compassion and nobility.
• Then Johnson related to his teaching in Cotulla, "Somehow you never forget what poverty and hatred....when you see the young....", "I want to ...", "God....".
• It was something that shaped the course of events, rare to a leader, who for once Americans would honor him or his technique.
• Johnson said some of the story, went to drive, shouted "Nigger", as a joke.
• People difficult to accept that his dedication to civil rights would be true, or at least a stimulant win the office.
• However, he was a true believer here, though with more knowledge of the human and political realties like in Vietnam.
• He knew the people (blacks and white) whom he had dealt with, who's varieties in opinion he had perceived for his own sense.
• Johnson: "I never did...my daddy wouldn't let me...", "domestic operation division ordered by..1964-..
• Outward manifestations of racism was mostly not a part of Johnson's youthful as they wre for others in the south.
• Johnson directed something for the young black group and was the only one doing so in his area's time.
• He got donations in his area to supply black youths with things they were in need of.
• When he announced his seat for congress four cars then appeared full of people to let him know they found him to get black people to vote for them.
• Johnson consolidated his strength as congress but he wasn't close with civil rights.

Johnson and Congress

• Modern leaders can only select people for conversations and must respond to events of public great concern.
• No matter what presidents want to go over they need to be something new.
• Many bills go through congress with "the speed of a glacier, "accoring to Johnson.
• There is 10k bills presented to chambers, there is lectures, meeting trips, and partisan obligations,.
• LBJ, according to Daniel Boorstin, has a pseudo event being made as the President became the focus.
• No longer could interviews be used purely to be political instruments, but now gifts as a reward.
• Reporters out of favor were denied those opportunities, but those more liked were given with personal info.
• If Johnson could give the power over the press and the government it would be an impossible problem for anyone who wanted to limit this power.
• What he planned there for the most part was a failure; the type of meetings he had would not often appear there.
• Johnson had to manage the congress but make sure it did not look like they're doing it for show