The Great Society

A vision of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Great Society program was given to Congress as a policy agenda in January 1965.  As one of the most ambitious agendas in American history, the Great Society program, which took its name from one of President Johnson’s speeches, aimed to eliminate poverty and racial injustice, increase aid to education, promote urban renewal, and conservation, to name just a few.  Congress answered the president’s call to action and enacted, with some adjustments, many of Johnson’s recommendations.  The Secondary Education Act of 1965’s foundation lies within Johnson’s Great Society and garnered great support from legislators of both parties, passing with no amendments and little debate in only 87 days. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Medicare, and the creation of the Corporation of Public Broadcasting are just some of the programs that resulted in both parties of Congress working together to implement real change in the American societal landscape.