Summary

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a major initiative, ending segregation in public places and banning job discrimination, especially helping African Americans in the South gain access to better jobs, education, and services. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 also helped Black citizens by removing barriers to voting, increasing their political power. However, these legal measures did not address Black inequality, and racial tensions led to riots 1964-8.

Johnson also fought poverty with programs like Job Corps, which trained young people and supported low-income children. These efforts, along with a higher minimum wage, the Food Stamp programme, and urban housing development & slum clearance, reduced poverty rates, but critics resented the cost, and said that they made poor people dependent on government aid – that they caused poverty, not solved it.

In health, in 1965 Johnson introduced Medicare (health insurance for the elderly) and Medicaid (for low-income families). These programs improved access to healthcare for needy people but, again, proved more and more expensive.

Education was another focus, with increased funding for schools and colleges, especially in poor areas. Programs like Head Start (to help young children) and the Bilingual Education Act (to help students who struggled with English) helped disadvantaged students, but critics have argued that they didn’t solve educational inequalities.

How far was a ‘Great Society’ created in Civil Rights, Poverty, Health and Education, 1965-69?

One of the most dramatic impacts Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society was on CIVIL RIGHTS. Johnson’s Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a turning point in American history, outlawing segregation in public places and banning employment discrimination. For African Americans, particularly in the South, this meant greater access to jobs, education, and public services that had long been denied to them. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 also had a profound effect, as it removed the blocks that had prevented Black citizens from voting. This led to a massive increase in voter registration among African Americans, giving them a stronger voice in politics. However, these acts did not fully address deeper societal inequalities, and racial tensions remained high, leading to a wave of riots between 1964 and 1968.

Johnson's Great Society also aimed to reduce POVERTY through a series of programmes under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. These included initiatives like the Job Corps, which provided job training to young people, and Head Start, an early education programme for low-income children. Meanwhile, the minimum wage was increased to $1.40 an hour, the Food Stamp Act (1964) expanded the food assistance programme, and Housing and Urban Development Act (1965) and Model Cities programme worked together with communities to clear inner-city slums and alleviate urban poverty. The impact of these programmes was significant; the national poverty rate dropped from 23% to 12% during Johnson’s presidency, and Black poverty from 56% to 30%. These programmes gave millions of Americans better access to education, job opportunities, and essential services. However, critics argue that while these measures provided immediate relief, they did not solve the root causes of poverty, and that they created dependency on government aid. The Great Society has been accused of actually causing the problems it was trying to solve.

In terms of HEALTH, Johnson's Great Society had a lasting impact through the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, which expanded healthcare access to millions of Americans who previously had little or no health insurance. For the elderly, Medicare significantly reduced the financial burden of healthcare, allowing them to access medical services they could not afford before. Medicaid, meanwhile, improved health outcomes for low-income families by giving them access to essential healthcare services. However, both Medicare and Medicaid faced criticism for their rising costs and growing burden on the government budget.

EDUCATION was another key focus of the Great Society, with Johnson doubling federal spending on education and passing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (which provided substantial funding to public schools, particularly those in low-income areas, which helped to level the playing field for disadvantaged students) and the Higher Education Act of 1965 (which expanded funding for colleges and universities and increased financial aid for students, making higher education more accessible to students from low-income families). These efforts led to a dramatic increase in college enrolment and the overall educational attainment of the American population. Meanwhile, programmes like Head Start gave young children from poor families a better opportunity in life, and the Bilingual Education Act (1968) funded schools to meet the needs of children who did not speak English. Yet these initiatives too have faced criticism for not fully resolving the deep-rooted inequalities in the American education system.