Thursday, August 27, 2015
Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the presidency and quickly pressed for enactment of unfinished legislation initiated by JFK. In 1964 Congress passed and Johnson signed into law two particularly significant pieces of legislation– the Civil Rights Act and the Economic Opportunity Act.
The Civil Rights Act banned discrimination based on race or gender and ensured equal opportunity in the workplace. The Economic Opportunity Act addressed systemic causes of poverty by establishing important education and human services programs. Job Corps, work-study programs for college students, Volunteers in Service of America (VISTA), Adult Basic Education grants, loans to rural families, and Community Action Programs (CAPS) were authorized through the Act.
These early legislative victories gave LBJ the green light to advance a “war on poverty” in which he challenged Americans to build a “Great Society.” After soundly defeating conservative Senator Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election, LBJ harnessed his extensive tactical skills and his forceful personality to pass an ambitious list of progressive legislative initiatives. His liberal domestic agenda clashed, however, with his aggressive policies in Vietnam. The financial and human cost of the Vietnam War eventually overshadowed his domestic agenda. Critics charged that many of the programs and services established during his administration created bureaucracies rather than cost effective solutions. Never the less, the impact of Johnson’s “Great Society” continues to affect the lives of Americans today.
Here is a list of major federal acts approved during President Johnson’s administration.
1963: Clean Air Act
1963: Higher Education Facilities Act
1963: Vocational Education Act
1964: Civil Rights Act
1964: Urban Mass Transportation Act
1964: Wilderness Act
1964: Nurse Training Act
1964: Food Stamp Act
1964: Economic Opportunity Act
1964: Housing Act
1965: Higher Education Act
1965: Older Americans Act
1965: Social Security Amendments Act
1965: Voting Rights Act
1965: Immigration and Nationality Services Act
1966: Animal Welfare Act
1966: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
1967: Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
1967: Public Broadcasting Act
1968: Architectural Barriers Act
1968: Bilingual Education Act
1968: Civil Rights Act
1968: Gun Control Act
Photo:
President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Sources:
www.pbs.org/johngardner/chapters/4c.html
www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/sixties/resources/study-ais-great-society-legislation
To commemorate the City of Troy’s 60th Anniversary in 2015, we will publish a different story each day that highlights a person, discovery, or event that occurred locally, regionally, nationally, or even globally between 1955 and 2015 and that helped shape our lives and our community. We will try to post stories on important anniversary dates, but we also realize that dates are less critical than content and context. We will include the facts related to controversial stories, allowing our readers to form their own opinions. We invite you to read and comment on the stories. Your suggestions for topics are also welcome and can be posted on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TroyHistoricVillage. You can also email stories or ideas to the 365 Story Editor at ed@thvmail.org.
