The purpose of this essay, is to discuss The Great Society domestic program; how it was initiated by Lyndon B. Johnson the president? How did it affect the society back then? And what were the main sectors that this program was targeting? We will also tackle the objective of the program and what were the obstacles that the program faced back then.
The beginning.
The program was started by the successor of JFK after the painful event of his assassination that shocked the world. LBJ wanted to do so much for the country and after becoming the president of the United States, this was his chance to do so. Johnson launched the program on the morning of 22 May, 1964 in his University of Michigan commencement address (The Washington Post).
The Objective & Efficiency of The Great Society.
The main purpose for this domestic program was to eliminate racism, develop the health and educational sectors and serve the country economically. The program was able to tackle the racism issue by passing multiple civil rights laws, where the most important one was illegalizing segregation at workplaces and providing equal rights to all employers. This controlled the riots that took place by colored citizens in certain cities. Moreover, Johnson declared tax cutting in his program that influenced the economical condition of the US in a positive way; unemployment rate decreased, the GNP increased and the level of income increased, compared to previous years. In addition, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that was part of the program, helped schools to purchase new materials and implement new educational programs for their students. As for the health sector, multiple programs were initiated as the Medicare that served senior citizens and the Medicaid that improved the level of medical services provided.
The Obstacles.
The most important obstacle that was facing the funding process for such program, was the Vietnam war funding. This war continued in parallel with the domestic program which was the main reason behind hindering the domestic one. Yet, the Great Society program effects are still visible to the United States as a country until the present time.
Conclusion.
The Great Society domestic program is definitely one of the best domestic programs that did affect the US in a positive ways, it is one of the many programs that were implemented previously such as the Great Deal during the great depression by Franklin Roosevelt, regardless the fact of having different objectives and where initiated under relatively different conditions.
“ The purpose of protecting the life of our Nation and preserving the liberty of our citizens is to pursue the happiness of our people. Our Success in that pursuit is the test of our success as a Nation” (Johnson)
Works Cited.
Johnson. L. Commencement Address at the University of Michigan 22 May. 1964. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
Tumulty. K. The Great Society At 50. The Washington Post. 17 May. 2014. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
