Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, near Central Texas. As a young adult, Johnson attended and graduated from the college now known as Texas State University. To afford his tuition, he spent his time teaching underprivileged minority students. This experience exposed him to the many issues of poverty and discrimination, and there began his determination to help resolve these problems. Johnson began his political career when he was elected to the House of Representatives for the Democratic Party. After his failed attempt at running for House Senate, Johnson voluntarily joined the military at the beginning of World War II. He served as lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy until all members of congress were removed from active …show more content…
He noticed that a lot of students were unable to pay for college. He passed the higher Education Act in 1965 to help students with loans and scholarships. Also to help them pay for class materials such as books. Another program he contributed to was the “War on Poverty”. A lot of poor Americans lacked the needed skills in order to earn money. Because they had no skills, they were unable to find jobs. This led Johnson to create the Economic Opportunity Act in 1964. This act established programs such as the Neighborhood Youth Corps and the Job corps. Both programs did a lot to help young adults gain the proper skill sets to obtain employment. Health care was also a major issue for citizens. Some had it while others couldn’t afford it. The elderly and the poor were the hardest hit when it came to health care. They were unable to pay their medical bills because they just didn’t have the money for it. To help combat this issue, Johnson passed the social security Act of 1965 to establish Medicare and Medicaid for those who were unable to do so for themselves. One of the programs that had a major effect on society was the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Even though it is over 60 years later, it is still very relevant today. This act prohibited employers from turning away potential employees based on race, sex, color, religion, or origin. It was a successful attempt at stopping discrimination. A lot of people were turned away from …show more content…
It did a lot to make sure that minorities were treated as equals. It showed the growth of Americans. Some people supported the ideas that Kennedy and Johnson shared. They believed it was time for America to make a change. These programs did just that for a lot of people. It showed how far America had come. On the other hand, there were still some people who did not agree with these programs, and believe that the United States had been fine the way it was. Southern whites had still viewed blacks as being beneath them. They believed that blacks should not be given the same opportunities because they weren’t considered humans. Southern whites did everything they could to prevent blacks from contributing to society. Before the civil rights act they would treat blacks with the “separate but equal” clause. Segregation was major in the south. Blacks could not use the same facilities as whites. Also for voting, whites made it somewhat impossible for blacks to vote by rigging “required” literacy tests. The civil rights act relieved blacks from feeling like they were limited with the things they could do. After this act was passed, violence against blacks began to rise at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan or the KKK. They destroyed black buildings such as churches and school and attacked activists for African American rights. This made people fear for their lives. Whites were angry that blacks were equals. It is amazing that this was only 53