How Did Lyndon B Johnson Try To Achieve The Great Society

President Lyndon B. Johnson tragically stumbled into the presidency immediately following the assassination of John F Kennedy. In a time of nationally unrest and uncertainty, Johnson aspired to draw the country together. This would start with what he dubbed the “war on poverty”- the crux of his plan for establishing a Great Society. In what would eventually establish him in the memories of Americans as a champion of civil rights legislation, Johnson stepped in to fulfill the dreams of Kennedy’s New Frontier, expanding the original social goals. His efforts in attempting to achieve the Great Society brought about many changes to a pliable America. President Johnson had a vision of this Great Society he imagined for America. His priority mission in achieving his goals started with winning the war on poverty and ending racial injustice. From there, this society would encapsulate an ideal nation. Children would have opportunities to enrich their minds, regardless of their parents’ financial standing. People could spend time in nature, as this practice seemingly started to become lost. Overall, Americans could be “more concerned with the quality of their goals than the quantity of their goods.” This would seek to improve the quality of the public and would be attempted through expanding governmental bureaucracy

Medicare would provide health insurance for those 65 and older while Medicaid would offer a plan for America’s poor. The insurance plans aided 47 million people by 1975. It also accounted for twenty-five percent of the country’s health care expenses. In addition to Medicare, the Food Stamp Act passed during Johnson’s presidency would provide subsidies to the poor in order to feed their families. These two acts certainly improved the quality of life for many Americans who otherwise would have been