The War on Poverty

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In the year 1964, many people in the United States were considered living in poverty. Times were hard for many American citizens because of lack of food, jobs, and education, along with the racial inequality happening during this time period. Lyndon B. Johnson, who was serving as President at this time, declared that the government needed to take a stand. Johnson thought hard on what he, as President, could do to help this issue. He and his team of executives knew the struggles the citizens had been facing in the years before, so the Johnson Organization proposed a speech to help educate the people of the United States about the struggles they may not have known about. This speech led the US Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act, which marked the beginning of the War on Poverty. The War on Poverty, however, was never a physical war fought. This was just an effort for the government to get involved in the healthcare, education, and economic industries. Lyndon Johnson pushed for the War on Poverty because he noticed the little support he was receiving from the underclass party in the country. One of the main reasons for poverty and unequal socioeconomics came from the racial issues during this time, though Johnson noticed this and tied Civil Rights in with his War on Poverty legislation. Though many people are still living in poverty, Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty impacted healthcare, education, and economics.
The War on Poverty had a huge, long lasting effect on the healthcare industry in the United States. Peter Edelman stated in his article, “The War on Poverty was of course not a single program but a wide range of initiatives, each of which required major effort to make it operational” (9). Many of these initiatives w...

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...my 43.1 (2011): 199-223. Business Source Elite. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.
Foundation, Russel Sage. "The War on Poverty's Effects on Health Care Use of The Elderly." N.p., Sept. 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. .
Humphrey, Hubert H. War on Poverty. Toronto: McGraw-Hill, 1964. Print.
Kenny, Charles. “50 Years After The War On Poverty, Poor People Are Not Better Off.” Businessweek.com (2014): 5. Business Source Elite. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
"Lyndon B. Johnson and the War on Poverty: Introduction to the Digital Edition." Presidential Recordings of Lyndon B. Johnson Digital Edition. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.
Schwartz, Joel. “From The War On Poverty To Welfare Reform: How The American Understanding Of The Causes Of Poverty Changed.” Economic Affairs 27.3 (2007): 24-31. Business Source Elite. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.

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