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CHAPTER 13: DECADES OF CHANGE: 1960-1980OUTLINE OF U.S. HISTORYeasily in 1964. But on November 22,1963, he was assassinated while ridingin an open car during a visit toDallas, Texas. His death, amplifiedby television coverage, was a traumaticevent, just as Roosevelt’s hadbeen 18 years earlier.In retrospect, it is clear that Kennedy’sreputation stems more fromhis style and eloquently stated idealsthan from the implementation of hispolicies. He had laid out an impressiveagenda but at his death much remainedblocked in Congress. It waslargely because of the political skilland legislative victories of his successorthat Kennedy would be seen as aforce for progressive change.LYNDON JOHNSON ANDTHE GREAT SOCIETYLyndon Johnson, a Texan who wasmajority leader in the Senate beforebecoming Kennedy’s vice president,was a masterful politician. He hadbeen schooled in Congress, wherehe developed an extraordinary abilityto get things done. He excelled atpleading, cajoling, or threatening asnecessary to achieve his ends. Hisliberal idealism was probably deeperthan Kennedy’s. As president, hewanted to use his power aggressivelyto eliminate poverty and spread thebenefits of prosperity to all.Johnson took office determinedto secure the passage of Kennedy’slegislative agenda. His immediatepriorities were his predecessor’s billsto reduce taxes and guarantee civilrights. Using his skills of persuasionand calling on the legislators’ respectfor the slain president, Johnson succeededin gaining passage of bothduring his first year in office. Thetax cuts stimulated the economy.The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was themost far-reaching such legislationsince Reconstruction.Johnson addressed other issues aswell. By the spring of 1964, he hadbegun to use the name “Great Society”to describe his socio-economicprogram. That summer he securedpassage of a federal jobs program forimpoverished young people. It wasthe first step in what he called the“War on Poverty.” In the presidentialelection that November, he wona landslide victory over conservativeRepublican Barry Goldwater. Significantly,the 1964 election gave liberalDemocrats firm control of Congressfor the first time since 1938. Thiswould enable them to pass legislationover the combined oppositionof Republicans and conservativeSouthern Democrats.The War on Poverty became thecenterpiece of the administration’sGreat Society program. The Officeof Economic Opportunity, establishedin 1964, provided trainingfor the poor and established variouscommunity-action agencies,guided by an ethic of “participatorydemocracy” that aimed to give thepoor themselves a voice in housing,health, and education programs.Medical care came next. UnderJohnson’s leadership, Congress enactedMedicare, a health insuranceprogram for the elderly, and Medicaid,a program providing healthcareassistance for the poor.Johnson succeeded in the effortto provide more federal aid for elementaryand secondary schooling,traditionally a state and local function.The measure that was enactedgave money to the states based onthe number of their children fromlow-income families. Funds couldbe used to assist public- and privateschoolchildren alike.Convinced the United Statesconfronted an “urban crisis” characterizedby declining inner cities,the Great Society architects deviseda new housing act that provided rentsupplements for the poor and establisheda Department of Housing andUrban Development.Other legislation had an impacton many aspects of American life.Federal assistance went to artistsand scholars to encourage theirwork. In September 1966, Johnsonsigned into law two transportationbills. The first provided funds tostate and local governments for developingsafety programs, while theother set up federal safety standardsfor cars and tires. The latter programreflected the efforts of a crusadingyoung radical, Ralph Nader. In his1965 book, Unsafe at Any Speed: TheDesigned-In Dangers of the AmericanAutomobile, Nader argued thatautomobile manufacturers weresacrificing safety features for style,and charged that faulty engineeringcontributed to highway fatalities.In 1965, Congress abolished thediscriminatory 1924 national-originimmigration quotas. This triggereda new wave of immigration, muchof it from South and East Asia andLatin America.The Great Society was the largestburst of legislative activity since theNew Deal. But support weakenedas early as 1966. Some of Johnson’sprograms did not live up to expectations;many went underfunded. Theurban crisis seemed, if anything, toworsen. Still, whether because of theGreat Society spending or because ofa strong economic upsurge, povertydid decline at least marginally duringthe Johnson administration.THE WAR IN VIETNAMDissatisfaction with the Great Societycame to be more than matchedby unhappiness with the situationin Vietnam. A series of South Vietnamesestrong men proved littlemore successful than Diem in mobilizingtheir country. The Viet Cong,insurgents supplied and coordinatedfrom North Vietnam, gained groundin the countryside.Determined to halt Communistadvances in South Vietnam, Johnsonmade the Vietnam War his own. Aftera North Vietnamese naval attackon two American destroyers, Johnsonwon from Congress on August 7,1964, passage of the Gulf of TonkinResolution, which allowed the presidentto “take all necessary measuresto repel any armed attack againstthe forces of the United States andto prevent further aggression.” Afterhis re-election in November 1964,286287