Editing Great Society (section)

===The "War On Poverty"===
{{Main|War on Poverty}}
[[File:Signing of the EOA.jpg|thumb|300px|The August 1964 signing of the Poverty Bill]]
The most ambitious and controversial part of the Great Society was its initiative to end poverty. The Kennedy Administration had been contemplating a federal effort against poverty. Johnson, who, as a teacher, had observed extreme poverty in [[Texas]] among [[Latino-American]]s, launched an "unconditional war on poverty" in the first months of his presidency with the goal of eliminating hunger, illiteracy, and unemployment from American life. The centerpiece of the [[War on Poverty]] was the [[Economic Opportunity Act of 1964]], which created an [[Office of Economic Opportunity]] (OEO) to oversee a variety of community-based antipoverty programs.

Federal funds were provided for special education schemes in slum areas, including help in paying for books and transport, while financial aid was also provided for slum clearances and rebuilding city areas. In addition, the [[Appalachian Regional Development Act]] of 1965 created jobs in one of the most impoverished regions of the country.{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}} The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 provided various methods through which young people from poor homes could receive job training and higher education.<ref>Lowe, Norman. ''Mastering Modern World History.''</ref> A clause was also written into the Act to make sure (as noted by one observer) that community action programs meet the real needs of the poor.”<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fKhWAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA3&dq=Economic+Opportunity+Act+1964+to+make+sure+that+community+action+programs+meet+the+real+needs+of+the+poor&article_id=988,5009817&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj-0NiNjNOMAxXEWEEAHaV2EBAQ6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&q=Economic%20Opportunity%20Act%201964%20to%20make%20sure%20that%20community%20action%20programs%20meet%20the%20real%20needs%20of%20the%20poor&f=false The News-Dispatch 30 Nov 1965]</ref>

The OEO reflected a fragile consensus among policymakers that the best way to deal with poverty was not simply to raise the incomes of the poor but to help them better themselves through education, job training, and community development. Central to its mission was the idea of "[[Community Action Agencies|community action]]", the participation of the poor in framing and administering the programs designed to help them.

====Programs====
The War on Poverty began with a $1&nbsp;billion appropriation in 1964 and spent another $2&nbsp;billion in the following two years. It gave rise to dozens of programs, among them the [[Job Corps]], whose purpose was to help disadvantaged youth develop marketable skills; the [[Neighborhood Youth Corps]], established to give poor urban youths work experience and to encourage them to stay in school; [[Volunteers in Service to America]] ([[Volunteers in Service to America|VISTA]]), a domestic version of the [[Peace Corps]], which placed concerned citizens with community-based agencies to work towards empowerment of the poor; the [[Model Cities Program]] for urban redevelopment; [[Upward Bound]], which assisted poor high school students entering college; legal services for the poor; and the [[Food Stamp Act of 1964]] (which expanded the federal food stamp program).<ref name="adaction1964">{{cite journal |url=http://www.adaction.org/media/votingrecords/1964.pdf |title=Voting Record-88th Congress, 2nd Session |journal=ADA World |publisher=Americans for Democratic Action |date=October 1964 |access-date=August 26, 2013 |archive-date=May 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528223644/http://www.adaction.org/media/votingrecords/1964.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Programs included the [[Community Action Program]], which initiated local [[Community Action Agencies]] charged with helping the poor become self-sufficient; and Project [[Head Start (education)|Head Start]], which offered preschool education for poor children. In addition, funding was provided for the establishment of community health centers to expand access to health care,<ref>{{cite journal |first=Fred D.|last=Rachman|url=http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_7730_3079_20787_43/http%3B/wci-pubcontent/publish/onc/public_communities/_content/files/rachman_quality_wg_testimony_102810.pdf |title=Quality Measures Workgroup Testimony |publisher=Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services |date=August 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921130826/http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_7730_3079_20787_43/http%3B/wci-pubcontent/publish/onc/public_communities/_content/files/rachman_quality_wg_testimony_102810.pdf |archive-date=September 21, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> while major amendments were made to [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] in 1965 and 1967 which significantly increased benefits, expanded coverage, and established new programs to combat poverty and raise living standards.<ref name="ssa">{{cite web |url=http://www.ssa.gov/history/ssa/lbjleg1.html |title=History of SSA During the Johnson Administration 1963–1968 |publisher=Social Security Administration |access-date=July 15, 2013}}</ref> In addition, average AFDC payments were 35% higher in 1968 than in 1960, but remained insufficient and uneven.<ref>Backlash against welfare mothers: past and present by Ellen Reese</ref>