and the Great Society

President Lyndon B. Johnsonreviews a speech to the nation withhiswife. Lady Bird, in 1968.

Words to Know• minority: a group of people who differ

in some way from the greater number(as in reti^on, ethnicity, language,etc.) and often are treated differently.

Lyndon B. Johnsontried to fight a "war onpoverty." But a disastrouswar in Vietnam hauntedhis presidency.

by Kathy Wilmore and Merlin Hernandez

ABOUT THIS PLAYyndon Baines Johnson wasborn on August 27,1908, inStonewall, Texas. He grewup in rural Texas in a familyof seven that never had

much money. As a young teacher ofimmigrant Mexican children, John-son learned compassion for peopleliving in poverty. He soon becameinvolved in politics, and rose quicklyin power and influence. First a Con-gressman, then a Senator, Johnsonunderstood how to get bills made intolaws. By 1963, he was Vice President.

SCENE ONENarrator A: On November 22, 1963,President John F. Kennedy is assassi-nated. Johnson is sworn in as Presi-dent. He inherits civil rights unrest

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President Johnson meets wiMartin Luther King Jr. (left)and other civil rights leaderat the White House in 1964

CAST o r CHARACTERSLyndon Baines Johnson, 36ch U.S.

PresidentLady Bird Johnson, First LadyMartha Griffiths, Congresswoman

from MichiganKatherine St. George, Congresswoman

from New York'Newspaper editorN̂ewspaper reporterMartin Luther King Jr., minister and

civil rights leader

and a war in Vietnam. Soon afterbecoming President...President Lyndon Baines Johnson: In aland as wealthy as ours, familiesshould not live in poverty. Childrenshould not go to bed hungry.lady Bird Johnson: This is the tighttime to work on those problems,Lyndon. People are already thinkingabout them.Narrator A: At the end of 1963, John-son {often known as LBJ) has thehighest approval rating of any U.S.

'TV reporterBill Moyers, Special Assistant to

JohnsonJuanita Roberts, Johnson's secretaryFrancis Keppel, U.S. Commissioner

of EducationHarry S. Truman, 33rd U.S. President

*Commuter #t*Commuter#2Narrators A-E

*indicates fictitious character

President in history. In his State ofthe Union address in January 1964,he challenges Congress to act.Johnson; Let's declare war on povertyand unemployment. Lets recognizethe health needs of our older citizens.Let's help build more homes, schools,libraries, and hospitals than any sin-gle session of Congress in history.Narrator A: In a May speech to stu-dents at the University of Michigan,he gives a name to his vision.Johnson: In your time, we have the

opportunity to move not onlytoward the rich and powerful society,but also upward to the Great Society.The Creat Society rests on abun-dance and liberty for all. It demandsan end to poverty and injustice.

SCENE TWONarrator B: Johnson wants to focus onGreat Society programs, but the con-flict in Vietnam also demands hisattention. He has already increasedaid to South Vietnam in a war againstCommunist North Vietnam. John-son doesn't want to deal with thatproblem publicly, though, until afterthe 1964 election. Instead, he focuseson the war on poverty and civil rightslegislation. In early 1964...Representative Martha Griffiths:Kennedy called for a civil rights act.Johnson wants to make it law.Representative Katherine St, George:Yes, but Congressman HowardSmith of Virginia is trying to stopit. He knows that if he adds rightsfor women, there won't be enoughsupport to pass the bill.

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AMEHICAM HISTOPV PLAV

LBJ: It is wrong—deadly wrong—to deny any of your fellowAmericans the right to vote in this country.

Griffiths: Unfortunately, he's right.The "no" votes from lawmakersopposed to women's rights, plus the"no" votes from those against minor-ity rights, would be enough to sinkthe bill. We've got to do something!Narrator 8: In a House debate,Griffiths defends the bill.Griffiths: If you plan to vote nobecause you don't care about rightsfor minorities, what about yourmothers, sisters, and daughters? Theequal employment part of this billwould protect white women, too!Narrator B: Her speech helps per-suade House members to includewomen—and pass the bill. ThenSenators debate measures thatwould protect minorities from dis-crimination in employment, hous-ing, and education. Finally, theSenate passes the bill. On July 2,Johnson signs the Civil Rights Actinto law. A few months later...Newspaper editor: Where's your arti-cle on the President's first monthsin office?

Newspaper reporter: You didn't giveme much room. Boss.Editor: How much do you need?Reporter: Well, between January 3and September 3> Johnson estab-lished a Council on ConsumerInterests and created a Job Corps.He signed the largest tax reductionin U.S. history...Editor: Impressive.Reporter: There s more. He passedthe Civil Rights Act, the UrbanMass Transportation Act, and aFood Stamp Act to help the poorand hungry. He also—Editor: I see your point. I'll give youanother 300 words. Now get busy!

SCENE THREENarrator C: Johnson wins the 1964presidential election by a landslide.But many issues complicate hisGreat Society vision. African-Ameri-cans were granted the right to votein 1870, by the Constitution's 15thAmendment. In the South, however,threats, literacy tests, and specialtaxes are often used to keep themfrom the polls. In January 1965,Martin Luther King Jr. starts leadingprotests in Selma, Alabama, callingfor true voting rights. On January15, Johnson telephones King.Johnson: I want Congress to pass abill protecting voting rights.Martin Luther King Jr.: Yes, Mr. Presi-dent. But until that happens, wehave to make our voices heard.Johnson: Good. If your protest showshow bad things are, I can get a vot-ing rights act through Congress.King: We will continue to protestpeacefully until justice is served.Narrator C: On March 7 . . .

TV reporter: Today, about 525 protest-ers tried to march from Selma to thestate capital in Montgomery. Statetroopers armed with clubs and teargas attacked the peaceful crowd. Ourcameras caught the brutal beatings—Narrator C: Americans are shocked bythe images they see on television.They demand that the President takeaction in Alabama. When protestersdemonstrate in Washington, at theJustice Department and outside theWhite House, Johnson is furious. Hesummons an aide to his office.Special Assistant Bill Moyers: Yes, Mr.President.Johnson: After all the support IVegiven civil rights, I can't believe thatthey're protesting me\ Have youspoken with King yet?Moyers: Mr. President, Dr. King andhis people are meeting in the churchin Selma. We don't know what theyplan to do.Johnson: On TV, it looks like thatman is taking ovet the country! Let

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him know who's in charge.Narrator C: Support keeps growing forwhat King and Johnson both want—a voting rights bill. On March 15, aspecial session of Congress meets atthe President's request. Millions ofTV viewers watch Johnson's speech.Johnson: It is wrong—deadlywrong—to deny any of your fellowAmericans the right to vote in thiscountry. We cannot, we must not,refuse to protect rhe right of everyAmerican to vote.Narrator C: Congress eventuallypasses the Voting Rights Act, whichJohnson signs on August 6, 1965.

SCENE FOURNarrator D: All the while, Johnson hasbeen proposing Great Society pro-grams and pushing them throughCongress. In April 1965 . . .Juanita Roberts: Mr. President, Com-missioner Keppel is here.Johnson: Cood! Get on in here,Francis. Any news?Commissioner FrancisKeppel: It looks like wehave enough congres-sional support for the Ele-mentary and SecondaryEducation Act. It willhelp public schools buybooks and improveeducation for poor anddisabled children.Johnson: Excellent! This isan important part of my

President Johnsonsigns the Civil RightsAct into law in 1964.

war on poverty. When Isign it, I'll tell Americansthat this will bridge thegap between helplessnessand hope for more than5 million educationallydeprived children. Edu-

cation is a passport from poverty.Narrator D: On July 30, Johnson is inIndependence, Missouri, the home-town of former President Truman.President Harry S. Truman: I Ve wantedthe Medicare Act you'll sign today fora long time.Johnson: Me, too, sir. At the signingceremony, I'll tell folks what yousaid decades ago: "Millions of ourcitizens do not now have a full meas-ure of opportunity to achieve and toenjoy good health. Millions do nothave protection or security againstthe economic effects of sickness."Truman: They do now. Medicare willhelp pay the medical bills that mil-lions of Americans over age 65couldn't afford on their own.

SCENE FIVENarrator E: Five months later...Commuter #1 (with newspaper): Didyou see this article? LBJ and Con-gress had another busy year: the

Elementary and Secondary Educa-tion Act, the Head Start program, aMedicare bill . . .Commuter #2: But the U.S. is alsobombing North Vietnam, andJohnson has sent tens of thousandsof troops into battle. It's an awfulmess—and getting worse.Narrator E: As more U.S. troops arekilled, antiwar protests spread. Inearly 1968, an election year, John-son's approval rating plummets[drops sharply]. On March 31, hestuns the nation. In a televisedspeech, he outlines plans for peacetalks with North Vietnam. Then . . .Johnson: What we won when all ofour people united must not now belost in suspicion and distrust. Accord-ingly, I shall not seek, and I will notaccept, the nomination of my partyfor another term as your President.

AFTERWORDJohnson left office on January 20,

1969, and retired to his ranch inTexas. He died on January 22, 1973.His legacy remains mixed. Johnson'scritics say that his Great Society pro-grams led to a "welfare state" thatweakened individual responsibility.Others cite the colossal failure of theVietnam War. Yet, say Johnson'sdefenders, his civil rights legislationand Great Society programs havemade a positive difference in the livesof countless Americans. JS

Your TurnTHINK ABOUT IT1. Have any Great Society pro-grams affected your l ife-or thelives of your family members?Are such programs still needed?2. Critics of Johnson's programssay that the government shouldhe less involved in people'slives. Do you agree or disagree?Explain your answer.

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