On this day in history, January 4, 1965, LBJ touts utopian ‘Great Society’ in State of the Union address
On January 4, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson proposed the “Great Society,” a vision for an expanded role of the federal government in the United States. The proposal, which aimed to tackle poverty, education, health, and opportunity challenges, came during the first televised State of the Union address. Despite creating programs like Medicare/Medicaid, Head Start, and the Voting Rights Act, the Great Society has been criticized for not reducing poverty or improving public education, and for increasing the federal budget. The initiative’s legacy has also been overshadowed by Johnson’s decision to escalate American involvement in the Vietnam War.
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