Great Society

The Great Society was an initiative involving a series of domestic programs enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the United States between 1964 and 1968, aimed at eliminating poverty, reducing racial injustice, and expanding social welfare in the country. Johnson first used the phrase in a May 7, 1964, speech at Ohio University. The Great Society sought to build on the legacy of former president Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal reforms of the 1930s, and planned to use the power of the federal government in order to address economic inequality, improve education and healthcare, and promote civil rights. The post–World War II economic expansion had raised living standards for many Americans, but significant disparities remained, particularly for racial minorities and those living in impoverished rural and urban areas.