Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society

the long version

In Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society, John Andrew examines the underlying ideas and principal objectives of Great Society programs - and its accomplishments and shortcomings. Great Society legislation addressed some of the most important and difficult problems facing American society in the 1960s, in civil rights, poverty, health, education, urban life, and consumer issues. The Johnson administration's efforts in some way touched the lives of most Americans. But, as Mr. Andrew shows, LBJ's consensus could hold only by avoiding divisive issues. As times changed and the economy deteriorated, the nation's mood shifted. The ideals of the midsixties collapsed in the face of ideological and political polarization.