Launching the War on Poverty An Oral History

by Gillette, Michael L.

• ISBN13: 9780195387278
• ISBN10: 0195387279
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-09
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was one of the great legislative triumphs of Lyndon Johnson's presidency. In Launching the War on Poverty, forty-nine veterans of this unprecedented legislative effort tell their stories, offering a fascinating inside look at how Community Action, Head Start, the Job Corps, Legal Services, and other efforts went from brainstorming sessions in Washington to real-life programs in low-income neighborhoods throughout the nation. As the interviews reveal the idealism of the 1960s, they also capture the excitement and disappointment, the determination and doubt, the cut-and-thrust of American lawmaking, and the sheer force of the personalities involved. This second edition offers a new introduction that shows how many of these programs survived a volatile beginning to become accepted, permanent elements of domestic policy. In addition, the book now includes transcripts of Johnson's pivotal phone conversations, underscoring the president's determination and resourcefulness, his judgments of personnel and programs, and his sensitivity to political fallout. There is an updated bibliography with a list of web and archival sources on the War on Poverty.

Author Biography

Michael L. Gillette is Executive Director of Humanities Texas and the former director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Oral History Program.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. xi
Camelot Confronts the Culture of Poverty	p. 1
The War on Poverty Task Force	p. 30
Creating the Community Action Program	p. 81
Employment Versus Poverty	p. 105
Rural Programs	p. 119
The Enactment of Poverty Legislation	p. 127
The Office of Economic Opportunity: "The Most Action in Town"	p. 187
The Job Corps	p. 212
The Community Action Program	p. 235
An Early Success: Project Head Start	p. 259
Advocates for the Poor: Vista and the Legal Services Program	p. 281
Delegated Programs	p. 302
Challenges to Head Start	p. 318
The Jobs Corps Under Siege	p. 337
"Keeping the Trash in One Pile": Legislative Battles	p. 360
Oeo's Struggle to Endure	p. 375
Epilogue and Assessments	p. 401
Appendix: Oral History Interviews	p. 415
Notes	p. 417
Bibliography	p. 431
Websites	p. 447
Index	p. 449
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