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Chris Gyumolcs
Mr. Asaro
AP US History
6 May 2014
Lyndon B. Johnson DBQ
In the 1960s many political, social, and economic problems arose in the United States.
Many of these problems were the direct results of the changes the United States was undergoing,
such as the Civil Rights Movement, the Feminist Revolution, the conflict in the Vietnam, and the
new youth culture that was rapidly gaining popularity. Throughout the decade, the Johnson
administration worked to address these political, social, and economic problems through new
laws, regulations, and systems put in place by the government.
Many political problems that arose between 1960 and 1970 stemmed from the Civil
Rights Movement, a large movement in the United States that strove to achieve equal rights for
all disadvantaged racial groups but primarily focused on the rights of African Americans. One of
the ways in which the disadvantaged groups attempted to achieve equal political representation
was through the formation of freedom organizations, such as the Black Panthers, that formed
to nominate and push certain candidates for certain important political offices. (Document C) In
response to the push for equal representation, the Johnson Administration passed the 24th
Amendment to the Constitution which prohibited the poll tax that had previously made it
impossible for certain minority groups to vote. Though not entirely solving the problem, this
resulted in a rising number of voters amongst the disadvantaged populations. In addition to the
24th Amendment and partially due to the Feminist Movement (Document D), the Johnson
Administration also passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed discrimination based on

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race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The landmark piece of legislation fully solved the
issue of voting rights by ending unequal application of voting requirements and stopped racial
segregation in schools. As a whole, the Johnson Administration was largely successful in
promoting the fight for Civil Rights.
In addition to the political problems faced in the 1960s, the country also faced a wide
range of new social issues. For example, new advances in medicine led to a large increase in left
expectancy, leaving senior citizens with the new problem of paying for health care as they grew
older. (Document A) The Johnson Administration responded to this through the creation of
Medicare and Medicaid as part of the Social Security Act. These new programs provided health
care to anybody over the age of 65 or under the poverty line, regardless of previous history.
These programs have been largely successful and are still in existence today. At the same time,
Johnson was also beginning to get the country involved in Vietnam. This had drastic negative
social impacts, such as the draft and the destruction of many Great Society programs to help
fuel the war. (Document E) As a whole, Johnson was very unsuccessful with the war and chose
not run for another term as a result of his failures.
Lastly, the Johnson Administration played a large role in solving the countrys economic
problems. In the 1960s, poverty was a rising problem for a large percentage of American
citizens. To address the issue, the Johnson Administration began a War on Poverty with the
mission of lowering the poverty rate in America. In 1964 the administration passed the Economic
Opportunity Act which created the Office of Economic Opportunity. (Document B) It was
responsible for directing federal funds to fight poverty, at which it was largely successful. Many
programs, such as VISTA, the Job Corps, and the Community Action Program were created due
to its efforts. In addition to his war on poverty, Johnson worked on several side projects such as

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improving schooling, increasing the availability jobs, and providing food stamps for those who
could not afford to eat. Many of these projects were successful, most notably being food stamps,
but Johnsons effort declined in this area because he felt that the people were ungrateful for all of
his hard work. (Document F) As a whole, Johnsons efforts in fighting poverty were largely
successful as shown by the rapid decline in the percentage of Americans living under the poverty
line. (Document H)
In conclusion, President Lyndon B. Johnson worked to solve many of Americas
problems in the 1960s and though he was not entirely successful, it can be said that he was very
effective at doing so overall. His efforts improved the general quality of life for all American
citizens and forever changed the structure and organization of our government.