January 8, 1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson delivers his 1st State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress. Behind him, in the seat normally occupied by the Vice President of the United States, an office made vacant by his rise to the Presidency following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John McCormack of Massachusetts. In the other seat, normally occupied by the Speaker, was the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Carl Hayden of Arizona.
It is the boldest State of the Union since, at least, Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" address, 23 years earlier:
We have, in 1964, a unique opportunity and obligation: To prove the success of our system; to disprove those cynics and critics at home and abroad who question our purpose and our competence.
If we fail, if we fritter and fumble away our opportunity in needless, senseless quarrels between Democrats and Republicans, or between the House and the Senate, or between the South and North, or between the Congress and the Administration, then history will rightfully judge us harshly. But if we succeed, if we can achieve these goals by forging in this country a greater sense of union, then, and only then, can we take full satisfaction in the State of the Union.
Here in the Congress you can demonstrate effective legislative leadership by discharging the public business with clarity and dispatch, voting each important proposal up, or voting it down, but at least bringing it to a fair and a final vote.
Let us carry forward the plans and programs of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, not because of our sorrow or sympathy, but because they are right.
In his memory today, I especially ask all members of my own political faith, in this election year, to put your country ahead of your party, and to always debate principles, never debate personalities...
America cannot afford to stand still. Our population is growing. Our economy is more complex. Our people's needs are expanding...
Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope -- some because of their poverty, and some because of theft color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity.
This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America. I urge this Congress and all Americans to join with me in that effort.
It will not be a short or easy struggle, no single weapon or strategy will suffice, but we shall not rest until that war is won. The richest Nation on earth can afford to win it. We cannot afford to lose it. One thousand dollars invested in salvaging an unemployable youth today can return $40,000 or more in his lifetime.
This speech, and his speech later in the year outlining what he called "The Great Society," was written by Richard Goodwin, one of the few holdovers from the Kennedy loyalists that LBJ trusted. Goodwin would work with the various agencies established by the War On Poverty, as LBJ's Great Society was designed to not only surpass JFK's New Frontier, but to provide the same kind of impact in the 1960s that FDR's New Deal did in the 1930s.
Following this speech, Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act, which established the Office of Economic Opportunity. As its 1st Director, LBJ appointed JFK's brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver. Two later directors when on to serve as Secretary of Defense in Republican Administrations: Donald Rumsfeld and Frank Carlucci.
Also passed over the next 2 years would be Medicare for the elderly, Medicaid for the poor, Head Start for pre-kindergarten kids, and programs that would be like domestic versions of JFK's Peace Corps: The Job Corps and VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America).
But no matter what LBJ did to reduce poverty, it wouldn't go away completely. Subsequent Presidents Richard Nixon (Republican), Gerald Ford (also Republican) and Jimmy Carter (Democratic but not the same kind of Democrat as Johnson) tried the kind of approach that Bill Clinton (Democratic) would later call "Mend it, but don't end it."
But, running for President in 1980, archconservative Republican Ronald Reagan said in his speeches, "We fought a war on poverty, and poverty won." He said he would cut back on social spending. Unfortunately, one promise that he kept was the abolition of the OEO.
But he couldn't abolish all of the War On Poverty programs, especially Medicaid, because they were too popular. Just as FDR's New Deal had cut poverty in America by 1/3rd in its 1st 30 years, 1933 to 1963, so too did LBJ's Great Society cut poverty in America by another 1/3rd in its 1st 30 years, 1964 to 1994.
Things have a weird way of working out: After the end of his 1st marriage, Richard Goodwin married Doris Kearns, who had first worked for a challenge to Johnson within the Democratic Primaries, then, with his having been impressed by her writing ability, he hired her to work for him. She later wrote the first full biography of him after his death, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream.
*
January 8, 1964 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football season had just ended. There were 3 games played in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 136-118 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Jerry West scored 39 points.
* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 126-110 at the Cincinnati Gardens.
* And the Baltimore Bullets beat the Detroit Pistons, 106-99 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit.
And the NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action:
* The New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at the old Madison Square Garden.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 5-1 at the Montreal Forum.
* And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 3-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
No comments:
Post a Comment