Great Society

Definition

The Great Society was a set of domestic policy initiatives launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s, aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice while improving education and healthcare in the United States. These programs represented an expansive use of federal government resources to achieve social progress and equality.

Related terms

New Deal: A series of programs and projects instituted during the Great Depression by President Franklin D. Roosevelt aimed at restoring prosperity to Americans.

Medicare: A federal program introduced as part of the Great Society initiative that provides health insurance to people over 65 and younger people with certain disabilities.

Civil Rights Act of 1964: Landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin