THE GREAT SOCIETY - The Great Society was President Lyndon B. Johnson's basic plan to declare a "war on poverty". This plan was inacted in order to make an overall better quality of life for all Americans. The Great society plan was first inacted in 1964 which started a line of laws and policies created to act upon this plan.
Events defining the Great Society: The Wilderness Protection act: In 1964 congress passed this law in order to protect forestlands in the United States. After president Lydon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, the plan save more than 9.1 million acres of wild forestland in the United Staes from industrial developement.
The Voting Rights Act: This law is a landmark in not only Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Socirty, but also in the struggle against discrimination in the Civil Rights movement. The Voting rights act of 1965 basically echoed the 15th amendment in saying that the right to vote cannot be denied for any citizen based on race or color of the skin. The act made insurance to that the minority population would not have to go through literacy tests or any other setbacks in the voting process and was a large part in The Great society plan.
The Immigration Act: The Immigration Act served the purpose in putting an end to all discriminatory quota on any ethnic origins. This act dramatically altered the amount of foreign immigrants that were allowed onto American soil. this act was signed in 1965 by President Ly.ndon B. Johnson
Medicare/Medicaid: In 1965, congress created two similar laws in Medicare and Medicaid in an effort to give a financial relief or cushion to those in deserving need of help. These legislations originally came directly as provisions in The Social Security Act of 1965. Medicare created the acces for health care to all people 65 years of age and older and was later edited to also include younger people who have permanent disabilites. Medicaid serves the purpose of giving financial aid to loer income families as well as in some cases, people with disabilities. In both Medicare and Medicaid in order to be eligible to receive them you must be a US citizen. Both of these policies are a large part in American history due to the fact that before Johnson's Great Society national health care was merely a concept and was finally made into a law in the Johnson adminisration. This government aid has done many Americans well in aiding them with their needs and is still a standing law in modern day society.
