One of the major attempts at a comprehensive solution to the problems of poverty was the Johnson administration’s War on Poverty. Identify how the War on Poverty differed from other social programs, the office that was created to fight it, two programs initiated to fight the War on Poverty, and the purpose of each. Finally, indicate whether or not you believe the War on Poverty was successful, and give justification for your answer.

What will be an ideal response?

The War on Poverty differed from other social programs in that it was directed less toward the short-term amelioration of deprivation than toward changing the long-standing patterns and conditions of the very poor. The Office of Economic Opportunity was created to address the cultural and social conditions attendant to poverty. Head Start and college work-study programs were created to ameliorate poverty. Head Start attempted to prepare poor children to enter school/kindergarten by giving them the skills that middle-class children generally have when they enter kindergarten but poor children often lack. College work-study gave more students from economically disadvantaged households the opportunity to go to college. The War on Poverty also supported programs to help adults from poor households prepare for productive employment. Many of the programs have been dismantled or reduced since the 1980s. Despite the War on Poverty, many people remain poor. Students can conclude both that the War on Poverty failed and that economic progress has enabled reductions in the levels of poverty, as long as they provide evidence for their argument.