DECADES OF CHANGE: 1960-1980
Johnson succeeded in the effort to provide more federal aid for el- ementary and secondary schooling, traditionally a state and local func- tion . The measure that was enacted gave money to the states based on the number of their children from low-income families . Funds could be used to assist public- and private- school children alike .
Convinced the United States con- fronted an “urban crisis” character- ized by declining inner cities, the Great Society architects devised a new housing act that provided rent supplements for the poor and estab- lished a Department of Housing and Urban Development .
Other legislation had an im- pact on many aspects of American life . Federal assistance went to art- ists and scholars to encourage their work . In September 1966, Johnson signed into law two transportation bills . The first provided funds to state and local governments for de- veloping safety programs, while the other set up federal safety standards for cars and tires . The latter program reflected the efforts of a crusading young radical, Ralph Nader . In his 1965 book, Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the Ameri- can Automobile, Nader argued that automobile manufacturers were sac- rificing safety features for style, and charged that faulty engineering con- tributed to highway fatalities .
In 1965, Congress abolished the discriminatory 1924 national-origin
immigration quotas . This triggered a new wave of immigration, much of it from South and East Asia and Latin America .
The Great Society was the larg- est burst of legislative activity since the New Deal . But support weakened as early as 1966 . Some of Johnson’s programs did not live up to expecta- tions; many went underfunded . The urban crisis seemed, if anything, to worsen . Still, whether because of the Great Society spending or because of a strong economic upsurge, poverty did decline at least marginally dur- ing the Johnson administration .