Sociology 3945: Worksheet--"America's War on Poverty, part I: In This Affluent Society"

1. How did poverty emerge as an important social issue in the early 1960s?

2. Why did Lyndon Johnson decide to make a War on Poverty the centerpiece of his presidency?

3. What was Sargent Shriver's role? How did he get drawn into the leadership of this effort?

4. What was the source of the basic ideas for programs in the War on Poverty, and was there a unifying philosophy behind those programs?

Sociology 3945: Groups--"In This Affluent Society"

1. Why do you think the War on Poverty emerged in the 1960s, when there was actually less poverty in the United States than in earlier periods (in 1940 the official poverty rate was 34%; by 1960 it had dropped to 15%)?

2. Where were the high concentrations of poverty and how did the War on Poverty plan to improve the situation? In particular, which of the War on Poverty's programs were aimed at central cities, and what effect do you think that had on popular support for the programs?

3. Prior to our course, what was your impression of the relative success of the War on Poverty, and where did that impression come from. How, for example, was the War on Poverty treated in your high school history books?

4. How should we evaluate the success of such programs, and why did the War on Poverty eventually lose much of its political support?