EOTO #4

 My part of the EOTO was the War on Poverty. 

On January 8th, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson introduces the War on Poverty legislation. President Johnson introduced the War on Poverty legislation in his first State of the Union address. The War on Poverty is a set of government programs, designed to help poor Americans. It included measures for job training and improvement of housing.

President Johnson believed that our percentage of poor Americans was a national disgrace that merited a national response. The percentage of poor Americans at the time was 20% of our country. He also believed that the cause of poverty was not personal moral failings, but the cause of poverty was a societal failure.

The War on Poverty found its way into law quickly. With the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the War on Poverty started to make its way into law. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 created the Office of Economic Opportunity. 

The Office of Economic Opportunity provided funds for vocational training, created job Corps to train youths in conservation camps and urban centers, and established Vista (Volunteers in Service to America).

There was some resistance to the War on Poverty though. The War on Poverty faced resistance from almost all quarters of America. The South resisted on issues of race. The Conservatives believed that federal money should not be used to help the poor. The liberals believed that reforms did not go far enough.

In the end, the War on Poverty was ultimately limited in its effectiveness because of the economic resources being consumed by our increasing involvement in the Vietnam War.