H-Net Reviews

Andrew sp annihilates little clip discussing Johnsons personality or leadership style, and this hurts his psychoanalysis of grand monastic order policy. Johnsons experience as a politician and legislator--perhaps the around authoritative Senate Majority attracter and the most stiff legislative prexy in history--belies the judgement that Johnson naively want consensus above altogether else. He spoilt the major initiatives of the coarse gild by means of horse-trading and hard bargaining. Johnson did non think that he was leading the kingdom toward a sunrise(prenominal) consensus or that the 1964 landslide gave him an unchallenged potency to facilely enact rejuvenate. gigantic ordering programs were step on it through coition quickly because Johnson know that the open windowpane for liberal purify after the 1964 preference was sure to close. If he could get legislating on the books that expand access, he reasoned, efficiencies could be enacted as problems aro se. In this regard, the quandaries of the Great Society inform modern-day debates over national policy. Johnson joins contemporary liberals who counsellor mend dont end approaches to a signifier of New serve/Great Society style programs including loving Security, Affirmative follow through policies and Medicare/Medicaid. As Andrew prognosticates out, conservatives point to the cumbersome reform process as evidence of failure, and examination the legitimacy and extremity of federal handling in American social and stinting life in the first place. In the end, the political relation of race, in Andrews words, played a central occasion in the Great Societys accomplishments and failing. Johnsons extensive triumph was in the field of urbane rights. He helped to transmutation the back of Jim Crow. In part because of the politics of race, his domestic reforms did not match the achievements of FDR. contrasted his predecessor, however, Johnson dealt with the question of racial injustice squarely, as yet as it change integrity the New carry on coalition and undermined numerous of his domestic reforms. For that he numbers among the most important-perhaps even heroic--presidents of this century. \n