What was the Great Society, and how did the 1960s expand the role of government and spark new movements?
Explain the Great Society and the debate over the role of government, including the War on Poverty, Medicare and Medicaid, and the women's and other rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, Social Transformations in the United States).
A standard-level answer on the Great Society for Ohio's American History EOC: Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, Medicare and Medicaid, education and civil rights laws, the debate over the role of government, and the women's, environmental, and other rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
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What this topic is asking
This part of the Social Transformations topic asks what President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society tried to do, how it expanded the role of the federal government, and how the 1960s and 1970s produced new rights movements beyond civil rights. The Ohio standards (content statement on political debates over the role of government in the economy, environment, social welfare, and security) want the Great Society's programs, the debate over big government, and the era's wider movements.
The Great Society and the War on Poverty
Johnson aimed to use government to end poverty and expand opportunity:
The Great Society also expanded federal aid to education, created Head Start, supported civil rights, and reformed immigration.
The debate over the role of government
The Great Society reopened a long-running argument:
- Supporters argued government had a duty to help the poor, the sick, and the elderly and to guarantee opportunity.
- Critics said the programs cost too much, raised taxes and deficits, made government too large and powerful, encouraged dependence, or took decisions away from states and individuals.
This debate would shape American politics for decades, including the later conservative turn.
New rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s
The era's activism reached well beyond civil rights:
- A renewed women's movement pressed for equality in work, pay, and law, winning gains like Title IX (equal opportunity in education) while the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was hotly debated and ultimately not ratified.
- The environmental movement grew, marked by the first Earth Day (1970) and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and clean air and water laws.
- Movements for other groups also emerged, part of a broad expansion of the idea of equal rights.
The Ohio connection
Ohio's cities received Great Society programs aimed at poverty, education, and health, and the state shared in the era's activism and unrest, including the campus tensions that culminated in the Kent State tragedy of 1970 (covered with Vietnam). Ohio's industrial communities were among those most affected by the era's debates over poverty and the role of government.
Why this matters for the EOC
This topic rewards knowing the Great Society's programs (War on Poverty, Medicare, Medicaid, education), explaining the debate over the role of government (both sides), and recognizing the era's new movements (women's, environmental). Expect a chart of programs or spending, a cartoon about big government, or a document, to read for the main idea or point of view. The big idea the standards want is that the Great Society expanded the federal government's role, sparking a lasting debate, while the 1960s and 1970s broadened the struggle for rights.
Try this
Q1. What were Medicare and Medicaid, and which program created them? [2]
- Cue. Medicare is health insurance for the elderly and Medicaid is health coverage for the poor; both were created in 1965 as part of Johnson's Great Society.
Q2. Give one argument made by critics of the Great Society's expansion of government. [2]
- Cue. That it cost too much (taxes and deficits), made government too big, fostered dependence, or took power from states and individuals.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of ODEW exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Ohio American History EOC1 marksMedicare and Medicaid, created in 1965, were part of President Lyndon Johnson's program known as the (A) New Deal. (B) Great Society. (C) Square Deal. (D) New Frontier.Show worked answer →
A 1-point multiple-choice item on the Great Society.
The correct answer is B. Medicare (health insurance for the elderly) and Medicaid (health coverage for the poor) were created in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, his broad program to fight poverty and expand opportunity.
A was Franklin Roosevelt's 1930s program; C was Theodore Roosevelt's; D was John Kennedy's. The standards connect Medicare and Medicaid to the Great Society.
Ohio American History EOC2 marksThe Great Society expanded the federal government's role, and this was debated. (a) Identify one Great Society program or goal. (b) State one argument made by critics who thought government was doing too much.Show worked answer →
A 2-point constructed-response item on the role of government.
(a) 1 point: any one Great Society program or goal, such as the War on Poverty, Medicare, Medicaid, federal aid to education, or civil rights enforcement.
(b) 1 point: a clear critic's argument, such as that the programs cost too much and raised taxes and deficits, that they made the federal government too big and powerful, that they fostered dependence, or that such matters should be left to states or individuals. Scorers reward a program and a valid criticism, since the standards frame this as a debate.
Related dot points
- Explain the civil rights movement, including Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, nonviolent protest, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, Social Transformations in the United States).
A standard-level answer on the civil rights movement for Ohio's American History EOC: segregation and Jim Crow, Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, nonviolent protest and Martin Luther King Jr., the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Black Power.
- Explain the postwar economic boom, suburbanization, the GI Bill, consumer culture, the baby boom, and population shifts to the suburbs and Sun Belt (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, Social Transformations in the United States).
A standard-level answer on postwar prosperity for Ohio's American History EOC: the economic boom after World War II, the GI Bill, the growth of suburbs and Levittowns, the baby boom, the rise of television and consumer culture, the interstate highways, and the population shift from cities to suburbs and the Sun Belt.
- Explain how Cold War containment led to the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the domino theory, and the domestic effects of Vietnam (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, The Cold War).
A standard-level answer on Korea and Vietnam for Ohio's American History EOC: containment and the domino theory, the Korean War and its stalemate, the escalation and course of the Vietnam War, the antiwar movement and its division of America, and the war's end, with the Kent State shootings in Ohio.
- Explain the continuing movements for equality after the 1960s, including the women's movement, Latino, Native American, and disability rights, and the immigration that reshaped American society (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, Social Transformations in the United States).
A standard-level answer on social movements after the 1960s for Ohio's American History EOC: the continuing women's movement and Title IX, the United Farm Workers and Latino rights, the American Indian Movement, disability rights and the ADA, and the demographic change from the 1965 Immigration Act.
- Explain the New Deal, including relief, recovery, and reform programs, the expanded role of the federal government, and the debate over the New Deal (Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies, American History, Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal).
A standard-level answer on the New Deal for Ohio's American History EOC: Franklin Roosevelt's relief, recovery, and reform programs, the alphabet agencies, Social Security, the expanded role of the federal government, and the debate for and against the New Deal.
Sources & how we know this
- Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies — Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (2019)
- American History (High School State-Tested Courses Resources) — Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (2024)