Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
The Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) of 1964 was a significant piece of legislation aimed at combating poverty in the United States, emerging from the social welfare initiatives of the New Deal. Established under President Lyndon B. Johnson's vision for a "Great Society," the EOA created the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) and initiated various programs as part of the broader War on Poverty. The EOA emphasized providing opportunities for education, vocational training, and employment, aiming to empower individuals from low-income backgrounds.
Key programs launched under the EOA included Job Corps, which targeted hard-to-employ youth; Head Start, designed to support preschoolers from disadvantaged families; and the establishment of Community Action Programs to foster local development. While the act garnered support from progressive Democrats, it faced opposition from conservative Republicans concerned about government spending and intervention. Despite the controversies surrounding its programs, the EOA contributed to a notable reduction in poverty rates during the late 1960s.
Ultimately, the OEO was disbanded in 1975, and the EOA was significantly modified in subsequent years, but its legacy remains in the ongoing discussions around poverty alleviation and social welfare in the United States.
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
Legislative initiative to combat poverty in the United States. This act was part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, which sought to mobilize human and financial resources in order to give all citizens a chance to share in the nation’s promise.
Origins and History
The Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) of 1964 was the result of various proposals and ideas that dated back to the social welfare initiatives of the New Deal in the 1930’s. The EOA established the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) in the executive office of the president, which launched several programs in the War on Poverty, a domestic “war” that was necessary, according to President Lyndon B. Johnson, “so as to eliminate the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty.” The various programs had, as their feature value, a focus on opportunity. The EOA’s declaration of purpose, in part, is to provide “the opportunity for education and training, the opportunity to work, and the opportunity to live in decency and dignity.” The EOA provided the funds for vocational training, created a Job Corps to train youths in conservation camps and urban centers and the Head Start program to help preschoolers from low-income families, encouraged Community Action Programs, extended loans to small-business owners willing to hire the unemployed, gave grants to farmers, set up a work-study program for college students, and established Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), the domestic counterpart of the popular Peace Corps created by President John F. Kennedy.
President Johnson’s dream of the Great Society and his attitude that government should use its powers for great accomplishments came, in part, from his political mentor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Like Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation and Kennedy’s New Frontier plans and policies, Johnson’s vision included the hope of socially and politically engineering a better country for everyone. The concept and rationale of the many programs created by the EOA were quite controversial during their formative stages. Eventually, as with almost any piece of legislation, what finally got enacted reflected compromises and trade-offs among the various lobbies, administrative agencies, and congressional power blocs. Possibly the most controversial program established by the EOA was the Job Corps. It was one of the first government efforts directed at the problem of hard-core, unemployable youth.
The EOA was supported by New Deal Democrats (including Senator Hubert Humphrey, who later became Johnson’s vice president) who envisioned a transformation of poverty-stricken individuals into well-adjusted, motivated, and upwardly mobile people. The act was opposed primarily by conservative Republicans who were against government intervention in domestic affairs, especially where it concerned social welfare legislation, and were concerned about the high costs of running these programs. Johnson was successful in passing the EOA partly because of the favorable pro-Democrat atmosphere created after Kennedy’s assassination.
Impact
The programs enacted by the EOA under the auspices of the OEO ranged from well-known programs such as Head Start and the Job Corps to lesser-known projects such as Senior Opportunities and Services, Legal Services, and Community Economic Development. All had the goal of helping the poor break the cycle of poverty and advance to live a better, fuller, more productive life. Some of the programs, such as Head Start, are generally regarded as successful; others remain controversial or have vanished. However, between 1964 and 1969, poverty rates decreased from 19 percent to 12 percent of the population.
Subsequent Events
The OEO was abolished by the Head Start, Economic Opportunity, and Community Partnership Act of 1975, which created the Community Services Administration. The EOA was repealed except for titles VIII and X by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981.
Additional Information
Further information on the EOA and its place in Johnson’s War on Poverty can be found in The Vantage Point (1971), President Johnson’s memoirs. Another source is the Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 10 volumes (1965-1970) in the National Archives.