23 July 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty

Shortly after being shoved into the top spot in the White House, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson began pushing an ambitious slate of social initiates through the legislative chain. Along with watching over the passage of a landmark civil rights bill, Johnson marshaled the government's forces in a so-called "War on Poverty." Though it had been U.S. President John F. Kennedy's brainchild, Johnson transformed the War on Poverty into one of his pet projects. Indeed, LBJ aimed to do nothing less than eradicate poverty. Towards that end, he intended to utilize federal funds to train indigent Americans and, to a far lesser degree, offer them financial aid. In the spring of 1964, Johnson called on Congress to earmark $962,000 for the opening salvo in his War. Legislators acceded to the President's request on this day in 1964 and handed over $947,000 for a melange of literacy, drug rehabilitation and employment programs. While the War on Poverty was borne of high ideals and good intentions, it met with only modest results. Johnson's programs did help precipitate a steady decline in America's poverty rolls between 1962 and 1973; however, the War hardly came close to fulfilling LBJ's grander goals.