s believed they could deal with any foreign or domestic problem. An attentive public is the final piece that completes the notion that the context of the 1960’s would support the Great Society. New Leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr., were supportive of the war on poverty. President Kennedy had sensitized people to the issue of poverty by proposing a Civil Rights Bill. And finally television opened up a new medium for politicians to influence the people. Television programs in general, portrayed attitudes that made the public sympathetic to the poor,Johnson began the Great Society programs by passing Kennedy’s Civil Rights Bill followed by a Voting Rights Act. He then went on to expand the welfare system by creating the Head Start program, the Job Corps, Medicaid and Medicare. The Head Start program helped to prepare poor preschool children develop skills that would benefit them in grammar school. Childcare, meals, and parental involvement are encouraged. The Job Corps was created for young high school dropouts between the ages of 17 and 22. The Jobs Corps trained these young people so that perhaps one day they might find a job in the workforce. The Jobs Corps helped further by inviting labor unions and businesses to train young people. Medicaid and Medicare are health care programs designed to help people with the cost of short-term health care. Medicare gives health care benefits to the elderly. Medicaid coverage benefits anyone, regardless of age, if he/she meets the income qualifications. Countless other programs were created also with the liberal view in mind. The programs were geographic isolation (highway construction), discrimination (Affirmative Action), inadequate educational opportunities (Head Start), lack of jobs (Job Corps), and lack of political skills (Community Action Programs).These programs were important but more valuable were the need to eliminate starvation and malnutrition in Americ...
