Question

The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was a major factor in President Johnson’s War on Poverty, what was the purpose of this act?

Answer 1

Economic Opportunity Act (EOA), federal legislation establishing a variety of social programs aimed at facilitating education, health, employment, and general welfare for impoverished Americans. It was signed into law in August 1964 by U.S. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson as one of the landmarks of his War on Poverty and Great Society domestic programs.In his State of the Union address in January 1964, Johnson announced an “unconditional war on poverty,” and his administration introduced sweeping social welfare legislation that sought to help end poverty in the United States.The resulting War on Poverty was part of a wider legislative program known as the Great Society, with which Johnson hoped to transform the United States into a more just and equitable country.

Purpose :-
:-   Eliminate poverty
:- Expand educational opportunities
:- Increase the safety net for the poor and unemployed
:- Tend to health and financial needs of the elderly

The act created the Job Corps; modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) of the Great Depression era, the Job Corps was a residential education and job-training program for low-income at-risk young people that provided them with academic and vocational skills they needed to attain meaningful lasting employment. The act also established Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)—a domestic counterpart of the Peace Corps, the popular foreign program created by U.S. Pres. John F. Kennedy. VISTA placed volunteers throughout the country to help fight poverty and to address illiteracy, lack of quality housing, and poor health, among other issues, through work on community projects with various organizations and communities.

On balance, while the label "war against poverty" reflected the hyperbole of politics, the Economic Opportunity Act focused the attention of the nation and the agencies of the federal government on poverty and the need for coordinated, multidimensional approaches to reduce, if not to eliminate, its root causes. The statute launched several effective programs that demonstrated what could be accomplished and challenged the citizenry and government not to accept the adage that the poor will always be with us.