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The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society
A majestic big-picture account of the Great Society and the forces that shaped it, from Lyndon Johnson and members of Congress to the civil rights movement and the media
Between November 1963, when he became president, and November 1966, when his party was routed in the midterm elections, Lyndon Johnson spearheaded the most transformative agenda in American political history since the New Deal, one whose ambition and achievement have had no parallel since. In just three years, Johnson drove the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts; the War on Poverty program; Medicare and Medicaid; the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities; Public Broadcasting; immigration liberalization; a raft of consumer and environmental protection acts; and major federal investments in public transportation. Collectively, this group of achievements was labeled by Johnson and his team the “Great Society.”
In The Fierce Urgency of Now , Julian E. Zelizer takes the full measure of the entire story in all its epic sweep. Before Johnson, Kennedy tried and failed to achieve many of these advances. Our practiced understanding is that this was an unprecedented “liberal hour” in America, a moment, after Kennedy’s death, when the seas parted and Johnson could simply stroll through to victory. As Zelizer shows, this view is In many respects America was even more conservative than it seems now, and Johnson’s legislative program faced bitter resistance. The Fierce Urgency of Now animates the full spectrum of forces at play during these turbulent years, including religious groups, the media, conservative and liberal political action groups, unions, and civil rights activists.
Above all, the great character in the book whose role rivals Johnson’s is Congress—indeed, Zelizer argues that our understanding of the Great Society program is too Johnson-centric. He discusses why Congress was so receptive to passing these ideas in a remarkably short span of time and how the election of 1964 and burgeoning civil rights movement transformed conditions on Capitol Hill. Zelizer brings a deep, intimate knowledge of the institution to bear on his The book is a master class in American political grand strategy.
Finally, Zelizer reckons with the legacy of the Great Society. Though our politics have changed, the heart of the Great Society legislation remains intact fifty years later. In fact, he argues, the Great Society shifted the American political center of gravity—and our social landscape—decisively to the left in many crucial respects. In a very real sense, we are living today in the country that Johnson and his Congress made.
Between November 1963, when he became president, and November 1966, when his party was routed in the midterm elections, Lyndon Johnson spearheaded the most transformative agenda in American political history since the New Deal, one whose ambition and achievement have had no parallel since. In just three years, Johnson drove the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts; the War on Poverty program; Medicare and Medicaid; the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities; Public Broadcasting; immigration liberalization; a raft of consumer and environmental protection acts; and major federal investments in public transportation. Collectively, this group of achievements was labeled by Johnson and his team the “Great Society.”
In The Fierce Urgency of Now , Julian E. Zelizer takes the full measure of the entire story in all its epic sweep. Before Johnson, Kennedy tried and failed to achieve many of these advances. Our practiced understanding is that this was an unprecedented “liberal hour” in America, a moment, after Kennedy’s death, when the seas parted and Johnson could simply stroll through to victory. As Zelizer shows, this view is In many respects America was even more conservative than it seems now, and Johnson’s legislative program faced bitter resistance. The Fierce Urgency of Now animates the full spectrum of forces at play during these turbulent years, including religious groups, the media, conservative and liberal political action groups, unions, and civil rights activists.
Above all, the great character in the book whose role rivals Johnson’s is Congress—indeed, Zelizer argues that our understanding of the Great Society program is too Johnson-centric. He discusses why Congress was so receptive to passing these ideas in a remarkably short span of time and how the election of 1964 and burgeoning civil rights movement transformed conditions on Capitol Hill. Zelizer brings a deep, intimate knowledge of the institution to bear on his The book is a master class in American political grand strategy.
Finally, Zelizer reckons with the legacy of the Great Society. Though our politics have changed, the heart of the Great Society legislation remains intact fifty years later. In fact, he argues, the Great Society shifted the American political center of gravity—and our social landscape—decisively to the left in many crucial respects. In a very real sense, we are living today in the country that Johnson and his Congress made.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 8, 2015
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926 people want to read
About the author
Julian E. Zelizer
37 books63 followersJulian E. Zelizer is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University.
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July 16, 2023
Julian E. Zelizer's The Fierce Urgency of Now offers a fresh perspective on Lyndon Johnson's efforts to pass his Great Society programs in the 1960s. Zelizer argues that Johnson's reputation as a peerlessly effective lawmaker, burnished by biographers like Robert Caro, misrepresents the circumstances under which LBJ operated. While Johnson was an unusually forceful personality and a skilled Senate Majority Leader, he recognized as well as everyone that Congress, with its coalition of conservative Republicans and reactionary Southern Democrats, had become a serious roadblock to any liberal initiatives, especially regarding Civil Rights. It took a unique combination of historical circumstances to make things work: John F. Kennedy's assassination, which made many conservatives reluctant to oppose the Civil Rights Act Kennedy proposed soon before his death; Johnson's landslide reelection over Barry Goldwater in 1964, giving LBJ both an overwhelming public mandate and unassailable majorities in Congress; the activism of Martin Luther King Jr. and other Civil Rights leaders and progressive organizers, whose pressure galvanized public support and pressured politicians. Thus Johnson, with help from the 89th Congress, passed an unprecedent collection of liberal legislation: the Voting Rights Act, expanding Social Security and Medicare, instituting efforts at urban reform and environmental action, and others (like a universal healthcare initiative) that came tantalizingly close to success. These hard-won victories transformed the United States forever, adding heft to Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and expanding the social safety net for millions. Unfortunately, this fecund period proved short-lived, as a resounding Democratic defeat in the 1966 midterms, increasing backlash against the Civil Rights Movement and liberal "permissiveness," a Republican Party hardening against Civil Rights and the quagmire of Vietnam sapped Johnson's political capital.
Zelizer's book relates the legislative battles with astute judgment and clarity. His Johnson is more human-sized than the larger than life figure from Caro and Robert Dallek's books; LBJ's liberalism in this telling is certainly sincere, but also hedged by pragmatism and recognition of political realities. Indeed, Zelizer shows that Johnson's much-ballyhooed "treatment" (the physical bullying of congressmen and senators) often failed or backfired; his real skill came in backroom dealing, cutting bargains with politicians in flawed compromises. Zelizer also shows liberals like Hubert Humphrey, Adam Clayton Powell and others pressing Johnson to move faster on Civil Rights; conservatives like Richard Russell, his old-time mentor and unrepentant segregationist, and Howard Smith, the "Tyrant of the House" who regularly bottled up progressive legislation in committee; more amenable Republicans like Everett Dirksen, the Senate Minority Leader who felt Civil Rights was an "idea whose time has come" but drew the line at Johnson's expansion of the welfare state. Fierce Urgency offers an astute, nuanced depiction of the different power structures at play, in and outside Washington, which affect the political climate and limit the capacity for change. It also demonstrates that as much as modern progressives yearn for a new LBJ to force similar reforms through an intransigent Congress, he or she would need circumstances largely impossible to replicate today.
Zelizer's book relates the legislative battles with astute judgment and clarity. His Johnson is more human-sized than the larger than life figure from Caro and Robert Dallek's books; LBJ's liberalism in this telling is certainly sincere, but also hedged by pragmatism and recognition of political realities. Indeed, Zelizer shows that Johnson's much-ballyhooed "treatment" (the physical bullying of congressmen and senators) often failed or backfired; his real skill came in backroom dealing, cutting bargains with politicians in flawed compromises. Zelizer also shows liberals like Hubert Humphrey, Adam Clayton Powell and others pressing Johnson to move faster on Civil Rights; conservatives like Richard Russell, his old-time mentor and unrepentant segregationist, and Howard Smith, the "Tyrant of the House" who regularly bottled up progressive legislation in committee; more amenable Republicans like Everett Dirksen, the Senate Minority Leader who felt Civil Rights was an "idea whose time has come" but drew the line at Johnson's expansion of the welfare state. Fierce Urgency offers an astute, nuanced depiction of the different power structures at play, in and outside Washington, which affect the political climate and limit the capacity for change. It also demonstrates that as much as modern progressives yearn for a new LBJ to force similar reforms through an intransigent Congress, he or she would need circumstances largely impossible to replicate today.
November 28, 2024
”We must study not only the great personalities who have inhabited the White House, but also the full host of the political landscapes in which they operated, and which made their achievements possible.”
In The Fierce Urgency of Now Julian Zelizer examines one of the most extraordinary moments of American political history — the lightning fast passage of the many pieces of landmark legislation that together made up Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. The Civil Rights Act, the War on Poverty, Food Stamps, Housing Act, Medicare, Aid to Education, Voting Rights Act, Fair Immigration Law — each of these feats were huge, and each alone would now be seen as a major legacy for any American president. Yet Johnson was able to work with Congress to push all of these through in a short window of time between the Kennedy assassination in November of 1963 and the mid term elections of 1966.
Zelizer leads off with some myth busting, particularly as far as the Great Man theory of history goes. Often the legislative dominance that accomplished the Great Society is explained solely through Johnson’s mastery of the rules of the Senate and by the famous “Johnson Treatment” — his combination of cajoling and physical bullying and dominance that he would bring to bear on lawmakers. Zelizer shows this explanation to be inadequate and simplistic. Instead, he makes a strong case for a complex series of events and current national trends that perfectly set the table to make the extraordinary moment possible. He strengthens his argument by showing how, after the 1966 mid terms changed those factors, Johnson was mostly frustrated in his agenda for the remainder of his presidency. He sees Johnson’s great achievement in being able to recognize the brief window that existed and using his skills to push through as many pieces of legislation as possible in as short a time as possible before that window inevitably closed.
Zelizer identifies several elements that made the passage of the Great Society legislation possible. The first, of course, was the assassination of President Kennedy, which Johnson used skillfully to manipulate pushing through the Civil Rights Bill that had originally been Kennedy’s. Another factor that made this possible was the rising strength of the Civil Rights movement which was actively changing American minds along with what was possible politically. After that, Zelizer credits Barry Goldwater for extending the life of that unique moment by taking the whole Republican Party down to such an ignominious defeat in the 1964 election that Johnson not only had a Congressional supermajority for the next two years, but many lawmakers desperately wanted to avoid being associated with conservatives in the aftermath of the 1964 debacle.
The Fierce Urgency of Now tells a full and exciting story of the creation of Johnson’s Great Society — a New Deal Mark Two. The key lawmakers, the background information, the political strategies and gamesmanship — all are here. Included is perhaps the most significant detail of the story; despite the unprecedentedly rapid nature of the passage of this legislation, and despite the fact of the combination of mid term reversals and Vietnam complications that brought it to a standstill, the component pieces of the Great Society have proven to be remarkably resilient — a lasting part of the American landscape and a lasting legacy for LBJ’s presidency.
In The Fierce Urgency of Now Julian Zelizer examines one of the most extraordinary moments of American political history — the lightning fast passage of the many pieces of landmark legislation that together made up Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. The Civil Rights Act, the War on Poverty, Food Stamps, Housing Act, Medicare, Aid to Education, Voting Rights Act, Fair Immigration Law — each of these feats were huge, and each alone would now be seen as a major legacy for any American president. Yet Johnson was able to work with Congress to push all of these through in a short window of time between the Kennedy assassination in November of 1963 and the mid term elections of 1966.
Zelizer leads off with some myth busting, particularly as far as the Great Man theory of history goes. Often the legislative dominance that accomplished the Great Society is explained solely through Johnson’s mastery of the rules of the Senate and by the famous “Johnson Treatment” — his combination of cajoling and physical bullying and dominance that he would bring to bear on lawmakers. Zelizer shows this explanation to be inadequate and simplistic. Instead, he makes a strong case for a complex series of events and current national trends that perfectly set the table to make the extraordinary moment possible. He strengthens his argument by showing how, after the 1966 mid terms changed those factors, Johnson was mostly frustrated in his agenda for the remainder of his presidency. He sees Johnson’s great achievement in being able to recognize the brief window that existed and using his skills to push through as many pieces of legislation as possible in as short a time as possible before that window inevitably closed.
Zelizer identifies several elements that made the passage of the Great Society legislation possible. The first, of course, was the assassination of President Kennedy, which Johnson used skillfully to manipulate pushing through the Civil Rights Bill that had originally been Kennedy’s. Another factor that made this possible was the rising strength of the Civil Rights movement which was actively changing American minds along with what was possible politically. After that, Zelizer credits Barry Goldwater for extending the life of that unique moment by taking the whole Republican Party down to such an ignominious defeat in the 1964 election that Johnson not only had a Congressional supermajority for the next two years, but many lawmakers desperately wanted to avoid being associated with conservatives in the aftermath of the 1964 debacle.
The Fierce Urgency of Now tells a full and exciting story of the creation of Johnson’s Great Society — a New Deal Mark Two. The key lawmakers, the background information, the political strategies and gamesmanship — all are here. Included is perhaps the most significant detail of the story; despite the unprecedentedly rapid nature of the passage of this legislation, and despite the fact of the combination of mid term reversals and Vietnam complications that brought it to a standstill, the component pieces of the Great Society have proven to be remarkably resilient — a lasting part of the American landscape and a lasting legacy for LBJ’s presidency.
May 1, 2018
When looking at civil rights and Great Society legislation, historian Julian Zelizer turns away from the usual tale about LBJ's legislative prowess to examine these legislative victories in a wider and important context, specifically looking at Congress.
LBJ ushered in a landslide victory, so with this and the conditions from the grass-roots, it was a good time to get big legislation passed. However, the conservative coalition slammed the door on LBJ. The president had a two-year window, and by 1966, with Vietnam, white backlash, and rioting, liberals were on the defensive and no major legislation was passed. The book revises the standard accounts in a good way. This is a fascinating account and highly recommended.
LBJ ushered in a landslide victory, so with this and the conditions from the grass-roots, it was a good time to get big legislation passed. However, the conservative coalition slammed the door on LBJ. The president had a two-year window, and by 1966, with Vietnam, white backlash, and rioting, liberals were on the defensive and no major legislation was passed. The book revises the standard accounts in a good way. This is a fascinating account and highly recommended.
December 3, 2018
Honestly, this was more of a broad history of the Johnson era as opposed to a specific account of the great society (which is what I was hoping to read). As a history, there isn't really anything new here. If you've read Caro's Johnson series (which you should go and do right now if you have not) or Civil Rights history, this book is pretty repetitive.
December 11, 2014
What a great book for anyone interested in history, presidents, Lyndon B Johnson, anything surrounding the presidency of Mr Johnson. I found this book to be entertaining, with information that I did not know. I do not like spoilers, so pick up this book and see what you think.
July 23, 2019
A comprehensive historical study, written in a relatively accessible way, about the period of Lyndon Johnson in the White House, who took office after Kennedy's assassination and after two years of work, was elected by a huge majority to the presidency and swept Congress and the Senate into a huge liberal revolution (after years that Congress was ruled by a Coalition of conservatives).
In less than six years he initiated the enactment of the civil rights act, which effectively abolished racial segregation, particularly in the workplace (and the way it was done by chance, also anchored women's rights to equality in the law); Prevent discrimination in voting; brought hundreds of federal laws and programs on social issues, the most important being Medicare, which regulated federal health insurance for the elderly and disabled; And initiated a comprehensive plan to combat poverty.
The book describes how Johnson's attempt to stay politically hawkish and continue the war in Vietnam increased the loss of left wing and young supporters and caused an economic spiral. On the other hand, continuing black riots in the north and east led to the loss of support for the liberal center-right, and ultimately led to his decision not to run again despite his amazing achievements.
Despite strong opposition to the plans of Johnson when they were presented - especially desegregation and Medicare - the were assimilated into the American way of life and the Republican presidents who followed (some objected to his policies), expand and deepened them.
This is a comprehensive book (sometimes exhausting due to tendency to go into the details of the work of Congress) that paints an impressive and coherent picture.
In less than six years he initiated the enactment of the civil rights act, which effectively abolished racial segregation, particularly in the workplace (and the way it was done by chance, also anchored women's rights to equality in the law); Prevent discrimination in voting; brought hundreds of federal laws and programs on social issues, the most important being Medicare, which regulated federal health insurance for the elderly and disabled; And initiated a comprehensive plan to combat poverty.
The book describes how Johnson's attempt to stay politically hawkish and continue the war in Vietnam increased the loss of left wing and young supporters and caused an economic spiral. On the other hand, continuing black riots in the north and east led to the loss of support for the liberal center-right, and ultimately led to his decision not to run again despite his amazing achievements.
Despite strong opposition to the plans of Johnson when they were presented - especially desegregation and Medicare - the were assimilated into the American way of life and the Republican presidents who followed (some objected to his policies), expand and deepened them.
This is a comprehensive book (sometimes exhausting due to tendency to go into the details of the work of Congress) that paints an impressive and coherent picture.
May 26, 2015
Somebody someday will write a book comparing the first two years of Barack Obama's first term with the same period of Lyndon Johnson's first term. In reading "The Fierce Urgency of Now" — Julian Zelizer's breezy if not perfunctory overview of the passage of the Great Society legislation of 1964-66 — the comparison practically leaps out unbidden. A Democratic president, taking office in the middle of a national crisis and given enormous liberal majorities in both houses of Congress, seeks to stimulate the economy and remakes the nation's social welfare programs before losing momentum and taking fire from both the right and the left.
Obama was not as proficient at getting his agenda through Congress as Johnson was — but Johnson had bigger majorities to work with and a less partisan atmosphere. Zelizer's argument is that Johnson (and, though left unspoken, the implication extends to all modern presidents) had less agency in getting his priorities through Congress than he's often credited with. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were ideas whose time came thanks in large part to the provocations of marchers in the Deep South and the virulent racists who rose to take the bait; the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid would have been impossible if not for the landslide election of 1964 that left Republicans scrambling to avoid looking anything like Barry Goldwater. Johnson did, however, work his negotiation magic to pass a key tax cut and education funding bill before that election.
Zelizer also takes care to reflect on what happened after the Great Society was enacted: the race riots, the campus antiwar protests, the sudden rise of law and order as a primary concern among voters. The result was a conservative resurgence in the 1966 midterm elections, followed by the turbulent election of 1968, fought on left-leaning grounds seemingly unthinkable today. Despite Johnson's tremendous unpopularity by the time he left office, his successor, Richard Nixon, actually expanded the Great Society, and its existence is rarely threatened, even in today's Tea Party-infused environment. Johnson's domestic legacy has required 50 years to get out of the shadow of Vietnam; one wonders if in 50 years, historians will be toasting Obama's own accomplishments in similar ways.
Obama was not as proficient at getting his agenda through Congress as Johnson was — but Johnson had bigger majorities to work with and a less partisan atmosphere. Zelizer's argument is that Johnson (and, though left unspoken, the implication extends to all modern presidents) had less agency in getting his priorities through Congress than he's often credited with. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were ideas whose time came thanks in large part to the provocations of marchers in the Deep South and the virulent racists who rose to take the bait; the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid would have been impossible if not for the landslide election of 1964 that left Republicans scrambling to avoid looking anything like Barry Goldwater. Johnson did, however, work his negotiation magic to pass a key tax cut and education funding bill before that election.
Zelizer also takes care to reflect on what happened after the Great Society was enacted: the race riots, the campus antiwar protests, the sudden rise of law and order as a primary concern among voters. The result was a conservative resurgence in the 1966 midterm elections, followed by the turbulent election of 1968, fought on left-leaning grounds seemingly unthinkable today. Despite Johnson's tremendous unpopularity by the time he left office, his successor, Richard Nixon, actually expanded the Great Society, and its existence is rarely threatened, even in today's Tea Party-infused environment. Johnson's domestic legacy has required 50 years to get out of the shadow of Vietnam; one wonders if in 50 years, historians will be toasting Obama's own accomplishments in similar ways.
September 21, 2015
Interesting, though factually spurious, book on the Great Society's journey from Kennedy's failed domestic agenda to LBJ's Great Society successes of 1964-1965. The author reinforces the frustrating notion that Kennedy was a moderate/closet conservative, when in reality he had one of the most liberal voting records of any senator during his tenure. The failure to initiate Medicare and other poverty programs was due more to the more conservative congress in his tenure, which became much more liberal after the 1964 landslide.
The book is, however, a great insight into the 1960s congress, which many books on this era tend to overlook. Zelizer clarifies that the LBJ "treatment" is overrated in terms of his legislative success, whereas the overall more liberal makeup of congress facilitated Great Society successes. The height of New Deal liberalism was ultimately undone by the "white backlash" against black riots more than the Vietnam War. The New Deal coalition was inevitably going to fall (blacks and white southerners were never going to stay in the same political party), but the growing pains that resulted from civil rights was the final death knell for that coalition and American liberalism in general.
Great read for political history nerds.
The book is, however, a great insight into the 1960s congress, which many books on this era tend to overlook. Zelizer clarifies that the LBJ "treatment" is overrated in terms of his legislative success, whereas the overall more liberal makeup of congress facilitated Great Society successes. The height of New Deal liberalism was ultimately undone by the "white backlash" against black riots more than the Vietnam War. The New Deal coalition was inevitably going to fall (blacks and white southerners were never going to stay in the same political party), but the growing pains that resulted from civil rights was the final death knell for that coalition and American liberalism in general.
Great read for political history nerds.
December 20, 2014
I received this book from the Goodreads Giveaway.
Excellent book...... proficiently researched, extremely detailed and well composed. Having read other books such as The Roosevelts An American Saga by Peter Collier, Supreme Power by Jeff Shesol, and The Memoirs of Richard Nixon helped provide a foundation for some of the lesser details within this book.
Having an understanding of FDR's New Deal and knowing President Johnson was a disciple of FDR's philosophies who jumped on Roosevelt's bandwagon, this book provides further insight to put this era into perspective.
As a former participant in the political arena, some of the tactics outlined here have greater merit to me.
Some academia and minorities continue to focus credit to President Kennedy for civil rights achievements actually orchestrated by President Johnson.
Definitely recommend Julian Zelizer’s book, especially for a political science major.
Excellent book...... proficiently researched, extremely detailed and well composed. Having read other books such as The Roosevelts An American Saga by Peter Collier, Supreme Power by Jeff Shesol, and The Memoirs of Richard Nixon helped provide a foundation for some of the lesser details within this book.
Having an understanding of FDR's New Deal and knowing President Johnson was a disciple of FDR's philosophies who jumped on Roosevelt's bandwagon, this book provides further insight to put this era into perspective.
As a former participant in the political arena, some of the tactics outlined here have greater merit to me.
Some academia and minorities continue to focus credit to President Kennedy for civil rights achievements actually orchestrated by President Johnson.
Definitely recommend Julian Zelizer’s book, especially for a political science major.
July 27, 2017
Excellent book. Excellently written. Even if you are familiar with the fight for Civil Rights and Voting Rights, Zelizer still manages to keep you on the edge of your seat.
January 5, 2022
Sandwiched between the glamour of JFK and the corruption of Nixon, Lyndon Johnson's presidency doesn't always get the attention it deserves. Zelizer convincingly argues that when the spotlight and attention has been placed on LBJ's five years in office it has often been misplaced. Too much focus has been on Johnson's political skills and his unleashing of the "treatment" on friend and foe alike, and too little on the wider political and social contexts that made success possible.
The Fierce Urgency of Now shows that Johnson's success in implementing the Great Society progressive agenda was largely due to recognising and taking advantage of the opportunities open to him when he took power in 1963 and, particularly, after the 1964 elections when the 89th Congress was dominated by liberal Democrats. After the Republican fight-back in 1966, opportunities were far fewer, with Vietnam and spiralling economic issues leaving the President fighting a largely unsuccessful rear-guard action to stop austerity cutting too deep into his spending programmes.
Johnson's manoeuvrings to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act are legendary, with the 36th President understanding the weaknesses of opponents and exactly what was required to pass his legislation . Lost in the popular view of a belligerent President bulldozing opponents by force of personality, is how often LBJ won support by identifying exactly what concessions needed to be made at what time to which people. The President knew innately how to sequence bills, when to push for Democrat only legislation and when bipartisan support was vital.
Where Zelizer excels is in how the broader perception of race issues affected LBJ's legislative programme. The racism of George Wallace and others created a backlash that enabled Johnson to pass much progressive legislation, with grassroots support for racial equality in turn encouraged by having a President more willing to countenance leading on race legislation than JFK had been. Despite this, LBJ still had to chart a careful course across party and sectional differences taking into account diverse groups of Southern Democrats, liberal north-east Republicans and other key factions. Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders played a part just as crucial and complex as Johnson's, knowing exactly when to pressure the President and when to divert their attention to Congress.
By 1968 the popular tide had turned, with riots in Newark and other urban centres making it far more difficult for Johnson to have the popular support to continue his programme. Legislators and the general public were inclined to favour Great Society programmes if TV footage was of people getting savaged by attack dogs, and were inclined not to favour them if the footage was people in Detroit throwing bricks. Allegations that Great Society money to local activists had indirectly stirred up unrest hardly helped. Neither did the increasing deficit, fuelled by the increasing costs of Vietnam and a lack of trust in LBJ's economic plans due to previous creative accounting by the President.
What Zelizer's focus on legislative processes wins in accuracy it loses in drama. The dynamic, forceful, hectoring LBJ of lore is relegated to a bit role. The nearest we get is the pathos of the late 60s Johnson lamenting "I'm not the master of a damn thing... We cannot make this Congress do a damn thing that I know of". LBJ's legislative agenda is secure. The Great Society substantially changed the USA not just in political and economic terms, but in reshaping popular perceptions of what people expect from government. All may not be completely lost for today's progressive followers of LBJ when Zelizer can recall a conservative Tea Party supporter demanding in 2009 that a Republican congressman "Keep your government hands off my Medicare".
The Fierce Urgency of Now shows that Johnson's success in implementing the Great Society progressive agenda was largely due to recognising and taking advantage of the opportunities open to him when he took power in 1963 and, particularly, after the 1964 elections when the 89th Congress was dominated by liberal Democrats. After the Republican fight-back in 1966, opportunities were far fewer, with Vietnam and spiralling economic issues leaving the President fighting a largely unsuccessful rear-guard action to stop austerity cutting too deep into his spending programmes.
Johnson's manoeuvrings to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act are legendary, with the 36th President understanding the weaknesses of opponents and exactly what was required to pass his legislation . Lost in the popular view of a belligerent President bulldozing opponents by force of personality, is how often LBJ won support by identifying exactly what concessions needed to be made at what time to which people. The President knew innately how to sequence bills, when to push for Democrat only legislation and when bipartisan support was vital.
Where Zelizer excels is in how the broader perception of race issues affected LBJ's legislative programme. The racism of George Wallace and others created a backlash that enabled Johnson to pass much progressive legislation, with grassroots support for racial equality in turn encouraged by having a President more willing to countenance leading on race legislation than JFK had been. Despite this, LBJ still had to chart a careful course across party and sectional differences taking into account diverse groups of Southern Democrats, liberal north-east Republicans and other key factions. Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders played a part just as crucial and complex as Johnson's, knowing exactly when to pressure the President and when to divert their attention to Congress.
By 1968 the popular tide had turned, with riots in Newark and other urban centres making it far more difficult for Johnson to have the popular support to continue his programme. Legislators and the general public were inclined to favour Great Society programmes if TV footage was of people getting savaged by attack dogs, and were inclined not to favour them if the footage was people in Detroit throwing bricks. Allegations that Great Society money to local activists had indirectly stirred up unrest hardly helped. Neither did the increasing deficit, fuelled by the increasing costs of Vietnam and a lack of trust in LBJ's economic plans due to previous creative accounting by the President.
What Zelizer's focus on legislative processes wins in accuracy it loses in drama. The dynamic, forceful, hectoring LBJ of lore is relegated to a bit role. The nearest we get is the pathos of the late 60s Johnson lamenting "I'm not the master of a damn thing... We cannot make this Congress do a damn thing that I know of". LBJ's legislative agenda is secure. The Great Society substantially changed the USA not just in political and economic terms, but in reshaping popular perceptions of what people expect from government. All may not be completely lost for today's progressive followers of LBJ when Zelizer can recall a conservative Tea Party supporter demanding in 2009 that a Republican congressman "Keep your government hands off my Medicare".
December 19, 2016
Useful book on the Great Society, with a particular emphasis on civil rights legislation. Zelizer is interested in the mechanics of legislation: he focuses intensely on Congressional committees--like the Rules Committee, Ways and Means, etc.--and how they can hinder or assist presidential priorities. This sort of focus leads one *away* from an emphasis on the particular personality of Lyndon Johnson and *towards* a focus on the institutional prerogatives and biases of the Congress. This is a welcome and important change.
The *other* thing that's very good about this book is that it assigns "blame" for the Great Society to Barry Goldwater. Goldwater's negative coattails gave LBJ the majority he needed to pass the legislation he wanted, but in the face of a more competitive opponent, he never would have earned those majorities. This follows from the focus on the Congress itself.
Only four stars b/c Zelizer's tone is vaguely hagiographical about Medicare and Medicaid, even though both programs were designed with unrealistic assumptions about cost.
The *other* thing that's very good about this book is that it assigns "blame" for the Great Society to Barry Goldwater. Goldwater's negative coattails gave LBJ the majority he needed to pass the legislation he wanted, but in the face of a more competitive opponent, he never would have earned those majorities. This follows from the focus on the Congress itself.
Only four stars b/c Zelizer's tone is vaguely hagiographical about Medicare and Medicaid, even though both programs were designed with unrealistic assumptions about cost.
July 17, 2020
'The Fierce Urgency of Now' is deeply impressive from the standpoint both of the scholar and of the general reader.
The book puts into action what Zelizer calls the 'new political history,' which attempts to rebut the 'liberal presidential synthesis of the mid-twentieth century by demonstrating that political institutions - such as Congress - and social movements - such as the civil rights movement - not just individual presidents, have an impact on the policy-making process.
Zelizer's account of the Great Society brings this analytic framework to life, demonstrating how individual congressmen, under near-constant pressure from the civil rights movement, worked with LBJ to produce the most wide-ranging domestic reform programme since the New Deal.
Aside from proving the utility of the new political history, Zelizer's book is ferociously readable, conveying every inch of the 'fierce urgency' of which the title speaks. It is little wonder that I read the entire book in a matter of hours.
If you want to know more about the Great Society, then - read this book!
The book puts into action what Zelizer calls the 'new political history,' which attempts to rebut the 'liberal presidential synthesis of the mid-twentieth century by demonstrating that political institutions - such as Congress - and social movements - such as the civil rights movement - not just individual presidents, have an impact on the policy-making process.
Zelizer's account of the Great Society brings this analytic framework to life, demonstrating how individual congressmen, under near-constant pressure from the civil rights movement, worked with LBJ to produce the most wide-ranging domestic reform programme since the New Deal.
Aside from proving the utility of the new political history, Zelizer's book is ferociously readable, conveying every inch of the 'fierce urgency' of which the title speaks. It is little wonder that I read the entire book in a matter of hours.
If you want to know more about the Great Society, then - read this book!
December 7, 2024
"But we must understand that the Great Society wasn’t all about one man’s political talents or gifts or magic. Nor was it a result of a Congress that naturally worked, where members got along and just knew how to legislate. The political acumen Johnson and his colleagues on Capitol Hill possessed was essential, but what made the difference was the forces that temporarily reshaped Congress and broke the hold of conservatives on that notoriously inertial institution.
(...)
We as citizens and as politicians must study not only the great personalities who have inhabited the White House but also the full history of the political landscapes in which they operated and which made their achievements possible. Only if we understand how political landscapes change and can be changed will we ever have a chance of breaking the current gridlock in Washington."
(...)
We as citizens and as politicians must study not only the great personalities who have inhabited the White House but also the full history of the political landscapes in which they operated and which made their achievements possible. Only if we understand how political landscapes change and can be changed will we ever have a chance of breaking the current gridlock in Washington."
October 3, 2018
A view easy overview of how the Great Society was passed through Congress with an emphasis on LBJ’s work with the house and senate. It’s a fun easy read that does a good job a introducing the stage for beginners. I found the set up for the 88th Congress to be helpful in understanding 60’s America. I will say that it isn’t particularly deep and the author isn’t interested in question the movies of Johnson or asking difficult questions of his complacency in opposition to the civil rights movement. Otherwise a fun read.
November 10, 2021
This book provides a far more complicated portrait of LBJ, Congress and the change in laws creating the Great Society. It also shows how Republicans exploited the rift between Southern Democrats and the rest of the Democratic Party. LBJ was manipulated into becoming more dogmatic on the Vietnam War, fracturing the Democratic Party even further and a sudden obsession over “balanced budgets” cut heavily into Great Society spending. A much more insightful look into this time period than generally happens. Very good.
March 26, 2024
From accidental president to champion of the Great Society to pilloried architect of the Vietnam War, such was the sudden rise and swift fall of the Johnson Administration. This slightly hagiographic account of the LBJ presidency argued that the legislative successes of Great Society programs were due primarily to large Democrat majorities in the 89th Congress and the apex of influence of the civil rights movement and had less to do with LBJ’s legendary “treatment” of lawmakers to bend them to his will.
September 15, 2025
Proof that JFK is only high on presidential lists because of his assassination and his looks. LBJ and Congress accomplished way more without him. Who’s to say if he would have accomplished it had he lived but based on his lack of congressional acumen, seems unlikely. Another, what-if, is what could LBJ have done if not hampered by Vietnam. While the late, and the antithesis of great, Charlie Kirk said it was a big mistake to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he, unsurprisingly, is wrong. It was a mistake not to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1966.
December 14, 2018
This book tells the story of the passage of the Great Society legislation and it's cast of characters. There was a narrow window of time for this to get done and LBJ and others navigated the small window to pass some of the most impact full legislation in US history. Johnson had several stars line up at once and he (and others) took advantage of the moment in history. Read this book to understand how the Great Society and Civil Rights laws came to be.
July 6, 2020
This is a well-written history and a great survey of the triumphs and failures of the Great Society. But it feels redundant -- this history is well-trod and has been recounted many times before. And it seems to fail at Zelizer's own stated aim -- to provide a movement-focused, street-level view of how the LBJ-led social reforms happened. This is a basic D.C.-based political narrative -- 90% of the book is about Congress and the president.
February 18, 2022
Readers will find a good analysis of LBJ's lasting accomplishments as well as documentation as to where he faltered. The author suggests that the impact of what he accomplished and is still with us today -- Medicare, Medicaid, civil rights laws -- is underappreciated because of failures in Viet Nam and the conservative reaction his policies brough forth. Still many of his programs have become widely popular and untouchable by the conservative insurgence. I agree.
June 12, 2017
A fascinating and insightful analysis of the people and events that facilitated the amazing legislative efforts of LBJ and the 89th Congress. Zelizer appreciates Johnson and gives him his due, but demonstrates that the "great man" was aided by fortuitous circumstances in his quest to build the Great Society.
November 13, 2016
Just what I was looking for - - a historical account of the forces that combined to enact the Great Society legislation, written recently enough to also include the reverberations through succeeding presidencies.
December 14, 2017
This book was, from the perspective of this reader, a miniature biography of Lyndon Johnson.
August 12, 2019
Good clear summary of the legislative history of the Great Society that with enough social and political context to keep things interesting.
April 4, 2022
Excellent
March 30, 2023
Awesome, interesting even for non us reader.
March 15, 2015
In sports, there's a common concept of a "championship window." The basic idea that the combination of players' ages, salary caps, and other conditions means that a team has just a short opportunity in which to make a championship push. While knowing the exact length of the window is impossible, the perception that a window is closing drives choices that sacrifice long-term prospects for short-term gain. All or nothing.
It's kind of surprising that similar concepts don't manifest themselves more often in politics. You sometimes hear it--such as presidents when they first get elected trying to stress getting things done. But you almost never see it from the legislative branch. Since they have no term limits, the goal becomes more about loss aversion--making sure you don't get trounced by an electoral opponent--and less about taking advantage of the time you have.
I don't know that "The Fierce of Urgency of Now" blazes any new ground from a factual basis. The descriptions of Congressional jockeying are really well executed, but not things you haven't read elsewhere. But what is fascinating is how much he stresses the sense of timing and other pressures and the role they played in driving the Great Society. It's a break with the great man theory of history that always portrayed Lyndon Johnson as a masterful wheeler and dealer to get things done. Instead, it pulls in the larger context--of big Democratic majorities in both houses, the political pressure from outside civil rights groups, and the trouncing Republicans took thanks to Goldwater in 1964 that created a window of opportunity. Under this theory, Johnson's political acumen still matters, but it's because he recognized the window he was given and took advantage of it.
Clearly, a lot of what allowed the Great Society to happen is unique. There were fundamental shifts in political parties as the resorting between northern Republicans and southern Democrats was starting. There were many Republicans who actually wanted civil rights legislation more so than Democrats. And there were others who realized that a bill was coming no matter what and the bad electoral outcomes in 1964 meant that things would get worse if they didn't go along as well. It's hard to imagine something similar happening today, where the sense is obstructionism can be a winning tactic.
But the book does make me wonder if our political system would be better served by taking advantage of windows and being more aggressive when they arise. Yes, the Great Society led to a ton of Democrats losing elected positions and probably changed our long-term political calculus for decades. But it also produced a broad sweeping amount of changes for the better in American society, of which only health care reform comes close in the intervening years. Johnson knew some of his changes were likely to result in Democratic losses (though apparently that quote about having lost the South for a generation isn't really). And he was willing to take the risks to still pass something. If only more legislators were willing to do the same thing.
The Blue Dogs in the 2006 to 2010 period are a good example of a sometimes wasted window. Many of them tried to vote against Democratic things and probably watered down some legislation. But what they really should have recognized is that many of them were political anomalies--holding seats they would be very hard pressed to keep no matter what they did. In that case, erring on the side of conservatism and caution didn't get them anything. Politics eventually reverted back to more or less the mean and the seats that are most likely to switch went back to the party that had traditionally held them.
Obviously, knowing you are most likely to lose and still acting properly to essentially concede that is a hard thing for a person to do. It's a massive blow to the ego. And it raises concerns for the national party--you don't want to lose too many seats or legislative achievements will come undone. But one lesson we should take away from the last several years of American politics is that it takes a lot fewer people to play defense than offense. You're better off going all in and getting as much as possible, then defending it tooth and nail until it's an accepted structure that can't be touched. In many ways that type of behavior is the enduring lesson of the Great Society that I took away from this book. Hopefully elected officials will start thinking the same way.
It's kind of surprising that similar concepts don't manifest themselves more often in politics. You sometimes hear it--such as presidents when they first get elected trying to stress getting things done. But you almost never see it from the legislative branch. Since they have no term limits, the goal becomes more about loss aversion--making sure you don't get trounced by an electoral opponent--and less about taking advantage of the time you have.
I don't know that "The Fierce of Urgency of Now" blazes any new ground from a factual basis. The descriptions of Congressional jockeying are really well executed, but not things you haven't read elsewhere. But what is fascinating is how much he stresses the sense of timing and other pressures and the role they played in driving the Great Society. It's a break with the great man theory of history that always portrayed Lyndon Johnson as a masterful wheeler and dealer to get things done. Instead, it pulls in the larger context--of big Democratic majorities in both houses, the political pressure from outside civil rights groups, and the trouncing Republicans took thanks to Goldwater in 1964 that created a window of opportunity. Under this theory, Johnson's political acumen still matters, but it's because he recognized the window he was given and took advantage of it.
Clearly, a lot of what allowed the Great Society to happen is unique. There were fundamental shifts in political parties as the resorting between northern Republicans and southern Democrats was starting. There were many Republicans who actually wanted civil rights legislation more so than Democrats. And there were others who realized that a bill was coming no matter what and the bad electoral outcomes in 1964 meant that things would get worse if they didn't go along as well. It's hard to imagine something similar happening today, where the sense is obstructionism can be a winning tactic.
But the book does make me wonder if our political system would be better served by taking advantage of windows and being more aggressive when they arise. Yes, the Great Society led to a ton of Democrats losing elected positions and probably changed our long-term political calculus for decades. But it also produced a broad sweeping amount of changes for the better in American society, of which only health care reform comes close in the intervening years. Johnson knew some of his changes were likely to result in Democratic losses (though apparently that quote about having lost the South for a generation isn't really). And he was willing to take the risks to still pass something. If only more legislators were willing to do the same thing.
The Blue Dogs in the 2006 to 2010 period are a good example of a sometimes wasted window. Many of them tried to vote against Democratic things and probably watered down some legislation. But what they really should have recognized is that many of them were political anomalies--holding seats they would be very hard pressed to keep no matter what they did. In that case, erring on the side of conservatism and caution didn't get them anything. Politics eventually reverted back to more or less the mean and the seats that are most likely to switch went back to the party that had traditionally held them.
Obviously, knowing you are most likely to lose and still acting properly to essentially concede that is a hard thing for a person to do. It's a massive blow to the ego. And it raises concerns for the national party--you don't want to lose too many seats or legislative achievements will come undone. But one lesson we should take away from the last several years of American politics is that it takes a lot fewer people to play defense than offense. You're better off going all in and getting as much as possible, then defending it tooth and nail until it's an accepted structure that can't be touched. In many ways that type of behavior is the enduring lesson of the Great Society that I took away from this book. Hopefully elected officials will start thinking the same way.
March 24, 2015
As I was reading The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress and the Battle for the Great Society, I had a vision of a thick steel bank vault door coming open. This door is the short period of time in which the second New Deal were passed under President Lyndon Johnson. After Kennedy was assassinated, President Johnson started to map out the legislative changes that he wanted to see. Lyndon Johnson was a New Deal Democrat. He appreciated FDR’s programs and he was greatly influenced by his father standing up to the Klu Klux Klan and his own experiences teaching the children of Mexican Americans and by seeing their parents dig through garbage trying to find something to eat. He was determined to get President Kennedy’s programs passed and to add his own programs that focused on poverty.
Julian E. Zelizer does not only tells us the stories that make this era come to life but he examines the situation and finds that it is not just the man that made it happen but a myriad of circumstances. The grassroot activists who were able to change the power setup of Congress, the events inside the country and the interactions of the power brokers. Amazingly, these changes although difficult to make initially did not get reversed. Mr. Zelizer’s in depth research shows up in the stories that are well documented in the back of the book under Notes. This is a book to learn from. It is not that Johnson was a big wheeler dealer but so many other factors were in the mix. There had to be a way to get around the filibuster and to crack the tight bond of the resistors of change.
When Lyndon Johnson was ready to graduate from high school, his parents were suddenly plunged into poverty. It took a series of manual labor jobs to teach him that he needed get more education than continue the hard physical labor. This lesson later came out in his desire for children to have better education than they were getting then. The author exposes the bad characteristics of Lyndon Johnson too. But is this not a book about Lyndon Johnson, this book is about everything coming together so that legislative changes could happen. President Johnson recognized the opportunity and took the challenge. There was also a place in this book where he seemed realize that this door of opportunity was closing. This book is an analysis of the period in which these changes happened and the author makes you aware why they could happen.
The opportunity arose from so many factors an upset to the power set up in congress, the grassroots activists, rise of new groups and a huge change in politics. If future change is to happen, another “change in the political landscape” must occur.
I selected this book from Amazon Vine but receiving it free did not influence my review in any way.
February 17, 2015
This book is a master course in the American political process. Covering the trevails of liberal politics from the New Deal to the Great Socity, Julian Zelizer seeks to rebut two common narratives about the astounding success of liberal politics in the 1960s. The first, the "liberal hour" thesis, holds that the success of Lyndon Johnson in getting the Great Society passed arose from a the high tide of slow liberal ascendency from the New Deal forward. The second, the "Johnson treatment" thesis, holds that Lyndon Johnson was an unstoppable force of nature who could not be deterred from accomplishing his political goals through means including bribery to coercion.
Zelizer's narrative avoids the "inevitability" of the liberal hour thesis and the "Great Man" assumptionso of the Johnson Treatment thesis. In Zelizer's telling the Great Society is a result of a series of converging factors none of which, indpenedently, could guarantee the deluge of Great Society programs that were passed by "the fabulous 89th Congress" of 1965-66. First, the moral outrage against Jim Crow generated by the Civil Rights movement in the South broke the conservative coalation of Midwest Republicans and Southern Democrats in Congress. Second, the radicalization of the Republican Party under Barry Goldwater scared moderates into voting for a landslide victory for Lyndon Johnson and the Democratic Party in the 1964 presidential election. Third, the tagteam effort of Lyndon Johnson and key members of the Congressional Leadership (both moderate Republicans and Liberal Democracts) in getting a coaltion together to overcome the Southern filibuster.
Zelizer walks the reader clearly through this give and take at the political level, but the Zelizer provides something pretty wonderful when he gets into discussions of procedure and policy. Zelizer, more than any other historian I know aside from Robert Caro, does a wonderful job of walking the reader not only through the tense negotations and political posturing of the election cycle, but also at explaining the complex procedural moves made by Liberal Democrats to bypass Southern Democrats when passing the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act, as well as bypassing Republicans on other Great Society programs. Zelizer also does a wonderful job of summarizing the basic policy compromises that went into getting these programs through the labyrinth of the Legislative Branch.
And finally, the most amazing thing is that Zelizer covers so many issues at a such a deep level in just over 300 pages. This is, without a doubt, one of the best books of political history I've read in a long time. Highly recommended.
Zelizer's narrative avoids the "inevitability" of the liberal hour thesis and the "Great Man" assumptionso of the Johnson Treatment thesis. In Zelizer's telling the Great Society is a result of a series of converging factors none of which, indpenedently, could guarantee the deluge of Great Society programs that were passed by "the fabulous 89th Congress" of 1965-66. First, the moral outrage against Jim Crow generated by the Civil Rights movement in the South broke the conservative coalation of Midwest Republicans and Southern Democrats in Congress. Second, the radicalization of the Republican Party under Barry Goldwater scared moderates into voting for a landslide victory for Lyndon Johnson and the Democratic Party in the 1964 presidential election. Third, the tagteam effort of Lyndon Johnson and key members of the Congressional Leadership (both moderate Republicans and Liberal Democracts) in getting a coaltion together to overcome the Southern filibuster.
Zelizer walks the reader clearly through this give and take at the political level, but the Zelizer provides something pretty wonderful when he gets into discussions of procedure and policy. Zelizer, more than any other historian I know aside from Robert Caro, does a wonderful job of walking the reader not only through the tense negotations and political posturing of the election cycle, but also at explaining the complex procedural moves made by Liberal Democrats to bypass Southern Democrats when passing the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act, as well as bypassing Republicans on other Great Society programs. Zelizer also does a wonderful job of summarizing the basic policy compromises that went into getting these programs through the labyrinth of the Legislative Branch.
And finally, the most amazing thing is that Zelizer covers so many issues at a such a deep level in just over 300 pages. This is, without a doubt, one of the best books of political history I've read in a long time. Highly recommended.
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