Prisoners of Hope: Lyndon B. Johnson, the Great Society, and the Limits of Liberalism

by Randall B. Woods

President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society was breathtaking in its scope and dramatic in its impact. Over the course of his time in office, Johnson passed over one thousand pieces of legislation designed to address an extraordinary array of social issues. Poverty and racial injustice were foremost among them, but the Great Society included legislation on issues ranging from health care to immigration to education and environmental protection. But while the Great Society was undeniably ambitious, it was by no means perfect. In Prisoners of Hope , prize-winning historian Randall B. Woods presents the first comprehensive history of the Great Society, exploring both the breathtaking possibilities of visionary politics, as well as its limits.

Soon after becoming president, Johnson achieved major legislative victories with the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. But he wasn't prepared for the substantial backlash that ensued. Community Action Programs were painted as dangerously subversive, at worst a forum for minority criminals and at best a conduit through which the federal government and the inner city poor could bypass the existing power structure. Affirmative action was rife with controversy, and the War on Poverty was denounced by conservatives as the cause of civil disorder and disregard for the law. As opposition, first from white conservatives, but then also some liberals and African Americans, mounted, Johnson was forced to make a number of devastating concessions in order to secure the future of the Great Society. Even as many Americans benefited, millions were left disappointed, from suburban whites to the new anti-war left to African Americans. The Johnson administration's efforts to draw on aspects of the Great Society to build a viable society in South Vietnam ultimately failed, and as the war in Vietnam descended into quagmire, the president's credibility plummeted even further.

A cautionary tale about the unintended consequences of even well-intentioned policy, Prisoners of Hope offers a nuanced portrait of America's most ambitious—and controversial—domestic policy agenda since the New Deal.

Genres: History, Politics, American History, Nonfiction

480 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2016

Reviews

[Jim Cullison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does an extremely solid job of chronicling this essential period in our history. An admiring, yet insightful work.

[John Kaufmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good history of what Lyndon Johnson intended and accomplished during his first two or three years as president (1964-66). It is impressive! The Great Society and the War on Poverty were the themes, and the result were bills like Medicare, Medicaid, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Voting Rights Act, federal aid to education, National Endowment for the Arts, OSHA, Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, highway beautification, Wilderness Preservation Act, and more. In the process, the book also touches on how his efforts came up against the limits of liberalism, the subtitle of the book. A little long, with perhaps a little too much focus on detail (author went through legislative passage of several of the bills).

[Clayton Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. This was very similar to the Fierce Urgency of Now by Julian Zelizer. Both books focus on the impact of the policies of the Great Society. Zelizer's book goes into more details regarding the substance of policies like the Voting Rights Act and Medicare and Zelizer focuses on the congressional struggles more than Woods. However, Woods focuses on Johnson more and is more descriptive on the 65 Immigration Act, (which few Johnson biographies discuss in detail) and the divide within the Civil Rights movement between MLK and Stokeley Carmichael.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. Insightful. Transformative- "LBJ had claimed that the Great Society was a place where the city of man serves not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce but the desire for beauty and the hunger for community....It is a place where men are more concerned with the quality of their goals than the quantity of their goods."

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating account of the social transformations that Lyndon Johnson led and the way politics, human limitations and the Vietnam war got in the way. It is also a vivid reminder of just how crazy things were when I was in my teens.

[Susan Stonesifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent title that tells the story of LBJ’s Great Society, what he was trying to achieve and why. It’s amazing how many Federal programs were begun in his administration that we now take for granted. A fabulous history

[Anthony Rainey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have considered myself a student of history, the 1960's , the time of my growing up, being of particular interest. Most of my readings of the times have been from a civil rights activist point of view. So it was with great interest that I wanted to view the time period through the lens of political insiders, especially LBJ. His Great Society, was historical in its scope and ambition. His ability to bring forth the legislation that he did in really only 5 years was remarkable. Author Woods does a excellent job of revealing the intricacies of LBJ' vision and deal making as well as exposing the limits of his dreams. From examining, Civil Rights to Vietnam, from Medicare to Clean Air and Clean Water, from Urban unrest to conservative backlash this detailed book has it all

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not only a thorough fascinating study of America's recent past, but its narrative also runs shockingly parallel to our country's current times. Substitute the pandemic for the Vietnam War and Prisoners of Hope could easily be read as Cutrent Events Nonfiction instead of History

[Nicholas Dolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a really well-done history of the Great Society!

[!Tæmbuŝu]

Reviewed by Open Letters Monthly