Reactions to the Great Society
War on Poverty
"Opinion Ballots," informational material presented by the National "Write Your Congressman" Club, encouraged communication between constituents and their elected officials by providing background on issues as well as a brief form for feedback. Below, the Club presents two different discussions on the War on Poverty, from 1964 and 1967. These constituent responses reflect differences of opinion: from Liberal, the writer is opposed to the programs: "The more handouts given the more they expect... This type of government aid leans to [sic] far toward socialism," while the writer from Shields is concerned only that the program funds be used well.
Opinion Ballot about the "War on Poverty"
Opinion Ballot from a Kansas constituent about how they feel about the "War on Poverty" Program.
Opinion Ballot from Liberal, Kansas
Opinion Ballot from a constituent in Liberal, Kansas, about how to proceed with the "War on Poverty."
Food Stamps
"Is it true that extension of the Food Stamp Plan was killed in the Agriculture Committee by votes from you, the 13 other Republican members, and the following Democrats?" - Tremonton, Utah February 1964
Leadership at the national level can attract attention from across the nation. In this relatively rare piece of mail from out of state, this Utah resident criticized Congressman Dole for voting against the food stamp program - likening him and fellow dissenting Republicans to the segregationist "Dixiecrat" wing of the Democratic Party.
Food Stamps Postcard
Postcard from a constituent in Utah concerning Bob Dole's vote to kill the extension of the Food Stamps Plan.
In February 1961, President John F. Kennedy resurrected a pilot food stamp program first tried during the Great Depression. By 1964, the Food Stamp Program was made permanent as a part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and was expanded and reformed several times during the late 1960s and 1970s. Although Bob Dole became identified with this important food assistance/surplus reduction program in the 1970s, he opposed it during the Kennedy-Johnson years as "simply another form of federal welfare which will kill initiative of many additional thousands and cause them to become more and more reliant on the federal government for support."
Medicare
"Sure we want to take care of our old People. But let's do it with some Sort of Self Respect... You Still must take from the people before you can give to the people." - Anthony, March 1965
In 1965, this constituent from Anthony expressed concern about having "a third Generation of people on Welfare." He believed the proposed Medicare program for people 65 and older would "make it worse."
Introduced as part of the New Frontier during the 1960 campaign and then as the King-Anderson Bill in 1961, "medical insurance for the aged under Social Security," or Medicare, slowly gained traction in Congress, and its passage had to await the coming of the Great Society in 1964. Congressman Dole's correspondence reflects overwhelming opposition by Western Kansans to the Medicare Bill.
This satirical piece, the 1960s equivalent of an online political meme, reflects conservatives' concerns about centrally managed systems' tendency to be impersonal, overly complicated, and ultimately detrimental. It also makes a point about the ability of such systems to discriminate - intentionally or unintentionally.