Declaring "War" on Poverty (1964)

It’s January 9th. In 1964, in his State of the Union speech, president Johnson declared “war on poverty.” It was part of his ambitious Great Society agenda to remake American lives from birth to death.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the language that Johnson used in his speech, and how branding an effort as a “war” can help or hurt a cause.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro, Executive Producer at Radiotopia