The War on Poverty was the unofficial name for the legislation introduced by President Lyndon B. Johnson to create a federal response to national poverty. The United States Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act which established forty programs aimed to eliminate poverty. The policy was part of President Johnson’s Great Society.
The results of the War on Poverty are controversial. Critics claimed the program made poor people too dependent on federal aid while others countered that the War on Poverty was limited by American involvement in Vietnam. However, during this period, poverty did decline, albeit possibly due to other sources.