LBJ’s Neglected Legacy: How Lyndon Johnson Reshaped Domestic Policy and Government ed. by Robert H. Wilson, Norman J. Glickman, Laurence E. Lynn (review)

Published in celebration of the centennial of Lyndon B. Johnson’s birth, LBJ’s Neglected Legacy is a collection of essays contributed by professionals in various fields such as history, sociology, engineering, and economics. Together they propose a new method of evaluating the impact of LBJ’s Great Society domestic policy. With each chapter focusing on a different policy area, the authors examine both the short-term results of LBJ’s programs, during his administration, and their long-term effectiveness through subsequent administrations, mostly dominated by the opposition party. Even though the lack of support, and often absence of funding, provided by Republican-led governance often muted the long-term influence of LBJ’s initiatives, his policies did expand the reach of the federal government and permanently altered the way the different levels of government interacted.

As president, LBJ proved to be a master of the legislative process. He used skills honed during several decades spent representing Texas as both a congressman and senator to coax bills through Congress in the face of increasing opposition. He believed that getting a bill passed was the most important step, even if it meant compromising away some of its potency. A law “on the books” could always be modified later under more favorable legislative conditions, while it was more difficult to repeal a law entirely. An example of this mind-set was the Head Start Program. Intended to be only a small piece of a much larger effort to improve conditions for poor families that was never fully realized, Head Start was hindered from the beginning. Yet, even after repeated cuts and continual questions about its effectiveness, the program perseveres today.

LBJ’s Texas roots, particularly his years spent teaching poor, Mexican American children in Cotulla, were evident in his work on civil rights issues, education, and his War on Poverty. In the chapter “Lyndon Johnson and American Education,” Gary Orfield repeatedly mentions how Johnson’s personal experiences working with children and in schools informed his education policies, which sought to improve opportunities for everyone but especially for poor and minority children. Orfield noted that LBJ’s education reforms enjoyed much greater success than those of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

The authors use a wide variety of primary sources, including oral history interviews, White House recordings, and government reports to analyze the topics mentioned above, as well as such subjects as urban planning, water quality policies, science and technology, and public management. While it may be a bit too dense for the casual reader, LBJ’s Neglected Legacy provides a unique approach to evaluating the Johnson administration’s work. Other scholars who have examined his impact have often become distracted by the negative effect of his escalation of the Vietnam War on his domestic policies. They fail to recognize the lasting change in the way the government works fostered by his programs and policies, and the strength of this work lies in the authors’ insistence on following a different path.