This America.

JOHNSON, Lyndon Baines. Photographs by Ken Heyman.

Item Number: 110935

New York: Random House, Inc, 1966.

First edition of this richly illustrated rendition of the speech delivered by President Johnson on May 22, 1964 to the graduating class of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor which first outlined the dimensions of his vision for the “Great Society.” Quarto, original cloth, illustrated with photographs by Ken Heyman. Boldly signed by Lyndon B. Johnson on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.

In domestic policy, Johnson designed the "Great Society" legislation to expand civil rights, public broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education, the arts, urban and rural development, public services and his "War on Poverty". Assisted in part by a growing economy, the War on Poverty helped millions of Americans rise above the poverty line during his administration. Civil rights bills that he signed into law banned racial discrimination in public facilities, interstate commerce, the workplace and housing; the Voting Rights Act prohibited certain requirements in southern states used to disenfranchise African Americans. With the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the country's immigration system was reformed, encouraging greater emigration from regions other than Europe. Johnson's presidency marked the peak of modern liberalism after the New Deal era.