Table of ContentsIntroductionDwight EisenhowerJohn F. KennedyLyndon B. JohnsonConclusionIntroductionWorld War II was an international conflict fought from 1939 to 1945 involving the Germany, Italy, and Japan, known as the Axis Powers, and France, Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, known as the Allies. The war officially began in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, when Britain and France retaliated by declaring war on Germany. The United States attempted to remain neutral in the war, but was plunged into global conflict when Japan attacked the unsuspecting American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the United States declared war on Japan. , thus forcing Italy and Germany to declare war on Japan. United States Although the Allies apparently "won" the war thanks to the surrenders of Germany and Japan, no country truly benefited from the disastrous fighting. American society was profoundly transformed after World War II, bringing with it many issues that future presidents will have to address, such as poverty and welfare. The welfare issue arose in the United States due to the belief that the government should provide economic assistance to groups of people to address problems such as poverty – particularly after the severe effects of the Great Depression – in which several American presidents, including Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson, and their administrations became heavily involved after World War II. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayDwight EisenhowerPresident Dwight Eisenhower came to power in 1953 with very little experience, but he was also one of the most politically successful presidents of the post-war period. . He avoided creating many new initiatives and continued the work of previous reformers, such as his predecessor, President Truman. However, Eisenhower aspired to limit federal activities and encourage private enterprise; he reduced federal support for agricultural prices and "removed the last limited wage and price controls maintained by the Truman administration." He also “opposed the creation of new social service programs such as national health insurance” and consistently worked to reduce federal spending (Glass, 1). The right wing of his Republican Party urged the president to reverse New Deal social policies, but Eisenhower resisted. Rather, in 1954 he agreed to expand the Social Security system, originally launched in 1935 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to ten million more people and unemployment compensation to four million more people and agreed to increase the legal minimum hourly wage. from 75 cents to a dollar. The legislation also increased payments to all retired workers by at least $60 per year, while increasing annual benefits for future retirees by up to $4,200 (Glass, 1). Shortly thereafter, the Eisenhower administration passed what may be its most significant legislative achievement and largest government transaction in American history, known as the Federal Highway Act of 1956, which authorized $25 billion for a ten-year project to build more than 40,000 miles. interstate highways. Overall, the Eisenhower administration avoided creating new programs ofsocial protection on a large scale, but it expanded on the old programs and was able to significantly improve the benefits they provided to individuals. John F. Kennedy When Eisenhower's presidency ended in 1961, John F. Kennedy succeeded him and although his presidency was shortened, he was still able to create his own economic and social programs as part of his "New Frontier." ". Even before Kennedy was elected, he proposed a long list of major proposals to achieve his goals, including creating a peace volunteer corps to help underdeveloped countries, raising the minimum wage and raising the minimum wage.expanding its coverage, increasing Social Security benefits, providing health insurance, providing federal aid for education, creating a federal department of urban affairs, and increasing the power of the federal government to deal with economic recessions. Although Congress failed to enact all of Kennedy's reforms, a Peace Corps was created and Social Security benefits and the minimum wage were increased (U.S. Department of Labor, 1). Despite the unfortunate fact that Kennedy was assassinated shortly after his first term and was unable to accomplish everything he aspired to, he still had a lasting impact on the nation through his reforms and to his achievements. Lyndon B. Johnson Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded Kennedy after his assassination in 1963. During his presidency from 1963 to 1966, Johnson was able to accomplish more than most of his predecessors, not only gaining the support of numerous proposals from the New Frontier, but also by building its own reform program known as the “Great Society”. .” Johnson helped the federal government develop the first major new welfare programs since the 1930s to help with what he called its "war on poverty." The largest of these is Medicare, a program enacted in 1965 to provide federal assistance for the medical expenses of older adults. The program appeared to end the debate over National Health Assistance and whether or not it was "socialized medicine" and appeased critics by simply shifting responsibility for spending health care of patients to the government rather than giving special treatment to the elderly at the expense of others. . Johnson also shepherded the creation of the Medicaid program in 1966, which extended federal medical assistance to welfare recipients and virtually everyone stricken by poverty. Another important reform that Johnson was able to implement was the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), which created a set of new programs for education, housing, employment, and health care. However, the OEO was controversial because of its commitment to the idea of ​​community action, or an effort to involve members in programs designed to help them. This program provided employment to many poor people and gave them valuable experience in administrative and political work. Many men and women involved in community action, including many Hispanic and black politicians, have achieved successful careers in politics. However, although this program helped reduce poverty in some areas, it failed overall due to insufficient funding. Finally, the Johnson administration worked to improve declining cities with the Housing Act of 1961, which provided cities with $4.9 billion in federal grants for open space conservation, development of systems public transport.