Great Society

An illustration of a toilet with white text at its sides. Everything is set on a black background

This is a button against the Great Society programs launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65. It suggests that the Great Society programs should be flushed down the toilet, as illustrated on the button. The Great Society programs addressed education, medical care, urban problems, and transportation, and were designed to fight poverty. Although applauded by many, oppositional voices started to increase when the Vietnam War was escalated. Anti-war activists often accused that spending on Vietnam had choked off the Great Society, in that many of the programs and policies were not consummated due to lack of funding.