Great Society

American  

noun

1. the goal of the Democratic Party under the leadership of President Lyndon B. Johnson, chiefly to enact domestic programs to improve education, provide medical care for the aged, and eliminate poverty.

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Great Society Cultural  

1. The name President Lyndon Johnson gave to his aims in domestic policy. The programs of the Great Society had several goals, including clean air and water, expanded educational opportunities, and the lessening of poverty and disease in the United States. (See War on Poverty.)

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Compare meaning

How does great-society compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• New Deal vs. Great Society

Example Sentences

The Vietnam War was draining federal coffers, forcing Lyndon Johnson to balance military spending with domestic programs like the Great Society.

From The Wall Street Journal

In November 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson added a monumental new institution to his Great Society: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a “miracle in communication” that LBJ compared to the United States’ first telegraph line.

From Slate

According to a 1965 profile in Time magazine, Moyers was a key figure in assembling Johnson’s ambitious domestic policy initiatives known as the Great Society.

From Los Angeles Times

It was something that folks, particularly the Department of Justice, discussed because Reagan was coming in at a time that was post–New Deal, post–Great Society.

From Slate

Johnson also used Sequoia to discuss Vietnam strategy and to convince lawmakers to support his Great Society reforms.

From Slate