The Republican Party and the War on Poverty: 1964-1981

Mark Mclay's book "The Republican Party and the War on Poverty" examines how presidents from Lyndon Johnson to Ronald Reagan dealt with the politics of the War on Poverty and how the modern Republican party approached poverty. It also explores the roots of Republican opposition to antipoverty legislation and provides insights into contemporary debates over public policy. The book is grounded in substantial archival research and uses political science tools to analyze the role of the Republican Party in shaping the War on Poverty.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 28 February 2023
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Reassessing the Politics of the War on Poverty: From Lyndon Johnson to Ronald Reagan

Tracing the evolution of the modern Republican party through its approach to poverty, this book examines the roots of Republican opposition to antipoverty legislation, offering an insightful glimpse into contemporary debates over public policy. Grounded in substantial archival research undertaken across the United States, including the presidential libraries of Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, and Ronald W. Reagan, the book draws on the public and private papers of leading Republicans from different geographical regions and ideological factions. Employing political science tools such as public and private polling data, poverty and crime statistics, demographic studies, election analyses, and the presidential tapes of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, the author engages with and contributes to history and political science, supplemented by insights from sociological research on antipoverty programmes.

The Republican Party's Role in Shaping and Curtailing President Johnson's War on Poverty

Mark McLay delves into the part the Republican Party played in shaping and eventually curtailing President Johnson's War on Poverty. Republican politicians and presidents consistently influenced how the war was fought, before President Reagan symbolically ended the effort with his social welfare cuts in 1981. Drawing on original archives of Republican politicians across the United States, the author sheds light on the important dynamic that existed between the Republican Party, Congress, and the White House throughout those years, providing a fresh perspective on the Republican Party and its presidents during a period that witnessed its rise from its nadir in 1964 to becoming the ascendant force in US politics.

Weight: 516g
Dimension: 155 x 233 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474475532