the Great Society
/ðə ˌɡreɪt səˈsaɪəti/
/ðə ˌɡreɪt səˈsaɪəti/
- a phrase used by US President Lyndon Johnson in 1964 to explain what his new social and economic programmes could achieve. He wanted to create a society in which all Americans were equal and there was no poverty. As part of this aim, Johnson's government created the Medicare and Medicaid medical programmes, the Head Start educational programme for poor children and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. It also passed the Voting Rights Act.