Lyndon Baines Johnson and the Development of the American Administrative State
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© COPYRIGHT by Serena Lowe 2014 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED I dedicate this to my daughter, Isabella, who has taught me more about life than I could ever learn in a book or classroom, and has brought more light in my life than the sun, the moon and the stars combined. Isabella, may you go after every goal in life with tenacity and passion, and never let anything get in the way of you pursuing your dreams. I love you. A Transformative Era: Lyndon Baines Johnson and the Development of the American Administrative State BY Serena D. Lowe ABSTRACT The intellectual history of American public administration holds that the High Noon of public administrative orthodoxy was President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and the publication of the Final Report of the President’s Committee on Administrative Management in 1937. A striking omission from the field’s literature is a serious conversation about how the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson dramatically transformed the American administrative state. Johnson’s efforts to create a Great Society and win the War on Poverty provide empirical evidence that legitimates the claim that if Roosevelt was responsible for public administration’s High Noon, Johnson is subsequently responsible for the second coming of the administrative messiah. The following dissertation explores the profound contributions of the Johnson administration on today’s administrative state, and the lasting impact of the Great Society agenda on the permanent infusion of democratic-constitutional norms, values, and practices within American public administration. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As with any labor of love in life, a dissertation does not happen without an army of support, or apropos to Hillary Clinton’s coined adage, “It takes a village.” My village of support represents a caliber of quality that no single individual deserves in this life. First, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the entire team at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Library for their patience and technical expertise, as well as their extraordinary insights and tenacious passion for the “Flawed Giant”. I also wish to thank my dissertation committee for their willingness to support this research, for their time and commitment, and for their tremendous insights. Working with two legendary academicians in the field of public administration – David Rosenbloom and Howard McCurdy – provided a unique opportunity to delve into the aspects of public administration with two truly great academicians, who have each made tremendous contributions to and lasting impressions on the field of public administration that will withstand the test of time. There are no words that can express my enormous gratitude to my committee chair, Stephanie P. Newbold. Very seldom does a student get the chance to work with such an inspirational thought leader in their chosen field. What I appreciate the most about Dr. Newbold is her refusal to accept the constrictive parameters that have been placed on the public administration discipline for entirely too long. Dr. Newbold has challenged her academic peers to refrain from losing sight of the valuable lessons history has taught us about the administrative state. Her disciplined commitment and approach has already and will continue to contribute to the evolution of PA’s theoretical framework. Furthermore, she exemplifies an amazing level of integrity, character and professionalism in all facets of her work. I not only owe her my gratitude for pushing me across the finish line, but also for giving me inspiration. It has been a privilege working under her guidance. iii Stephanie is but one example of the women in my life who have given me such encouragement and support during this process. I also appreciate my friends and mentors for seeing me through the good, the bad and the ugly phases of my PhD program, and for never letting me give up on this dream. And finally, I thank my family – for who without them, none of this has any meaning. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi PART I. Understanding the Relevance of the Great Society to the Evolution of the Political Administrative State Chapter 1. Lyndon Baines Johnson's Contributions to American Public Administration: The Advent of the Political Administrative State 2 Chapter 2: The Historical Evolution of the American Administrative State 19 Chapter 3: The Power of a Charismatic Leader: Lyndon Johnson's Executive Leadership & Its Transformative Impact on the American Administrative State 40 Chapter 4: Launch the Great Society: Building the Federal Administrative Apparatus to Fight the Nation's War on Poverty 64 PART II. Implementing Key Socioeconomic Facets of the Great Society: Implications for American Public Administration Chapter 5: Establishing the Democratic Constitutional Framework for the Great Society: Advancing the American Civil Rights Movement 95 Chapter 6: How Economic Realities Shaped the Nation's Civil Rights Framework: Johnson's Implementation Strategy to Win the War on Poverty 121 Chapter 7: The Pursuit of Educational Equality in the United States -- A Lasting Contribution to Public Administration 144 Chapter 8: Fair Housing, Full Employment -- Creating Equal Opportunity as Part of the Great Society Agenda 172 Chapter 9: Promoting Long-Term Security -- Federal Entitlement Policy in Health Care and Social Security 209 PART III. Assessing the Impact of Johnson's Great Society on Today's Administrative State: The Limits of Transformative Administrative Leadership 227 Bibliography of Resources 252 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: First Year Requests for New Legislation by U.S. President (Truman-Clinton)……….59 Table 2: Number of Public Activities by President (Truman-Clinton)…………..……………...61 vi PART I. UNDERSTANDING THE RELEVANCE OF THE GREAT SOCIETY TO THE EVOLUTION OF THE POLITICAL ADMINISTRATIVE STATE 1 CHAPTER 1: LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: THE ADVENT OF THE POLITICAL ADMINISTRATIVE STATE Lyndon Baines Johnson is a remarkable but often misunderstood figure in American history (Califano 1991; Caro 2002, 2012; Dallek 1998, 2004; Goodwin 1991; Kotz 2006; Skowronek 1997; Updegrove 2012; Woods 2006). A careful examination of Johnson’s presidency reveals contributions and lessons learned that are essential for a comprehensive and proper understanding of the intellectual history of American public administration. Johnson’s presidential tenure coincided during a period of dramatic cultural and sociological change in the United States, and his administration took full advantage of this opportune momentum to seize a specific type of momentum and push forward a series of transformational policies aimed at lifting the socioeconomic advancement of the American citizenry. The magnitude of Johnson’s domestic policy agenda and the administrative apparatus needed for implementation of the Great Society dramatically shaped the legislative process and transformed the American administrative state. Such efforts remain unprecedented in comparison to any other presidential administration since and present a formative opportunity to expand the field of public administration’s intellectual history and collective understanding for how Johnson transformed the nation’s administrative infrastructure to address social inequality, racial discrimination, and economic advancement for the poor. Furthermore, the administrative mechanisms applied to setting the Johnson domestic policy agenda into motion magnified the dominant and ever-growing role of the Federal government in policy implementation. In a word, many of the Johnson administration’s landmark programs and initiatives – including Head Start; Job Corps; strong elementary, secondary, and higher education infrastructure; fair housing; Job 2 Corps; Medicare, Medicaid, and expanded Social Security coverage; and the quest to establish a Federal civil rights framework that would withstand the test of time – continue to represent the framework for major portions of the country’s domestic priorities and resource allocation today. Historical reflection provides us with the benefit of retrospection. Critically reflecting on the Johnson presidency reveals that it was marred in American tragedy and shame, which has resulted in a historical tendency to emphasize the political failures of Lyndon Johnson as opposed to looking more holistically and objectively at the magnitude of administrative reforms his administration was responsible for accomplishing. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy left the country in a disarray of emotional upheaval and vulnerability, and the implications on the nation’s psyche were both an opportunity and a curse for Johnson as he assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer for the country. Johnson’s commitment to socioeconomic justice and equality for all – men, women, and children – went well beyond Kennedy’s similar but less-evolved aspirations. The path Johnson took to not only secure passage of the Civil Rights Act (CRA) but implement a myriad of national anti-poverty and economic development programs under the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) were imprinted with the youthful hope and spirit