IndexIntroductionDwight EisenhowerJohn F. KennedyLyndon B. JohnsonConclusionIntroductionThe Second World War was an international conflict fought from 1939 to 1945 involving Germany, Italy , and Japan, who were known as the Axis powers, and France, Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, who were known as the Allies. The war officially began in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland when Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany. The United States attempted to remain neutral in the war, but was drawn into the world conflict when Japan attacked the unsuspecting American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the United States declared war on Japan, thus forcing Italy and Germany to declare war on Japan . United States While the Allies apparently “won” the war thanks to the surrender of Germany and Japan, no country actually benefited from the catastrophic fighting. American society changed greatly after World War II, resulting in many issues that future presidents would need to address, such as poverty and social welfare. The issue of social welfare arose in the United States due to the belief that the government should provide economic assistance to groups of people to address problems such as poverty – especially after the harsh effects of the Great Depression – in which several US presidents, including which Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson, and their administrations were heavily involved after World War II. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Dwight Eisenhower President Dwight Eisenhower took office in 1953 with very little experience, but he was also one of the most politically successful presidents of the postwar era. He avoided creating many new initiatives and continued the work of previous reformers, such as his predecessor, President Truman. However, Eisenhower aspired to limit federal activities and encourage private enterprise; reduced federal support for agricultural prices and “removed the last limited wage and price controls maintained by the Truman administration.” He also “opposed the creation of new social service programs such as national health insurance” and consistently strived to reduce federal spending (Glass, 1). The right wing of his Republican Party urged the president to reverse the welfare policies of the New Deal, but Eisenhower resisted. Instead, in 1954 he agreed to extend the Social Security system, originally started in 1935 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to ten more million people and unemployment compensation to another four million people and agreed to raise the wage minimum legal hours. 75 cents to a dollar. The legislation also increased payments to all retired workers by at least $60 per year, while increasing annual benefits for future retirees by up to $4,200 (Glass, 1). Not long after, the Eisenhower administration passed what may be its most significant legislative achievement and largest public operation in American history, known as the Federal Highway Act of 1956, which authorized $25 billion for a ten-year project to build over 40,000 miles of interstate highways. Overall, the Eisenhower administration avoided creating new large-scale social welfare programs, but it expanded previous programs and was able to greatly improve the benefits offered to individuals. John F. KennedyWhen Eisenhower's presidency ended in 1961,John F. Kennedy succeeded him, and although his presidency was cut short, he was still able to create his own economic and social programs as part of his “New Frontier.” Before Kennedy was even elected, he offered a long list of major proposals to achieve his goals, including creating a volunteer Peace Corps to assist underdeveloped countries, raising the minimum wage and expanding its coverage, increasing benefits of Social Security, providing health care, providing federal aid to education, creating a federal Department of Urban Affairs, and increasing the power of the federal government to address economic downturns. Although Congress refrained from passing all of Kennedy's reforms, a Peace Corps was established and Social Security benefits and the minimum wage were increased (U.S. Department of Labor, 1). Despite the unfortunate fact that Kennedy was assassinated shortly after his first term and was unable to accomplish everything he aspired to, he still had a lasting impact on the nation with his reforms and achievements. Lyndon B. Johnson Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded Kennedy after his assassination in 1963. During his presidency from 1963 to 1966, Johnson was able to achieve more than most of his predecessors by not only gaining support for many proposals of the New Frontier, but also building its own reform program known as the “Great Society”. Johnson helped the federal government develop the first major social welfare programs starting in the 1930s to contribute to what he called its “war on poverty.” The most significant of these is Medicare, a program launched in 1965 to provide federal aid for the medical expenses of the elderly. The program appeared to end the debate over national healthcare and whether or not it was “socialized medicine” and pacified critics by simply shifting responsibility for medical costs from patients to the government rather than giving the elderly special treatment at the expense of others . . Johnson also led the creation of the Medicaid program in 1966, which extended federal medical assistance to welfare recipients and virtually all poverty-stricken individuals. Another major reform that Johnson was able to implement was the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), which created a set of new programs for education, housing, employment, and health care. However, the OEO has been controversial because of its commitment to the idea of ​​community action or efforts to involve members in programs designed to help them. This program provided employment to many poor people and gave them valuable experience in administrative and political work. Many of the men and women involved in Community Action, including many Hispanic and black politicians, grew up to obtain careers in politics. However, while this program has helped reduce poverty in some areas, overall it has failed due to inadequate funding. Finally, the Johnson administration worked to improve failing cities with the Housing Act of 1961, which offered cities $4.9 billion in federal grants for the preservation of open space, the development of mass transit systems, and subsidizing middle-income housing. Furthermore, Johnson was able to achieve something that Kennedy had fought hard for but failed to achieve: federal aid for public education. The Johnson administration passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to extend services to both private and county schools; however, these services were not based on the needs of schools as in the past, but.