The War on Poverty: History, Selected Programs and Ongoing Impact

The War on Poverty of the 1960s is often treated in academic and popular literature as a transient phenomenon. However, most of the early War on Poverty programs have not just survived but have expanded. Most people are familiar with Head Start but far fewer recall its origins in the War on Poverty. While programs like Head Start are no longer part of a focused national initiative, they continue to make war on poverty and to influence domestic policy development.