A people's war on poverty : urban politics and grassroots activists in Houston / Wesley G. Phelps.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Phelps, Wesley G.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Community development--Texas--Houston--History--20th century.

Community development.

Poor--Services for--Texas--Houston--History--20th century.

Poor.

Poor--Political activity--Texas--Houston--History--20th century.

Poverty--Government policy--Texas--Houston--History--20th century.

Poverty.

Social action--Texas--Houston--History--20th century.

Social action.

Community Action Program (U.S.)--History.

Community Action Program (U.S.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (264 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Athens, Georgia : The University of Georgia Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In A People's War on Poverty , Wesley G. Phelps investigates the on-the-ground implementation of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty during the 1960's and 1970's. He argues that the fluid interaction between federal policies, urban politics, and grassroots activists created a significant site of conflict over the meaning of American democracy and the rights of citizenship that historians have largely overlooked. In Houston in particular, the War on Poverty spawned fierce political battles that revealed fundamental disagreements over what democracy meant, how far it should extend, and who...

Contents:

Cover; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction. The War on Poverty and the Expansion of Democracy; One. Declaring a War on Poverty in the Midst of "Pervasive Conservatism": The Tumultuous Road to Establishing a Community Action Agency, 1964-1965; Two. Creating an Alternative Antipoverty Philosophy for Houston: Grassroots Religious Activists and VISTA Workers Outside the City's Community Action Agency, 1964-1966; Three. An Aggressive Vision for the Community Action Program: Confrontational Politics and the Expansion of Democracy, 1966-1967

Four. A Closing Window of Opportunity for Expanding Democracy: Houston's Public Officials and the Taming of the Community Action Program, 1967Five. A Triumph for the Limited Vision of Democracy: New Leadership and the Expulsion of the Organizers, 1967-1969; Six. National Changes with Local Results: De- escalation of the War on Poverty, 1969-1976; Conclusion. The War on Democracy; Notes; Bibliography; Index;

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780820346724

0820346721

OCLC:

870646646