Outside of historians and high school history students, few remember Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency well. He might be remembered as John F. Kennedy’s successor after his assassination, or perhaps his part in the Vietnam War and the Cold War. What few may know about are the numerous pieces of legislation he passed that helped pave the way towards modern disability rights, decades before the ADA became law.
A Democrat from Texas, Johnson was sworn in as President after Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and he remained in office until 1969. While his somewhat poor public image and his foreign affairs—particularly his support for escalation of American involvement in Vietnam and complex relationship with race—earned him criticism, Johnson’s domestic policies and civil rights accomplishments remain a commendable legacy.
Drawing on the work of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs, Johnson’s progressive domestic policies aimed at creating a “Great Society” for all Americans: programs that worked to eliminate poverty and expand on civil rights, education, healthcare, environmental protections, and more.
People with disabilities benefited from the New Deal on multiple fronts. The 1965 Amendments to the Social Security Act that Johnson signed created Medicaid, a health insurance program for the poor, and Medicare, a health insurance program for the elderly. Beyond these important programs that are still in operation today, there were several other small adjustments made to the law. “Disability” had previously meant a person could become eligible only if their impairment was expected to keep them from working for a long and indefinite time, but after this act, one could qualify if their impairment had lasted or was expected to last for as little as 12 months. In addition, greater provisions were made for people with blindness.
Also passed in 1965 was the Voting Rights Act, a landmark piece of legislation that protected voters’ rights. Signed at the high of the Civil Rights movement, the act was primarily aimed at protecting the voting rights of racial and language minorities, especially in the South. It additionally prohibits preventing anyone with a disability from being accompanied to a ballot box by an assistant of their choice. These voting rights would later be expanded in the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984.
In 1967, additional amendments were made to the Social Security Act which, among other things, increased disability insurance benefits and provided new guidelines for determining eligibility for disability.
In the later years of his presidency, Johnson enacted the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, the first federal effort to ensure access to the built environment for people with disabilities, which opened doors down the road for disability rights. The law required that federal buildings and facilities such as post offices and public parks be accessible, as well as federally funded agencies, such as universities, public housing, and mass transit. Later, dissatisfaction with compliance with this law would contribute to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and its protections would pave the way for other federal disability protections like the ADA.
Though Johnson (like many other presidents) remains a somewhat controversial figure − Adam Serwer of MSNBC once argued that although many believed that Johnson was a racist, he was also "the greatest champion of racial equality to occupy the White House since Lincoln"− it is important to remember the building blocks he helped place for federal disability rights in the 1960s. Lyndon B. Johnson may not be beloved in Americans’ memory like Washington, Lincoln, or FDR, but his presidency marked a formative era in the history of disability rights and in the road to the ADA.
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