LBJ declares unconditional war on poverty in State of the Union

President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered his first State of the Union address on January 8, 1964, declaring "unconditional war on poverty in America." Johnson framed the program as requiring federal, state, and local effort with poverty then at 19 percent. The speech set the legislative agenda that produced the Economic Opportunity Act of August 1964, which created Job Corps, VISTA, and Head Start.