Lyndon Johnson Administrations - Changes in the U.S. Government
Changes in the U.S. Government
There was substantial growth and organizational change in the federal government between 1963 and 1969. The number of civilian jobholders (excluding the Post Office) increased from 1.9 million to 2.3 million—20 percent—and there was a huge increase in the use of outside consultants, agencies, and think tanks. Also, there were two new departments created—Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation. An attempt to merge the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor failed.
In the long run these trends led to considerable inefficiency and a top-heavy bureaucracy that did not do well in administering the many new programs initiated by Johnson's domestic agenda known as the Great Society. In fact, according to some observers, the problems of structure and coordination that grew out of these developments were more severe than at almost any other time in U.S. history.
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