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How Johnson's Great Society aimed to make college affordable

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson laid out a goal of making college more affordable to more Americans. It was part of his Great Society plan, and he signed legislation that set up low-interest student loans and offered federal money and grants to colleges and universities.

As the Trump administration is putting pressure on universities to comply with its demands or lose federal funding, Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd speaks with Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, about how Johnson’s presidency saw education and made it possible for more people to afford it.

Zelizer wrote about this for Foreign Policy. He also writes a Substack called “The Long View.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR

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