Reformers to Radicals (42 page)

6
. Ibid., 84 (quotes). See also Levitan,
Federal Aid to Depressed Areas;
and Parmet,
JFK
, 77.

7
. Lyndon Johnson began his public career in 1935 as the Texas administrator of the National Youth Administration (NYA), which operated under the umbrella of the Works Progress Administration. His experiences with the NYA exposed him to the problems of the young, the poor, and the unemployed. He then entered national politics, winning the 1937 congressional election in Texas's Tenth District after having run as a fervent supporter of the New Deal. His first attempt at the Senate came in 1941, when the Texas senator Morris Sheppard died and a special election was held to fill the vacant seat. With the firm support of President Roosevelt, Johnson announced his candidacy. While he lost the election by a narrow margin, he had made his political position clear.

Johnson again ran for the Senate in 1948, and this time the results were in his favor. Although he had to placate Texas conservatives, including those in the energy industry, to win the election, his ties with Roosevelt's recovery programs were not that easily severed. Later in his Senate career, as majority leader, Johnson worked on his own party's reform programs, such as Truman's “Fair Deal” measures, and as vice president he supported Kennedy's domestic reform policies. Thus, Johnson entered the White House with a long personal history of support for domestic reform. In fact, the period that his political career had spanned to date (1935–1963, from the New Deal to the Kennedy administration) had witnessed perhaps the greatest effort to solve the problems of poverty, by government and private citizens alike, ever to be attempted. Nevertheless, these concerns were limited and defined by that brand of American liberalism that dominated most reform thinkers in the Cold War era.

8
. Johnson,
The Vantage Point
, 71 (first quote), and
A Time for Action
, 168, 170 (other quotes). On the Council of Economic Advisers under Heller, see esp. Matusow,
The Unraveling of America
, 120–23; and Johnson,
The Vantage Point
, 69–71.

9
. On “anomie and estrangement,” see Milkis and Mileur, eds.,
The Great Society and the High Tide of Liberalism
, xiii. For the University of Michigan speech, see
Public Papers of . . . Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963–64
, 1:704. For the other quotes, see
Public Papers of . . . Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1966
, 1:3–7. For a recent critical assessment of the Great Society and its impact on late-twentieth- and early-twenty-first-century liberalism, see Milkis and Mileur, eds.,
The Great Society and the High Tide of Liberalism
,

10
. Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, Public Law 88-452, 78 Stat. 508.

11
. AV Board of Directors Meeting, 1965, University of Kentucky, Lexington, AV Papers, box 2.

12
. Wofford, “The Politics of Local Responsibility,” 79 (first quote); Yarmolinsky, “The Beginnings of OEO,” 49 (second quote); Kravitz, “The Community Action Program.” See also Glen, “The War on Poverty in Appalachia,” 42; and Matusow,
The Unraveling of America
, 243–45.

13
. Kravitz, “The Community Action Program,” 60 (second quote); Wofford,
“The Politics of Local Responsibility,” 81 (first quote), 79 (third quote). For a discussion of how conflict aids pluralist societies, see Hirschman, “Social Conflicts as Pillars of Democratic Market Society.”

14
. Perley Ayer to Jack Ciaccio, May 28, 1966 (first quote), CSM Papers, box 129 (copy in AV Papers, box 5);
Mountain Life and Work
, 39 (Winter 1963): 58–59 (second quote). See also Glen, “The War on Poverty in Appalachia,” 44; and Whisnant,
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 19.

15
. A Volunteer Component for the Eastern Kentucky Program, [1963], AV Papers, box 20.

16
. Roslea Johnson, President, CAMP, to Dr. Kenneth H. Thompson, Associate Dean, Berea College, May 15, 1963, AV Papers, box 20.

17
. Ibid.; Memorandum, Perley Ayer to Youth Committee of the CSM, October 11, 1963, CSM Papers, box 100.

18
. Appalachian Volunteers By-Laws, [March 1964], AV Papers, box 1; Horton, “The Appalachian Volunteers,” 48 (Ogle quote).

19
. Telegram, Lyndon Johnson to Milton Ogle, January 25, 1964 (quotes), AV Papers, box 32; Telegram, Eugene P. Foley, Small Business Administration, to Milton Ogle, January 25, 1964, AV Papers, box 32.

20
. CSM and ARA Contract for Grant Allocation, 1964, AV Papers, box 3; A Summary of “Special Projects” Aided by the Council of the Southern Mountains' Ford Foundation Grant, 1964, AV Papers, box 20.

21
. A Summary of “Special Projects” Aided by the Council of the Southern Mountains' Ford Foundation Grant, 1964, AV Papers, box 20.

22
. Ibid.

23
. Ibid.; Proposal to the Council of the Southern Mountains Educational Committee, Project Area, Mill Creek, Clay County, Kentucky, [ca. June 1964], AV Papers, box 28.

24
. Proposal to the Council of the Southern Mountains Educational Committee, Project Area, Mill Creek, Clay County, Kentucky, [ca. June 1964], AV Papers, box 28; Polly P. Gorman, Appointment Secretary for Governor Breathitt, to Flem Messer, June 8, 1964, AV Papers, box 28. See also “News of State Government,” State Office of Public Information, and Press Outlines 1, 2, 3, 4, June 1964, AV Papers, box 28.

25
. Flem Messer to Jack Ciaccio, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, July 28, 1964, AV Papers, box 28.

26
. Volunteer quoted in Hampton, “Volunteers Pioneer Classes at Mill Creek,” 4 (emphasis added).

27
. Ibid., 4.

28
. Mr. and Mrs. Lester Smith to [Flem] Messer, September 1, 1964, Gilbert Messer to Flem [Messer], September 2, 1964, Crit Gambrel to [Flem] Messer, September 4, 1964, Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell Messer to Flem [Messer], September 4, 1964, and Dave Hubbard to [Flem] Messer, September 5, 1964, AV Papers, box 28.

29
. Robert Lee Sigmon to Milton Ogle, December 3, 1964, AV Papers, box 25; Quarterly Report, U.S. VISA Volunteer, Carol Irons, Mill Creek, Kentucky, October 9, 1964–December 21, 1964, AV Papers, box 25. See also Robert Lee Sigmon to Milton Ogle, December 3, 1964, CSM Papers, box 117.

30
. Robert Lee Sigmon to Milton Ogle, January 5, 1965, AV Papers, box 25. On the kindergarten program, see Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, July 30, 1965, and Quarterly Report—Terminal for Mill Creek Assignment, July 7, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

31
. Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, February 1, 1965, Robert Lee Sigmon to Milton Ogle, February 2, 1965, Quarterly Report, U.S. VISA Volunteer, Carol Irons, Mill Creek, Kentucky, October 9, 1964–December 21, 1964 (quotes), and Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, May 31, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

32
. Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, May 31, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

33
. Loyal Jones to Robert Lee Sigmon, October 19, 1964 (first quote), CSM Papers, box 117; Quarterly Report, U.S. VISA Volunteer, Carol Irons, Mill Creek, Kentucky, October 9, 1964–December 21, 1964 (other quotes), AV Papers, box 25. To his credit, Messer admitted that he was a Clay County activist at the time of the Mill Creek project. See Oral History Interview with Flem Messer, September 26, 1990, Danville, KY, WOP Oral History Project.

34
. Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, February 1, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

35
. Robert Lee Sigmon to Milton Ogle, February 2, 1965, Milton Ogle to Bob Sigmon, February 9, 1965, and Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, February 14, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

36
. Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, February 21, 1965, and Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, March 6, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

37
. Bob Sigmon to Milton Ogle, March 11, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

38
. Ibid.

39
. Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, February 21, 1965, Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, March 6, 1965 (first quote), Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, March 21, 1965, and Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, February 27, 1965 (second quote), AV Papers, box 25.

40
. Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, April 18, 1965, Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, April 26, 1965, Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, May 2, 1965, and Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, May 8, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

41
. Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, July 30, 1965, and Quarterly Report—Terminal for Mill Creek Assignment, July 7, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

42
. Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, May 31, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

43
. Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, May 31, 1965, Carol Irons to Milton Ogle, June 5, 1965, and Quarterly Report—Terminal for Mill Creek Assignment, July 7, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

44
. Quarterly Report—Terminal for Mill Creek Assignment, July 7, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

45
. Hampton, “Volunteers Pioneer Classes at Mill Creek,” 4.

46
. Robert Lee Sigmon to Loyal Jones, March 10, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

47
. Loyal Jones to Joe Powles, September 26, 1965, AV Papers, box 25.

48
. Loyal Jones to Robert Lee Sigmon, October 19, 1964, CSM Papers, box 117.

1
. Oral History Interview with Roslea Johnson, June 24, 1991, Des Moines, IA, WOP Oral History Project. (CSM records identify her as “Roselea,” but letters that she composed herself are signed “Roslea,” and the Berea College alumni directory lists her as “Roslea.” Hence, I use the latter throughout.) On Appalachian migration north in the 1940s, see esp. Berry,
Southern Migrants, Northern Exiles
,

2
. Oral History Interview with Roslea Johnson, June 24, 1991, Des Moines, IA, WOP Oral History Project.

3
. Ibid.

4
. Appalachian Volunteers: College Students Wage War on Poverty in Eastern Kentucky, [ca. 1964], AV Papers, box 39. The AVs claimed that Pike County had eighty-two one- and two-room schools, Perry fifty-eight, Knott forty-four, and Leslie fifty-six. Whisnant (
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 187) specifies that Pike County had seventy-five dilapidated schools, Floyd sixty-four, Perry fifty-one, Clay forty-nine, and Leslie forty-eight. Appalachian Volunteers By-Laws, [March 1964] (quotes), AV Papers, box 1. Figures on the renovation projects and volunteers recruited are in Appalachian Volunteers: First Year Working Draft, [1964], AV Papers, box 1.

5
. Final Report on Contract No. CC 6120 between the U.S.A. and the Council of the Southern Mountains, Inc., [ca. March 1965] (all quotes), AV Papers, box 3. The twelve campuses on which AV chapters operated at the time of this report were Alice Lloyd College, Ashland Community College, Berea College, Cumberland College, Eastern Kentucky State College, Georgetown College, Pikeville College, Southeast Christian College, Transylvania University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Kentucky–Prestonsburg, and the the University of Kentucky–Southeast Center. Two other campus units formed immediately after the first meeting. They were located at Union College and Morehead State College. See Appalachian Volunteers First Report, March 30, 1964, AV Papers, box 3.

6
. On community organizing as the AVs' ultimate goal, see Final Report on Contract No. CC 6120 between the U.S.A. and the Council of the Southern Mountains, Inc., [ca. March 1965], AV Papers, box 3. [Form Letter to Those] “Expressing Interest in the Work of the Council of the Southern Mountains,” [ca. 1965] (quote), AV Papers, box 23.

7
. Appalachian Volunteers Curriculum Enrichment, [1965], AV Papers, box 23.

8
. Ibid.

9
. Ibid. (emphasis added). As with other aspects of the AV program, what was considered “desirable” behavior was not specified. For a discussion of the “proper habits” that industrialists imposed on workers and their children in the early twentieth century, see Hennen,
The Americanization of West Virginia
,

10
. Appalachian Volunteers First Report, March 30, 1964, AV Papers, box 3.

11
. [Letter], To Those Undergraduates and Others Who Responded to the Appeal of the [CSM] for Volunteer Help in Meeting Current Crises of Need in Mountain Counties, December 28, 1963, AV Papers, box 1.

12
. Philip W. Conn to Harold Bennet, April 17, 1964, AV Papers, box 29.

13
. Perley Ayer to John Whisman, December 20, 1963, AV Papers, box 70.

14
. [Memorandum], Talk to Mark [Furstenburg]—[Milton] Ogle, n.d., AV Papers, box 1. Because this document appeared in the AV Papers, not the CSM Papers, it must have been generated just after the AV program—or at least the idea for the program—began. This would date it to late 1963 or, more likely, early 1964. According to one local newspaper, Whisman tried, as early as 1965, to “collect to himself the tight reins of control on all federal programs within Kentucky.” This included the state Office of Economic Opportunity programs, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the ARA. See
Whitesburg, KY, Mountain Eagle
, November 11, 1965, 1. See also Whisnant,
Modernizing the Mountaineer
, 144.

15
. Memorandum, John D. Whisman to Robert Kennedy, Attorney General of the United States and Chairman of the President's Study Group for a National Voluntary Service Program, [1963], John D. Whisman Papers, Area Program Office Series, Programs Subseries, Margaret I. King Library, University of Kentucky, Lexington. At the time of writing the Whisman Papers were not yet processed. I would like to thank Glen Taul for allowing me access to the collection while he organized it.

16
. Ibid. (quote); Summary of Active Projects in Special Winter Program for Eastern Kentucky, John D. Whisman Papers, Area Program Office Series, Programs Subseries.

17
. Appalachian Volunteers First Progress Report, March 31, 1964, AV Papers, box 21; Contract between the United States of America and Council of the Southern Mountains, Contract No. CC-6120, March 2, 1964, AV Papers, box 3; Department of Commerce, Area Redevelopment Administration Press Release, February 3, 1964, AV Papers, box 20; Standard Operating Procedures—Field Operations, [ca. 1964], AV Papers, box 20; Appalachian Volunteers Third Progress Report, May 1964 (first quote), AV Papers, box 3; [AV] Program Background, [ca. 1964] (second quote), AV Papers, box 1.