Oral history transcript, William M. Capron, interview 1 (I), 10/5/1981, by Michael L. Gillette

Title:

Oral history transcript, William M. Capron, interview 1 (I), 10/5/1981, by Michael L. Gillette

Number of Pages:

47

Description:

Capron's work on the Council of Economic Advisers in 1963; research and plans to address poverty issues in the Kennedy Administration; Capron's involvement in a Saturday lunch group that studied poverty issues and developed related program ideas in the summer of 1963; Robert Lampman's study of income distribution; the establishment of a task force to suggest poverty-related programs; Walter Heller's first meeting with LBJ to discuss what would become the Community Action Program (CAP); the early involvement in CAPs of Walter Heller, Kermit Gordon, Dave Hackett, Dick Boone, Paul Ylvisaker and Mitchell Sviridoff; a December 1963 cabinet meeting regarding CAPs; the argument over whether to develop a new agency for CAPs; Capron's 1963 view of how a new agency would function; the decision to put the Job Corps under the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO); the relationship between Sargent Shriver and Adam Yarmolinsky in the development of the War on Poverty task force; a Christmas 1963 meeting of cabinet members at the LBJ Ranch; the decision to use the term "War on Poverty"; Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) and Department of Labor resistance to placing War on Poverty programs under a newly created agency; Sargent Shriver's selection as head of the War on Poverty task force and early task force meetings; Willard Wirtz' opposition to War on Poverty planning; LBJ's view of the War on Poverty; Capron's involvement in the Heineman Task Force on Government Organization; Daniel Patrick Moynihan's role in the War on Poverty task force; weaknesses in programs addressing the rural poor; the development of CAPs and Saul Alinsky's influence on CAP administration; controversy over CAPs bypassing local government authority; the lack of understanding in Congress and the White House of the implications of the 1965 CAP bill.

Contributor:

Capron, William M.

Collection:

LBJ Library Oral Histories

Collection Description:

Go to List of Holdings

Series:

Transcripts of LBJ Library Oral Histories

See Also:

See all online interviews with William M. Capron

Relation:

Go to Interviewee bio page

Rights:

Possibly copyright restricted: see deed at end of transcript for details