While previous federal programs were very focused on specific sectors of society, these did not encompass the needs of society as a whole. The problems of poverty and lower-income families for example remained, and where no longer related to the war effort. The President articulated these needs as he regarded them in January 1965, when he delivered his education message. Not only, according to the President, was there a need among lower and middle-income families, but small and less developed colleges were also in the need of assistance for their development and an improvement in the education standard.. Furthermore, additional and improved library resources were needed to improve the standard of higher education in general (Cervantes et al., 2005). Poverty and community development furthermore needed to be addressed by legislation. President Johnson acknowledged previous Government efforts by appointing former President Truman as chairman for his education advisory committee. As seen above, Truman was concerned with education, but his efforts in this regard were shaped by the war. Johnson no longer had this problem and could concentrate fully on general upliftment and human resources in the country.

It is interesting to note that the President personally played a very significant role in the successful entry of the Act into United States law. He for example met with bankers who were unwilling to provide loans to students with no financial history or collateral. The President however emphasized the various ways in which this would be beneficial not only for the banks in future financial terms, but also for the country as a whole. Of course the loans would be granted to students showing specific academic promise, but without the finances to pay for further education. Obtaining this education would provide them with the opportunity to enter the workplace at a higher level than would otherwise be the case. Banks...

Hence the President not only appealed to the bankers' financial logic, but also to their sense of civic duty (Cervantes et al., 2005). This was however only the beginning of a long and involved process to establish the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Precursors of the November 8 signing for example included proposals to increase and improve educational resources for use at universities and colleges, and financial assistance to students leaving high school. These were introduced in the House under the bills H.R. 3220 and H.R. 3221 On January 19, 1965. Teacher training programs were proposed and introduced in the Senate on July 19, 1965, as Bill S.2302. Further precursory bills were introduced, including H.R. 9567 reported on July 14, 1965. This bill included several provisions of the previous bills, together with suggestions from officials involved in higher education. It was sent to the Senate on August 26, and passed on September 2. After President Johnson's signature on November 8, the Higher Education Act became Public Law 89-329. After this time, the Act has been amended periodically in order to maintain validity in terms of educational needs and development throughout the decades (McCants, 2003).

The HEA is particularly significant in terms of funding for higher education since the 1940s, as programs during the 1940s and 1950s mainly focused on war veterans. For the first time, the general public received the opportunity to improve and uplift themselves through further education, and education institutions received much-needed upgrades.

Sources

Cervantes, A., Creusere, Marlena, McMillion, R., McQueen, C., Short, M., Steiner, M. And Webster, J. (2005, Nov.). "Opening the Doors to Higher Education: Perspectives on the Higher Education Act 40 Years Later." TG Research and Analytical Services. http://www.tgslc.org/pdf/HEA_History.pdf.

Graham, Patricia Albjerg. (2006, January). "Higher Education in America." Oxford University Press Blog. http://blog.oup.com/oupblog/2006/01/higher_educatio.html

McCants, J. (2003, Feb 2). "The Early History of the Higher Education Act of 1965." http://www.cnm.edu/depts/trio/downloads/History_Higher_Education_Act_06-05-06.pdf.