Due to the War on Poverty, poverty fell by more than half from 1959 (22.4%) to 1973 (11.1%)
“Amid the strong economy of the 1960s and the War on Poverty, the poverty rate fell from 22.4 percent to 11.1 percent from 1959 and 1973. In the 1990s, a strong economy was combined with policies to promote and support work. The poverty rate dropped from 15.1 percent to 11.3 percent between 1993 and 2000.” p 9
"From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to cut poverty in half." April 2007. Center for American Progress: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/04/pdf/poverty_report.pdf [verified 4/15/14]