How many Americans lived below the poverty line in the 1950s?

The most recent statistic I was able to find for Americans
living below the poverty line in the 1950s places the rate at 22.4%, more than one in
five.  Keep in mind this was before there were anti-poverty programs such as food
stamps, welfare and education programs.  These came into being largely during Lyndon
Johnson's administration in the 1960s and his War on Poverty
programs.

These programs, while expensive and not
addressing the root causes of poverty very directly, cut the overall poverty rate in
half, to just over 11%.  Since that time it has climbed again to nearly one in six
Americans today.