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The Origins of Affirmative Action: Civil Rights and the Regulatory State

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  • HUGH DAVIS GRAHAM

Abstract

Affirmative action policy developed during the 1960s and 1970s in two phases that embodied conflicting traditions of government regulation. The first phase, culminating in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, was shaped by the presidency and Congress and emphasized nondiscrimination under a “race-blind Constitution,†The second phase, shaped primarily by federal agencies and courts, witnessed a shift toward minority preferences during the Nixon administration. The development of two new agencies created to enforce the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title VII and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance under Title VI, demonstrates the tensions between the two regulatory traditions and the evolution of federal policy from nondiscrimination to minority preferences under the rubric of affirmative action. The result has strengthened the economic and political base of the civil rights coalition while weakening its moral claims in public opinion.

Suggested Citation

  • Hugh Davis Graham, 1992. "The Origins of Affirmative Action: Civil Rights and the Regulatory State," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 523(1), pages 50-62, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:523:y:1992:i:1:p:50-62
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716292523001006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Donohue, John J, III & Heckman, James, 1991. "Continuous versus Episodic Change: The Impact of Civil Rights Policy on the Economic Status of Blacks," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 29(4), pages 1603-1643, December.
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