Richard Nixon and the rise of affirmative action : the pursuit of racial equality in an era of limits / Kevin L. Yuill.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Yuill, Kevin L., 1962-

Series:

American intellectual culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Civil rights--Government policy--United States--History--20th century.

Affirmative action programs--United States--History--20th century.

Affirmative action programs.

History.

Civil rights--Government policy.

Civil rights.

United States--Politics and government--1969-1974.

United States.

Politics and government.

Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994.

Physical Description:

viii, 265 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., [2006]

Summary:

In this enlightening and original new work, Kevin L. Yuill combines extensive archival research with a careful analysis of the intellectual climate of the era to examine not only the conditions that made Nixon's policy decisions possible in the 1970s but also what motivated Nixon to act in the way that he did. He argues that to understand why Nixon embraced affirmative action, one must fully take into account the shifting context of American liberalism in the 1970s. In particular, Yuill contends that although government-enforced affirmative action did not fit into the postwar, growth-oriented liberalism, it emerged as an important regulatory policy blueprint in an era increasingly characterized by diminished horizons for social policy. Nixon's efforts in moving the focus of U.S. race relations from reform to indemnifying damages, Yuill argues, at least equal his contributions to the origins of affirmative action through policy innovations. Controversial and far-reaching, Richard Nixon and the Rise of Affirmative Action brings fresh research and a much-needed reinterpretation to the crucial yet still enigmatic period, president, and policy.

Contents:

Introduction: "An Almost Hopeless Holding Action" 1

Part 1 From Myrdal to the Kerner Commission: The Rise and Fall of Barriers to Affirmative Action in the Postwar Period

1 The Postwar Intellectual Milieu and the Taboo Against Affirmative Action 17

2 Letting Sleeping Dogs Lie: Policy Making and Affirmative Action Before Nixon 33

3 The Liberal Crisis, 1965-1969 51

4 Legitimation Crisis 71

5 Affirmative Action: The Conservative Option 93

Part 2 Richard Nixon: Liberal Anti-Hero

6 The Genius of Deflation 115

7 The Philadelphia Plan 135

8 Revenue Sharing and Other Affirmative Actions 159

Part 3 Affirmative Action and the New Liberalism

9 Affirmative Action in an Age of Limits 187

10 Nixon: The Father of Identity Politics 209.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-258) and index.

ISBN:

0742549976

0742549984

OCLC:

62888895

Publisher Number:

9780742549975 (cloth : alk. paper)

9780742549982 (pbk. : alk. paper)