Racial Stratification, Intellectual History, and Presidential Action in the Civil Rights Domain |
| |
| Authors: | Ronald E Brown |
| |
| Institution: | Ronald E. Brown (Ph.D., Michigan) is an associate professor of political science at Wayne State University. His major interests include the study of the influence of race and religion on African-American pohtical life. He is currently working on an edited co-dmed bok, Black Political Participation, which is tobe published by Sage Pubkaiions. Professor Brown has co-authored articles in the American Political Science Review and the National Review of Political Science. |
| |
| Abstract: | Using an historical approach, this paper assesses the role of the American presidency in the pursuit of civil rights policy. The basic argument is that the drivingforces in the passage of civil rights policies since Reconstruction have been external pressures on the presidency. Rather than being protagonists in the progression of civil rights, presidents are portrayed as political actors primarily interested in maintaining social order and attracting African-American votes. Rarely have presidents pushed for civil rights progress outside of that context. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
