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Civil Rights Act of 1964
• JFK backed it after Birmingham marches• LBJ gave it key push• Main provisions:
– Banned segregation in education and public accommodations.
– No federal funds for states/agencies that discriminate (shared federalism at work).
– Barred job discrimination on the basis of race, religion, and gender. Create EEOC to enforce.
Voting Rights Act, 1965
• End literacy test, poll taxes etc
• Federal officers could be sent into the state to register voters directly.
• Covered states had to obtain clearance from Justice Dept. before changing election laws.
• Results:– African American registration / turnout soared
– Number of African American elected officials increased dramatically
Motivating Collective Action
R = p*b – c
R = Rewards for participating
p = Probability you will make a difference
b = Benefits if you succeed
c = Cost to participate
Logic(s) propelling civil rights• Logic 1. Institutions Matter:
– Federalism (Slows national majorities)– Courts (Dred Scott, Plessey, Brown v. Board)– Enforcement (Brown v. Board)
• Logic 2. Strategic Politicians: – Adapt to new issues (lessons of 1848)– Reconstruction to retain Republican power– Civil Rights Leaders
• Logic 3. Elections make politicians agents of their constituents:– Failure of Reconstruction, Onset of Jim Crow – Northern Migration and Second Reconstruction
Logic(s) propelling civil rights
•Logic 4. Voters are not like politicians: – Public sentiment can be inflamed (Dred Scott, Civil Rights)– Slow to adapt to new party positions
•Logic 5. Collective action problems at center of politics:– Abolitionist Movement– Civil Rights Movement
Were we a nation of cowards?
The Presidency
• The Constitutional Presidency– Key features– The President as “clerk and wartime
commander”
• The Rise of the Modern Presidency• Tools of the Modern President
– Bargaining / Persuasion– Going Public– Command (Unilateral action)
Framers and the Presidency
• The Framers Presidency– Allows for quick and concerted action during
times of national crisis.– Power recede when crisis over.
• Rejected a plural executive– Avoids collective action problems– Allows clear line of responsibility
The President As Commander in Chief
• The Constitution: president is commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces.
• Checked the president’s powers by making it so ONLY CONGRESS can declare war.
FDR with Churchill andStalin at Yalta -- NationalArchives.
The President As Head of State
• Broad authority to transact diplomatic affairs.
• Washington claimed authority to recognize new governments – Truman recognized the
state of Israel.
• Main check is Senate’s Treaty Ratification Power (2/3 vote)
Amb. Eliahu Klath of Israel presents Truman with a silver ark to hold the Scrolls of Law in 1948.
President has a limited legislative role in the Constitution
• Call special session of Congress
• Veto (subject to override)
• Report on State of the Union and recommend measures that he believes are “necessary and expedient”
The President as Chief Executive
• “The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of America.”– Does not define this power.
• Power to appoint top government officers (but Senate confirmation)– Allows Congress to create Departments
• “Take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”
19th Century President: Clerk and Wartime Commander
•Spent time giving out patronage jobs
•Cabinet government
•Wartime leadership – e.g. Lincoln in Civil War.
The Modern Presidency
• Chief Legislator– Sets much of the agenda for Congress– President’s Program (OMB “Clearance”)
• Manager of massive bureaucracy– Executive Office of the President (1939)– Increased use of executive orders
• Popular leader
• Leader of Military Superpower
Explaining the Modern Presidency
• Increased government role in economy– Forces Congress to delegate
• Rise of US as world power
• Crises became routine
• Public expectations
But do expectations exceed capacity under Constitution?
Insert Figure 13.4 here
Power as Persuasion
• Richard Neustadt, Presidential Power
• What is persuasion (according to Neustadt)?
• Importance of professional reputation– Skill– Toughness (deliver on
commitments)