American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom

by Walton, Hanes; Smith, Robert C.

• ISBN13: 9780321070388
• ISBN10: 0321070380
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-12-01
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Summary

This dynamic new book from two nationally renowned scholars is the first one to comprehensively examine the African American experience in American politics. Taking the standard topics and addressing them from the African American perspective, this book goes one step further than similar books by showing readers the profound influence African Americans have had on American government and politics.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	ix
List of Figures	xiii
List of Boxes	xv
Preface	xvii
About the Authors	xxi
PART I Foundations	1	(38)
Universal Freedom Declared, Universal Freedom Denied: Racism, Slavery, and the Ideology of White Supremacy in the Founding of the Republic	3	(16)
Freedom: A Typological Analysis	4	(1)
Freedom, Power, and Politics	5	(6)
Philosophy, Politics, and Interest in Constitution Formation	11	(8)
Federalism and the Limits of Universal Freedom	19	(20)
Federalism: Origins and Operations in the United States	21	(5)
Reconstruction, the New Deal, and the Civil-Rights Movement: The Triumph of National-Centered Power	26	(2)
The Fourteenth Amendment: The American Charter of Universal Freedom	28	(11)
PART II Political Behaviorism	39	(48)
Political Culture	41	(10)
The Concept of Political Culture and the Invisibility of African Americans	41	(1)
The Literature on the African American Political Culture	42	(1)
The African American Political Culture: An Empirical Estimation	43	(8)
Political Socialization	51	(11)
Gunnar Myrdal and the Political Socialization of African Americans	51	(1)
The Literature on African American Political Socialization	52	(4)
African American Political Socialization: An Empirical Estimation of Religion and the Church as Agents	56	(6)
Public Opinion	62	(12)
Gunnar Myrdal and African American Public Opinion	62	(1)
Modern Racism	63	(4)
African American Ideology: Liberalism	67	(3)
African American Ideology: Black Nationalism	70	(4)
African Americans and the Media	74	(13)
Gunnar Myrdal and the African American Media	74	(2)
The African American Media and African Americans in the Mass Media	76	(4)
The African American Media Variable: An Empirical Estimation	80	(7)
PART III Coalitions, Movements, Interest Groups, Parties, and Elections	87	(88)
Social Movements and a Theory of African American Coalition Politics	89	(29)
A Theory of African American Coalition Politics	90	(3)
The First Rights-Based Movement: The Abolitionist Coalition	93	(4)
Material-Based Coalition From Populism to Communism	97	(3)
The Second Rights-Based Coalition: The Civil Rights Movement	100	(4)
The Black Power Movement and the Transformation from Movement to Interest Group Politics	104	(1)
The Dual Impact of Black Power: Radicalism and Reform	105	(13)
Interest Groups	118	(18)
Black Groups, the ``Black Agenda,'' and the Problem of Resource Constraint	118	(7)
Black Nationalist Movements	125	(11)
Political Parties	136	(21)
African American Party Behavior: The Group and the Individual Dimensions	139	(7)
African American Party Convention Behavior	146	(11)
Voting Behavior and Elections	157	(18)
Electoral Power: The Theory and Practice of the ``Balance of Power'' Concept	164	(3)
African American Voting Behavior: Empirical Renderings	167	(8)
PART IV Institutions	175	(86)
The Congress and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom	177	(17)
The Representation of African Americans in Congress	178	(2)
Congressional Elections and African Americans	180	(2)
African American Power in the House	182	(1)
African Americans in the Congressional Power Structure	183	(2)
Congressional Responsiveness to the African American Quest for Universal Rights and Freedom	185	(4)
Material-Based Rights: From Forty Acres and a Mule to the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act	189	(5)
The Presidency and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom	194	(20)
Abraham Lincoln: The Paradigmatic President	194	(6)
The Racial Attitudes and Policies of American Presidents from George Washington to Bill Clinton	200	(1)
The Presidency and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom: From the Revolutionary Era to the Post-Civil Rights Era	200	(14)
The Supreme Court and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom	214	(22)
Judicial Appointments and African Americans	216	(1)
How Should the Constitution Be Interpreted: Judicial Restraint Versus Judicial Activism and the Implications for Universal Freedom	216	(2)
The Supreme Court and African Americans: Rights-Based and Material-Based Cases	218	(5)
Rights-Based Cases	223	(4)
Material-Based Cases: Affirmative Action	227	(9)
The Bureaucracy and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom	236	(25)
The Nature of the Federal Bureaucracy	237	(1)
Creating a Bureaucracy with Race as a Mission: The Role of Necessity	237	(4)
Running the Bureaucracy: African American Political Appointees	241	(7)
Staffing the Bureaucracy: African American Civil Servants	248	(4)
Shaping Bureaucratic Policy: Antidiscrimination Rule Making	252	(1)
The Clinton Administration and Civil Rights Regulatory Reform	253	(3)
Bureaucratic Implementation: Federalism and States' Rights	256	(5)
PART V Public Policy	261	(42)
Domestic Policy and the African American Quest for Social and Economic Justice	263	(16)
The Federal Government, the Economy, and the Welfare State	263	(1)
African Americans and the Quest for Full Employment	264	(1)
The Failure of Universal Employment	265	(3)
Consequences of the Failure of Full Employment on the African American Community	268	(2)
Unemployment, Poverty, and the African American Family	270	(1)
Ending Welfare as We Know It	270	(9)
The African American Quest for Universal Freedom and U. S. Foreign Policy	279	(24)
African Americans as Foreign Policy Implementors/Managers	280	(4)
African Americans as Foreign Policy Dissenters	284	(5)
Trans Africa: African Americans as Foreign Policy Makers	289	(2)
African Americans and Citizen Diplomacy: Historical Background and Context	291	(3)
The Impact of African Americans on U. S. Foreign Policy	294	(9)
Appendix	303	(26)
The Declaration of Independence	305	(4)
The Constitution of the United States of America	309	(16)
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s ``I Have a Dream'' Speech	325	(4)
Index	329