The Pursuit of Fairness: A History of Affirmative Action [Paperback]

Terry H. Anderson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195182456 | ISBN-13: 978-0195182453 | Publication Date: June 9, 2005

Affirmative action strikes at the heart of deeply held beliefs about employment and education, about fairness, and about the troubled history of race relations in America. Published on the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, this is the only book available that gives readers a balanced, non-polemical, and lucid account of this highly contentious issue. Beginning with the roots of affirmative action, Anderson describes African-American demands for employment in the defense industry--spearheaded by A. Philip Randolph's threatened March on Washington in July 1941--and the desegregation of the armed forces after World War II. He investigates President Kennedy's historic 1961 executive order that introduced the term "affirmative action" during the early years of the civil rights movement and he examines President Johnson's attempts to gain equal opportunities for African Americans. He describes President Nixon's expansion of affirmative action with the Philadelphia Plan--which the Supreme Court upheld--along with President Carter's introduction of "set asides" for minority businesses and the Bakke ruling which allowed the use of race as one factor in college admissions. By the early 1980s many citizens were becoming alarmed by affirmative action, and that feeling was exemplified by the Reagan administration's backlash, which resulted in the demise and revision of affirmative action during the Clinton years. He concludes with a look at the University of Michigan cases of 2003, the current status of the policy, and its impact. Throughout, the author weighs each side of every issue--often finding merit in both arguments--resulting in an eminently fair account of one of America's most heated debates.
A colorful history that brings to life the politicians, legal minds, and ordinary people who have fought for or against affirmative action, The Pursuit of Fairness helps clear the air and calm the emotions, as it illuminates a difficult and critically important issue.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Anderson (The Movement and the Sixties), a history professor at Texas A&M, offers a straightforward political history of affirmative action. He traces the genesis of the policy to the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, which made efforts at nondiscrimination in public works projects and the military. The Civil Rights movement birthed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as well as lingering questions about how to prove discrimination, how to enforce antidiscrimination orders and whether preferences were needed to overcome past discrimination. The zenith of affirmative action, it turns out, came under Richard Nixon, whose secretary of labor, George Shultz, required federal contractors to set goals and targets for minority employment. The concept soon wound up in the courts, and Anderson provides good summaries of relevant cases, from the 1978 Bakke decision to last year's cases involving the University of Michigan. The backlash began in the 1980s, under Ronald Reagan, as enforcement lagged and the Justice Department sought cases to curtail affirmative action. In the 1990s, the rhetoric shifted to "diversity," an easier concept for politicians to embrace, and university systems in California and Texas were forced to give up preferences. (The winners at select universities: Asians.) Many cities and businesses have institutionalized the policy, and affirmative action has created a very different workplace in 40 years—with little damage to firm competitiveness or fair employment practices, says the author. Still, Anderson concludes by acknowledging a host of questions about whom the policy should help. Though Anderson aims at an evenhanded tone, he could have paid more attention to notable polemics on this topic. He omits examination of affirmative action programs in the U.S. military and would have done well to at least note some international experiences. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A carefully researched and highly detailed analysis of the development of affirmative action policy in the United States.... A useful place for interested people to learn the fascinating history of this controversial policy.... A readable and balanced treatment of an important policy issue that has divided Americans for decades."--J. Edward Kellough, The American Journal of Legal History

"Anderson has written an excellent book that lives up to its claim of presenting an accessible and balanced account of a highly complex story. Everybody who is interested in the issue must start with this book."--Manfred Berg, American Studies: A Quarterly

"A good place to get your bearings. He makes clear that the best defense of affirmative action has always been that the alternatives to it are even worse."--David L. Chappell, The New York Times "Succeeds in presenting a dispassionate examination of affirmative action--not easy to do.... Anderson's dispassionate treatment of his subject flows from his seeing it as part of a narrow pursuit of economic fairness rather than as part of the broader pursuit of social justice."--Ted Van Dyk, Washington Post Book World

"Excellent...a very well-written, very scholarly, and very fair examination.... His use of sources, both original and secondary, provides the reader with an understanding of the political and economic dynamics of establishing affirmative action programs.... Highly recommended."--The Journal of American History

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Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195182456
• ISBN-13: 978-0195182453
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #647,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The origins of affirmative action, February 22, 2005

By 

David A. Ward "David A. Ward" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pursuit of Fairness: A History of Affirmative Action (Hardcover)

This is an important history of the origins of affirmative action as a social policy for remedying racial inequality in the United States. In contrast to popular belief, affirmative action did not emerge full-blown in the late 1960s, as Anderson demonstrates we can trace its origins to the 1930s and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal policy agenda. The book proceeds through the post World War II era to to show how thinking about such policy inititatives have shifted and changed up through the 1990s. Anderson concludes with the recent lawsuits filed against the University of Michigan and the Supreme Court's decisions on these two cases - Grutter and Gratz. The book tends to focus overly much on political history (as in politicians and the federal government) and less on grass roots social movements that forced such policy formations into the public domain. Nevertheless, it is an excellent resource for teaching undergraduates about the history of affirmative action in the U.S.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to affirmative action history, August 6, 2005

By 

pr52David - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pursuit of Fairness: A History of Affirmative Action (Hardcover)

Terry Anderson's book is the place to start for anyone who wishes to understand affirmative action's complex and perplexing story. Anderson's account is balanced and information packed and makes for good reading in addtion.