The enactment of anti-discrimination *policy in the United States, 1937–1967: Bringing the states back in
Abstract
The central purpose of this research is to explain variation in the adoption of antidiscrimination laws in the U.S. states. Explanations of policy change are explored by focusing on the timing and location of fair employment and fair housing laws in the forty-eight contiguous states of the United States of America between 1937 and 1967. In an effort to move beyond the forced choice of studying either protest or policymaking, event history analysis (EHA) is employed to formally test and adjudicate between contending theories of policy formation. Theories of modernization, political interest/demand, state capacity/opportunity and diffusion are tested. Empirical results favor a synthetic “challenger/environment” based model that demonstrates the likelihood of policy reform is greatest when there is a confluence of interests, organization and opportunities. Interest groups can't force reform upon lawmakers, nor do politicians engage in reform without external pressure. Ultimately, it is the intersection of challenger mobilization and political instability that predicts policy change. This research also highlights micro-histories as a valuable link in further understanding the “event histories” of legislative change. Using New York, Michigan and California as illustrative cases, a more detailed examination of historical circumstances is considered, including a discussion of the way history and geography complement the formal quantitative findings of this research.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Hogan, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Social structure|American history|Minority & ethnic groups|Sociology
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