Http://. Civil Rights Act of 1964 JFK backed it after Birmingham marches LBJ gave it key push Main provisions: –Banned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9kT1yO4MGg

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)