Without the black American something irrepressibly hopeful and creative would go out of the American spirit, and the nation might well succumb to the moral slobbism that has ever threatened its existence from within. Race relations have been the sternest test of the founding principles throughout American history, and racial dilemmas have been responsible for the most important changes in the Constitution. Furthermore, racial issues have had a tremendous impact on all our major institutions, our electoral politics, and the very nature of our concept of nationhood.
Issues involving race relations continue to influence contemporary American politics.
In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement brought race issues back to the forefront of our national politics, where they have remained ever since. The pre-eminence of these issues has contributed to the rise of the Republican party in presidential politics in the last few decades, and the failure of any Democrat, except Jimmy Carter in 1976, to approach fifty percent of the vote since 1964. The makeup of our major institutions continues to be influenced by racial considerations, and many of the most controversial public issues involve race. A sophisticated understanding of contemporary American politics requires an understanding of how and why racial issues have been and are so important in American politics. It is the aim of the course to give students a background in the role that race plays in our politics.