A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution
Former professor Nichols (Lincoln and the Indians) spotlights President Eisenhower's efforts to eliminate discrimination within the definite areas of Federal responsibility, aiming to end the myth that Eisenhower was personally and politically opposed to the enactment and enforcement of civil rights legislation. Nichols builds his argument on Eisenhower's actions: desegregation of the District of Columbia and the armed forces, as well as his support of justice Earl Warren and use of the military to enforce theBrownv.Board of Educationdecision. He attributes skepticism about Eisenhower's motives to the president's restrained rhetorical style, arguing that Eisenhower's embrace of a traditional interpretation of the separation of powers led to his silences. That he was a gradualist and shared misconceptions about black people common to white politicians of his era may have played a role as well. That he called firmly for obedience to law... yet undermined that demand by asserting how little law could accomplish certainly diminished his civil rights reputation. Nichols takes potshots at Harry Truman and Warren, attributes Lyndon Johnson's actions to his presidential ambitions and John F. Kennedy's promises of progress to campaign rhetoric, giving this otherwise balanced study an opinionated bent. B&w photos not seen byPW.(Sept.)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.