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The Resource The color of welfare : how racism undermined the war on poverty, Jill Quadagno

The color of welfare : how racism undermined the war on poverty, Jill Quadagno

Creator
Summary
Thirty years after Lyndon Johnson declared a War on Poverty, the United States still lags behind most Western democracies in national welfare systems, lacking such basic programs as national health insurance and child care support. Some critics have explained the failure of social programs by citing our tradition of individual freedom and libertarian values, while others point to weaknesses within the working class. In The Color of Welfare, Jill Quadagno takes exception to these claims, placing race at the center of the "American Dilemma," as Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal did half a century ago. The "American creed" of liberty, justice, and equality clashed with a history of active racial discrimination, says Quadagno. It is racism that has undermined the War on Poverty, and America must come to terms with this history if there is to be any hope of addressing welfare reform today. From Reconstruction to Lyndon Johnson and beyond, Quadagno reveals how American social policy has continually foundered on issues of race. Drawing on extensive primary research, Quadagno shows, for instance, how Roosevelt, in need of support from southern congressmen, excluded African Americans from the core programs of the Social Security Act. Turning to Lyndon Johnson's "unconditional war on poverty," she contends that though anti-poverty programs for job training, community action, health care, housing, and education accomplished much, they were not fully realized because they became inextricably intertwined with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, which triggered a white backlash. Job training programs became affirmative action programs, programs to improve housing became programs to integrate housing, programs that began as community action to upgrade the quality of life in the cities were taken over by local civil rights groups. This shift of emphasis eventually alienated white, working-class Americans, who had some of the same needs - for health care, subsidized housing, and job training opportunities - but who got very little from these programs. At the same time, affirmative action clashed openly with organized labor, and housing programs raised protests from the white suburban middle-class, who didn't want their neighborhoods integrated. Quadagno shows that Nixon, who initially supported many of Johnson's programs, eventually caught on that the white middle class was disenchanted. He realized that his grand plan for welfare reform, the Family Assistance Plan, threatened to undermine wages in the South and alienate the Republican party's new constituency - white, southern Democrats - and therefore dropped it. In the 1960s, the United States embarked on a journey to resolve the "American Dilemma." Yet instead of finally instituting full democratic rights for all its citizens, the policies enacted in that turbulent decade failed dismally. The Color of Welfare reveals the root cause of this failure - the inability to address racial inequality
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
viii, 254 pages
Contents
  • The equal opportunity welfare state
  • Unfinished democracy
  • Fostering political participation
  • Extending equal employment opportunity
  • Abandoning the American dream
  • The politics of welfare reform
  • The politics of motherhood
  • Universal principles in social security
  • Rebuilding the welfare state
  • Explaining American exceptionalism
Isbn
9780195101225
Link
Instance
Label
The color of welfare : how racism undermined the war on poverty
Title
The color of welfare
Title remainder
how racism undermined the war on poverty
Statement of responsibility
Jill Quadagno
Creator
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
Thirty years after Lyndon Johnson declared a War on Poverty, the United States still lags behind most Western democracies in national welfare systems, lacking such basic programs as national health insurance and child care support. Some critics have explained the failure of social programs by citing our tradition of individual freedom and libertarian values, while others point to weaknesses within the working class. In The Color of Welfare, Jill Quadagno takes exception to these claims, placing race at the center of the "American Dilemma," as Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal did half a century ago. The "American creed" of liberty, justice, and equality clashed with a history of active racial discrimination, says Quadagno. It is racism that has undermined the War on Poverty, and America must come to terms with this history if there is to be any hope of addressing welfare reform today. From Reconstruction to Lyndon Johnson and beyond, Quadagno reveals how American social policy has continually foundered on issues of race. Drawing on extensive primary research, Quadagno shows, for instance, how Roosevelt, in need of support from southern congressmen, excluded African Americans from the core programs of the Social Security Act. Turning to Lyndon Johnson's "unconditional war on poverty," she contends that though anti-poverty programs for job training, community action, health care, housing, and education accomplished much, they were not fully realized because they became inextricably intertwined with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, which triggered a white backlash. Job training programs became affirmative action programs, programs to improve housing became programs to integrate housing, programs that began as community action to upgrade the quality of life in the cities were taken over by local civil rights groups. This shift of emphasis eventually alienated white, working-class Americans, who had some of the same needs - for health care, subsidized housing, and job training opportunities - but who got very little from these programs. At the same time, affirmative action clashed openly with organized labor, and housing programs raised protests from the white suburban middle-class, who didn't want their neighborhoods integrated. Quadagno shows that Nixon, who initially supported many of Johnson's programs, eventually caught on that the white middle class was disenchanted. He realized that his grand plan for welfare reform, the Family Assistance Plan, threatened to undermine wages in the South and alienate the Republican party's new constituency - white, southern Democrats - and therefore dropped it. In the 1960s, the United States embarked on a journey to resolve the "American Dilemma." Yet instead of finally instituting full democratic rights for all its citizens, the policies enacted in that turbulent decade failed dismally. The Color of Welfare reveals the root cause of this failure - the inability to address racial inequality
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Quadagno, Jill S
Dewey number
305.5/69/0973
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
HN59
LC item number
.Q28 1994
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • United States
  • Economic assistance, Domestic
  • Poor
  • United States
  • United States
  • Aide au développement économique régional
  • Pauvres
  • États-Unis
  • États-Unis
  • Economic assistance, Domestic
  • Poor
  • Race relations
  • Social policy
  • United States
  • Sociale politiek
  • Sociale voorzieningen
  • Armoede
  • Rassenongelijkheid
  • Rassendiskriminierung
  • Sozialpolitik
  • USA
  • Sozialpolitik
  • Rassendiskriminierung
  • USA
Label
The color of welfare : how racism undermined the war on poverty, Jill Quadagno
Link
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-240) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
The equal opportunity welfare state -- Unfinished democracy -- Fostering political participation -- Extending equal employment opportunity -- Abandoning the American dream -- The politics of welfare reform -- The politics of motherhood -- Universal principles in social security -- Rebuilding the welfare state -- Explaining American exceptionalism
Control code
ocm29315669
Dimensions
22 cm
Extent
viii, 254 pages
Isbn
9780195101225
Lccn
93041892
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
9780195101225
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (Sirsi) o29315669
  • (OCoLC)29315669
Label
The color of welfare : how racism undermined the war on poverty, Jill Quadagno
Link
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-240) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
The equal opportunity welfare state -- Unfinished democracy -- Fostering political participation -- Extending equal employment opportunity -- Abandoning the American dream -- The politics of welfare reform -- The politics of motherhood -- Universal principles in social security -- Rebuilding the welfare state -- Explaining American exceptionalism
Control code
ocm29315669
Dimensions
22 cm
Extent
viii, 254 pages
Isbn
9780195101225
Lccn
93041892
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
9780195101225
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (Sirsi) o29315669
  • (OCoLC)29315669

Subject

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