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The Miller Plan: An argument for Providing Universal Coverage in the United States Through a Single-Payer Health Care System
No full textThe United States and South Africa are the only industrialized nations in the world that do not offer universal coverage of health care services. One of the most confusing ideas in the health care debate is the differences between universal access and universal coverage. "Universal access is a method of making health care coverage available and affordable to all our citizens. Universal coverage is a required funding mechanism for the methods derived through universal access. " Universal coverage requires all individuals to obtain health care coverage. The only effective way to provide universal coverage is for the federal government to control the health care industry. This thesis proposes that the United States offer universal coverage to all in need. The most effective way to assure universal coverage is to provide it through a single-payer plan similar to the system in Canada. This thesis does not suggest that the United States copy the Canadian style health care system, however the U. S. could learn a lot by watching similar systems throughout the world.The Miller Plan: An arguement for
Providing Universal Coverage in the
United States Through a Single-Payer
Health Care System.
A Senior Thesis By Wade Miller
For Professor Chris Gilbert
Monday May 24, 1999
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Table Of Contents
Chapter 1
Introduction
Chapter 2
The Current Status of Health Care in
the United States
Chapter 3
The Problem of Insurance
Chapter 4
The Economics of Health Care
Chapter 5
Academic Medicine and Mental Health
Chapter 6
The Miller Plan: The Conclusion
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Chapter 1
Introduction
In 1994 People magazine ran a story that
summarizes the situation of health care in the
United States. The first section describes a
Colorado family that is reduced to poverty to
provide the care they need. 1 The Reed family
needed access to services for their autistic
child. The cost of those services were almost
14,400. The Reeds answer to their
1 William Plummer, "A Bitter Pill: as Congress debates the merits of universal health care, three American
families cope with the disastrously high toll oflong-term illness," People Weekly 29 Aug. 1994: 42.
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situation is, "Our society can afford health
insurance for all its citizens ... that we fail to
do so makes us less than civilized. " 3
The current system of health care is failing
to allow people to access the care they need.
Statistics say that the number of uninsured
Americans is over 40 million. 4 There are no signs
that the number of uninsured in the United States
will not continue to rise without serious and
speedy reform.
The United States and South Africa are the
only industrialized nations in the world that do
not offer universal coverage of health care
services. One of the most confusing ideas in the
health care debate is the differences between
universal access and universal coverage.
"Universal access is a method of making health
care coverage available and affordable to all our
citizens. Universal coverage is a required
funding mechanism for the methods derived through
2 Plummer 42
3
Plummer42
4 Eric Weissenstein, "What about the uninsured? Achieving universal coverage no longer a burning issue,"
Modem Health Care 7 April 1997: 122.
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universal access. " 5 Universal coverage requires
all individuals to obtain health care coverage.
The only effective way to provide universal
coverage is for the federal government to control
the health care industry. This thesis proposes
that the United States offer universal coverage
to all in need. The most effective way to assure
universal coverage is to provide it through a
single-payer plan similar to the system in
Canada. This thesis dose not suggest that the
United States copy the Canadian style health care
system, however the U. S. could learn a lot by
watching similar systems throughout the world.
The next chapter will discuss the current
system of health care in the United States. It
will focus on its problems and the need for
reform. The third chapter explains how the
health insurance industry stops people from
gaining access to health care services. It will
go into further discussion on the reasons
insurance reform will never solve the problems of
the uninsured. The first half of the fourth
5 Robert M. Tenery Jr., "Don't confuse universal access with universal coverage," American Medical News
9 May 1994: 30.
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•
•
chapter examines t task of funding universal
coverage in the· un ed States. The second half
examines the struc . , re of cost containment in
It
Germany and its po&ibilities for containing
health care costs ih the United States. The . -:,
fifth chapter discusses the importance of
universal coverage to academic medicine and the
possibility and necessity for mental health
coverage under universal coverage. The sixth
chapter provides an outline for the Miller Plan.
The Miller Plan combines the theories discussed
in the first 5 chapters to provide an outline for
a possible universal coverage system in the
United States.
Universal coverage is a necessity in the
United States. It is disgusting to think that
the world's only superpower is a rogue nation in
health care reform. The United States has the
power and resources to provide universal coverage
to everyone that needs it. The following is a
discussion of the forces that work to help or
postpone universal coverage in the United States.
There is no doubt that the United States is in
need of serious health care reform. The question
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that this thesis attempts to answer is what shape
United States health care reform should take and
to what extent should these reforms attempt to
provide universal coverage.
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Chapter 2
The Current Status of Health Care in the
United States
The state of health care access in the United
States is disturbing. The current system of delivering
health care services largely depends on a person's ability
to buy healt.h insurance for themselves and their families.
The economy is strong and people should have a fairly
simple time purchasing a health insurance plan on their
own. However, the problem of the uninsured is not going
away. Contrary to what the strength of, purchasing power,
of individuals in the United States would tell us, the
number of Americans without health insurance is a major
source of concern.
During the 1992 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton
and many other candidates ran on platforms that included if
not focused on the need for health care reform in the
United States. In fact, When Bill Clinton became president
of the United States as a result of that election, he and
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his administration had high hopes that their term in office
would be recognized by the enormous success of providing
the United States with universal coverage. The most
concrete plan that administration could develop was one in
which universal coverage would be met through employer
mandates. However, the employer mandate was a failure
because it could never provide universal coverage. A
significant number of Americans would remain uninsured and
without access to health care services because they are
unemployed or work part time, both of which disqualify them
for employer assistance. 6 President Clinton failed to
provide universal coverage for Americans and the number of
uninsured is on the rise. In the last election, Clinton
again mentioned the need for health care reform but the
scope of the reforms changed. " Since Clinton announced at
the Democratic National Convention last summer in Chicago
that expanding health coverage for children would be one of
his priorities, it has become the only healthcare reform
game in Washington. "
7
Despite the initial attention given to the health care
problem and the need for reform, the issues have all but
disappeared. At the height of the health care debate in
6 Weissenstein I 22
7 Weissenstein 122
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1994, Representative Jim McDermott introduced a singlepayer
bill in the U. S. House of Representatives that had
nearly 100 co-sponsors. 8 In March 1997, McDermott
reintroduced his single-payer bill with little more than
200 cosponsors. However, there is a small amount of
discussion in the United States Congress with respect to
health care reform.
There needs to be a discussion of why people in the
United States are uninsured. The New Republic ran an
editorial in 1994 that breaks down the uninsured into three
distinct categories.
"The problem breaks down into three main
categories: (1) people who cannot obtain, or afford,
coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions;
(2) young, healthy people who can pay for coverage,
but choose not to; and (3) self-employed people, or
those with low-wage jobs that don't provide insurance,
who can't afford to buy it themselves. 9
The first group can be taken care of through insurance
reform. This type of reform, in its simplest explanation,
would abolish preexisting condition clauses and exemption
wavers from insurance strategies when admitting subscribers
into plans. "This reform should take care of 3 percent of
those now uncovered, according to a recent study by the
Kaiser Foundation. ,,io The second group could be covered by
8 Weissenstein 122
9 ''The universal fallacy," editorial, The New Republic 14 March 1994: 7
10 The New Republic 7
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a plan similar to Clinton's employer and individual
mandates. Under this program, individuals and employers
will combine their resources to make sure individuals have
health insurance by penalty of law. "The second group,
people who make a rational decision to do without
insurance, is only ... about 7 percent ... What' s needed is some
form of free-rider tax, so that healthy people can't game
the system by waiting until they get sick to buy
insurance. " 11
Finally, the third group, 90 percent of the uninsured,
are best cared for in a single-payer plan such as the one
seen in Canada or proposed by Representative Jim McDermott.
The single-payer plan meets plenty of criticism and fear
from the American public. One fear is that of enormous
taxes. It is true that the only way to effectively pay for
single-payer health care is through taxes; however, the
experiences in Canada show otherwise.
"Taxes would have to be raised to fund a singlepayer
system, though the net out-of-pocket cost would
be a lot less than what individuals and employers now
pay for health care ... Health care costs comprise about
10% of the Canadian Gross Domestic Product, compared
with more than 14% in the United States." 12
11 The New Republic 14
12 Jerry Geisel, "Canadian -style system may offer best shot at universal coverage," Business Insurance 25
April, 1994: 14.
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The second fear Americans have of single-payer health
care is that of rationing of care. This fear is not
legitimate when one looks at the resources available to
those in need of health care services. The United States
is fully up to date technologically and it is the medical
research center of the world. When compared to the
supposed rationing problem in Canada, the truth is quite
enlightening. "While U. S. critics say care is rationed in
Canada ... the facts indicate otherwise. Many complex, costly
medical procedures are performed at about the same rates in
the United States and Canada .... " 13
The third fear Americans have of a single-payer
system is that it will compromise their freedom to choose
the appropriate services and health care providers
available to them. This reason is not founded in the
system of single-payer health care. When considering the
necessity of health care access, one should consider that
the single-payer plan is the only system that offers
freedom. It is the freedom to receive the care that is
needed, when it is needed, without taking considerations of
how to pay. Everyone has equal access to health care
services A more appropriate source of the loss of freedom
to chose in health care services is the insurance industry.
13 Geisel 14
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Americans loose their freedom of choice when they apply for
health insurance. It is not the individual who chooses,
but the insurance company that chooses the individual.
When that individual becomes too costly to insure, the
insurance company chooses to drop them and then chooses to
report the applicant's conditions to other insurance
providers.
In conclusion, the problem of the uninsured in the
United States is a serious concern. It has gotten serious
attention as recently as 1994, then disappeared from the
minds of many Americans. However, attention will soon be
drawn to that problem, as it becomes more visible to more
Americans as they are affected by the atrocities of the
health insurance industry. There needs to be reform of the
health care institution in the United States until all
Americans have equal access to health care through
universal coverage. The only way the United States will
guarantee universal coverage is to adopt a single-payer
approach to health care. The main obstacle to this type of
reform is the unfounded criticisms of the American public,
an effect of miseducation. The next two chapters will
explain in greater detail some of the issues and ideas
raised here.
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Chapter 3
The Problem of Insurance
According to some estimates, there are between 39 and
41 million Americans without health insurance. The access
to health care is not a luxury, it is a necessity. It can
mean the difference between life and death. The system of
covering Americans through health insurance is in need of
serious review and reform. Health insurance is an unfair
and unnecessary institution in the United States. Until
health insurance is replaced with a more cost-effective
system of access, the United States will never solve the
problem of the uninsured.
The health insurance business is a very lucrative
venture. Insurance companies charge enormous sums of money
for access to health care services while health care
providers see their share dwindling. "While the amount of
premium dollar attributable to profit varies with the
company, managed care company profits have increased by
approximately 50% in the last year. In the largest managed
care companies, nearly 20% of the premium dollar goes to
profit alone, a reflection of how declining resources are
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being devoted to delivering services to patients. " 14 The
picture that McDermott paints is one in which insurance
companies charge enormous sums of money to provide mediocre
services to the insured.
In order to explain the necessity for abolition of the
health insurance industry, one must first examine the ideas
that make insurance a big money industry. In order to
maximize profits, the insurance industry actively utilizes
certain strategies. These strategies may be appropriate
for issuing certain types of insurance such as natural
disaster, life, and home insurance but never a basic
necessity such as health insurance.
First, the insurance industry uses a strategy commonly
known as "churning ". "To attract subscribers, insurers may
offer unrealistically low initial rates to small groups.
As claims come in and losses accumulate ... the insurer drops
the group, all the while seeking new small groups to
'churn' . " 15 The churning method is disturbing because it
accomplishes what insurance reform sets out to accomplish
initially and supports the need for reform of the insurance
industry in the end. In the beginning, subscribers have
the insurance they need, and want, at an affordable price,
14
Jim McDermott, ''The first step," JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association 18 Jan
1995:251
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plans that many of the uninsured would probably pay for if
they were available. When the company reports losses the
subscribers are dropped, at which time they must remain
uninsured or search for another plan. At that point,
comparable plans will become expensive or unobtainable
because of another strategy called preexisting condition
clauses.
Second, preexisting condition clauses are a way
insurance companies can protect themselves from insuring
high-risk subscribers. The insurance industry views
preexisting condition clauses as an encouragement for the
uninsured to become insured before they become sick.
However, they are an obstacle to achieving universal
coverage in the United States. Preexisting condition
clauses prevent the chronically ill from receiving the care
they need. ''Preexisting condition clauses have two
dimensions: 1) the period of time before a policy takes
effect, during which a subscriber can be deemed to have a
preexisting condition and 2 ) the period after the policy
takes effect, during which a subscriber must be treatment
free. The range of these periods typically ranges from 3
months to 2 years. " 16 Preexisting condition clauses in the
15 Kathleen Haddad, "Insurance reform in a voluntary system: implications for the sick, the well, and
universal health care," Annals oflnternal Medicine I Aug. 1996: 242.
16
Haddad 246
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context of the above quote are one way insurance companies
are responsible for the problem of the uninsured. It is
absurd to believe that universal coverage can be achieved
through the insurance industry. In order to do so,
preexisting condition clauses must be thrown out of the
insurance playbook and along with it, a substantial amount
of profits.
Another strategy used by the insurance industry that
is similar to preexisting condition clauses is exclusion
wavers. Exclusion wavers are more specific than
preexisting condition clauses. This strategy exempts
coverage, for a specified amount of time, of specific body
parts or conditions. These ailments are uncovered by
medical underwriting which is designed to protect insurance
providers by warning them of conditions that may be costly
to treat, thus minimizing profits.
An argument that is commonly made for the continuance
of insurance coverage to provide access to health care is
that insurance provides a certain amount of freedom in
choosing methods of obtaining care. Once a person is
covered by insurance, that company will pay for an agreed
amount of the total cost of accessing care. However, as
discussed above, the strategies used by insurance companies
prohibit that freedom of choice. Preexisting condition
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clauses as well as churning and exclusion wavers deny
access to insurance which, in turn, deny all freedom to
chose which services would best serve an individual's
needs.
Some will argue that the answer to the problems of the
uninsured is insurance reform. The goal of insurance
reform is to make insurance affordable for the uninsured.
However, nobody can agree how to achieve that goal. The
problems are inherent in the system, as a whole not parts
of the system. "Competition among carriers is based on
risk selection rather than on price and quality. For
people who become bad risks, coverage becomes unaffordable
or unavailable. " 17 Insurance will never become reformed to
the point that everyone will be guaranteed access. Health
care reformers, therefore, cannot consider insurance reform
as .an option for achieving universal coverage. The
following excerpt is from a paper written for the Health
and Public Policy Committee of the American College of
Physicians.
From an economic perspective, actual fairness is
said to contribute to the efficient allocation of
insurance resources. If persons pay according to
their risks, they are paying the "right" price and can
make accurate choices about the risk they seek to bear
and the risk they seek to share- the level of coverage
they want. From the perspective of the classical
economist, these kinds of individual preferences are
17 Haddad 242
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essential to the efficient allocation of resources.
If low risk persons are forced to subsidize high-risk
persons through artificially set higher prices, then
they may purchase less insurance or no insurance,
resulting in inefficiently low levels of coverage.
Conversely, artificially low prices for high-risk
persons will encourage them to purchase too much
insurance, resulting in inefficiently high levels of
coverage. This, in turn, contributes to higher health
care costs. 18
The problem associated with universal coverage through
health insurance is, in order to guarantee access to those
in need, regardless of their ability to pay; the system
will become inefficient. It is not possible to expect that
the insurance industry will provide quality care under
universal coverage if it means they will have to trade
profits for inefficiency. However, when placed into the
context of San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown' s announced a
plan to provide universal coverage to the citizens of his
city through an insurance pool, one can see that the
problem of insurance reform goes beyond the insurance
industry. In the case of San Francisco's plan, the problem
arises in the choice of individuals to participate in a
program that will pool all insurance money together.
starting point, the city is proposing to create a
centralized insurance pool
Political Mouth versus Political Mind: Political Empowerment Among the Women of India
No full textWhat is in a word? 'Development' implies a socio-economic framework for achieving economic and political security. Wolfgang Sachs believes that "it is impossible to talk about development without referring to concepts such as poverty, production, the notion of state, or equality." (Sachs 4) If this is true, then a topic as narrow as the study of the political participation of Indian women would be ineffective at addressing the above listed concepts. Instead, within the ideals of development, there needs to be a catalyst to bring about this change. Development addresses the bigger issues that a society faces, such as poverty and production, but it tends to ignore the welfare of the people whom are dependent upon this 'development'.Political Mouth versus Political Mind:
Political Empowerment Among the Women of lndia
Kc1ri Smith
17 Mc1y 1999
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Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Why Political Participation?
• History of Political Participation
• Women's Organizations
• Participation in Various Forms
--Voting
--Holding Office
• Panchayat
• Legislative Assembly and Parliament
• Conclusions
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4
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Introduction
What is in a word? 'Development' implies a socio-economic framework for
achieving economic and political security. Wolfgang Sachs believes that "it is impossible
to talk about development without referring to concepts such as poverty, production, the
notion of state, or equality." ( Sachs 4) If this is true, then a topic as narrow as the study
of the political participation of Indian women would be ineffective at addressing the
above listed concepts. Instead, within the ideals of development, there needs to be a
catalyst to bring about this change. Development addresses the bigger issues that a
society faces, such as poverty and production, but it tends to ignore the welfare of the
people whom are dependent upon this 'development'.
While studying abroad in India, I had the opportunity to meet with various
development NGO's. Some where more effective than others in their methods and
practice. In Mysore, India, there is an organization that works with commercial sex
workers, or prostitutes. This organization, comprised mostly of men, gave an
impassioned speech, detailing the average lives of these women. When asked what
programs they had instituted to assist these women, they talked about their efforts to
'empower' these women and to eventually lead them away from this life of slavery. Their
hope was that their efforts would lead to the eventual abolishment of prostitution. When
asked, quite blatantly, what the organization was doing to make the livelihood of these
women a little safer, such as promoting the use of condoms, they quite simply stated that
this was a welfare issue and that it had nothing to do with empowerment. Their methods
were not very clear but did not appear either effective or appropriate. Their method of
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dealing with the problem of prostitution was to ignore the present situation, believing that
by providing condoms, etc, that they would be promoting prostitution.
There were two major problems with both the arguments and the situation. First,
when dealing with empowerment, the person's welfare should be of utmost importance.
Empowerment is more of a psychological concept than a physical one, but unless the
physical body is taken care of, the mind cannot flourish and the spirit will not, either.
Secondly, the organization, with the exception of one woman, is comprised entirely of
men. How can they know what it means to be a woman? How can they know what it
means to be so degraded within a society, where a man will sell his wife into prostitution
and the woman pays part of her measly salary to ensure police cooperation? Both
development and empowerment need to come from the inside, from the people.
Empowerment also needs to come from the inside of themselves, from within their souls.
Let us consider, empowerment for whom? There are significant obstacles to
overcome before women can be empowered, starting at society's basic unit: the family.
Regardless of reigning patriarchies, women are the lifeblood of society. They carry
within them the ability to bring life into this world, however, in most societies of the
world women are overlooked. This is true for a large percentage of the women in India.
75% of the women in India represent the image of the 'typical Indian woman'. The
typical woman will look like the following: they are either from a family with only a
small acreage of land or they are landless peasants. They are not able to read or write.
They do not own land, nor do they have joint ownership with their husbands. They do
work besides their husbands in the field and only receive a mere half of what their
husbands make. They also have the full time responsibility of the children and their
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homes. Yet, this work is not considered as work. Elisabeth Bumiller states that, "a
village woman starts her life from scratch every day." (11) Every morning women wake
up to wash the dishes from the night before. She then collects water for the day's use.
Everyday she makes chapatis, an Indian bread, there is no concept of leftovers.
Domestic abuse is a commonly practiced and widely accepted instrument of
domination. Landless farmers in Bidar, Karnataka, freely admitted that their wives did
substantially more work than they did. They also openly admitted to beating their wives
for minor incidents such as late dinner. I observed myself, with other females, that while
the men were boasting their male egos, the women sat off to the side, giggling behind
their hands. They accepted this behavior and felt the actions of their husbands justified.
Another important aspect to the lives of Indian women is the knowledge that "India is a
country where the birth of a girl is often viewed as a calamity and where almost every
woman has heard the Sanskrit saying 'May you be the mother of a hundred sons'." (10)
India is a country where female infanticide largely exists, especially in villages. The
dowry system is entrenched within the society and for economic reasons boys are
generally preferred. Indian women are first defined by their fathers, going as far as to
take his name as their middle names. When a woman marries, she is then defined by her
husband, by his caste, his family, etc. As a widow, a woman becomes the responsibility
of her eldest son. There are exceptions to this, of course, but it is fair to assume there is a
certain male precedence in India.
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Why Political Participation?
When considering methods of empowerment, one should think about topics which
will educate and motivate the largest number number of people possible. As a singular
idea, 'participation' has been rooted in the processes of development and empowerment
since their inception. ln the 1950' s, developmentalists came to the conclusion that the
reason their methods were not as effective as they might have hoped due to the fact that
the development was intended for a group of people who were not included in the
decision making process. (Sachs 117) Therefore, it is also believed that participation is a
means to achieve power:
" ... people's power-which belongs to the oppressed and exploited
classes and groups and their organizations, and the defense of their
just interests to enable them to advance towards shared goals of
social change within a participatory system." (120)
What is political? Susheela Kaushik defines 'political' as that which "involves all
the inter-personal and inter and intra-group relationships that are based on a certain
medium of power-the power to influence and effect decisions and their implementations."
(Kaushik 4) She makes a point that this is directly related to the struggle of women
because she believes, "all spheres of lives involving any relationship is political." (4)
Majid Rahnema believes that there is a coorelation between political participation and
economic development within a nation state. (Sachs 116) This suggests that not only will
political participation open the minds of the oppressed, but that this will lead to a positive
effect on the economy. Susheela Kaushik believes that:
"There is a close interaction and dialectical relationship between
women's empowerment on the one hand and their role in politics
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and decision making on the other. Such a participation in making
public choices would lead to a qualitative change, not merely in
women's lives, but in the functioning of public institutions and
nature of politics." (Kaushik 3)
When dealing with the participation of women, this co-relationship seems farther from
reality when one considers the place of women in the economy. Instead, it is an idea of
education, not an education in the formal sense, but one of self-realization. Rahnema
sees self-realization through the process of participation, as a "recovery of one's inner
freedom ... to learn to listen and to share, free from fear." (Sachs 127) It not only adds to
one's own "life power", but it benefits the larger, global struggles of all people for a
better life. It is this inner freedom that is so necessary for the outer freedom to exist.
(128) Most Indian women will ever never see the inside of the Parliament, let alone, hold
a Member seat. Even with the reservation within the Panchayat, the village level
government, many women will not be the sarpanch, or head of the panchayat. Political
participation, with its awakening self-realization, moves women to change things in their
daily lives. At a meeting with various women leaders in Bidar, one woman told of a
whole sangha, or women's group, gathering around a battered woman. This example was
never known outside of this particular village, never made its presence known to the
Parliament. It was, however, known to the woman in the middle of the circle. It showed
the woman and her husband that her individual rights were important and that such
behavior was not acceptable from her husband. As was shown in the example of the
prostitutes in Mysore, women are currently the targets of violence ranging from
caste/communal riots, worker's struggles, poverty and dowry/sexual assaults. (Kaushik 5)
Kaushik asks the question: "Who can recognize, understand and prevent these
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developments better than women themselves?" (6) Any woman can be a political mouth,
making decisions according to outside forces. What women need to achieve is a political
mind with the ability to recognize and understand their particular situation and then,
hopefully, have the ability to prevent discrimination, in all forms.
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History of Political Participation in India
In 1950, when India became a democratic nation, all women were guaranteed
political voice. (Kaushik 3) Fifty years later, however, the status of women has declined
and their political participation has receded. Prior to India being declared a nation,
women had a peak in their participation in Indian society. The 1920's saw limited
movement towards women's involvement coming out of Madras. It was out of Madras
that the first branch of the Indian National Congress passed a resolution favoring
women's suffrage. In 1922, Madras was the first to appoint a women magistrate and to
nominate a woman to the Legislative Assembly. Most of the women within the Madras
system, however, were not Tamil speaking. They were from the Telugu-speaking state of
Andhra Pradesh. (Minault 38) Andhra Pradesh became the first state to require the
membership of atleast one woman into the Panchayat. (39). These progressive ideas led
to visible influence within the system. The Committee on the Status of Women in India
surveyed the states' responses to the issue of widow marriage, which is a taboo practice
for women. In the state of Andhra Pradesh, 78 percent of the respondents approved or
partially approved of widow marriage, compared with 59 percent of those living in the
state of Tamil Nadu, where Madras is the capital. Also, while those from Tamil Nadu
favored education for women, Andhra Pradesh favored women's participation in politics,
more than any other state, with 39 percent respondents. ( 40)
Another early proponent of women's participation came from Mahatma Gandhi.
In his book, The Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru tells of the time when most of the
leaders of the Independence movement had been put in jail . . . " And then a remarkable
thing happened. Our women came to the front and took charge of the struggle: it was not
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only that display of courage and daring, but what was even more surprising was the
organizational power they showed." (Bumiller 19) Even then, women were more often
"supportive and auxiliary." (20) For three decades preceding 1947, hundreds of women
had fought for the national freedom of India. Even though they fought under the pretense
of established political parties and platforms, none of the parties or platforms had any
"specific women's agenda." (Siddiqi 19-20) The idea of nation building that was
prevalent in India, in the 1940' s, was "envisioned within the framework of patriarchal
social structure." (34) At the surface, Gandhi's involvement in the positioning of Indian
women into positions of decision-making ability, seems unquestionable, however, there is
criticism of his involvement. One such critic of Gandhi is Gail Omvedt. She believes
that Gandhi created a "new myth of Indian womanhood, Sita-like in her devotion to
service and self-sacrifice, whether in her family or to her nation." (Minault 52) Sita, the
wife of the god Rama, was blameless to the charge of adultery, but still allowed herself to
burn on the pyre, out of devotion to her husband. Gandhi attracted wealthy women, with
good education, well-placed husbands, and servants. For these women, family came first;
all other issues came second. Their social status and economic reliance on their husbands
meant that they could approach political involvement as a hobby. Their partial
involvement meant that they did not "frontally attack the official ideology of women" and
thus were unable to promote the essential issues related to women's emancipation. (52)
On the other hand, a supporter of Gandhi offers that he was concerned with "women's
personal dignity." (53) He felt that they embodied the nonviolent struggle with their
courage, tolerance and self-suffering." (53) One problem with this statement is that
Gandhi appears to see women as peaceful mediators. He neglects the idea that women
8
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are capable of more than just passive resistance. Within Hindu mythology, women are
seen fundamentally as having two personalities, which are embodied in the two
goddesses: Parvati and Kali. Parvati, is the benevolent mother, but provoked, she can
become Kali, the demon goddess, who is known for her bloody rampages. Shiva, Kali's
husband is the only one who can end her murderous rampages on mankind. Regardless of
the view of women, in 1931, "as a response to women's participation in the civil
disobedience campaign," the Congress party promoted political equality, regardless of
qualification, for all women. (Bumiller 19-20)
The history of women in participatory roles has shown that where it was
ineffective at bringing about any lasting change, there have been instances of effective
participation. While Gandhi's movement was uninspiring for bringing about a change in
the current patriarchal society, it did succeed in setting a precedence of women's mass
involvement in the political system. The movement saw the mobilization of women in
large numbers, but their involvement was limited to secondary and supportive roles, that
never led to the opportunity for leadership or a woman's movement. The inherent
downfall in this method is the need for a national movement to bring about the
participation of women.
9
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Women's Organizations
Another form of participation that is just as important to the physical and
psychological well being of women are various women's organizations. While these
organizations were for women only, they were not confined to just women's issues. As
illustrated in other cases, men, who in tum trained the first women leaders, also began the
early women's organizations. Women explained that the reason that they needed full
control over their own organization was due to the "special nature of women and the
inability of men to understand them." (Minault 54) Within 20
th
century Indian history,
the All India Women's Conference (AIWC), is particularly noteworthy in the advocacy of
women's issues. Its goal was to open schools to educate women and girls and to
influence government policy concerning their education. (54) They demanded suffrage,
lobbied for women's issues and promoted candidates for election to council and
appointment to government commissions. (54) Although, these women saw the need for
separate women's organization, there was still dissension among its members as to what
their purpose was. The president of AIWC's eighth annual session, Lady Abdul Qadir,
believed that the organizations should only be concerned with issues such as education
and social reforms. She was opposed to the involvement in formal politics because she
believed it would only weaken the position of woman. (59) In the AIWC, they felt that
all barriers could be abandoned, high and low caste, Hindu and Muslim, European and
non-European, etc. (59) It was believed by some, that these women had, in their small
way, managed to bridge the gaps that would keep the country divided through the present
time.
10
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Some women in the AIWC wanted to support the nationalistic movement and felt
that the Congress was the "true champion of women." (59) Many of the debates in the
AIWC dealt with an amendment to the constitution that would allow the AIWC, as an
association, and its members to make political statements, the amendment was finally
passed with four-fifths majority in 1939. (60) The AIWC felt that women could only be
"released from their shackles with 'true political emancipation'. " (60) However, the
burgeoning political nature of the social organization started to backfire on them.
Various groups of women began to resign; Muslim women were the most prominent. In
criticism of the political agenda of the AIWC, one woman wrote that the "political
resolutions had nothing to do with the educational and social matters, as were the original
intent of the organization." (60) She went on to say that "the AIWC is supposed to
represent all women ... and is not suppose to take part in 'party politics' ... yet the
resolutions passed are all absolutely Congress [party]. " (60) With involvement in
political matters rather than social or educational issues, people are prone to act on behalf
of a larger group, usually a political party. The seeds of hope had been planted in the
AIWC's political involvement, but many women failed to see how the system that was
perpetuating social inequality could be used to foster liberation.
The argument that political participation could only "weaken women's position"
is naive. Life is political, and a woman's life is political on all fronts, in the family as
well as her position in society. The major downfall of the AIWC was inconsistency in
members behavior. The inconsistency between the goals and agenda of the group, was
the undoing of the organization. Women have the spirit to break their bonds with the
power of such organizations as the AIWC, which made significant advances. Regardless
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of outside pressures that might have prevented them, the AIWC had potential to produce
competent leaders. However, women's initial reliability on men, their inconsistent
agendas and the restrictions of Indian society prevented AIWC from gaining full
emancipation of women. Shahida Lateef, feels that, though women's issues are
considered "marginal in economic and political decision-making, this is a necessary phase
through which the movement has to pass, in order to shed its earlier western orientation
and address itself to issues which are specific to Indian political, economic, and social
realities. (198)
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Various Forms of Participation
Participation can happen in a variety of forms. The current system of government
has neither the resources nor the need for all citizens to have membership. However,
there are other ways, besides holding public office, for women to be politically active.
Voting
Within politics, there are formal politics and informal processes. Elections
continue to be the one occasion where women of voting age and all developmental levels
can make their voices heard. (Kaushik 7) There is a participatory theory of democracy
that believes direct participation in decision making is the ideal state of citizens ruling
themselves. (7) The following are possible reasons for low participation among women
in election, both in voting and candidacy:
1) Women are not independent voters,
2) A majority of women are illiterate,
3) A majority of women make their choices based on suggestions by male family
members-usually husbands and sons,
4) Women lack information and political awareness, and
5) Women are not politically conscious (18).
Social factors, such as poverty, daily work, household work and care, patriarchal and
family norms, long distance from booths, possibility of violence, health, etc are more than
likely to be reasons for low participation in elections (8). There is strength in numbers
and a single woman voting will not have nearly the same effect as hundreds or
Superpower Rivalry and South Africa: An Alliance of Economic Constraint and Social Reform
No full textThe Soweto Market Riots of 1976 marked the climaxed destabilization of South Africa's apartheid regime. South Africa's domestic unrest attracted the international interests of the United States and the Soviet Union. South Africa's destabilized apartheid regime further weakened South Africa's sovereignty that was previously questioned by the United Nations. South Africa's revealed weakness posed an ideal opportunity for South Africa to develop a different government and political infrastructure. The United States desired to establish a true democracy in South Africa. The Soviet Union preferred to establish another communist nationstate. To ensure South Africa's dissuasion from apartheid, the United States and the Soviet Union manipulated tactics to structure South Africa to form one government, democratic or communist, and to adopt one political, economic and social policy. The United States initiated "quiet" diplomacy. The Soviet Union indulged South Africa with "monetary" diplomacy. Both the United States and the Soviet Union defied the traditional practices of diplomatic relations. South Africa's apartheid regime became an arena of bipolar activity with resistance from the East and West. The United States and the Soviet Union's inactive and active roles equally affected the momentum of apartheid and post-apartheid policies. Superpower rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union constrained the policies of South Africa by intervening in its social and economic reform.Superpower Rivalry
and
South Africa
An Alliance of Economic Constraint
and Social Reform
Aleathea K. Garry
PO 99: Senior Thesis
May 25, 1999
Gustavus Student Repository
Table of Contents
I . Abstract ............................. .
I I . Introduction ......................... .
III. -Common Interests ..................... .
Page
1
2
6
IV. Social Reform...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
V. Economic Sanctions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
VI. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2cl
Gustavus Student Repository
Abstract
The Soweto Market Riots of 1976 marked the climaxed
destabalization of South Africa's apartheid regime. South
Africa's domestic unrest attracted the international interests
of the United States and the Soviet Union. South Africa's
destabilized apartheid regime further weakened South Africa's
sovereignty that was previously questioned by the United Nations.
South Africa's revealed weakness posed an ideal opportunity
for South Africa to develop a different government and political
infrastructure. The United States desired to establish a true
democracy in South Africa. The Soviet Union prefered to
establish another communist nationstate. To ensure South
Africa's dissuasion from apartheid, the United States and the
Soviet Union manipulated tactics to structure South Africa to
form one government, democratic or communist, and to adopt one
political, economic and social policy. The United States
initiated "quiet" diplomacy. The Soviet Union indulged South
Africa with "monetary" diplomacy. Both the United States and
the Soviet Union defied the traditional practices of diplomatic
relations. South Africa's apartheid regime became an arena
of bipolar activity with resistance from the East and West.
The United States and the Soviet Union's inactive and active
roles equally affected the momentum of apartheid and
post-apartheid policies. Superpower rivalry between the United
States and the Soviet Union constrained the policies of South
Africa by intervening in its social and economic reform.
Gustavus Student Repository
Introduction
Under the apartheid regime, the South African government
was controlled by a semi-dictator. Apartheid legislation
authorized a small minority of whites to govern the majority
black nation-state. The word apartheid means apartness.
Apartheid was a race policy. It was institutionalized racism
and race seperation.1 However, South Africa's apartheid regime
was not condemned for what it did but for what it was.2 The
international system criticized apartheid for its human rights
violations. The human rights determinant significantly weakened
the external acceptance of judicial sovereignty in South Africa
that opened the way to the imposition of political
conditionalities.3 South Africa's apartheid regime isolated
blacks from participating within South Africa's political,
economic and social progress. Apartheid was a government policy
that intervened into realms that were untouched and controlled
by the private sectors like business transactions and political
organization.4 Aparheid's dicriminating private and oublic
policies became grounds for international intervention.
Intervention of South Africa's apartheid regime was not
limited to domestic relations. International intervention
assumed less obvious forms sych as selective isolation from
the international community from South Africa's apartheid regime.
Apartheid's voided recognition from the international community
was accompanied by promised rewards or threats of punishment
to induce South Africa to adopt or abandon particular policies.5
2
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International intervention of South Africa's aparheid regime
undermined its sovereignty. A country that lacked sovereignty
became an international playground for economic, political and
social manipulation. South Africa became an arena for East-West
conflict resolution. Both the United States and the Soviet
Union became involved in the apartheid conflict in South Africa.
The United States and the Soviet Union initial dual roles
included the supply of arms to forces they supported and
diplomatic pressures to bear on the parties of conflict.6
3
Through time and further development, the United States and
the Soviet Union interventions evolved individually. The amount
and variety of influence delivered into South Africa by the
United States and the Soviet Union was dependent on the countries
diplomatic agenda.
Previously, the superpowers were able to facilitate conflict
resolution and settlement process by bringing pressure to bear
on their individual client states.7 Superpower rivalry occurred
in South Africa because both the United States and the Soviet
Union recognized South Africa as its own client state. The
United States and the Soviet Union dual proclamation of South
Africa as an allie, changed the dynamics of East-West
competition. Dual occupancy of one nation-state had dual
consequences. On one hand, this activity was identified as
having an impact on the possibilities for diplomacy and
resolution of Third World conflicts. On the other hand,
East-West rivalries became the hub of Third World regional
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conflicts.8
In order to sustain an influence in South Africa, both
the United States and Soviet Union implemented a series of
programs. Richard Bissell defined the series of programs as
a short-lived phenomenon and a search for the instrumentalities
that served either the United States or the Soviet Union's long
range goals.9 Bissell further described the act of influence
as the projection of foreign goals into the political elite
(and perhaps the general public) of South Africa. Sean Moroney
supported Bissell's claim by introducing the ideology that
"building one's policy at another's expense was always the
essence of the superpower rivalry in (South) Africa. 1110 The
United States and the Soviet Union were able to build foreign
relations in South Africa at the expense of destabilzing South
Africa's government and inhibiting economic and social reform.
In Roy Allission and Phil Williams' book Superpower
Competition and Crisis Prevention in the Third World, " ... the
most important American interest in South Africa was the
diplomatic, Cold War interest in expelling Soviet influence
4
from the region ... " And the " ... diplomatic interests in winning
the support of South Africa for Soviet attitudes in international
forums by increasing Moscow's visibility in the 'struggle'
against South Africa. 1111
If the Soviet Union showed interest in solving the problems
of South Africa, it could provide the momentum for the Soviet
Union to strengthen negotiations of much greater interest to
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the Soviet Union like the Middle East.12
The United States was anxious to restrain South African
destabalization tactics to preserve credentials as a regional
mediator. The United States instituted policies of "constructive
engagement' with South Africa as to avoid a number of increases
in tensions with the Soviet Union.
Russians supported movements against colonialism and white
minority rule. Robert Kinloch Massie recognized that "the
American government paternalistically assumed that development,
rather than security, was the primary question for Africans."13
The United States objectives were to preserve friendly ties
in South Africa regimes. This included maintaining cordial
ties with the white minority regime.
The United States and the Soviet Union assumed the role
of playing black against white and good against evil within
the South African arena. The game began as the means to reach
the common goal of stabilizing South Africa's government and
foregoing apartheid. The means to justify the end depended
on the individual diplomatic agendas of the United States and
the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union became more involved with
South Africa's social structure. The United States imposed
economic sanctions on South Africa. Together, the United States
and the Soviet Union constrained the policies of South Africa
by intervening on its economic and social reform.
5
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Common Interests
In 1943, South African Prime Minister Jon Smuts, five
years prior to the legal establishment of the apartheid regime,
gained international attention when he remarked, "with politics
let loose among these people ... we might have a waive of disorder
and wholesale communism."'-"' Analytically "disorder" was a threat
to the interests of the priveledged and "communism" was a failure
to interpret "democracy" as elite dominance, whatever the other
committments of the "communist" may be.
When put into the context of South Africa's apartheid regime
{a race policy that nationally practiced institutionalized racism
and race seperation) Smuts claimed that "with politics let loose
{among the black majority) we {the white minority) face a crisis
of democracy, as priveledged {white) sectors had always
understood."15
Noam Chomsky put apartheid into the perspective of the
white minority when he claimed that:
The South African white community ... have built a
society of authentic garndeur in a country of great
comfort and physical beauty and long-term potentila
for the creation of even more wealth. They know this
and are proud of it. And they cannot see why they
should commit cultural and economic suicide and bring
all this down ...
South Africa's unfaltered acceptance of the apartheid regime
was overwhelmingly rejected by the international community.
The government of South Africa argued that its race policies
were strictly an internal issue in which the international
community had no right to interfere. Regardless of this
9-
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objection, a United Nations Charter refused to grant protection
to South Africa from aggression and the right to engage in
diplomatic relations with other existing nation-states. Lack
of support from the United Nations forced South Africa to
implement policies that could attract the attention and support
of other nation-states. Therefore white South Africa presented
itself as anti-communist. This stradegy attracted the renounded
attention of the United States. At the time that South Africa
was looking for support from the West, the United States was
in the process of establishing diplomatic and political interest
in South Africa. The United States was trying to avoid a revival
of acute racial unrest in the United States when faced with
the apartheid issue. By the late 1970s the United States
resolved domestic issues with race credited it to solve race
isues within the international community, especially in South
Africa. In response to the United States need to enact race
policies abroad, the aparthed regime in white ruled South Africa
tried to emphasize its importance to the defence of 'western
civilization' and deflecting the opposition of the United States
and its allies."16
The opposition to South Africa, defined by South Africa,
was the Soviet Union. At the height of the apartheid regime,
South Africa was surrounded by communist nation-sates like
Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Prior to South Africa's plea
to the United States, "the Soviet Union had no influence over
the South African government nor formal diplomatic relations.1117
7
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Regardleess of the Soviet Union's imposition with South Africa,
the apartheid regime viewed the Soviet Union as a threat and
claimed "anti-communist" policies in order to seek finacial
assistance and other forms of support from the United States.
Superpower rivalry between the United States and the Soviet
Union later constrained the policies of South Africa for a
variety of actions taken exclusively by South Africa.
8
South Africa's apartheid regime was criticized and
undermined by the international community. South Africa rejected
the non-compliance of the international communty's acceptance
of the apartheid regime. Uncomfortable with the position of
becomming 'black-listed' by the international community, South
Africa attracted the attention of one nation-state's support
by initiating "anti-communist" policies. By 1980, South Africa's
apartheid regime banned the South African Communist Party from
organizing in South Africa. The United States responded to
the ban by accepting South Africa's proposal for financial aid
and other support.
The Soviet Union, with null South Afrcan diplomacy in the
1980s, preceived the United States-South African alliance as
a threat to its allies surrounding South Africa--Angola,
Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Therefore the Soviet Union initiated
an informal diplomatic mission with South Africa's internal
opposition to apartheid, the African National Congress, to better
serve the interests of its client states. The " ... United States
opposition to any settlement or stabilization of a Soviet-based
Gustavus Student Repository
regime, " began the United States and the Soviet Union's dual
in occupation of South Africa.
Consequently, once the United States and the Soviet Union
became involved in South African relations, rivalry was not
the intent of their agendas. The primary interest of both the
United States and the Soviet Union was to abolish apartheid
in South Africa. Furthermore, the United States and the Soviet
suported negotiations to establish a strategic alliance between
the African National Congress, the black majority force behinde
South Africa's domestic opposition against apartheid, and white
sympathizers. The United States and the Soviet Union also
cautioned against nationalization of capitalist property and
agreed upon comprehensive guarantees for the white population.
The United States and the Soviet Union jointly suggested a twochambered
parliament in South Africa which indicatd a preference
for a post-apartheid South Africa having a "unitary system with
an autonomous component. "18
9
The United States and the Soviet Union's joint coniderations
for South Africa were tempral. Soon, the United States and
the Soviet Union attempted to influence each other. Acts of
influence drive countries apart rather than yield an image of
constuctive cooperation. The United States and the Soviet
Union's varied diplomatic agendas compromised the inital
interests in South Africa and conformed into superpower rivalry.
As relations between the United States and the Soviet Union
diverged, the United States virtually became unable to view
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the Soviet Union or communism as a threat in South Africa.
After a decade of fearing a communist take-over in South
Afica, by 1"91l5-1"986 the ·united States became "more concerned
with being soft on racism than soft on communism."a9
10
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11
Social Reform
Between 1970-1971 the Soviet Union, without the support
of the United Nation General Assembly, began the construction
of a new legal platform which was inteded to indict South Africa
for its racial policies. 2-0 After years of failed economic and
military strategies in Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the
Soviet Union decided to partake in different forms of support
in South Africa. The Soviet Union opted to aid the domestic
anti-apartheid regime within South Africa. In the article,
"Superpower Rivalry in the 1990s," Neil S. Macfarlane theorized
the Soviet Unions realm of reasoning of foresaking economic
policies to procure foreign social policies. MacFarlane claimed
that:
The Soviet Union's economy deteriorated dramatically
in the late 1970s and early 19SOs, making the burdens
of activism in the Third World harder to bear, and
diverting the attention of policy-makers to internal
issues and to the development of foreign poicies which
would permit them to address their domestic problems
more effectively.
The major thrust of Soviet policy was to provide assistance
to the revolutionary movements attempting to overthrow the
existing Western-oriented regimes. 2 1 Apartheid, seen by the
Soviet Union's policy-makers, evolved from Western ideaology
because it fosterd the same acts of segregation and separtion
engrained in Western policies.
The Soviet Union provided propaganda promoting leftist
change and supporting regimes of "socialist orientation" to
the African National -Congress of South Africa. When presented
Gustavus Student Repository
12
with the initial proposal of the Soviet Union, the African
National Congress was split between nationalization and
socialization. The radical leaders of the African National
Congress advocated wide spread nationalization to attain private
property and full participation in the Marxist-inspired economy
to maintain private property. On the other hand, the traditional
leaders of the African National Congress, including Nelson
Mandela, supported both socialist and democratic economies with
a particular interest in persuing private enterprises.22
Therefore, the Soviet Union took an initiative and provided
the African National Congres with an agenda. The Soviet Union
encouraged the African National Congress to workout comprehensive
guarantees for the white population. By 1969, the Soviet Union
and South Africa's anti-apartheid regime had a friendly
relationship. 23 The Soviet Union's deed to South Africa did
not proceed without notice. The Soviet Union's support of the
African National Congress gained the recogition of South
Africa's former President P.W. Botha. He criticized that "the
Soviet Union had a better understanding of the situation in
South Africa than the US" 24
MacFarlane claimed that the Soviet Union's understanding
in South Africa originated from learned pass lessons of mistakes
with other Third World regimes. The Soviet Union could not
sustain nor further promote military and economic progress in
the Third World because it lacked the "enhanced access to Western
technologies and expertise useful for coping with the problems
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of economic restructuring. 25 Furthermore, the Soviet Union's
domestic policies of struturalism claimed that flit (the Third
World) takes a long time and that stability in relations with
the West is necessary in the long term.fl26 The Soviet Union
catagorized the African National Congress' struggle with the
white apartheid as temporal.
After the 1970 Soweto Market Riots, the international
community labeled the South African apatheid regime as an
embarassement to other civilized nation-states. The Soviet
Union was anxious to participate in the social revolution of
13
South Africa. In a 1984 report, "the African National Congress
received arms from the Soviet Union via the All-African regional
group and the Organization of African Unity.27 According to
the Soviet Union's policy-makers at the time, the arms
contribution was insignificant aid to the African National
Congress and a minor favor to the anti-apartheid revolution. 28
flThe Soviet Union's main contribution was to pressure the African
National Congress to accept the viability of negotiations.fl29
The Soviet Union's persistance for the African National
Congress to quickly remedy their position within South Africa
was vigorous. By 1987, an African National Congress spokesman
complained, flwe are probably getting more pressure from Moscow
to agree to negotiations than we do even from London or
Washington." 3-0 In support of Moroney•s ideaology that the
buliding of one nation-state policy at the expense of another
nation-state policy," ... the Soviet Union diplomats implicitly
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14
threatened to stop aid to the African National Congress if the
organization became a barrier to the negotiations.« 3 i
The Soviet Union limited the focus of South Africa's antiapartheid
revolution to only include the end results of a
remedied solution. The Soviet Union's enthusiasm constrained
the African National Congress' agenda. Further forced
negotiations tactics changed the Soviet Union's relationship
with the African National Congress from friendly to estranged.
The African National Congress' hesitant non-compliance to agree
to negotiations with the apartheid regime caused the Soviet
Union to abandon the African Natioanl Congress. The morale
of the African National Congress was weakened after it was
deserted by the Soviet Union. The African National Congress
was forced to look toward the West to further the cause of ending
th
The Widening Culture Gap: Religion, Politics, Privacy, and Abortion
No full textIn the past hundred years there has been a legislative and social movement that has cast rights provided in the Constitution against one another. The two conflicting sides center around one issue: whether or not a woman should be legally allowed to have an abortion. This volatile topic is gaining increasing significance because it affects all realms of society: politics, public, medical, private, and religion. The two areas that feed the other three are a person's private and religious lives. The ultimate question is which has the greater power in society-the right to privacy or the influence of religion? Is the dissociation of church and state necessary for a genuine political democracy?The Widening
Culture Gap:
Religion, Politics,
Privacy, and
. Abortion.
Amanda E. Marotz
May 26, 1999
Gustavus Student Repository
Who is right? The widening gap of beliefs
In the past hundred years there has been a legislative and social movement that
has cast rights provided in the Constitution against one another. The two conflicting sides
center around one issue: whether or not a woman should be legally allowed to have an
abortion. This volatile topic is gaining increasing significance because it affects all
realms of society: politics, public, medical, private, and religion. The two areas that feed
the other three are a person's private and religious lives. The ultimate question is which
has the greater power in society-the right to privacy or the influence of religion? Is the
dissociation of church and state necessary for a genuine political democracy1 ?
The court decisions and legislation in the past 100 years have shown that the
movement to reduce abortion rights is not ancient but in truth a recent phenomenon. The
limitations of abortion statutes are not of "ancient or even of common-law origin. Instead
they derive from statutory changes effected for the most part, in the latter half of the 19th
century"2
• Justice Blackmun continued to illustrate the history of abortion laws. He
argued that it is undisputed that at common law, abortion performed before
"quickening"-the First recognizable movement of the fetus in utero, appearing usually
from the 16th to the 18th week of the pregnancy-was not an indictable offense.
Blackmun continued to illustrate the development of anti-abortion statutes in the United
States as he explained that the law in effect in all but a few States until the mid-19th
century was the pre-existing English common law. Gradually, in the middle and late 19th
century, the quickening distinction disappeared from the statutory law of most States and
the degree of the offense and the penalties were increased. By the end of the 1950s, a
large majority of the jurisdictions banned abortion, however and whenever performed3. It
1 Gustavus Student Repository
was apparent to Blackmun and the justices of the majority in Roe v. Wade that common
law, at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, abortion was viewed with less
disfavor than under most American statutes in effect at the time Roe was decided.
"Phrasing it another way, a woman enjoyed a substantially broader right to terminate a
pregnancy than she [did at the time of Roe v. Wade]"4
.
The government still intended to protect the women's physical well being, but the
protection did not reach into her private life or reasoning. There is actually no guaranteed
right to privacy in the Constitution, but there have been several court cases that have
helped to establish a zone of privacy. To this side of the conflicting opinions of the
legality of abortion, privacy is the tantamount issue. The right of privacy, whether it be
founded in the Fourteenth Amendment's concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon
state action ... or. . .in the Ninth Amendment's reservation of rights to the people, is broad
enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy5
.
The opposing argument, when closely examined, has its base roots in several
sections of the First Amendment. First, the Amendment states that Congress shall make
no law respecting an establishment of religion. The pro-life movement is fundamentally
religious and primarily Christian because of its definition of life as beginning at
conception, a viewpoint not commonly shared with other religions. While this movement
is protected in being allowed to believe and purport this stance, the First obstacle comes
with the clause that states " ... Congress shall make no law ... prohibiting the free exercise
thereof [religion]". Could it be argued that the governmental acceptance of certain
abortion procedures and contraception is a law respecting the establishment of religion
because some religions view life as beginning at conception? On the other hand, do the
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newly imposed limits on abortion violate the same clause because the limits reflect one
religious view? When the pro-life movement deems it necessary to protest (peaceably
assemble), can the government set limits on the time and manner in which protestors may
do so? Is the ban of graphic pictures of aborted fetuses a protected right when used in
public protests or is it unacceptable?
This argument is apparent at all levels of maturity and society. It begins with the
"abstinence only" program of sex education in schools, if the schools are allowed at all to
educate students about sex. Many conservative Christian groups feel that it is the
parents' responsibility and right to teach their children about sex and contraception (to
teach them abstinence is best to prevent pregnancy) when the number of teen pregnancies
show that just is not happening. "Women who are using a method of contraception are
only fifteen percent as likely as women who are using no method to have an abortion. In
other words, contraception reduces the probability of having an abortion by eighty-five
percent.6
The abortion debate also affects minors who are sexually. active and want to
receive counseling contraception, what it really means to have sex, and even reduces
their ability to have an abortion in private. So far, minors and women with low incomes
have the least protection, because a minor has to seek someone else's consent in order to
have an abortion, and both minors and low-income women lack the financial support
available for women with higher incomes. Anti-abortion and fundamentalist movements
have gained power through public office, business and private organizational support.
The business and private organizations help provide financial backing for the pro-life
candidates that seek political office.
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As the local, state, and national governments decide how much further this
argument should be allowed to continue, a cultural gap of belief will continue to widen.
Men and women of good conscience can disagree, and ... some always shall
disagree, about he profound moral and spiritual implications of terminating a
pregnancy. Some .. .individuals find abortion offensive to [their) most basic
principles of morality, but that is not [the Supreme Court's] decision. [The
Court's) obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate [its] own moral
code 7.
Privacy, Society and Governmental Involvement: How much can they interact?
At the midst of the abortion debate is the personal and fierce belief that privacy is
an inherent and closely guarded right of personal autonomy. While the United States is a
country that consists of many distinct cultures, its cultural plurality does not indicate that
all cultures share opinions or want to listen to the advice of others. Basically, individuals
want to choose from the benefits of a pluralistic society without any intrusion by societal
influences. Control over privacy provides a safety valve for individuals in the midst of
communal life--some influence over transactions between the world of personal
experiences and the world shared with others. With no control over such exchanges,
human beings would be unable to exercise choice about their lives.8 Choice and decision
making process control the quality of one's life in society.
"Civilization is the progress towards a society of privacy". 9 It is clear that both the
pro-choice and the pro-life movement disagree on what the vital issue or concept is in the
abortion debate. For the pro-choice side of the abortion debate, privacy is the essential
concept, because for pro-choice advocates, the debated issue is not about having
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abortions. Rather, the issue is the woman's right to choose to have an abortion or carry
the pregnancy to term. The pro-choice position is that allowing the woman to choose
whether or not to continue a pregnancy means that she can exert control over her own
body without any state interference and restriction. Any state interference or restrictions
could arguably be interpreted as an intrusion in the woman's private sphere of health and
autonomy. ''.Federal and state governments should not regulate a woman's right to
choose" . 10
There is no specifically mentioned guarantee in the Constitution of any right of
privacy. This is an argument that anti-abortion supporters make that should nullify the
exclusion of state involvement in reproductive health decision making for people whose
views are pro-life. The anti-abortion movement supporters generally tend to make up a
very "by-the-book" movement that interprets documents such as the Constitution or the
Bible literally word for word. Legal scholars and governmental officials, however, were
attempting to stretch or shrink the application of Constitution to determine how privacy
could be indicated and protected. They recognized that the founders' intention was not
that the Constitution should be a static document, but a document in which future
societies would still be able to change (by adding or repealing sections). This is evident in
the fact that the Ninth Amendment was included in the Constitution.
The Ninth Amendment shows a belief of the Constitution's authors that
fundamental rights exist that are not expressly enumerated in the First eight
Amendments and an intent that the list of rights included here are not deemed
exhaustive ... The Ninth Amendment simply shows that the intent of the
Constitution's authors that other fundamental personal rights should not be denied
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such protection or disparaged in any other way simply because they are not
specifically listed in the First eight constitutional Amendments.11
As early as 1890, future Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis was already
beginning to ponder the relationship between the right of privacy and abortion. He wrote
an article for the Harvard Law Review that asserted that people ought to be able to sue
someone who violates one's right to "privacy". In his most famous passage, Brandeis
stated that
the individual shall have full protection in person and in property is a principle as
old as common law; but it has been found necessary from time to time to define
anew the exact nature and extent of such protection. Political, social, and
economic changes entail the recognition of new rights, and the common law, in its
eternal youth, grows to meet the demands of society. Thus, in very early times,
the law gave a remedy only for physical interference with life and
property . . . [Then], liberty meant freedom from actual restraint; and later, there
came a recognition of man's spiritual nature, of his feelings and intellect.
Gradually the scope of these legal rights broadened, and now the right to life has
come to mean the right to enjoy life-the right to be let alone the right to liberty
secures the exercise of extensive civil privileges . . . intangible and tangible.12
However, the Constitution does not guarantee or even "explicitly mention"13 the
right of privacy. This does not indicate that privacy should have little or no protection. As
the Ninth Amendment recognizes, there are fundamental personal rights such as
[privacy], which are protected from abridgement by the Government though not
specifically mentioned in the Constitution.14 During the half century leading up to Roe,
6 Gustavus Student Repository
the Supreme Court decided a series of significant cases in which it recognized the
existence of a constitutionally protected right to privacy that keeps fundamentally
important and deeply personal decisions concerning "bodily integrity, identity, and
destiny" largely beyond the reach of government influence. 15
Part of the decision in Roe v. Wade set up guidelines in which the state's interest
to protect the fetus might outweigh the mother's right of privacy of choice. These
guidelines follow a trimester approach that indicates which trimester the State can be
involved in a woman's choice to have an abortion as so: "No regulation at all is
permitted during the First trimester of pregnancy. [R]egulations designed to protect the
woman's health, but not further the State's interest in potential life, are permitted during
the second trimester, and during the third trimester, when the fetus is viable, prohibitions
are permitted provided the life or health of the mother is not at stake." 16 Justice Blackmun
adequately rejected the idea that this trimester system would infringe upon a woman's
rights with his opinions given in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services17 and Planned
Parenthood of Southeastern PA v. Casey.
18
Were this a true concern, we would have to abandon most of our
constitutional jurisprudence. [T]he 'critical elements' of countless
constitutional doctrines nowhere appear in the Constitution's text ... The
Constitution makes no mention, for example, of the First Amendment's "actual
malice" standard for proving certain Iibel19
... Similarly, the Constitution
makes no mention of the rational basis test, or the specific verbal formulations
of intermediate and strict scrutiny by which this Court evaluates claims under
the Equal Protection Clause. The reason is simple. Like the Roe framework,
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these (505 U.S. 833, 931] tests or standards are not, and do not purport to be,
rights protected by the Constitution. Rather, they are judge-made methods for
evaluation and measuring the strength and scope of constitutional rights or for
balancing the constitutional rights of individuals against the competing
interests of government. 20
Opponents of legalized abortion have said that the trimester approach in Roe has
no merit because there is no mention of the trimester approach in the Constitution. In the
Courts opinion in Roe v. Wade, Justice Blackmun indicates several Amendments of the
Constitution that may be construed to indicate that "certain areas or zones of privacy [do]
exist under the Constitution."21
Blackmun indicates initially in Roe v. Wade that the First Amendment lends some
protection to privacy because people have the right to think, read, and say things in their
own home without the approval of the state, as long as there is no imminent danger in
doing so. The case Blackmun cited was Stanley v. Georgia. The summary of Stanley v.
Georgia describes how Georgia police officers, under authority of a warrant to search
Stanley's house for evidence of alleged bookmaking activities, found films in Stanley's
bedroom that were deemed to be obscene. Stanley was "indicted, tried and convicted for
'knowingly hav[ing] possession of ... obscene matter"22 in violation of a Georgia law.
Justice Marshall discusses the relationship between free speech and privacy in his opinion
in Stanley. ''The right to receive information and ideas, regardless of their social worth23
,
is fundamental to [a] free society. Moreover, in the context of [Stanley v. Georgia], a
prosecution for mere possession of printed or filmed matter in the privacy of a person's
own home, [the right of free speech] takes on an added dimension. For also fundamental
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is the right to be free, except in very limited circumstances, from unwanted governmental
intrusions into one's privacy."24 Justice Marshall makes a strong point which could be
interpreted to mean that an individual should be protected from what society says about
their beliefs, or in this case, reading and using pornographic materials.
Marshall's opinion in Stanley v. Georgia gives the strength to the claim in Roe v.
Wade that privacy is protected by the Constitution. The decision of Roe v. Wade applied
the same guarantee of privacy indicated in Stanley v. Georgia to the private decision to
have an abortion. In other words, this private decision meant the freedom from having the
government intrude into a woman's private reproductive health and the decisions she
makes regarding it.
It may be said that a woman's emotional health depends on her independence
from others regarding decisions made for her physical health. ''The capacity to claim the
protection of the [Fourth] Amendment depends ... upon . .. whether the area was one in
which there was reasonable expectation of freedom from governmental intrusion."25 Prochoice
advocates say that a woman should not be told by others how she should deal with
reproductive health, and should be allowed to have privacy in making reproductive
choices because she is the one who ultimately has to live with her decision. Justice
Brandeis "comprehensively summarized" the principles underlying the Constitution's
guarantees of privacy in Olmstead v. United States. 26 The protection guaranteed by the
[Fourth and Fifth] Amendments is much broader in scope.
The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable
to the pursuit of happiness. They recognized the significance of man's spiritual
nature, of his feelings and of his intellect. They knew that only a part of the
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pain, pleasure and satisfactions of life are to be found in material things. They
sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and
their sensations. They conferred, as against the Government, the right to be let
alone---the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized
men.27
Privacy is not absolute
The Fourth Amendment has been shown to allow privacy in certain protected
areas. But, it is important to note that some decisions, such as Katz v. United States, have
declared that the Fourth Amendment is not a blanket guarantee for complete privacy. The
Fourth Amendment states that "the right of the people [is] to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures". The Fourth
Amendment is meant to protect the privacy of the individual in certain (limited)
situations from government intrusion.
''The correct solution of the Fourth Amendment. . .is not necessarily promoted
by . . . the phrase "constitutionally protected area" .. . the Fourth Amendment cannot be
translated into a general constitutional 'right to privacy"'. 28 The right of privacy
when concerning an abortion has recently been added to the category of "certain
situations" of privacy from governmental intrusion. Roe did not declare an
'unqualified constitutional right to an abortion' . . . Rather, the right protects the woman
from unduly burdensome interference with her freedom to decide whether to
terminate her pregnancy. If the right of privacy means anything, is the right of the
individual, married or single, to be free from unwarranted government intrusion into
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matters so fundamentally affecting the person as the decision whether or not to beget
a child.29
Legislation in the past fifteen years has shown how the pro-life movement is
attempting to break down the private choice of an abortion provided by Roe. ''The
privacy right involved in the abortion context 'cannot said to be absolute'. Rather, the
Roe right is intended to protect against state action drastically limiting the availability and
safety of the desire service, .. . or against 'official interference' and coercive restraint
imposed on the abortion decision".
30
An example of intrusion into a woman's privacy is presented in Thornburgh v
American College of Gynecologists. Governor Thornburgh of Pennsylvania had appealed
the decision of the Court of Appeals that struck down the Pennsylvania Abortion Control
Act of 1982. The Act held these provisions:
(1) The portions of [The Abortion Control Act] that with respect to the
requirement that the woman give her "informed consent" to an abortion, require
her to be informed of:
(a) the name of the physician who will perform the abortion,
(b) the "particular medical risks" of the abortion procedure to be used and of
carrying her child to term
( c) the fact that there may be detrimental physical and psychological
effects
( d) medical assistance benefits may be available for prenatal care, childbirth, and
neonatal care
( e) the liability of the father to assist in the child's support
(f) printed materials that describe the fetus and list agencies offering alternatives
to abortion
(2) [The Abortion Control Act] require[s] the physician to report ...
(a) identification of the performing and referring physician
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(b) information as to the woman's residence, age, race, marital status, and number
of prior pregnancies
(c) the basis for any judgement that a medical emergency existed or for any
determination of non-viability
(d) the method of payment for the abortion
(3) The physician will further provide that such reports shall not be deemed
public records but shall be available for public inspection and copying in a form
that will not lead to disclosure of the identity of any person filing a report31
One would believe after reading these "informed consent" standards that their
purpose was not to fully inform a w
Security Council: Regional Approach
No full textThis paper is a proposal for new, regional approach to collective security. The first chapter is background information necessary to understanding of Security Council's role in the United Nations. The Big Five, the permanent members of the Security Council, have shaped global politics for past five decades. The second chapter is devoted to understanding of the role of each permanent member within the United Nations structure. Chapter three explains why change in the current system is necessary. While there could be many approaches to the global security, chapter four demonstrates why regional approach would be beneficial to collective security. Chapter five proposes a model for new regional structure to replace the current Security Council and clarifies the process of transition. The final chapter addresses some of the concerns regarding regionalization of the Council.'Ifie 'Unitei 0{sitions is [if:! a mirror.
It faitliju[[y reffects tlie wislies,
Afoocfs ani positions of mem6ers.
If tlie image iispfeases, tlie remeiy
'Does not [ie in shattering tlie mirror.
:l(urt 'Wa[a/ieim.
2
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4
Introduction.
This paper is a proposal for new, regional approach to collective security. The
first chapter is background information necessary to understanding of Security Council's
role in the United Nations. The Big Five, the permanent members of the Security
Council, have shaped global politics for past five decades. The second chapter is devoted
to understanding of the role of each permanent member within the United Nations
structure. Chapter three explains why change in the current system is necessary. While
there could be many approaches to the global security, chapter four demonstrates why
regional approach would be beneficial to collective security. Chapter five proposes a
model for new regional structure to replace the current Security Council and clarifies the
process of transition. The final chapter addresses some of the concerns regarding
regionalization of the Council.
Gustavus Student Repository
Chapter I
Background.
1.1 Collective Security
5
In the past two centuries massive armed conflicts pushed to increase the power of
the international institutions. Under the notion of collective security, an aggression
against a sovereign state is treated by other governments as an attack on each of them.
The nations-states recognized the benefits of cooperation for peace and security. States
would join forces to prevent any state of their number from gaining advantage through
use of force.
The idea of collective security can be traced back to the years immediately
following the Napoleonic Wars. The members of the Alliance against Napoleon became
exasperated by his repeated aggressions and began to see the need for some permanent
arrangement to maintain peace. In March 1814, four powers, Britain, Austria, Russia,
and Prussia signed the Treaty of Chaumont, which bound them to overthrow Napoleon
and then to remain in alliance to ensure a settlement after Napoleon's defeat.
In 1815, Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia sponsored the Congress of Vienna,
the first modem attempt at organizing states to prevent international armed conflicts.
"The interests of victorious states became those of the international system. "1 The
Congress was soon replaced by the Concert of Europe, which confronted problems as
they arose. The Congress and Concert "opened up diplomatic channels among states and
established the beginnings of an executive council somewhat akin to the UN Security
1 Weiss, Forsythe, Coate, 23
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6
Council."2
In 1898 Tsar Nicholas II proposed to the foreign powers that a conference be held
"to consider the problems of limiting armaments and avoiding armed conflicts by
peaceful settlement."3 The Hague conferences, which came to existence in 1899 and
1907, dealt primarily with the laws of warfare, questions of arbitration and disarmament.
World War I demonstrated that nations-states would have to make a greater effort
and seek better means to prevent interstate violence. The League of Nations Covenant
came to be on January 20, 1920. The two main aims, "to promote international
cooperation and to achieve international peace and security," were outlined in the
Preamble to the Covenants. The League of Nations had two main organs, an Assembly
and a Council as outlined by General Smuts.4 The Council consisted of five permanent
members and four elected (which was raised to six in 1922, and nine in 1926). It was
intended that the great powers should have a majority of one over elected members. The
League of Nations, however, failed in attempt to preserve world peace.
1.2 United Nations and Security Council.
The foundations of the United Nations were laid in the midst of World War II.
The United Nations officially came to existence on October 24, 1945, when the United
Nations Charter had been ratified. The United Nations Charter "accepts the imperfect
nature of a world community composed of sovereign states."5 The Charter specifically
2 Weiss, Forsythe, Coate, 23
3 Hiscocks, 29
4 General Smuts - leading South African statesman, one of the three chief exponents of the League of
Nations idea.
5 Barros, 2
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recognizes "the principal of the sovereign equality of all its Members,"6 although in its
preamble it speaks of "We the Peoples of the United Nations." The Charter also contains
a provision restricting the United Nations from "matters which are essentially within the
domestic jurisdiction of any state." 7
Security Council8 has primary responsibility for maintaining peace and security.
7
Currently Security Council has 15 members (raised from original 11 due to rapid increase
of membership in the UN), five permanent, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom
and the United States, and ten elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly. The
Security Council is organized to function continuously, and a representative of each of its
members must be present at all times at the United Nations headquarters.9
1.3 Functions and Powers of the Security Council10
♦ TO MAINTAIN international peace and security in accordance with the purposes and
principles of the United Nations;
♦ TO INVESTIGATE any dispute or situation which might lead to international
friction;
♦ TO RECOMMEND methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;
♦ TO FORMULATE plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;
♦ TO DETERMINE the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to
recommend what action should be taken;
♦ TO CALL ON MEMBERS to apply economic sanctions and other measures not
involving the use of force in order to prevent or stop aggression;
6 Paragraph I, Article 2, Chapter I, Charter of the United Nations
7 Paragraph 7, Article 2, Chapter I, Charter of the United Nations
8 Chapter V, Charter of the United Nations
9 Article 28, Chapter V, Charter of the United Nations
10 Basic Facts about the United Nations, 7-8
I thought it necessary for the functions and powers of the Security Council remain as formulated by the
United Nations publication (derived from Chapter V of the Charter of the United Nations).
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Chapter II
The Big Five.
2.1 Cold War - Rivalry of the Superpowers
9
Toe f}olitical changes have transformed interstate relationships in ways that could
not be anticipated in 1945. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged from the
ruins of World War II with increased power and prestige. They would be without rivals
in the world apart from each other. Such clear domination of the global political scene by
the two superpowers resulted in bipolar diplomatic alignment. To promote their interests
in the world and build alliances, the United States used its influence in the United Nations
to steer the policies and the Soviet Union liberally used its veto power.
Between September 1950 and December of 1955 no new states were admitted into
the United Nations. The Soviet Union vetoed admission of every Western-sponsored
applicant and the Western bloc voted against the admission of Communist States. Veto
was not used at all throughout 1965 when the relations between the two countries
improved, and the membership of the United Nations rapidly increased. It is just one
example that illustrates how future of states was decided at the whim of the superpowers.
The Soviet Union became notorious for its excessive use of veto. It has used veto
18 times to protect its national interest in direct clash with the United States. It vetoed "5
resolutions calling for UN action in such cold-war confrontations as the Berlin Blockade,
the Hungarian Revolution, the destruction of a U.S. RB-47 airplane (2 vetoes), and the
Czechoslovak crisis of 1968."15 Lack of agreement between the two empires put the
organization into a stalemate.
14 Basic Facts about the United Nations, 6
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Veto power was used frequently on behalf of allies, the so-called vetoes by proxy.
For example, in May 1954 Thailand complained to the Security Council about threat
posed to its security by the activity of Viet Minh forces near its borders. Thailand
requested a Peace Observation Commission to be sent into the region. The draft
resolution "received nine votes in its favour but was vetoed by the Soviet Union. " 16
While the Soviet Union used its veto power as a multipurpose tool, the United
States used its so-called "hidden veto," the composition of the Security Council, to
promote its national interest. There are numerous cases on record which "suggest that the
United States has used its considerable influence to persuade members of the Council to
form a negative majority for its position and thus avoid having to cast a veto."
17
The competition between the two empires was not limited to excessive use of
veto. The world became a chest board for the United States fighting "Commies" and
Soviet Union struggling against imperialism. The superpower proxy wars ravaged
Southeast Asia, parts of Africa, Latin American and the Middle East. In the conflicts
• Soviet Union and the United States sided with the opposing sides, providing military aid.
The governments of the two superpowers involved themselves in domestic disputes such
as Vietnam and Korea to ensure that the unfavorable ideology does not spread.
Funding the UN operations became yet another topic of disagreement between the
Eastern and Western blocs. Soviet and French attitudes towards finance of peacekeeping
operations caused "the UN great financial embarrassment"
18
and led yet to another
15 Stoessinger, 7
16 Hiscocks, 186
17 Stoessinger, 15
18 Hiscock, 273
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11
deadlock between Soviet Union and the United States. 19 The Soviet Union and France
declined to make any contributions towards Congo force, among other UN operations.
The refusal resulted in UN deficit of $92 million on the Congo force. Once again lack of
cooperation between the Big Five paralyzed the organization and jeopardized peace and
security.
The Cold War diverted the attention from UN objectives. For decades the world
politics were shaped by rivalry between East and West, which crippled UN Security
Council. The superpowers' desire to obtain more influence and outdo each other
resulted in lack of cooperation. The two superpowers in their race for power failed to
fulfill their duty, promotion of peace and security in the world.
2.2 France and Great Britain
Both Great Britain and France suffered immensely from the World War II. After
the dissolution of their colonial empires, Britain and France could hardy have been put in
the same category as the United States and Russia. Britain and France declined to the
"middle power status," retaining, however, the same decision making powers as other
permanent members.
In 'gentlemen's agreement,' reached in London in 1946, "the permanent members
undertook to support the election of the non-permanent members in accordance with a
fixed plan of regional distribution: tow of the elective seats were to go to Latin American,
one to the British Commonwealth, one to the Middle East, one to the Western Europe,
19 Disagreement over applicability of Article 19 which provides that a UN Member, "Which is in areas in
the payment of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have no vote in the General Assembly if
the amount of its areas equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the preceding two
full years" (Hiscock, 273)
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12
and one to Eastern Europe."20 The United States could normally depend on support of
Britain, France and China, three out of four other permanent members, which resulted in
packing of the Security Council with members favorable to the United Stats. From 1950
onwards, the East European seat was allotted to Yugoslavia, Turkey, and Greece,
countries eastern in geographical but not a political sense. The interests of the regions
often remained neglected because of the way representation was distributed.
With the process of decolonization, the United Nations was faced with many
ethnic and territorial disputes in the newly formed sovereign states. Many factions within
the former colonies presented claims for the leadership of the state. Dispute between
India and Pakistan (which will be discussed later) is just one example how drawing
borders ignited violence for next five decades. The United Nations was left to deal with
ancient ethnic and religious grudges resurfaced after regions ceased to be colonies.
The end of two great colonial empires resulted in an increase of UN membership.
During the twelve years, 1960-1971, 59 new states became members of the UN. Most of
those new members were developing countries. United Nations' membership now
extended almost to the entire globe. Such change in UN membership affected
tremendously the work of the organization. During the Cold War, the United States and
the Soviet Union were competing for the support of the third-world nations.
2.3 China
The problem of Chinese representation first arose in 1949, after emergence of
unified China under popular Communist government. Since the Communists had not
destroyed the Nationalist government, for the first time in history of the UN, two rivaling
20 Hiscock, 71
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governments were claiming the same seat. The squabble was further complicated by
divided loyalties of the Soviet Union and the United States.
The Soviet Union demanded that the People's Republic of China "be seated
promptly in all organs of the United Nations as the legitimate government of China and
that the Nationalist government be ousted."21 The United States based its objections on
the grounds that the People's Republic of China was "an illegal, immoral, as well as a
nonpermanent, government."22 The China issue was debated for twenty-two years and
was finally resolved in October 1971.
13
By late sixties it had become clear that the Communist regime was more than a
passing phase and was therefore entitled to membership. The rapid growth of UN
membership became the other variable that tipped the scale in favor of PRC government
taking its seat at the Council. Many of the newly admitted states, which wanted
expansion of the Security Counci123
, were aware that "the Soviet Union would not permit
revision of the Charter unless the PRC was admitted to its 'rightful' seat in the United
Nations."24 China became the representative of the third-world countries in the Security
Council, advocating development and environment. Furthermore, China's presence in
the Council has produced a triangular situation in which "the unrestricted rivalry between
two super-powers of the early Cold War is not likely to recur."25
21 Stoessinger, 33
2 2 Stoessinger, 33
2 3 discussed in further detain in Chapter III
24 Stoessinger, 35
25 Hiscock, 320
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Chapter ID
Reasons for Change
3.1 Shift in the world politics.
In the fifties and sixties UN membership had drastically increased to the total of
110 in 1962. Up to 1965, apart from an occasional Asian member, all members of the
Council were either European or strongly influenced by the European cultural tradition.
The first formal proposal to enlarge the Security Council was made by eighteen Latin
American states in 1956.
A resolution to increase number of elected members from six to ten and the
number of votes required for decisions from seven to nine was ratified by two thirds of
14
the UN members, including all the permanent members, in 1965. "The UN has given the
new African and Asian states, nearly all of them developing countries, the opportunity for
the first time to play an important role in international affairs."26 In the recent years many
expressed the need for further expansion of the permanent membership on the Security
Council to ensure a more complete international representation based upon geography.
Many proposals have been made. Ambassador's Razali's design, for example, proposes
increase of permanent membership to 10 and non-permanent to 14. The likely candidates
include Brazil, India, Nigeria, Japan and Germany.
Global politics have changed drastically since the end of the World War II. Japan
and Germany made an amazing comeback, rebuilding their economy and social structures
after defeat. Both nations worked hard to redeem themselves in the face of the world.
Japan and Germany both feel that it is time to end the excluding treatment they have been
26 Hiscocks, 99
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15
receiving from the United Nations.
Governments of both Japan and Germany feel that it is time to make room on the
Security Council for their states. The current permanent members opposed such change
because it would weaken their decision-making powers in the Council. To the proposition
of extending permanent membership to Japan and Germany without a veto power,
Berlin's officials responded that Germany would not take second class seat. Japan has
expressed its discontent with its "made-in-America diplomacy." 27
Presence of the two new members on the Council would also shift the dynamics
of Security Council's activities. Both states would act very carefully on the council not to
appear as aggressors. While the United States and Russia acting together could do no
wrong, Japan and Germany would be more prudent than the current members in issues
concerning peacekeeping missions. It could result in UN looking away from the disputes
to avoid criticism for invasion of states ' sovereignty. 28 In September of 1994, Japan's
foreign minister Y ohei Kono was authorized to officially express Japan's aspiration for a
permanent seat on the Security Council. It is the world's second largest economy.
Japan's "financial contribution to the UN is second only the that of the US."29 Japanese
officials claim that Japan has a far better record than U.S. and Russia, who own large
back payment of dues, or China and France, both of which broke the terms of NonProliferation
Treaty and conducted unauthorized nuclear tests.
Each Security Council member's conception of good governance would leave an
impression on the Council's performance. For example, Article 9 of Japanese
2
7 Fuj ita, 438
28
editorial
29
Fujita, 439
Gustavus Student Repository
constitution bans dispatch of Japanese troops overseas. Japan would take a different
approach to collective security, namely preventive diplomacy. "Japan would use a
permanent seat as a platform to argue for world disarmament."30
16
The dynamics of global politics have changed in the past five decades. Security
Council establishment corresponded to the realities of international politics after the
World War II. Since, member states have expressed their discontent with the
representation in the Council and decision-making process. The purpose of the Security
Council is to ensure collective security and peace. It is not created as an elite club where
Superpowers could shape global politics to accommodate their interests. The current
permanent members are holding on tight to their influence in the United Nations and the
Council. However, adjustments will have to be made in near future to reflects the needs
and desires of all nation states.
3.2 Inadequacy of UN missions.
The UN missions have not always been as successful as global security requires.
Some operations were crippled by lack of cooperation between the members of the
Security Council. Others were ineffective because the Council did not demonstrate
necessary commitment towards resolution. Failure of Security Council to fulfill its duty
is perhaps best demonstrated by India and Pakistan conflict.
When power in British India was transferred to the newly independent
governments of India and Pakistan, the states were left free to accede to either India or
Pakistan or to remain independent. The power was transferred in August 1947 in all
states with the exception of Hyderabad, Junagadt, and Kashmir. Of these Hyderabad and
30 The Economist, 36
Gustavus Student Repository
17
Junagadt has Muslim rulers with predominantly Hindu populations, while Kashmir has a
Hindu Maharajah and a population over three-quarters of which were Muslim. Pakistan
referred the matter of Hyderabad and Junagadt to the Security Council in January 1948.
The question of Hyderabad, one of India most populous states, was seized in May 1949
on the grounds of Nizam's, state's Muslim ruler, resignation and substantial Hindu
majority.
The question of Kashmir, however, persisted for the next five decades with no
resolution in sight to this day. India referred the question of Kashmir was to the Security
Council in January 1948. The loyalties of the permanent members fell on different sides
of the border. UN observers have kept watch on the cease-fire since 1949. Th
Censorship, Intellectual Freedom, and the Influence of Literature on America
No full textThis paper will serve as a guide to the deeper points of censorship, focusing primarily on intellectual freedom. I will give arguments for and against this issue and discuss some of the many theories available. This is a paper on the first amendment, possibly the most debated area in politics and certainly in classrooms around the country. If there is one area that people feel strongly about in politics, it is their freedom of speech and their freedom of expression. It is what makes the United States of America the USA. I believe that if we lived in an intellectually free society, we would have a country of informed citizens. I would like to prove that we, as a social community, need intellectual freedom. Proving that through the abolishment of virtually all forms of censorship, intellectual freedom would thrive.Joseph Thomas Majewski III
Senior Thesis
Political Science Major
Semester One 1999
Censorship, Intellectual Freedom,
and the
Influence of Literature on America
Gustavus Student Repository
Table of Contents
Introduction: Page 3
Chapter One: The history of censorship. Page 7
Chapter Two: Intellectual Freedom in the U.S.
Page 18
Chapter Three: Support and dissent. Page 26
Chapter Four: Conclusion Page 32
Works Cited: Page 35
2
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Introduction
Throughout history various forms of political
"oppression" have upset people. In the United States of
America, the nation-state with a free society, there are
many people who still feel their rights are infringed upon
by the power of the state. Without question the most
popular, or perhaps more accurately, the most infamous
debates arise from the First Amendment. The contents of
which stipulate the freedom of speech, expression and
religion. Interpreters of this amendment argue the finer
points year after year and there is still no general
consensus on who is right or wrong, concerning such issues
as flag burning, free expression or protesting. One such
issue that has long been a part of our society is
censorship and the right to intellectual freedom. Although
not hotly debated until roughly the past forty years,
is a very significant issue in contemporary American
politics.
this
3
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The history of censorship began around 1730 with the
trial of John Peter Zenger, a printer in New York who is
more or less known as the first of the "crusaders" against
censorship, and was a true advocate for informing the
public. Zenger will be discussed further in the next
chapter. What is censorship? The Office of Intellectual
Freedom (OIF) is a political organization advocating
intellectual freedom and the ending of censorship.
According to this source, "censorship is the suppression of
ideas and information that certain persons-individuals,
groups or government officials-find objectionable or
dangerous". Censors attempt to utilize the power of the
state to impose their own views upon the general public of
the United States. How do they do this? Libraries and
other public service institutions are more or less
pressured into suppressing information that would normally
be available to the public. The censors judge this
information to be "inappropriate or dangerous". Through
this censorship, the public gives up their right to make up
their own minds about a certain issue.
censors make up our minds for us.
In essence the
What then, is intellectual freedom? "Intellectual
freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and
receive information from all points of view without
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restriction. It provides free access to all expressions of
ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause
or movement may be explored". We the people of the United
States claim that we live in a democracy. How can we claim
that America is a democracy if we allow people to decide
upon what we can or cannot read, or see, or hear? Even
though the U.S. never was, I have always believed that
censorship is the last bit of dictatorship we are holding
on to in the United States. That may be extreme, however
it makes the point that censorship is a power the state
uses against the public. As free citizens, we can make our
own decisions about what to read and what to bypass. We
should have the right to choose.
This paper will serve as a guide to the deeper points
of censorship, focusing primarily on intellectual freedom.
I will give arguments for and against this issue and
discuss some of the many theories available. This is a
paper on the first amendment, possibly the most debated
area in politics and certainly in classrooms around the
country. If there is one area that people feel strongly
about in politics, it is their freedom of speech and their
freedom of expression. It is what makes the United States
of America the USA. I believe that if we lived in an
intellectually free society, we would have a country of
5
Gustavus Student Repository
informed citizens. I would like to prove that we, as a
social community, need intellectual freedom. Proving that
through the abolishment of virtually all forms of
censorship, intellectual freedom would thrive.
6
Gustavus Student Repository
Chapter One
In the long and detailed history of censorship, John
Peter Zenger is the most illustrious figure by far.
Although not exclusively related to censorship, freedom of
the press is a very key factor in the history of censorship
in America. In the case of John Peter Zenger, it was in
the colonies before America had its independence from
England. Zenger immigrated to the United States when he
was thirteen years old with his mother. His father died on
the boat during the trip from England. His family is
originally from Germany. Some find it strange that the
utmost hero in the fight for free expression and a free
press was not native to this country. According to James
Alexander, in his book covering the trial and story of John
Peter Zenger, he states that Zenger was "the foundation
stone for the freedom of press" .
John Peter Zenger was a printer in New York beginning
in about 1732, owning his own small print shop. In 1735 he
was prosecuted and tried for seditious libel. Seditious
libel is a crime committed against the government by the
written word. The reason for including a brief account of
this trial is for the sole purpose of setting the
groundwork for what is to come in the future of censorship
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and the right to intellectual freedom. This case "reveals
not the conclusion but the origins and sources of change:
it allows us to see in dramatic detail the nature of the
forces developing in the early eighteenth century"
(Alexander) .
The events preceding the trial of Zenger are equally
as important as the trial itself. In 1732, William Cosby
was elected mayor in New York City. It was immediately
apparent to the citizens of New York that Cosby was going
to be very different. He was loud, greedy, quick-tempered
and jealous. Due to extraneous circumstances, Cosby fired
Chief Justice Lewis Morris from the Supreme Court bench of
New York City in 1733, thus making enemies in the political
sphere for life. After his being fired, Lewis Morris began
a lengthy campaign to eradicate William Cosby from the
office of Mayor. Following his being fired, Morris created
the New York Weekly Journal and hired John Peter Zenger as
the editor and printer of the weekly paper. The publisher
of the paper was James Alexander, a local politician and
friend of Morris. This was the beginning of the end, and
thus, a new beginning.
The paper began to criticize the issues and practices
of William Cosby. For over a year Alexander and primarily,
Zenger led the assault on William Cosby. Cosby eventually
8
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noticed that the writings in the Journal were having a
profound impact on the citizens of New York City. "Cosby
was quickly convinced that the Journal was becoming
influential among the citizens of New York and that it
posed a real threat to the maintenance of public order and
to the permanence of his administration" (Alexande r) . At
this point in time there began a debate between the Journal
and the Gazette, a rival paper printed and published by
Zenger's former employer. The discussion was over the
correct definition of seditious libel. At this time Zenger
knew of the charges that were posed against him yet he
continued to print what he believed to be informative
criticism of the mayor for the people of New York City.
Zenger used three forms of printed criticism: satire,
reportage and essays concerning the government.
felt menaced by Zenger's Journal" (Alexander).
"Cosby
Eventually Zenger was jailed for printing and
publishing seditious libel on four separate, very obvious
occasions. During the arraignment of John Peter Zenger,
his attorneys attempted to set bail at a low enough cost to
match Zenger's wage at the time. Instead, Chief Justice
James pe Laney, a known friend of Cosby, set the bail 100
percent higher than was requested. It should also be noted
that Zenger's attorneys requested a writ of Habeas Corpus
9
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and that once again De Laney overruled the motion.
Consequently Zenger spent eight long months in jail. The
reason Morris, who had plenty of money to bail Zenger out,
left him in prison was to put forth the image that Zenger
was to be pitied due to the hardships of prison. Later,
Alexander Hamilton was hired by Morris to be the attorney
for Zenger. Hamilton was at this point in his career known
to be the best lawyer in America. On August 4, 1735,
Hamilton won over the jury in one day of argument and
Zenger was ultimately acquitted. The root of Hamilton's
argument for the defense of Zenger was that citizens have
the right to criticize their rulers.
This was a very big victory in the history of
censorship and for the freedom of press in the United
States. However, one must realize that this trial did not
specifically change anything. "The ruling did not directly
further the development either of political liberty or of
freedom of press in America" (Alexander) . What it did was
jumpstart people into believing they have the right to say
what they want to say, even about those who rule over them
in positions of authority. "It prefigured that revolution
in the hearts and minds of the people, which was to make an
ideal of 1735, and American reality, and it has served
10
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repeatedly to remind Americans of the debt free men owe to
free speech" (Alexander) .
Censorship has been in existence for thousands of
years. The laws that stipulate censorship however, have
not existed nearly as long. When the framers of the
Constitution declared the freedom of speech a right for all
citizens, they meant every form of communication and
expression was protected by the Constitution. What happens
when there are laws placed on society? Laws produce "legal
uncertainty and social insecurity" (McClellan). Arguments
for and against censorship are as old as the practice
itself. These arguments will most likely go on forever.
"There are no final conclusions, however; there never can
be in this ever changing sphere of discussion and action"
(McClellan) .
By the end of the late fifties into the sixties the
sphere of censorship began to encompass the very
controversial issue of defining obscenity laws. These
obscenity laws can easily be described as the "authority of
the state". Those who are opposed to the authority of the
state are firm believers in a free market in the United
States. Why is this significant to censorship? "Because
censorship is the reverse of a free marketplace; it is
state control over ideas" (McClellan). Should it be the
11
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job of politicians to adjudicate what is obscene, or should
it be up to the individual? There are thousands of
questions one can ask given enough time concerning
obscenity and censorship. According to McClellan there are
three questions to ask in any balanced appraisal of
censorship in the United States. The first question lies
in fear and uncertainty. What is there to fear? The
second is deeper than the first and requires a lengthy
response. Is there an overt loss to society through the
censorship of obscene material? The third question deals
with the appropriateness of legal controls on censorship.
Should the law try to control something that is a serious
social problem? McClellan is making a point when he writes
"Those who move easily from premise to conclusion ignore
the inherent limitations of the legal process, and they
fail to count the social cost of ill-advised legislation" .
What is there to fear? Do some fear that we may begin
to think for ourselves? There is nothing wrong with that.
However, free thought has started revolutions, but it has
also ended wars. I think the answer lies within the
censors' fear of free thought. Children are not supposed
to think for themselves. They are supposed to learn from
their parents, certainly not from a rouge twelve-year-old
who travels down the Mississippi River on a raft. The
12
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second question is more philosophical in that it requires
thought to come to a conclusion. I think the answer is
yes, there is an overt loss to society through censorship.
For one, we must live thinking that whatever we read or see
has been manipulated. Even more importantly, when a book
is banned, we miss out on reading possibly a truly great
work of literary art. To answer the third question, I
think the legal controls of censorship should only exist
for material that falls outside the protection of the first
amendment. Material that has no inherent value to our
society should bee censored.
It is written that there is virtually a paradox
existing between laws and censorship. Before we act so
quickly and stamp OBSCENE on any written work that has bad
language or sexual content we must look at the consequences
of this action. What happens whenever a law is made? The
lawmaker would respond by stating that society has become a
better place, no civilly responsible person would break a
law. The fact of the matter is the law will get broken.
This is a fact. If there is law written down somewhere
there are people out there who will break it. What happens
when someone breaks the law? Legal processes begin and
then everything slows down. The courts get tied up, the
jails get crowded and people waste vast amounts of money.
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What would happen if the hypothetical law stated before was
not in existence? There would be no way to break the law
so none of the above consequences would take place. This
is a common argument for those who oppose censorship. "If
there were no laws judging and stipulating what obscenity
is, there would be no violations of obscenity laws"
(Berns) . This seems to be logical. However, would it
work? One must first uncover more truth about censorship
to weigh the positive and negative aspects of such a
situation.
The United Sates Supreme Court has ruled on certain
categories of expression and speech that are not protected
under the first amendment. "Obscenity, child pornography,
defamation, and fighting words, or speech that incites
immediate and imminent lawless action" (OIF) . The article
then justifies the protecting of governmental information,
such as national security, troop movement, or classified
information about defense. There is nothing wrong with
this. All these restrictions do is protect the citizens of
the United States. These regulations are in the best
interest of the people, not written for the suppression of
ideas and information.
How does one define what is obscene and what is not,
in both a literary and political sense of the word?
14
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According to the masses of the time, it was not considered
obscene if it contributed to the overall value of the work.
This raises the question: what is value? One essayist
claimed that if we accepted the fact that deciphering
between the extremes of obscenity or literary genius is
impossible, we could understand the problem. Many great
works of literature are obscene. That is not a hard fact
to grasp. "Our reaction to obscenity is a complex,
subjective thing based in part on taste, morality and
religion" (McClellan).
Parents all over the country are arguing today over
various books that are in-print which are circulating into
schools and libraries everywhere. It is not only the
parents that regularly speak out against certain books or
essays; it is in fact many different kinds of people. The
fact still remains that there are many people who become
offended when they read a work of literature, be it
political literature, or simply a novel written for
pleasure. We live in world today where people are not
afraid to say they do not like something. By this accord
they feel they should ruin, or at least hinder the
experiences of thousands perhaps millions of other people
who would readily pick up the work and read through its
entirety. Is this a just thing to do? Do we live in such
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a society that is so intolerant? If a book can be banned
for propagating religious practices for instance, why has
the Bible not been banned for "propagating" Christianity?
The past twenty years or more have tested the
tolerance of everyone. Even the last ten years have tested
the tolerance we have. Think of the reactions a decade ago
when two people of the same sex walked down the street
holding hands. Homosexuality is just one of many things
that have broadened the horizons of millions of people.
Not everyone agrees with homosexuality, but that does not
mean that they are banned from being seen by the public.
The same is true for literature, especially literature that
is questionable. Books such as The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain or The Catcher in the Rye by
J.D. Salinger. These books are banned in schools all over
in the United States. These books have influenced so many
people, including myself, to challenge those who wish to
abuse authority or invade my autonomy. This, sad as it may
be, is the reason the aforementioned books are banned in so
many places. They dare children to use their minds in ways
they have never thought of. Intellectual freedom is a new
situation for me, although I have always felt very strongly
about it. I have always felt uneasy deep inside when I
read of such wonderful pieces of literature being treated
16
Gustavus Student Repository
like they are the inevitable downfall of our society. Our
country prides itself on being the freest society on earth.
I think it is a major infringement on the rights of an
individual if one cannot read what he or she wants because
the parent/teacher associations of the local schools have
banned the book from the community.
17
Gustavus Student Repository
Chapter Two
In this chapter I would like to discuss intellectual
freedom. I would like to offer the opinions of notable
scholars on this issue and I would also like to offer my
own opinion and theory compared to others'. This chapter
will focus on defining intellectual freedom, the
consequences of regulating intellectual freedom, and why
intellectual freedom is so important to others and myself.
These discussions will be based on the argument that an
intellectually free society is a society that is devoted to
educating people, and upholding their right to learn. I
will also discuss the counter, namely the belief that
intellectual freedom should be regulated. Based on the
argument that what is regulated would not have made any
impact on the lives of those who choose to study the work.
This is an issue that has been fought over in the political
realm for many years now. As stated earlier, intellectual
freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and
receive information from all points of view without
restriction.
In the United States of America, under the protection
of the first amendment, "no citizen and librarian can
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properly assume the duty or right to restrict or suppress
legally protected expressions of ideas" (OIF) . This raises
an interesting point I think, in the discussion of
intellectual freedom. That is the power of the librarian.
Librarians play a key role in the battle for intellectual
freedom. They play this role by allowing books to
circulate into their library, and displaying them for use
by the public. Libraries are in fact a public service for
the citizens of the United States. Libraries are direct
links to censorship. What does this mean exactly? When
someone in a library reads something that he or she finds
offensive, they complain to the librarian. The complainant
is then known as the censor, for it is that person who
wants the material banned from the shelves of the library.
By that same token, that person who has now taken the role
as censor, may choose to publicly address the issue at hand
and hold a community meeting, or a meeting with the library
board. If the censor is successful the book will be taken
out of the library and even worse, it may be restricted
from schools as well. If the censor fails at this level it
can be taken a step further. He or she can organize groups
of community members and rally them against the library to
decrease funding or elect new library officials. At any
rate, the group advocates change to some part of the
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organization. If there is failure on behalf of the censor
once again they can attempt to change library policy. This
is basically changing the location of the offensive books
by placing them in restricted areas. "Libraries should
challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their
responsibility to provide information and enlightenment"
(American Library Association Library Bill of Rights).
Banning books along with other f
Climate Justice and Its Discontents (GEG-235)
No full textGEG-235 Justice Org Showcase Assignment, Fall Semester 2025
Each student chose one environmental/climate justice organization to explore. They showcased how and where the organization works, their mission and methods, and their campaigns. Each student shared what they learned with our class community. This allowed us to learn about the dynamic environmental/climate justice movement together. Now we are sharing it with you!GEG-235 Climate Justice and Its Discontents
Fall 2025
Environmental Justice / Climate Justice Organization Showcase
created by students in the class
cover artwork by Maddy Schilling
(inspired by Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke, Act IV) Gustavus Student Repository
GEG-235 Justice Org Showcase Assignment, Fall Semester 2025
Each student chose one environmental/climate justice organization to explore. They
showcased how and where the organization works, their mission and methods, and
their campaigns. Each student shared what they learned with our class community.
This allowed us to learn about the dynamic environmental/climate justice
movement together. Now we are sharing it with you!
Table of Contents
Organization (alphabetically ordered) Author Page
Alliance for the Great Lakes Gloria Armstrong 3
Black Hills Clean Water Alliance Mary Steffen 4
Children's Environmental Health Network Kate Hamski 5
Clean Wisconsin Tyler Heil 6
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Quinton 7-8
European Network Against Racism Kaya de Bruijn 9
Extinction Rebellion Sam Pavlis 10
Great Plains Action Society Libby Moore 11-12
Indigenous Environmental Network Kierstyn Lundberg 13
Iowa Environmental Council - Center for Rural Affairs Autumn Wunschel 14-15
Just Transition Alliance Conner Martens 16
La Via Campesina Rolando Maya 17-18
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy Maddy Schilling 19
Minnesota Environmental Justice Table Rowan Dahlseid 20
Rise and Repair Geneva Fackler 21
Sunrise Movement Sophie Lipa 22-23
Three Waters Pipeline Resistance Team Maxwell Mike 24
We Act for Environmental Justice Samara Goltz 25-26
Gustavus Student Repository
Gustavus Student Repository
Gustavus Student Repository
Gustavus Student Repository
Madison, WI
Since 1970
Wisconsin’s leading advocates
for clean air, water, and land
for over 55 years
Clean Wisconsin works to
combat climate change and
pollution in our air, water and
land to ensure a healthy future
for every Wisconsin community. Current ISSUES
AI Data Centers
Fast-Tracks Gas Plants
Why THIS Matters
AI Data Centers
More energy usage than the
WHOLE state of Wisconsin
More water USAGE than a WHOLE
city
Fast-Tracks Gas Plant
1.2 gigawatt gas plant in Paris,
Wisconsin
More CO2 EMISSIONS :((((
Our Partners
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Citizen Action of Wisconsin
Faith in Place
Healthy Climate Wisconsin
What We DO!!
Legal Action
Scientific Research
Policy Advocacy
Community Engagement
Recent Case WIN
Clean Wisconsin v. Dept. of
Natural Resources
DNR issued a water pollutant
discharge permit to a dairy
farm (8,000 COWS)
FInd Out More Here
www.cleanwisconsin.org
Gustavus Student Repository
- Founded in 1992 by
Dr. Beverly L Wright
- Home base is in New
Orleans
- Works across Gulf
South especially along
the Mississippi River
Chemical Corridor
- These places have
history of segregation
and environmental
racism
Issues and campaigns
- Environmental racism in
Cancer Alley
- Toxic air pollution
- Climate disasters
- The Environmental Justice
Date Action Portal
- The Community
Investment & Recovery
center(CIRC)
- HBCU Climate Change
Consortium
- Shaping a future
where vulnerable
communities thrive
in healthy
environments
- Community
members
- Students and
faculty from HBCU
Mission,
membership
Where
Gustavus Student Repository
- This challenges new
industrial permits
- Pushes against toxic
expansions
- Helps give visual proof of
environmental racism
- The website has got national
attention and funding
support
- Communities have used the
portal om advocacy and
public hearings
- This portal has become a
main EJ piece in the Gulf
South
Tools/Methods
- Community based
- GIS mapping & data
portals for residents
- Grassroots
environmental training
- Youth leadership
development through
HBCUs
- HBCUs across all the
south
- U.S. EPA and federal
agencies proving EJ
funding
- National Black
Environmental Justice
Network
Partnership
Gustavus Student Repository
EUROPEAN NETWORK
AGAINST RACISM
FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
WHO WE ARE
Goal: document how European racialised
communities are disproportionately
impacted by climate change and its
harms, due to historical and present-day
structural racism and colonial-capitalist
economies
Case study: 4 Roma communities totaling
2000 people are forced to live in the
illegal landfill of Pata Rât ⟶ toxic waste
and health hazards
Impacts: increased media attention on
“decolonizing” climate action and racial
mainstreaming in EU policies
OUR MISSION
End structural racism in Europe
Redistribution of power, privileges
and rights
A Europe where race, ethnicity,
religion, nationality or status
doesn’t determine opportunities,
WHAT WE DO health and safety
National Action Plans Against
Racism (NAPARs) – pushing for EU
Member States to adopt these
Climate justice campaign –
addressing how climate policy must
include race, calling for racial
mainstreaming in climate policy
Structural racism advocacy – data,
legislation, institutional reform
Pan-European anti-racism network
of 150 NGO’s
Located in Brussels, Belgium
Target structural racism in Europe
Bringing together a unique set of
skills, campaigning experience, EU
expertise, and knowledge
REPORT: Racialised
Communities in Europe hit
hardest by Climate Crisis
TAKE ACTION
HOW WE DO IT Advocacy
Networking
Building bridges
Create Synergies
Local change
Monitor Trends and Offer Solutions
Gustavus Student Repository
Campaigns/Events
Governer’s Mansion
“Extinction Rebellion is a decentralised, international and
politically non-partisan movement using non-violent
direct action and civil disobedience to persuade
governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological
Emergency.” Extinction Rebellion works to fight against
biodiversity loss and climate change, and recognizes the
disproportional affects climate change has on
communities that contribute the least.
With over 993 groups in 88 countries,
Extinction Rebellion’s strategy entails
nonviolent, civil disobedience; or in other
words, a rebellion. Examples of disruptive
civil disobedience are roadblocks,
organizing mass arrests, theatrical
protests to draw attention, and more.
Extinction Rebellion also utilizes social
media, door knocking, phone calls, house
meetings, speaking to people face to face,
posting flyers, and organizing marches
and rallies.
How does XR Operate?
Rebellion (XR)
Extinction
Make Them Pay
Alliance building unity
workers, social, and climate
justice movements
Three key demands
Tax the super-rich
Protect workers
Make polluters pay
Thousands gathered in a
demonstration through Central
London
Richest are most responsible for
climate change,
Poorer communities feel it the most
Make Them Pay
Scientists for XR
Eulogy for Mother Earth
Funeral for Paris Agreement
Gustavus Student Repository
Born out of fight against
Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016
Spent time at Standing Rock
resistance camps representing
Iowa relatives
Indigenous-led grassroots non-profit
in Iowa and eastern
Nebraska
Why this place?
Most biologically
colonized and fascist
states in country
Great Plains
Action Society
Where?
Mission
built upon community
engagement and grassroots
initiatives
Four initiatives : Protect the
Sacred (Ending MMIR crisis),
Land defense (climate and
environment), Representation
(getting proper representation
of indigenous people), Civic
Engagement (educating on
legislation and getting out
the vote)
Campaigns
Frontline Land Defense -
against resource extraction and
Big-Ag
Food Sovereignty - grow own
food so we rely less on
government
MMIR and MMIW - colonial
violence, work to protect women
Anti-Racism Education - repeal
on ban of critical race theory
COVID-19 Response - disperse
resources to Indigenous people
BIPOC GOTV Efforts - Indigenous
led voting and political
engagmentment initiative
Truthsgiving - mutual aid to
discourage colonized ideas
about thanksgiving mythology
Gustavus Student Repository
Methods and Tools
Education (zines, articles,
Building Urban Indigenous-led
resilience hubs (allows
proximity to culture,
traditions, work force
development, and education for
Indigenous communities)
Environmental Justice Map
(highlights injustice of
pipelines)
Protests, Hearings,
Statements, Social Media
Powwows
Allies
U.S. Department of Justice’s
National Institute of Justice
(Indigenous Voices Rising)
Camila Cabello + Movement
Voter Fund (Healing Justice
Project)
Urban Native Center
Rise for EJ
Omaha Nebraska Urban Indian
Health Coalition
Young Lions Roar
Rustic Roots Sanctuary
Many more depending on
campaign
Protect the Sacred
Campaign
Ending MMIR Crisis
Standing with victims and their loved
ones
Educate, empower, heal, and activate
people to make long lasting change
How?
Healing workshops
direct actions
self defense classes, writing
articles
mini documentaries
cultural programming
political engagement
legacy fund (monetary support)
educating police and parole officers
Red Sky Nation MMIR Powwow
Raising awareness for MMIR epidemic
2023 + 2024, fiscal sponsor for Red
Sky Nation and co-organize powwow
Red Sky Nation became own non-profit
Event continues to be “powerful,
changemaking, and healing”
Gustavus Student Repository
Located in Bemidji MN. “The activities of the IEN include building the capacity of Indigenous communities and tribal governments to develop mechanisms to protect the sacred sites, land, water, air, natural resources, health of both our people and all living things, and to build economically sustainable communities” (Indigenous Environmental Network History page). Since they are located in North America they help every Indigenous community in all of America. They are located in Minnesota and they help with the pipelines that are in the Dakotas and northern Minnesota.
Mission Statement: IEN is an alliance of Indigenous Peoples whose Shared Mission is to Protect the Sacredness of Earth Mother from contamination & exploitation by Respecting and Adhering to Indigenous Knowledge and Natural Law. Some of the campaigns are DAPL, Keystone XL, Line 3, Carbon trading and offsets, and the transition of making the world a greener space for people to live in. Their allies are Climate Justice Alliance, Grassroots Global Justice, It Takes Roots, Right to the City Alliance, and United Frontline Table.
On the day Joe Biden was inaugurated he helped cancel the international border crossing of the KXL pipeline. Joye Braun was the person who spoke on this. She wanted to “protect the land, our women and children from man camps, to protect the water, our unique medicines, and to protect the sovereignty of our tribe to say no, we don’t want this project” (Keystone XL Pipeline IEN). The Keystone XL pipeline wasn’t even for the United States, it was headed to China.
Gustavus Student Repository
Mission Statement
“Establish strong rural communities,
social, economic justice, environmental
stewardship, and genuine opportunity for
all while engaging people in decisions that
affect the quality of their lives and the
future of their communities”
Members Include
rural residents
farmers
small business
owners
tribal advocates
community leaders
grassroot members
Governed By
Board of Directors
Center for Rural Affairs
est. 1973
Issues and campaigns
Solar for All
Small Business Lending Program
Rural Community Development
Beginning Farmer + Rancher Support
Farm to School Program
Helps schools serve locally grown
food in cafeterias
Gustavus Student Repository
Policy Work
They help people understand policies that affect
rural communities. This is mainly focused on
Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota..
They advocate for policies that support local
residents and create a space where they can
learn about policies.
Community + Farmer Support
This is mainly focused on Iowa and Nebraska.
They support small towns and rural
communities. They assist people new to farming
and help strengthen local food networks.
Small Business Lending
This is mainly focused in Nebraska .They provide
loans and business coaching to rural
entrepreneurs to start or grow their business.
They also support rural communities that often
lack traditional lenders
Solar for All: CFRA got a 62 million
grant from the EPA to help low-income,
rural, and historically disadvantaged
households with solar power. They helped
people learn about the program and
apply. The plan was to increase the
state’s solar energy by 60 megawatts
over 5 years. Before CFRA could
implement the plan, the EPA cancelled the
grant. CRFA expects there will need to be
legal action taken to get access to the
grant money.
Part of the Iowa
Environmental Council
By: Autumn Wunschel Gustavus Student Repository
Just Transition Alliance
Toxic Pollution and Health Disparities
Worker Rights and Safety
Corporate greenwashing and “False Solutions"
Economic Inequality
Health Care Justice
URL: https://jtalliance.org/
Where we Work
Based out of San Diego, California
How “place” matters
California is a state leader in both climate policy and
fossil fuel extraction, creating a critical site for both
the problems and solutions
What’s our mission
to support frontline workers and fenceline communities in
moving from harmful extractive industries to a healthy,
sustainable, and regenerative economy
What are we fighting
Campaign Involvement
Climate Justice
Phase-out of Fossil Fuels
Economic equity
Organizational Approach to Climate Justice
Advocation for a community-led shift from an extractive economy
Emphasizing the central role of frontline communities in shaping polices and solutions
Partnerships
Coming Clean
California Environmental Justice Alliance
Coming Clean
a non-profit environmental health collaborative that works to
eliminate toxic chemicals by reforming the chemical and fossil
fuel industries
Successful in policy changes including the 2024 U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Cleaning Products
Right To Know Act” 2017, and more
Gustavus Student Repository
Where They Work Membership
Mission &
MembershipMost Popular in Latin America,Africa and AsiaA global movement established in 1993, nowpresent in over 81 countries. Organization in rural, Indigenous, and land-defending regions. Local disputes concerning land, water, andseeds are foundational to the movement. Localized conflicts are transformed into globalcampaigns. **Mission:** Attain food sovereignty and advocate forpeasant rights. **Membership:** Over 182 organizations representingmillions globally. **Focus Areas:** Agroecology, land reform, women'srights, and climate justice. La Via Campesina
Gustavus Student Repository
Methods Partnerships PartnershipsGrassroots organizing and peasantassemblies Schools established have beenacross various regions Mass mobilizations and coordinatedglobal actions Advocacy at the United Nations(FAO, Human Rights Council, UNGA) Cultural organizing, sharing testimonies,and creating solidarity networks FIAN International, CETIM, andIndigenous networks Women’s rural movements,fisherfolk, and seed collectives Supportive UN Special Rapporteursand member states Hundreds of regional peasant unions Issues & Campaigns • Land grabbing & displacement. • Corporate seed control & biodiversity loss. •Criminalization of land defenders. • Climate injustice from agribusiness. • Majorcampaigns: Food Sovereignty, Peasant Seeds, Agrarian Reform, Ending Violence AgainstWomen, UNDROP
https://viacampesina.org/en/
La Via Campesina (@la_via_campesina_official) Gustavus Student Repository
Gustavus Student Repository
MINNESOTA
ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE TABLE
To build people power to fight
against systems of harm for
frontline communities
MISSION
Community organizing and
leadership development
Policy advocacy for
environmental justice
Community-led research and
education
METHODS
Based in the Twin Cities
Organizing across
Minnesota
Focus on frontline
communities facing
climate impacts and
pollution
WHERE
VISION
“We believe in a future where
historic harms are addressed,
and frontline communities
thrive in safe, healthy,
regenerative, and sustainable
environments.”
WHAT THEY
WORK ON
Ending waste incineration in
Minnesota
Advancing a statewide zero-waste
plan
Building community power in
frontline neighborhoods
ONGOING
WHO THEY ARE CAMPAIGNS
Community-led environmental
justice alliance
Building power across Minnesota
Focused on zero waste, ending
pollution, and frontline leadership
Zero Burn Coalition
Frontline Communities
Protection Coalition
MN Zero Waste Coalition
Gustavus Student Repository
Gustavus Student Repository
Gustavus Student Repository
Gustavus Student Repository
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Gustavus Student Repository
WE ACT started in 1988 (originally “West Harlem Environmental Action,
Inc.”) in Harlem, Manhattan, which has historically faced systemic
environmental burdens: sewage plants, bus depots, and industrial
pollution. WE ACT is rooted in frontline community advocacy, meaning its
campaigns are grounded in the lived experience of environmental injustice.
WWEE AACCTT FFOORR EENNVVIIRROONNMMEENNTTAALL JJUUSSTTIICCEE
Gustavus Student Repository
Protecting health.
Advancing justice.
Building power.
Protecting health.
Advancing justice.
Building power.
WE ACT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE’S MISSION IS TO BUILD
HEALTHY COMMUNITIES BY
ENSURING THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR
AND/OR LOW INCOME RESIDENTS
PARTICIPATE MEANINGFULLY IN
THE CREATION OF SOUND AND
FAIR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
AND PROTECTION POLICIES AND
PRACTICES
UPCOMING EVENT
EJNYC COMMUNITY CHARRETTE–WEST HARLEM
Date: Saturday, December 6th at 10:00 AM
Location: Manhattanville Community Center
Help Ensure Harlem Is Represented in NYC’s
Environmental Justice Plan
Civic Engagement
Clean Air Climate Justice
Energy Justice
Environmental Health
Healthy Communities
Healthy Homes
Movement Building
Toxic Free
OUR FOCUSES
Community Advocacy:
door-to-door outreach
phone banks
tabling
community meetings
Policy Advacacy
Push & craft legislation
Research & Science
community-based participatory
research
Partnerships & Coalitions
Columbia University
Energy Democracy Alliance
Extreme Heat Coalition
HOW YOU CAN HELP
To become a member and to get involved,
visit this website: https://weact.org/get-involved/membership/
Our co-founders Peggy Shepard, the late
Chuck Sutton, and Vernice Miller-Travis.
RECENT WIN
COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF WE ACT:
REQUIRING NEW YORK STATE TO
IMPLEMENT ITS LANDMARK CLIMATE
LAW
The Ulster County Supreme Court ruled
that the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) is
required to issue regulations to reduce
New York’s statewide greenhouse gas
emissions to meet the Climate
Leadership and Community Protection
Act (CLCPA) no later than by
February 6, 2026.
Gustavus Student Repositor
The Affirmative Action Debate: Determining the Validity of Claims of Discrimination Against White Males
No full textAffirmative action is the result of society's turn from its history of racial and ethnic discrimination during the mid-1900's. This turn was very gradual and is still far from being complete. The change began with the civil rights movements in the years following World War II. The first great victory for these movements was the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. The decision ordered an end to public school segregation. A series of subsequent cases held deliberately preferential treatment in public institutions unconstitutional. The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a moral watershed for the nation. Discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, or anything similar was forbidden in both public and private institutions.The Affirmative Action Debate
Determining the validity of claims of discrimination against white males.
Brian Haukoos
Senior Thesis
Spring2000
Dr. Scott Yenor
Gustavus Student Repository
What Is Affirmative Action?
"Affirmative action is planning and acting to end the absence of certain kinds of
people - those who belong to groups that have been subordinate or left out - from certain
jobs and schools" (Bergman p. 7). Affirmative action can be a formal program with a
written plan with a special staff to carry it out, or it can be the activities of one manager
or supervisor that has decided to do things differently.
Affirmative action is the result of society's tum from its history of racial and
ethnic discrimination during the mid-1900's. This tum was very gradual and is still far
from being complete. The change began with the civil rights movements in the years
following World War II. The first great victory for these movements was the Supreme
Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. The decision ordered an end to
public school segregation. A series of subsequent cases held deliberately preferential
treatment in public institutions unconstitutional. The passage of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 was a moral watershed for the nation. Discrimination on the basis of race, national
origin, or anything similar was forbidden in both public and private institutions.
Many were slow to comply with this case and discriminatory treatment continued.
Striking down deliberate discrimination was simply not enough. Eventually, the courts
ordered that practices that sustained entrenched patterns of racial preference were to be
eliminated. This included "admissions practices of colleges and universities that were
superficially neutral but had historically discouraged the enrollment of racial minorities;
recruitment practices in industry that had the effect of racial discrimination in
hiring ... methods of voter registration that were superficially fair but had been designed to
discourage the registration of minorities; membership practices in trade unions and
Gustavus Student Repository
Gustavus Student Repository
for admission, claiming that he had been deprived of his constitutional right to the equal
protection of the laws.
DeFunis won in the lower court and the university was ordered to admit him, and
did so. The university then successfully appealed the decision to the highest Washington
court. This decision was stayed, however, while DeFunis appealed his case to the
Supreme Court of the United States. By the time the court heard arguments of the case
DeFunis was nearing the end of his third year in law school and would be permitted to
graduate whatever the outcome. Since there was no remaining issue, the Supreme Court
held the case moot.
Justice William Douglas wrote a strong dissent to this case. He argued at length
that the issues surrounding the case were not moot, and that the court should have
addressed the constitutional questions presented by deliberate racial preference. Douglas
argued in his dissent, "The equal protection clause commands the elimination of racial
barriers not their creation in order to satisfy our theory as to how society ought to be
organized" (Cohen p. 8). Had the DeFunis case been dealt with concerning the
constitutional question at hand, and had Douglas' view prevailed, the subsequent history
of affirmative action in the United States might have been very different.
In June of 1978 the first landmark decision of affirmative action was issued by the
Supreme Court in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. Allan Bakke was a
white applicant seeking admission into the medical school of the University of California
at Davis. Bakke was twice rejected, once in 1974 and again in 1975. He contended that
racial preference within the admission system had the effect of denying him the equal
protection of the laws guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Racially preferential
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Gustavus Student Repository
affirmative action, contended Bakke, was also a clear violation of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, of which Title VI reads in part: "No person in the United States shall, on the
grounds of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving
federal financial assistance" (Section 601, Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42
U.S.C. Sec. 2000 (d).). The Davis medical school did receive federal financial assistance
so Allan Bakke claimed that he was subjected to discrimination.
The Supreme Court ruled that the preferential admission system at the medical
school was unlawful and that Bakke must be admitted. This case proved to be less
definitive than had been widely hoped. Because of the multiplicity of opinions (six
judges wrote separately) and their complexity, the resolution of the larger issues in Bakke
was not perfectly unambiguous. Four justices (Stevens, Stewart, Burger, and Rehnquist)
emphasized the violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They said that it was not
necessary to address constitutional questions because there was an obvious violation of
federal law. Four other justices (Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, and White), resorting to
constitutional interpretation, concluded that the affirmative action program at Davis was
permissible. Everything therefore depended upon the opinion of the ninth and deciding
justice, Lewis Powell.
Powell rejected the admissions system at the Davis Medical School. He agreed
that Bakke was done an injustice and joined the Stevens group in striking down the
affirmative action program. Powell's reasoning was slightly different than the rest
though. He did not agree that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was by itself sufficient to
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decide the matter. There is also a need to interpret the constitutional guarantee of the
Equal Protection Clause to correctly understand the Civil Rights Act.
Powell concludes that the constitutional guarantee of equal protection does
prohibit preference based only on race. Therefore the Civil Rights Act also prohibits
such preference. The affirmative action program at Davis is, therefore, a violation of
both the Constitution and federal law.
Justice Powell does not say, in his opinion, that a person's race may never be
considered in deciding upon professional school admissions. Under special
circumstances admissions officers of a university may consider race as one factor among
many in determining the makeup of an entering class. This may only be done when the
First Amendment interests of intellectual diversity are essentially advanced by such
consideration.
Affirmative action cases involve not only school admissions, but also preferences
based on race in the workforce. The 1979 Supreme Court decision in Steelworkers v.
Weber was the first major case regarding employment. Brian Weber was denied the
opportunity to advance from menial employment to a craft employment. Had he been
black, Weber argues he would have received the promotion. Both the company Weber
worked for and the union he belonged to had two separate lists, one of whites and one of
minorities. The company and the union for the allocation of advancement opportunities
maintained these lists in a steel plant in Grammercy, Louisiana. Preference was given to
those on the minority list. Weber brought a reverse discrimination complaint to the
Federal District Court of New Orleans where he won the suit.
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Gustavus Student Repository
His employer and union appealed to the Federal Circuit Court where they lost
again. The case was then appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. A greater
issue was at stake in this case. Many major corporations and unions like those to which
Weber belonged, practiced similar affirmative action programs and feared for the future
of such programs. The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the lower courts. It
approved the affirmative action programs implemented in this case.
The question decided was this: does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
forbid employers and unions in the private sector from adopting racially preferential
employment programs like the one adopted in this case? The answer was no. The
majority in this case ruled that the intent of Congress in enacting Title VII was not to
forbid racial preference having the wholesome purpose this program did. The majority's
defense of their interpretation of Title VII rests principally upon the fact that the
proponents of the bill repeatedly insisted upon the importance of jobs for minority
groups. The argument of the majority, in effect, was this: "We know the purpose of
Congress; we know the purpose of this plan; they are fully consonant" (Cohen p. 117).
In 1986, the Supreme Court ruled on quotas and ethnic proportionality in Wygant
v. Jackson Board of Education. The Board of Education in Jackson, Michigan, between
1972 and 1981, repeatedly laid off high-seniority white teachers to protect the jobs of
others, with less seniority, who were "Black, American Indian, Oriental, or of Spanish
descendancy" (Cohen p. 149). The white teachers contended that they were
discriminated against based on their race and therefore denied their constitutional right to
the equal protection under the laws. Racial proportionality among teachers in a public
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Gustavus Student Repository
school system became the focus of the Supreme Court when Wendy Wygant and her
colleagues filed suit against the school board.
The decision of the court was that the Jackson affirmative action plan was
unlawful because of its racial discrimination against her against others similarly situated.
The Wygant decision was a significant blow against affirmative action in the workplace
and undermined the legitimacy of the Weber case. The decision did not, however,
eliminate affirmative action plans all together. There are other programs that are applied
in other ways that are noi it violation of the law. This allows employers to continue to
give preference to those of minority race.
Arguments Supporting Affirmative Action
Motives for Affirmative Action
Proponents of affirmative action cite three major reasons in favor of such
programs. The most obvious one is the need to make systematic efforts to fight the
discrimination that still exists in many workplaces against minorities and women.
Lawsuits against discriminators can take many years, even decades, to work their way
through the courts, and other efforts can be ignored and do not produce much progress.
"Affirmative action provides a series of practical steps for dismantling discrimination:
rounding up promising candidates, getting rid of artificial barriers, outflanking influential
people who do not want to see change, shoehorning capable candidates into positions not
previously held by people of their race or gender, and grooming the best of them for
larger roles" (Bergman p. 9).
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A second motive for affirmative action is the desire for integration - for achieving
racial and gender diversity in certain activities. In many situations diversity has positive
value, but in some situations its value is critical. A rather generic example occurs in a
community that is racially diverse. This community needs a racially diverse police force
if the police are to gain the trust of all parts of the community and if one part of the
community is not to feel dominated by the other. Education and physical fitness are
aspects of merit that are virtually universally accepted among police officers, but there
must be more to be considered when assembling a police force. While an appropriate
floor should be applied and adhered to, efforts to get a corp of officers who are as
educated and physically fit as possible should not be allowed to produce a police force
that fails to include significant parts of the community. In these types of cases, it is
legitimate to take into account what a candidate contributes to diversity and the overall
well being of a community.
A third motive for affirmative action is to reduce the poverty of certain groups
marked out by race or gender. Opponents of affirmative action often attack this motive
saying that this requires equality of results rather than equality of opportunity. However,
the United States is now experiencing how dysfunctional and divisive the concentration
of poverty in the African American community is. The difference in poverty
concentration is becoming greater and grabbing the attention of many.
Discrimination in Today's Labor Market
Discrimination in the job market is an important cause of high poverty rates
among U.S. children. Many single mothers, both black and white, are being denied
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access to jobs that would allow them to cover their health care and child care needs and
to live at a decent standard (Bergman p. I 0). This inability to keep children out of
poverty is a source of much present suffering. This will lead to difficulties in the future
as today's poor children mature and become a great portion of the adult population.
Many arguments that oppose affirmative action seem to assume that
discrimination is a thing of the past. Is discrimination by race and sex really a thing of
the past? There are many good reasons to believe it is not. "There is no point in dwelling
morbidly on past injustices. But this record of unequal treatment cannot be dismissed as
'vague of ancient wrongs' with no bearing on the present, as Republican strategist
William Kristo! recently claimed" (Foner p. !). Slavery may be gone and legal
segregation dismantled, but the effects of past discrimination live on in seniority systems
that preserve intact the results of a racially segmented job market, a black unemployment
rate double that of whites, and pervasive housing segregation. Those who oppose
affirmative action programs are correct about one thing, however. In order to have
successful affirmative action programs, there is a need to base these programs on the
situation in the labor market today, and not on what happened I 00 years ago.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, about one million jobs
are filled in an average month. If women and minorities have access to those jobs
currently being filled, then there is no need for affirmative action programs. On the other
hand, if their access to a significant portion of the jobs is limited, then something must be
done to break down those barriers. In today's job market a candidate's sex and race are
still noticed when job assignments are made. Thus, there are still stereotyped jobs like
"women's jobs" and "black jobs."
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In order to judge conflicting claims about the state of the labor market, it will be
useful to determine how much change has actually occurred. There is obvious evidence
of discrimination in the wages of women and minorities compared to white men. Since
the mid-1970' s the inflation-corrected wages of white men have been on a downtrend.
White men have not lost their superiority position in the labor market, however, and a
large gap still remains between their wages and those of white women and black men and
women.
In 1967, black men's wages were 69 percent of white men's. By 1979 their
wages had risen to 79 percent of white men's. Since that time, however, they have been
losing, rather than gaining ground on white men. White women began gaining ground on
white men in the early 1980's. In 1995 their wages were 73 percent of white men's
compared with 61 percent in 1967. Although black women have made some strides they
have not matched those of white women. In 1995, black women's wages were 63 percent
of white men's (Bergman p. 36-8).
Since not all of the gap in wages between white males and other workers is due to
discriminatory factors there must be a way to determine how much of the gap is due to
these factors. When nondiscriminatory factors are excluded, there is a "residual gap,"
which gives a better approximation of the extent of wage loss due to current workplace
discrimination (Bergman 2 p. 76-82). Both the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the
National Survey of Youth (NLSY) examined estimations of the residual gap. These
estimate the effect of discrimination between wages of white men and those of other
groups. The figures looked like this:
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Table 1-Two Estimates of the Effect of Discrimination on Yearly Wages, 1991
·Biackmen
Black women
White women
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census
Based on Census Data
(Ages 18-65)
1,522
3,393
3,539
A reasonable estimate of the effect of discrimination on the earnings of each
group probably lies somewhere in the middle of these two sets of numbers, both of which
pertain to 1991. The true penalties of discrimination suffered by average full-time black
and female workers would be about 5,000 a year for
black and white women. Based on these numbers, discrimination did not end some time
in the past, and is very much alive (Bergman p. 39-41).
In addition, aspects of economic class -education, income, and wealth - are
closely linked to ethnicity. Those most highly educated, those earning the highest
incomes, and those possessing the greatest wealth are statistically more likely to be
members of the dominant group in culture and physical appearance.
Tables 2 through 5 show this relationship between ethnicity and economic class.
They also demonstrate the economic gap (residual gap) referred to earlier regarding the
place of the third-tier groups relative t o others. Table 2 shows that on average, black
wealth and Hispanic wealth are each one-tenth the size of whjte wealth. Wealth may be
more important to income in regards to upward mobility becaus in in'cludes not only
monetary accumulation, but also possessions such as houses and cars. The possession of
wealth creates an independence from others and can be passed along from parents to
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child, regardless of income. Thus, even if income were not largely different between
dominant and minority groups, white families would still be at a significant advantage
due to their amount of wealth.
Table 2: Household Wealth, by Race/Ethnicity, 1993
Median net worth
0 or negative net worth
White
4,418
25.6%
Hispanic
$4,656
24.3%
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Median Net Worth by Race and Hispanic Origin of Householder and
Monthly Household Income Quintile: 1993 and 1991.
Table 3: Families in Poverty, 1997
Category
White
Black
Hispanic
Total Population
Percentage
6.3
23.6
24.7
10.3
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Poverty in the United States: 1997.
Table 4: High School Graduates, 1997
Category
White
Black
Hispanic
Total Population
Percentage
83.0
74.9
54.7
82.1
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Educational Attainment in the United States: March 1997.
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Table 5: College Graduates (Bachelor' s Degree or More), 1997
Category Percentage
White 24.6
Black 13.3
Hispanic 1 0.3
Total Population 23.9
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Educational Attainment in the United States: March 1997.
Proportional Equality Argument
The final argument in favor of affirmative action is described at length in The
Constitutional Logic of Affirmative Action. In the book, Fiscus describes a form of
distributive justice. This is a theory that assumes minorities have a right to what they
would have gained proportionally in a non-racist society.
The central argument is a combination of distributive justice and an assumption of
equality at birth. To use an example from Fiscus, imagine a group of newborn infants.
Suppose this group of newborns is roughly representative of the population of the United
States. There are 50 percent male and 50 percent female, and 80 percent of the infants
are white and 20 percent are black.
Would we find any differences, other than the obvious, between the male and
female infants or between the white and the black infants? Ifwe could measure it
accurately, would we find statistically significant differences in the intelligence of the
subgroups? Would there be any difference in the motivation or character among the
subgroups? "Probably without exception, everyone asked these questions would
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emphatically agree that only a hard-core racist posits racial differences at birth" (Fiscus p.
16).
To pursue the argument, then, let's imagine that after twenty-one years our groups
are going to apply to post-graduate schools. There is a medical school that has one
hundred openings for first-year students. They all decide to submit their applications to
the medical school. What would the applicant pool look like? In a non-racist society
strict logic, based on previous assumptions, would tell us that it must look like this: 80
percent white and 20 percent black. The hundred
The Welfare Reform act of 1996 as an attempt to limit immigration to the United States
No full textIt is not ethical or effective to punish immigrants for United States immigration policy. If changes are to be made, they should be made within immigration policies which are the cause of the situation-do not target the effects (legal and illegal immigrants) after the fact. The provisions in the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 appear to be mercenary in their intent and impotent in their effect; change should be carried out in policy formation, considerations, and philosophy before using futile and punitive measures that target individuals who in some cases are the least able to defend themselves.The Welfare Reform act of 1996
as an attempt to limit immigration
to the United States
POL-399 Thesis
Mary Lynn E. Grams
December 19, 2000
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The Welfare Reform Act of 1996
as an attempt to limit immigration
to the United States
1. History of American Immigration
1. 1 Historical Overview
1.2 Colonization
1.3 Immigrants pushed to sea by Industrial Revolution
1.4 The New Guard
1.5 Exclusionary Acts in the United States during the period of 1882-1924
1.6 Post World War Two Policies
2. Recent immigration policy
2.1 Incoherence in immigration policy
2.2 The anti-immigration case in America
2.3 California's Central Valley immigration dilemma
3. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
3.1 Welfare Revolution
3.2 States' Response
3.3 The Numbers Game
3.4 Amendments to 1996 Act
4. The Future of Immigration Policy
4.1 Reduction measures
4.2 Conclusions
Appendix A: Frey's migration classification of US states and cities (1985-95)
Appendix B: Welfare utilization by legal and illegal immigrants
Appendix C: Findings of Fecleral Welfare Reform Impact Study
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1. History of American Immigration
I.I Historical Overview
During the 1990's, the United States became embroiled in debate on how and if to
legislate and accommodate immigration into this country. In 1996, Congress passed the
Federal Welfare Reform Act including several measures that curbed aid to legal and
illegal immigrants in America. Although American politicians and demagogues claimed
that the situation was a crisis to end all crises, this debate was not new in American
society. Since the foundation of the United States, immigration to this country has
followed cyclical trends both in the reasons immigrants immigrate and the receptions
they receive from the American public. Leonard Dinnerstein and David M. Reimers note
this in their book Ethnic Americans: A History of Immigration: " ... Americans of every
generation have been frightened that newcomers would subvert established customs and
undermine the traditions of society, and the dominant group in colonial America was no
exception . .. " (2).
Today that sentiment is echoed in a campaign speech given by Reform party
presidential hopeful Patrick J. Buchanan during the 1996 New Hampshire presidential
primary campaign. Buchanan rants against the influences of illegal immigration during
this speech to other Republican conservatives:
... as we defend our country from threats from abroad, we shall fight and
win the cultural war for the soul of America. Because that struggle is
about who we are, what we believe, and the kind of people we shall
become. And that struggle is being waged every day in every town and
school room of America ....
But today, in many of our schools our children are being robbed of
their innocence. Their minds are being poisoned against their JudeoChristian
heritage, against America's heroes and against American history,
against the values of faith and family and country ... (77-8, Long).
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Faced with such hostility it is logical to assume that most immigrants would not
consider coming to the United States to make themselves targets for an unwelcome
reception. Yet immigrants do come, legally or illegally, and many pay dearly both
financially and emotionally to anive on American soil. Their reasoning is not difficult to
understand. In an article on immigrant traffickers, Peter Kwong quotes a potential
immigrant from Wenzhou, China who succinctly explains his situation:" ... 'Look, I work
on fourmou land 1 . . . year in and year out, from dawn to dusk, but after taxes and providing
for our own needs, I make $20 a year. You make that much in a day. No matter how
much it costs to get there, or how hard the work is, America is still better than this ... '"
(Long, 31 ). What is true for this Chinese farmer today has been a common experience
for generations of past immigrants from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and many
other parts of the world.
The authors of Ethnic Americans note that the two primary factors for
immigration to the United States were 1) the economic and political turmoil occurring in
the immigrants' country of origin and 2) the business cycles occurring in the United
States. In fact, the authors trace immigration to the United States and other countries as a
correlation with the period that the immigrants' countries of origin experience industrial
and agricultural revolutions and the population booms that generally followed them
(Dinnerstein and Reimers, 20). With this statement, it becomes easier to trace who,
where, when, and why of immigration to the United States. It is also possible to surmise
that political or economic turmoil today is as great a motivator for immigration as it was
in the past.
1
Long's addition in text: [less than one acre, larger than average holding]
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1.2 Colonization
With the settlement of the first English colonies, North America became open to
European colonization and consequently the proprietary attitudes that these colonists
brought with them. After this point, immigrants to North America faced the hurdle of
arriving second behind the earliest colonizers which often translated into second class
treatment. By 1820, the United States had grown to approximately 2 million inhabitants.
Already, immigrant groups such as the Scots-Irish, the Germans, and Roman Catholic
immigrants were considered interlopers by the original English colonists, although the
British government welcomed immigration to the colonies to ensure its population
(Dinnerstein and Reimers,1 ).
Originally, these groups immigrated because of the political upheaval on the
Continent. French emigres arrived after the French Revolution of 1789 and British
radicals fled the crown while Germans Protestants arrived seeking religious freedom
(Dinnerstein and Reimers, 20,7). By 1790, Congress enacted the first legislation
regarding immigrants and naturalization. This law was altered in 1800 and mandated five
years of residency for white immigrants (who were the only immigrants allowed to seek
citizenship status) before receiving citizenship (21).
1.3 Immigrants pushed to sea by Industrial Revolution
As the nineteenth century progressed, new immigrant groups began arriving to the
United States. Generally these groups were fleeing the economic poverty of their home
countries rather than for purely political reasons. Groups such as the Irish and
Scandanavians fleeing crop famines, and Germans marginalized by the industrial
revolution in that country all arrived in the United States seeking a chance for better
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living conditions (25). Many Chinese immigrated to the U.S. after the gold strike in 1849
(25). Religious dissenters from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden entered as well. The
spirit of "Manifest Destiny" pushed United States borders further west and south
enveloping the inhabitants of those regions into the fold as well (26).
Immigrants may have been scorned individually, but collectively the newly
forming states and territories in the United States welcomed them as potential settlers of
the land. The states and territories of the "Midwest" were particularly anxious to recruit
immigrants to populate the region. Along with letters sent home by new immigrants to
the country, states also advertised the benefits of their respective states in foreign
newspapers. Recruitment agents on publicity stints in Europe distributed beautiful
brochures printed in various languages emphasizing the unique qualities and privileges
that came with living in Iowa, Wisconsin, etc. This turnabout came because as
Dinnerstein and Reimers state, " ... [t]he physical and economic growth of the United
States in the nineteenth century made it mandatory for Americans to turn to the new
settlers for cheap labor .... [ w ]ithout the newcomers the vast riches of the nation could not
have been exploited quickly .... " (28).
Private economic interests were involved in immigrant recruitment as well.
Railroad interests played as big a role in recruiting immigrants as states did and often the
two sectors joined forces in recruitment (29). The railroads needed labor to build their
lines and a population to serve consequently the companies worked to populate the
Midwest and Northwest (28). Immigrants entered principally through New York City,
which was established as the designated entry point when the United States federal
4 Gustavus Student Repository
government assumed jurisdiction of immigration in 1890(32)2. If they were prosperous
enough to do so, immigrants found transportation from New York City to other regions to
settle.
The land pictured in brochure books was not what most immigrants encountered
upon settling in the United States. Their circumstances made them the targets of disease
and epidemics, discrimination, and disdain from other workers competing for jobs. A
familiar rhetorical theme of today is echoed in this quote from the Massachusetts Bureau
of Labor Statistics who condemned immigrants for their " ... 'moral character, their lack
of respect for American institutions, their failure to become naturalized, and their
opposition to education . .. "' ( 41 ). The determination of native-born Americans to keep a
religious, ethnic, and economic hierarchy in place contributed to a general atmosphere of
conflict in American during the late part of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth
(41). Many current immigrant opponents call for a return to the traditional American
hierarchy in response to the transition of culture and values inspired by the latest groups
of immigrants.
Immigrants responded to these outside threats by turning to their homogeneous
ethnic and religious communities (43). The maintenance of cultural traditions from the
homeland was important to immigrants. Use of native language in the home, the schools,
places of worship and the community were important steps to continue the survival of
each ethnic culture transplanted to the United States (43). However, only the most
cloistered of ethnic enclaves managed to preserve their cultural traditions. As children
and grandchildren became further removed from the "homeland", the ties that comforted
2 Other entry points included New Orleans in the south and San Francisco in the west. Both these towns
are famous for ethnic enclaves that exist there: the French Quarter in New Orleans and Chinatown in San
Francisco.
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parents offered more restriction than comfort to their children ( 46). These children of
immigrants began to develop their own cultural identities and roles in society as they
assimilated into American life (47).
1.4 The New Guard
After 1890, a changing of the guard occurred in immigration. The spillage of
western and northern Europe into America and other parts slowed but new immigration
from southern and eastern Europe took its place as industrialization of Europe continued.
Now, Italians, Jews from all parts of Europe, and Poles were the faces that haunted the
boats to America (51). Smaller numbers of southeastern Europeans also contributed to
the flow from Europe (51). Non-European immigration included people from Asia, the
Caribbean, and the Middle East (52-3). Although from diverse backgrounds, these new
groups of immigrants tended to settle in the cities and predominantly in the Northeast
(53).
The new guard also faced the discrimination encountered by previous
pathbreakers. Valued only for the cheap labor they provided, immigrant groups tended to
specialize in various trades: Jews in textiles, Italians running small shops, Slavs in the
mines, Japanese in the orchards ofCalifornia ... (56-7).
After establishing themselves in the trades, immigrants endured the hardships
required of a common laborer for a period before they began to organize into unions and
demand higher standards from their employers. Immigrants also rallied for better
housing conditions especially in New York City, which had not just created a cottage
industry of immigration, but built sprawling city tenements because of it. Dinnerstein
and Reimer point out that " . . . [a]lthough members of various groups shared similar
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working and housing conditions, it would be a mistake to suggest that they also had
common aspirations .... [t]heir attitudes toward family, education, religion, success,
philanthropy, and community affairs differed considerably .... " (63).
The value that each ethnic group placed on education was often a key component
in determining that group's ascension of the American cultural hierarchy. Examples of a
cultural valuation of education are found in the Jewish, Japanese, Armenian, and Greek
traditions. Members of these groups were more likely to progress through higher
education and escape from employment as common laborers, thus moving out of the
lower classes (69).
Although rampant discrimination existed against these waves of immigrants, they
eventually assimilated as successful members of American society or they returned to
their homelands. Immigrants during this time, especially those from southeastern
Europe, were not radically different in appearance or culture from Americans of western
European descent; they were generally young and productive, and arrived with a mindset
of success in an America than offered fewer protections for workers and the citizenry in
general.
1.5 Exclusionary Acts in the United States
during the period of 1882-World War II
In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prevented almost all
immigration from China. When this law failed to eliminate all immigration from China,
it was fortified in 1892. The push for this bill came primarily from California where
most Chinese immigrants had settled after the transcontinental railroad was completed.
Rabid discrimination targeted the Chinese immigrants after this point as most native-born
Americans accepted the stereotype that the Chinese immigrants possessed an inherently
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un-American ideology and they could never fully assimilate or be assimilated in
American society (74). The Chinese were targets of violence and threatened with
physical harm as anti-Chinese sentiment escalated within the United States. It became
apparent that total restriction of immigration had not been achieved with the 1882
Chinese Exclusion Act. This virulent sentiment did not begin to recede until after the
strict measures of 1892 did achieve virtual elimination of immigration from China (75).
Throughout the following decades, various measures were passed that excluded
"convicts, lunatics, idiots, and people likely to become public charges," "polygamists,
anarchists, and radicals," and "people with physical or mental defects who were unable to
support themselves, cases of tuberculosis, and children without parents."
Japanese immigrants, again predominantly settled in California, became the next
target of hostility from native-born Americans. Because of the success they had
amassing property and wealth, the Japanese encountered the hostility of other Jess
prosperous Americans. San Francisco was the hotspot of confrontation. In 1905, the
Asiatic Exclusion League was developed there and Japanese students were segregated in
the schools shortly thereafter (76). In 1907, Teddy Roosevelt negotiated the Gentlemen's
Agreement with Japan, limiting the number of immigrants that Japan would send to the
United States.
After over twenty years of efforts by nativists, in 1917 a literacy test was
instituted in order to allow entrance to the United States. All immigrants over the ages of
16 had to pass a literacy test of one language to be admitted. Inhabitants from countries
with a higher level of education were more likely to pass the literacy test and gain
admittance into the United States, thus an advantage was given to immigrants from
8 Gustavus Student Repository
Northern Europe who generally had higher education levels upon immigration. More
restrictions were placed on Asian immigration at this time as well. As World War One
heated up, Americans focused on the message of nativists more intently (83).
In 1921, to avoid an anticipated onslaught of European immigration after the War,
Congress passed a restrictive immigration measure based on nationality. The measure
stated that entrance to the United States would be based on a percentage of the population
of each nationality already residing in the United States during the 1910 census. This
amount would not equal more than three percent of the total population. This formula
was repeated in 1922 and 1923 (87).
In 1924, the Johnson-Reed Act further extended these measures by changing the
formula to two percent of the population of each nationality already Jiving in the United
States. The 1890 census totals were used rather than the totals from 1910 to reduce
numbers of undesirables even more. This law symbolized the attitude of most Americans
during the 1920's and throughout the era of the Great Depression. Immigration fell
because of the restrictions and because many people chose not to emigrate to the United
States during this time (88). One important transition for immigration was the switch of
jurisdiction from the Department of Labor to the Department of Justice in 1940. This
move forecast a changing philosophy in immigration in the future.
A tide of discrimination against all groups was felt in the period before World
War Two. As the War began and carried on, most Americans had a generally negative
response to the plight of the Jews and others seeking refuge from a decimated Europe
(90). One of the most deplorable acts of the United States government occurred during
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this period when over 100,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were compounded in
relocation camps to be watched over during the War (93) .3
1.6 Post-World War Two Policies
Immigrant policy restrictions after World War Two became much more lenient
and Dinnerstein and Reimers attribute this to several factors. Anti-Semitism was on the
decline, as well as anti-Catholicism. Popular media such as the motion picture industry
began to portray immigrants more favorably (97). As ethnic and religious groups became
more assimilated and educated, racism declined as well (98). The United States also
found itself on one the biggest economic upswings of its history and this contributed to
the easing of relations among different ethnic groups (99).
Several measures that eased restrictions were the War Brides Act of 1945, the
Displaced Person Act of 1948, the McCarran-Walter Act opening up immigration from
Asian countries, the Refugee Relief Act of 1953, and the revamping of the immigration
system in 1965 (99-101). All of these laws allowed more immigrants to enter the United
States, but the liberalizing movement reached a head with the elimination of the national
origins quota system in 1965. In Ethnic Americans, President Kennedy is quoted as
saying the national origins system had no ' ... basis in either logic or reason. It neither
satisfies a national need nor accomplishes an international purpose ... '.
The new system limited immigration to 170,000 persons not including family
members outside the Western Hemisphere and 120,000 from within the Western
Hemisphere (101-2). Congress modified the details and loopholes to this structure during
the 1970's. Immigration laws passed after this period extended the number of
3 Executive Order 9066 promulgated by President Roosevelt in February, 1942 mandated this action (93).
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immigrants even further (103). The next section will take a more detailed look at the
most recent tide of immigration and the reception that these groups have received.
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2. Recent immigration policy
2.1 Incoherence in immigration policy
Authors Marta Tienda and Zai Liang refer to the legislation on immigration after
World War II as the " . . . cornerstones on which the contemporary debate about
immigration has been based ... " (336). The core legislation includes the Bracero
Program,4 the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (McCarren-Walter Act),5 and
amendments added to this legislation in 19656 and 19767 (336, Tienda and Liang). This
legislation follows the philosophical transformation that occurred when the jurisdiction of
the Immigration and Naturalization Service was moved from the Department of Labor to
the Department of Justice (335). Immigration changed from a factor of labor supply and
demand to a public policy issue with political as well as economic ramifications (336).
The authors claim the legislation changed "entry criteria away from economic and toward
humanitarian and social considerations" (342).
The authors note the contradictory nature of the Immigration and Nationality Act
of 1952. Along with the cap on Eastern Hemisphere immigration, a component of the
law made it a felony to enter the United States without documents. However, the law did
not punish employers who hired undocumented workers. Further amendments kept this
law intact (336-7).
4 The Bracero Prog
Bicameralism vs. Unicameralism: A comparison of the structure of state legislatures and their effect on policy-making
No full textThis thesis compares and contrasts the bicameral form of state government with the unicameral form, examining arguments for and against bicameralism and unicameralism with particular emphasis on how the structure of state legislatures affects law-making but without advocating one legislative structure over the other. In this study, the legislatures and political cultures of Minnesota and Nebraska are used as models of each type of government because of each state's history with different legislative structures (Minnesota's recent serious contemplation of unicameralism and Nebraska's experience as the only currently unicameral government in the country).Bicameralism vs. Unicameralism
A compar,ison of the structure o f state legislatures.
and their· effect on policy-making
• DAVID A. KOGLER · ••
Political Science Thesis
Dr. Chris Gilbert
December 19, 2000
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Kogler 2
Table of Contents
Thesis .................................................... 3
Introduction .............................................. 3
I. HISTORY AND INCIDENCE OF UNICAMERALISM
Initial Reasons for Bicameralism .......................... 5
Unicameralism in Practice ................................. 9
II. REPRESENTATION
Preserving Interests ..................................... 11
Court Decisions .......................................... 12
Defending Bicameralism ................................... 15
III. ACCESSIBILITY & RESPONSIVENESS
Legislators Serve People ................................. 18
Understandability & Participation of Citizens ............ 19
Majority & Minari ty Concerns ............................. 2 0
Survey Support for Bicameralism .......................... 24
IV, ACCOUNTABILITY
Responsible Legislatures ................................. 2 6
Tricameral Legislatures .................................. 27
Leadership vs. Rank-and-File ............................. 29
V. EFFICACY & EFFICIENCY
Cost ..................................................... 31
Deliberation & Consideration ............................. 33
Governor vs. Legislature ................................. 35
VI. CONCLUSION
Nebraska ................................................. 3 6
Public Policy Models ..................................... 3 7
Summary .................................................. 40
Works Cited .............................................. 42
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Kogler 3
Bicameralism vs. Unicameralism
This thesis compares and contrasts the bicameral form of
state government with the unicameral form, examining
arguments for and against bicameralism and unicameralism
with particular emphasis on how the structure of state
legislatures affects law-making but without advocating
one legislative structure over the other. In this study,
the legislatures and political cultures of Minnesota and
Nebraska are used as models of each type of government
because of each state's history with different
legislative structures (Minnesota's recent serious
contemplation of unicameralism and Nebraska's experience
as the only currently unicameral government in the
country).
INTRODUCTION
The structure of state legislatures can significantly
influence the creation of public policy. Within a federal
democracy, one-house (unicameral) legislatures and two-house
(bicameral) legislatures each have benefits and disadvantages
that affect the process of making legislation. Political
scientist Alan Rosenthal writes that there are four essential
features in the law-making process:
1. the process should be representative, with the
values o f contending interests and the public being
reflected in the processes by which decisions are
reached;
2. the process should be responsible, so that the
public can identify who is responsible for the
legislative decision;
3 . the process should be thorough, with all important
aspects and arguments heard and taken into account;
and,
4. the process should be rational; that is, proposed
legislation should represent a sensible approach to
solving the problem at hand. 1
1 Alan Clem, "Cooling the Coffee in the Saucer: Bicameralism and the Legislative
Product, w Public Affairs May 1978: l.
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Kogler 4
The following examination uses these four principles as a guide
and is divided into six sections. The history section looks at
the development of bicameralism out of unicameralism in early
American history, from the first unicameral colonies to the
Articles of Confederation to the writing of the Constitution by
the Founding Fathers. Though the majority of national and state
governments in the world have bicameral legislatures, unicameral
structures are present in some nations and provinces and most
cities. While considering the progression and degradation of
various interests, the representation section defines the concept
of representation in relation to each legislative structure and
chronicles the court cases that have shaped state legislatures
and invalidated a key argument for bicameralism. The
accessibility section examines the understandability of the
legislative process by the citizens and the influence of minority
interests over the will of the majority. Politics within state
legislatures instead of constituent concerns often influences the
votes of legislators. The accountability section looks at this
issue and the role of conference committees in creating laws.
Next, one of the most major yet unsubstantiated arguments for and
against bicameralism and unicameralism is legislative efficacy
and efficiency: "proper" deliberation and potentially "erroneous"
legislation are difficult to define precisely. To conclude, the
major arguments for bicameralism and unicameralism are summarized
by means of political scientist Thomas Dye's nine public policy
models.
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Kogler 5
I. History and Incidence of Unicameralism
INITIAL REASONS FOR BICAMERALISM
The United States' first constitution, the Articles of
Confederation (ratified in 1781), created a united nation of
individually sovereign states. The Articles established a
unicameral legislature, which was little more than a congress of
appointed delegates with no real responsibilities and no binding
authority over any particular stat e.' The "United States, in
Congress assembled" had power to declare war, mint a uniform coin
system, enter into treaties, send ambassadors to other nations
and settle disputes between states. However, the single-house
legislature could not force punishment upon any state, levy taxes
and had no authority over interstate commerce (allowing each
state to charge whatever tariffs it desired on interstate
transactions). 3
Although the Articles succeeded in governing the
confederation - in the sense that the document united the states
while not taking away their freedom to individually legislate -
the Founding Fathers wanted a stronger government with a
"supreme" legislature. ' This government would be sovereign over
the states and address problems that the Articles and the
confederate legislature could not, such as paying the debt
2 Edwards. Greenberg and Benjamin I. Page, The Struggle for Democracy (New
York: Longonman, 1997) 31.
3 Merrill Jenson, The Articles of Confederation {Madison: University of
Wisconsin, 1966) 263-70.
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Kogler 6
incurred from the Revolutionary War and preventing trade wars
between states. Edmund Randolph, a member of the Virginia
delegation to the Constitutional Convention, suggested that only
a sovereign national government would be able to "accomplish
common defense, security of liberty and general welfare. "5
In addition to being conscious of the failures of the
Articles of Confederation, there are two other main reasons why
the writers of the Constitution chose a two-house legislature for
the new national government. By the Constitutional Convention,
all the states except Pennsylvania had bicameral legislatures,
because the original colonial governments encouraged a two-house
legislative structure. Most early legislatures were divided into
councils representing the wealthy or royal interests and
assemblies representing the early settlers.• The Founding
Fathers patterned the national legislature after what they knew
best: their own state legislatures and the structure of the
English Parliament, using both as a guide for the newly
independent United States. 7 While Parliament was often cited
with derision at the convention, the legislative model that
worked in England for over 300 years was copied (albeit with
variations) in the Constitution.
When the states' delegations met in Philadelphia in late
May 1787, the general belief among delegates was that the
4 James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 (Athens,
Ohio: Ohio University, 1966) 34.
5 Madison, Notes 34.
6 Demitrios Moschos and David Katsky, "Unicarneralism and Bicameralism: History
and Tradition," Boston University Law Review 45 (1965) : 259.
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Kogler 7
Articles would be completely abandoned and an entirely new
governing document would be written. Thus, the issue of
unicameralism versus bicameralism was already an issue of little
concern. James Madison, another member of the Virginia
delegation to the convention, wrote in his notes on the
proceedings of the convention's seventh day:
The third resolution "that the national legislature ought
to consist of two branches" was agreed to without debate
or dissent, except that of Pennsylvania, given probably
from complaisance to Dr. Franklin who was understood to
be partial to a single House of Legislation. 8
Indeed, Pennsylvania's constitution called for a unicameral
legislature and the state had one until 1790.
The most contentious debate of the 115-day long
Constitutional Convention concerned the composition of the two
branches of the national legislature. The delegates debated this
issue almost daily from its first mention on May 30 until the
Great Compromise was agreed to on July 16, 1787. 9 The smaller
states wanted to protect their influence in the new nation by
having equal representation. The larger states, like Virginia,
wanted representation based on land or population (swelled in
their states by large numbers of slaves). The structure of two
houses in the legislative branch, which had been agreed to since
the start of the meetings, facilitated a compromise between the
small and large states: one house based on equal representation
(the Senate) and one house based on population (the House).
7 Alvin w. Johnson, The Unicameral Legislature (Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota, 1938) 26.
8 Madison, Notes 38-39.
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Kogler 8
There were other arguments for a bicameral legislature that
did not consider the power of the small states over the large
states, or vice versa. Instead, as Madison writes in The
Federalist, many were concerned with the power of the legislative
branch over the executive and the judiciary:
In republican government, the legislative authority
necessarily predominates. The remedy for this
inconveniency is to divide the legislature into different
branches; and to render them, by different modes of
election and different principles of action, as little
connected with each other as the nature of their common
functions and their common dependence on the society will
admit. 10
Remembering the failures of the Articles, the Founding Fathers
wanted to create a supreme legislature, not an autocratic one.
Madison also considered the potential power of a hasty and
tyrannical majority in one of the legislative houses. Trusting
one of the houses always to be more thoughtful and reserved when
the other was not, Madison wrote:
In these critical moments, how salutary will be the
interference of some temperate and respectable body of
citizens, in order to check the misguided career, and to
suspend the blow meditated by the people against
themselves, until reason, justice, and truth can regain
their authority over the public mind? 11
The more thoughtful and reserved house could stop "unjust"
legislation by means of the established system of checks and
balances within the legislative branch.
Some prominent Founding Fathers did not agree with Randolph
and Madison. Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian not present at the
9 Madison, Notes 34+.
10 James Madison, The Federalist No. 51 (Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap, 1966) 356-
357.
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Constitutional Convention, and Benjamin Franklin, a
Pennsylvanian, did not feel that a bicameral legislature was
necessary. They believed the checks upon the legislature by the
executive and judiciary were enough to prevent ill-considered
legislation. 12 Franklin also believed that United States
bicameralism as patterned after the English Parliament was "not a
product of wisdom, but rather of the feudal system" and it was an
attempt of the wealthy property owners to maintain control over
the poor majority.13
UNICAMERALISM IN PRACTICE
Despite Franklin' s view, all the remaining states with
unicameral legislatures followed the national government' s lead
and had two-house legislatures by the time of the Civil War.14 As
new states were admitted into the union, only Georgia and Vermont
tried the unicameral system of government, although both switched
to bicameral legislatures by 1841. However, in 1934, Nebraska
adopted a unicameral legislature, and remains the only one-house
state government in the country.
City governments in the United States followed the opposite
pattern of the states, most originally having a bicameral city
council but eventually adopting a unicameral structure. Today
only one city in the country still has a bicameral city council:
11
13
James Madison,
Moschos 262.
Moschos 262.
Moschos 259.
The Federalist No. 63 (Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap, 1966) 415.
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Everett, Massachusetts. 15 While thousands of local governments
across the country may successfully operate in a unicameral
structure, their respective state governments have sovereignty,
and usually control much of the funding to localities. With less
complex and less important work for many local governments, a
bicameral system is not necessary to provide the oversight and
promote thoughtful deliberation that Madison suggests is inherent
to bicameralism.
While the national government of the United States has a
bicameral legislature, Canada and some countries in Europe have
unicameral legislatures. Canadian provinces did not follow the
pattern set by their national legislature (which is bicameral),
and today all the provinces have one-house law-making bodies.
Some provinces, such as Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia originally had two-house law-making bodies, but
adapted unicameralism by the early 1900s. 16 In contrast to the
republican state governments of the United States, all Canadian
provinces are parliamentary systems where the executive is chosen
from the legislature. Additionally, most provinces had
appointive, not elective upper houses in their formal bicameral
structures, which was the primary reason this house was
eventually eliminated leaving a one-house legislature. 17 The
national governments of Finland, Luxembourg, Denmark and Sweden
have unicameral legislatures, but are also parliamentary systems.
15 Craig Grau and Dale Olsen "The Unicameral Option" The Future of the
Legislature (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1986) 4.
16 Grau 5.
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II. Representation
PRESERVING INTERESTS
The Great Compromise of the Constitutional Convention not
only preserved the interests of the large and small states, but
also protected the aristocratic interests of the Founding
Fathers. Shays' Rebellion (from the fall of 1786 to the spring
of 1787) greatly influenced the writers of the constitution.
Fresh in their mind was the mob of 500-600 armed Massachusetts
farmers that would not allow judges to hold court in order to
seize the property of farmers who did not pay their taxes. 18 In
the minds of the Founding Fathers, this uprising (that ended
after the state militia intervened with deadly force) proved the
ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation in protecting
the public from mob rule. When the well-educated, wealthy
landowners met in Philadelphia to create a bicameral legislature,
the framers of the constitution "feared the breakdown of
republican government from rampant democracy in the states"
exercised by the common people. 19 To ensure the representation of
both interests in the bicameral national legislature, members of
one of the houses (the Senate) were to be appointed by each
state' s legislature. This filter remained in place until 1913
when the 17th Amendment was ratified, requiring the direct
17 Grau 5.
18 Greenberg 2 5.
19 Merrill Peterson, Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation (New York: Oxford
University, 1970) 359.
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of Tennessee who felt their constitutional rights were being
violated brought the case to the Supreme Court, citing the Equal
Protection Clause of the 14 th Amendment. 21 The state legislature
had refused for 59 years to reapportion state legislative
districts despite the disparity in House districts of 23:1 and
Senate districts of 6: 1 by 1960. 22 The Supreme Court agreed with
the citizens of Tennessee that the inaction of Tennessee's state
legislature violated the 14th Amendment, but "refused ... to specify
what degree of population disparities in apportionment would be
unconstitutional, or to point to possible remedies. " 23 Baker v.
Carr was historically significant because this case marked the
first time the federal courts exercised jurisdiction over
apportionment of state legislatures.
The Supreme Court' s next major decision concerning
apportionment came one year later with Gray v. Sanders.
Georgia' s use of an "electoral college" of counties to determine
statewide elections (allowing losers of the popular vote to
sometimes win elections) was also in violation of the 14th
Amendment, according to the Supreme Court. Justice William O.
Douglas, writing the majority opinion:
The concept of "we the people" under the constitution
visualizes no preferred class of voters but equality among
those who met the basic qualifications. The concept of
political equality from the Declaration of Independence to
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, to the 15th
, 17th and 19th
Amendments can mean only one thing - one person, one vote.24
21 Kermit Hall, ed. The Oxford Guide to supreme Court Decisions (New York:
Oxford University, 1999) 18.
22 Representation and Apportionment (Washington, D. C. : congressional Quarterly,
1966) 14.
23 Representation 15.
24 Representation 19.
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state governments may not use the national legislature as a
pattern for legislative representation.
DEFENDING BICAMERALISM
Because the decision in Reynolds v. Sims required nearly
every state to restructure its legislature, some states, such as
Connecticut and Delaware considered abandoning one house and
having a unicameral legislature. However, the interest in
unicameralism was often considered academic and all proposals
were rejected or forgotten. 27 In his opinion for the
Reapportionment Cases, Warren made it clear that the Court's
decision concerning the apportionment of legislative districts
did not automatically invalidate the bicameral system for state
legislatures:
We do not believe that the concept of bicameralism is
rendered anachronistic and meaningless when the predominant
basis of representation in the two state legislative bodies
is required to be the same - population. A prime reason for
bicameralism, modernly considered, is to insure mature and
deliberate consideration of, and to prevent precipitate
action on, proposed legislative measures. Simply because the
controlling criterion for apportioning representation is
required to be the same in both houses does not mean that
there will be no difference in the composition and complexion
of the two bodies. 28
Warren suggested that different houses of the legislature could
have single- or multi-member districts. 29 Minnesota, for example,
has 67 equipopulous geographical districts, with two
representatives each representing half of the population in the
26 Hall 255.
27 Representation 24.
28 Grau 5-6.
29 Grau 5-6.
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district and one senator representing the entire population in
the district.
The majority of the Supreme Court also suggested in
Reynolds v. Sims that in addition to the types of personalities
each house might have (which affect the law-making environments),
the physical number of legislators and their term lengths can be
beneficial variations between two houses in a legislature. 30
Overlapping terms of office (having parts of the legislature up
for election at different intervals) is one way to keep state
legislatures responsive to the demands of the citizens of the
state. This assumes that the part of the legislature up for
election will listen to the electorate, be elected and persuade
the other part of the legislature not up for election to enact
legislation based on the current demands of the citizens. Both
unicameralists and bicameralists suggest that overlapping terms
successfully does this. Tom Todd, legislative analyst for the
Minnesota House of Representatives, argues otherwise:
In Minnesota's bicameral system, members of the House -
all accountable to the people in small districts
statewide every two years - tend to respond quickly to
changing popular sentiment, while senators - who serve a
four-year term of office and larger districts - tend to
bring a longer and wider view to the same decisions.
This natural balance of responsiveness and restraint is
not possible in a unicameral legislature, because
overla