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The Creation and Evolution of the Exclusionary Rule
No full textThe Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. The intention of the Framers with this amendment was to prevent the law enforcement agencies of this country from indiscriminately searching a person's property. The hitch to this amendment is that it does not provide a method to enforce the prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures. How can the police be prevented from searching property without any justification? The answer is the exclusionary rule. This doctrine stipulates that any evidence which is seized in an unreasonable search by the police will not be admitted into court. By enforcing this doctrine the courts hope to force the police to make sure that a citizen's Fourth Amendment rights are not broken.
This thesis proposes to document how the exclusionary rule has evolved over the years. I first became interested in this topic when I decided that I wanted to go to law school. My interest is in criminal law so the exclusionary rule offered a perfect topic in which to write a thesis on. I was looking through the Congressional Quarterly one day in my search for a thesis topic and one of the articles was on the exclusionary rule. It contained a list of cases that are important in the history of the exclusionary rule doctrine. I decided to see how these cases affected the exclusionary rule and its application over the years. The cases are: Barron v. Baltimore, Boyd v. US, Weeks v. US, Wolf v. Colorado, Mapp v. Ohio, US v. Leon, and Sheppard v. Massachusetts. Each of these cases will be reviewed in chronological order and there will be a section on the actual effects of the exclusionary rule on the case for the prosecution. I expect to find that the exclusionary rule has been steadily expanded by the Supreme Court over the years.The Creation and Evolution of the Exclsusionary Rule
Michael Miller
Senior Political Science Thesis
Advisor, Professor Ron Christenson
May 20, 1997
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Table of Contents
Section One: Introduction
Section Two: History of the Fourth Amendment
Section Three: Barron v. Baltimore
Section Four: Boyd v. United States
Section Five: Weeks v. United States
Section Six: Wolf v. Colorado
Section Seven: Mapp v. Ohio
Section Eight: United States v. Leon
Section Nine: Massachusetts v. Sheppard
Section Ten: The effects of the exclusionary rule
Section Eleven: Conclusion
Bibliography
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Section 1: Introduction
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the
citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. The intention of the
Framers with this amendment was to prevent the law enforcement agencies
of this country from indiscriminately searching a person's property. The
hitch to this amendment is that it does not provide a method to enforce the
prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures. How can the police be
prevented from searching property without any justification? The answer is
the exclusionary rule. This doctrine stipulates that any evidence which is
seized in an unreasonable search by the police will not be admitted into court.
By enforcing this doctrine the courts hope to force the police to make sure
that a citizen's Fourth Amendment rights are not broken.
This thesis proposes to document how the exclusionary rule has
"'·, ..
evolved over the years. I first became interested in this topic when I decided
that I wanted to go to law school. My interest is in criminal law so the
exclusionary rule offered a perfect topic in which to write a thesis on. I was
looking through the Congressional Quarterly one day in my search for a
thesis topic and one of the articles was on the exclusionary rule. It contained
a list of cases that are important in the history of the exclusionary rule
doctrine. I decided to see how these cases affected the exclusionary rule and
its application over the years. The cases are: Barron v. Baltimore, Boyd v. US,
Weeks v. US, Wolf v. Colorado, Mapp v. Ohio, US v. Leon, and Sheppard v.
Massachusetts. Each of these cases will be reviewed in chronological order
and there will be a section on the actual effects of the exclusionary rule on the
case for the prosecution. I expect to find that the exclusionary rule has been
steadily expanded by the Supreme Court over the years.
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Before delving into the information contained in the rest of this thesis
I should take a little time to explain how I feel about the exclusionary rule.
First of all I have grown up under the exclusionary rule my whole life and I
have accepted it. It is my belief that the exclusionary rule, while not
mentioned by the Fourth Amendment, is implied by it. The exclusionary
rule is valuable tool to check the activities of the police in order to ensure
they do not break the rights contained within the Fourth Amendment. By
excluding the evidence that is obtained in an warrantless search the
exclusionary rule protects the citizens of this country from an overzealous
police force.
Now, to the thesis.
Section 2: History of the Fourth Amendment
Before analyzing the evolution of the exclusionary rule, it is
appropriate to begin with a history of the amendment which it is based on.
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects the
citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the police. The reason
that it is included in the Bill of Rights comes from the use of general warrants
in England and colonial America.
The general warrant had existed in England for hundreds of years.
This warrant commanded "either apprehension for unstated causes of the
arrest of, search, or seizure of unspecified persons, places, or objects (Cuddihy
837)." Basically it allowed the police to search whomever and whatever they
wanted without probable cause. This warrant was used by the British police
to indiscriminately search a person's possessions on the slightest information
that there is incriminating evidence on the premises. Such a warrant was on
John Wilkes in 1763.
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In the forty-fifth issue of his journal, the North Briton, John Wilkes
insulted the King on a speech that he had recently given. A general warrant
was issued by one of the secretaries of state which called for a " 'diligent
search' for the ... author, printer, and publisher of the North Briton, No. 45" in
order to seize evidence for a libel charge (Cuddihy 761). The information
seized in the search led to the arrest of 49 people, including Wilkes (Levy 390).
The protest from the populace was enormous. Many of the people who were
arrested sued for trespass and were released. The famous case to come out of
this episode was Entick v. Carrington. Entick sued for trespass against the
defendant, a King's messenger, when his papers were seized pursuant to a
general warrant. The jury found in favor of Entick. Lord Camden, the Chief
Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, in his opinion stated that general
warrants were illegal (Holdsworth 660).
A similar method of searching was used in colonial America under the
writ of assistance. These writs were used by the police to search "all suspected
places for goods concealed in violation of the customs laws (Cuddihy 761)."
Ja,.,:i,es Otis, a lawyer in Massachusetts, attacked these searches in the Paxton's
Case of 1761. There he used a higher law argument against the use of the
writs of assistance. He lost the case but inspired many to abolish general
searches. Between 1776 and 1784, eight states had guarantees in their
constitutions against general searches. During the debate over the new
Constitution, four state conventions urged that a restraint on searches be
added (Cuddihy 762). The result was the Fourth Amendment.
The Fourth Amendment reads as follows:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, homes,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and
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particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons
or things to be seized.
The protection which this amendment affords a citizen comes from its three
components: 1. it must be based on probable cause 2. it is issued by a
detached, neutral magistrate 3. it must be specific in what is to be searched
and seized. These items are how the Framers intended to forbid general
searches.
The first component of the Fourth Amendment designed to prohibit
general warrants is that a search warrant must be based on probable cause.
This is to say that a police officer must provide some proof or evidence that
what they are looking for is going to be found at the intended place. "Facts
and circumstances leading to an arrest or seizure must be sufficient to
persuade a reasonable person that an illegal act has been or is being
committed (Bodenhamer 681)." When a general search was executed by the
police in England and colonial America, the police justified their acts on the
barest of information. Sometimes a person was searched only because the
policeman had a grudge against him or did not like the way he looked. Now
a police officer needs to provide more justification in order to gain a search
warrant.
The second component is the fact that now a detached magistrate will
issue the search warrant. This requirement has a great deal of effect on the
probable cause requirement. Before, the policeman received the warrant and
the executed it on whoever he wanted to. In essence it was the police officer
on the street, with a biased view of crime, who decided who was searched and
who was not. Now the decision of whether or not to search somebody falls
on the shoulders of the judge issuing the warrant. The Framers chose this
procedure in order to make sure that there was a buffer between the police
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and the citizens. A detached magistrate would supposedly view information
in a different way from the police. Therefore the judge would be able to more
adequately determine whether or not to issue a search warrant.
The third and final component provides the largest distinction
between the general warrant and the modern search warrant. The search
warrant in which the Framers required demanded that it contain specificity.
The general warrant gave the police a free hand to search and seize any
evidence they desired. The modern warrant required the police to specifically
list those places that are going to be searched and the specific evidence in
which they are searching for. For example, if a search warrant states that the
police are only going to search the basement of a house then the police can
only search the basement and not the bedroom upstairs. Under a general
warrant, the police could search everything and everyone in the house.
The Fourth Amendment was a response to the general searches that
were conducted by the British police in colonial America. The general
warrant was used by the police to conduct searches on anyone that they
thought was guilty of a crime. The modem search warrant imposes a number
of restrictions on the police in order insure that general warrants are never
used again. The requirements of probable cause, a detached magistrate, and
specificity will make the job of the police more difficult. However, the
Framers thought this was a price the citizens would have to pay in order to
protect their liberty.
The dilemma that the Fourth Amendment raises arises from the
vagueness of the language that it is written in. The amendment only
prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. However, what exactly is an
unreasonable search and seizure? The word "unreasonable" is defined as
being without or devoid of reason. This is a rather fungible definition from
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which to work from. It would be the duty of the Supreme Court to determine
its meaning through the cases that come before it. The cases that follow
provides an excellent example of how the Supreme Court has decided on
how the Fourth Amendment should protect the population.
Section 3: Barron v. Baltimore
John Barron v. The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore 7 Pet 243 (1883)
Chief Justice Marshall delivered the unanimous opinion of the court.
The history of this case and many of the cases that will be profiled in
this thesis were contained in the opinions and recounted by the justices who
wrote them. This case involved the firm of Craig & Barron which owned
some wharf property in Baltimore. Their business was thriving since the
property was located on a particularly deep part of the harbor which allowed
large ships to enter it without problems. However, through some ordinances
passed by the city of Baltimore the course of a river was diverted so that it
would empty into the wharf. The river ran down from the mountains and
carried consequently carried a large amount of silt with it. Since all of this
dirt was being emptied into the wharf, it became so shallow that large boats
could not enter it. The wharf lost its property value and the firm of Craig &
Barron lost all of their revenue.
The firm decided to sue the city of Baltimore for compensation for the
revenue that they lost with the diverting of the river. They won their case in
Baltimore County Court and were awarded 4,500 dollars as compensation.
The city of Baltimore appealed the ruling to the Court of Appeals which
overturned the verdict of the county court. From there the firm petitioned
the Supreme Court to hear the case. Craig & Barron wanted compensation
and say their Fifth Amendment rights (" private property shall not be taken
for public use without just compensation") were violated. In essence they
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wanted to use the Bill of Rights as protection from the state as well as from
the national government.
This case is important because it deals with the questions of whether or
not the Bill of Rights should be nationalized to include both federal and state
governments, which is what Barron was arguing. The actions of the city of
Baltimore was "repugnant" to the Constitution because they violated his fifth
amendment rights since they did not award him just compensation. ''The
question thus presented is, we think of great importance, but not of much
difficulty." Marshall and the rest of the court decided that the Bill of Rights
should not be nationalized. The Court believed that the Constitution was
created by the people to control the national government and not the States.
This is evidenced by the fact that each states have their own constitutions.
Hence the fifth amendment, and the remainder of the Bill of Rights, provides
limitations on the powers and activities of the national government but not
the individual state governments.
Marshall writes that when the Constitution was created the intention
was to limit the power of the national government. "These amendments
demanded security against the apprehended encroachments of the general
government not against those of the local governments." Since the
amendments to the Constitution did not include any wording indicating they
should be applied to the states then the Supreme Court can not do so. The
Fifth Amendment and the rest of the Bill of Rights carf)ot be applied to the
states. Hence, the actions of the city of Baltimore in diverting the river does
not clash with the Constitution.
The reason I included this case is to provide a starting point for the rest
of the cases. While it does not deal with the admissibility of evidence into the
courtroom or illegal searches and seizure, it does provide a view of the
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Supreme Court's reasoning concerning the jurisdiction of the Bill of Rights.
This case demonstrates that in the formative years of this country, the Bill of
Rights was not thought to apply to the actions of the local and state
government. It was only to apply to the national government. It would not
be until the mid 1950s, over a hundred years before this thinking was to
change.
Section 4: Boyd v. United States
Edward A. Boyd and George H. Boyd v. United States 116 US 616 (1886)
Justice Bradley wrote the opinion of the unanimous court decision and
Justice Miller wrote a separate, concurring opinion.
The Act to Amend the Customs Revenue Laws: passed June 22, 1874.
"In all suits and proceedings other than criminal arising under any of
the of the revenue laws of the United States, the attorney representing the
Government, whenever in his belief any business book, invoice or paper
belonging to or under the control of the defendant or claimant will tend to
prove any allegation made by the United States, may make a written motion,
particularly describing such book, invoice, or paper setting forth the allegation
which he expects to prove; and thereupon the court in which suit or
proceeding is pending may, at its discretion, issue a notice to the defendant or
claimant to produce such book, invoice or paper in court, at a day and hour to
be specified in said notice, which, together with a copy of said motion, shall be
served formally on the defendant or claimant by the United States Marshal by
delivering to him a certified copy thereof, or otherwise serving the same as
original notices of suit in the same court are served; and if the defendant or
claimant shall fail or refuse to produce such book, invoice or paper in
obedience to such notice, the allegations stated in the said motion shall be
taken as confessed, unless his failure or refusal to produce the same shall be
explained to the satisfaction of the court. And if produced, the said attorney
shall be permitted, under the direction of the court, to make examination (at
which examination the defendant or claimant, or his agent, may be present)
of such entries in said book, invoice or paper as relate to or tend to prove the
allegation aforesaid, and may offer the same in evidence on behalf of the
United States. But the owner of said books and papers, his agent or attorney,
shall have, subject to the order of the court, the custody of them, except
pending their examination in court as aforesaid." (p 747)
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The case of Boyd v. US deals with how the above statute conflicts with
the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution. The history behind
this case deal with Boyd and thirty-five cases of plate glass. The "Act to
Amend the Customs Revenue Laws" that was passed in June of 1874
stipulated the illegality of trying to defraud the United States government of
duties that have to be paid with the importing of goods. Apparently Boyd
imported thirty-five cases of plate glass and did not pay the duties on them.
The prosecuting attorney used the powers granted in section five of the Act to
acquire a invoice for the cases of plate glass. Although Boyd produced the
invoice he protested the method in which is was acquired. When the invoice
was introduced into court by the district attorney, Boyd's attorney objected on
the grounds that is was forcing his client to produce evidence against himself.
Boyd's attorney also objected on the grounds that the statute was
unconstitutional. The jury found that the cases of plate glass should be seized
and their decision was upheld by the circuit court. The case was accepted for
hearing by the Supreme Court.
The attorney for Boyd argued that the section five of the "Act to
Amend the Customs Revenue Laws" was unconstitutional because it
violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights of his client. The fifth
section states that the prosecuting attorney has the power to seek a motion
from the court that instructs the person or business in question to tum over
those invoices, papers, or books that are listed in the motion. If the
prosecuting attorney feels that they are helpful to his case then he can offer
them into evidence in the courtroom in his case against the owner. Boyd's
attorney argued that this is unconstitutional because it is repugnant to the
Constitution. The Fourth amendment states that people have the right to be
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"secure in their persons, homes, papers, and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures."
The Fifth amendment states that people shall not "be compelled in any
criminal case to be a witness against himself." The reason that Boyd's
attorney was claiming that his clients Fifth Amendment rights were violated
comes from the wording of the Act. If a person refuses to produce the
invoices in which the prosecutor wishes to review, then the it will thought
that the person is guilty of the accused crime. In addition to this by producing
the invoices Boyd would be giving the prosecutor information that would
incriminate himself. This is expressly forbidden by the Fifth Amendment.
The government contended that the Fourth amendment rights of Boyd
were never violated. After all, no search of Boyd's person, home, papers, or
effects ever actually took place. The only reason the government has the
papers is because Boyd complied with the motion of the prosecuting attorney
to turn them over. In addition to there being no search of Boyd's property
and papers, the Fifth section of the act states that the person of whom the
motion is directed to will stay have possession of the documents while the
prosecuting attorney is examining them. In fact, the Fifth section of the act
says nothing about the power to search and seize a man's possessions, only
that the person turn them over when presented with the motion. So, in
essence the government took a literal position on the interpretation of the
Fourth amendment. Since no search took place, then there can not be an
unreasonable search and therefore the act is not repugnant to the
Constitution.
The government goes on to state that
The Supreme Court and the Right to Life: Abortion, Capital Punishment, and Euthanasia
No full textThe United States Supreme Court deals with a variety of issues that shape the policies and practices of Americans in everyday life. However, while the decisions that the Supreme Court makes are important and critical to our everyday lives and the political processes, there are instances where public opinion and the practices of the American citizens plays a large role in the effectiveness of Supreme Court decisions.
By looking at three different areas dealt with by the Supreme Court; we will be able to see more clearly how public opinion shapes, to some degree, the effectiveness of Supreme Court decisions. We can also see how there are often discrepancies across court cases. I will be examining Supreme Court decisions and opinions of three "right to life" issues. We will see how the Supreme Court views the right of a human life differently in the cases of abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia.
By looking at these three different types of cases, effects they have had on the public as a whole, and the differences between the three, we will get a better view of the Supreme Court and its power. We will also look at the opinions of scholars on the topics. in review to get a better look at how the Supreme Court differs in different cases, and how the effects of the decisions they make can be affected by the public.Gustavus Student Repository
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. Table of Contents.
' . ·
• Abstrac;t ...... • ........... .. ; .... .-....... : ...... : .....•... , ...... : ........ : ......................... 1 • ' ' .
• Abortion:; .......................... ; ........ : .. .' .... :, .......................... .-................. 2
Roev. Wade ............ ,:: .. _..-....................................................... :.2
Outside Opinions of Abortion ........................... : ........... : ................ 5'
, • . - , "
Capital Punishment ................ : ... , .. • ........ : .......... : ......... .. : ...................... 8
Gregg v. Georgia ........ • ...... ........... :··:, ... : .... ,. .................... .' ...... , .. 8
Outside Opinions of Capital Punishment .. • ..................................... : .. 13
Euthanasia .... ;: .. , .................................... .,, ............................... : .... • ..... 18
Cruzan v. Missouri Department of Health, ............................... , ...... 18 :
Outside Opinions o
f Euthanasia .. .' ..................... .' .... : ............. : •.. , ... , .. 21 ·
Effects of Supreme Court Deisions .. .' ................................ ,. .. : ........ :-... : .... 26 •
Abortion ........ , ...... : .......................................... · .. • ................... 26
Capita
Y
Punishent .. : ...... : ................ , .............. ·, ........................ 29
Euthanasi.a ................................... : ... '. ............. , ....................... 30
·conclusion ................... : ....................................................... : ... : .... 31'
• Bibliography ... : ............ : ..... , ................... , ... -. .'._. .... ; ............ : ............... 35
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- Abstract:
The United States Supreme Court deals with a variety of issues that shape the
poliies ll!ld practices of Americans in everyday life. "Hpwever, while tf)e decisions that
. . - • ' •
the Supreme Court make_s e important and critical to our everyday lives and the
political processes, there are intances where public opinion and the practices of the
American citizens plays a large rdleiri tJ:ie effectivenss of Supreme Court decisions.
•By looking at three different areas dealt with by the Supreme Court; we will be
{.
able to see more clarly how public opinion shapes, to some degree, the effecti_veness of
Supreme Court decisions. We can· al.so s·ee how there are often discrepancies across court
cases. I will be eiamining Supreme Court decisions and ·opinions of threlf"right to life"
issues. We will see how the Supreme Court views the right ofa human life differently in
the cases of abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia.
l:3y:looking at these three diffe'x-ent types of cases, e-effects they have had,on the
public as a whole, and the differences between tJ:ie three, we will get a better view of the
Supreme Court and its power. We will also look at the opinions of_scholars on the topics.
in review to get a better lok at how the Supreme Court differs itj different cases, and
- . . .
. how the effects of the decisions they make can be at:fected by the public ..
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Abortion
Roe v. Wade:
In this case, a pregnant single woman brought a class action _suit challenging the •
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constitutionality of the Texas criminal aboruon laws, which proscribe procuring or.
attempting an abortion except on medical advice for the purpose of saving a mothr' s
Hfe. The case came down to the question of constitutional rights and privacy rights.
''State criminal abortion laws, like those involved here, that except frorri the criminality
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only a life0savirig procedure on the mother's behalf without regard to the stage of er
pregncy and other-interests involvd-violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment, which protects against state action the right to privacy, i_ncluding a woman's·
qualified right to terminate her pregnancy. Though the State cannot override that right, it . , ' . -
has legitimate interests in protecting both the pregnant wo an•,s health and the
potentiality of human life, each qf which interests grows and reaches a compelling point
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at carious stages of the woman's approach to term" (Roe, 2). ' . - • .
The Court decided the Texas criminal abortion law was unconstitutional by a vote
or 7 to 2. Blackmun delivered the opinion of the court, and Douglas, Brennan, Stewart,
-Mshall, and Powell joined. White and Renquit dissented:
• Roe alleged.in ·this case that she was unmarried and pregnant, that _she wished to
• terminate the pregnancy, but that Texas law prohibited her from doing so and that she
Siil,)ply did not have the money to travel to have the procedure done elsewhere. "The
principal thrust of appellant's attack on the Txas siatues is that they improperly in-vade a
right, s_aid to be possessed by the pregnant woman, to choose to terminate her pregnancy.
Appellant would discover this right-in the concept of personal "liberty" embodied in the-
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. F,0urteentli Amendment's Due Process C!ause; or in personal, martial, familial, and
sexual privacy said to be protected by the Bill of Rights or its penumbras" &-oe, 10).
Bfore going info a full explanation of the decision of the Court, lackmim
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• explained that there hae beeil three reasons to historically:explain the enactment of
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criminal abortion laws in the 19th century and to justify thei continue use. The first is_
that occasionally these laws were the pro4uct of a Victorian social concern to discourage ,,
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· illicit sexual conduct. A second reason_ is concerned with abortion· as a medical
procdure, in that when these laws were first enacted the procedure was very dangerous
for a woman. And the third and final reason is the State's interest-some phrase it in . . • . . .
tes of duty-· in protecting prenatal life (Roe, 21-2):
Th rnaj?r argument in this case is that of privacy.· "The Constitution does.not
explicitly mention any' right of privacy. In a line of decisions, however, going back
perhaps as far as Union Pacific R. Co. v. Botsford, 141 U.S. 250, 251 (1891), the Court
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has ·recognized that a right of personal privacy, or a guarantee of certain·areas or zones of . . -
privacy, does exist under the Costitution" (Roe, 24). The Court goes on to further • '
explain not only where this right of privacy comes from, but also how it applies to this
case. "This right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth Amendment's
concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or; as the
District Court determined, in the Ninth Amendment's reservation of rights to the people,
it is broad enough to encompass·a woman's decision whether or not to tnate her
pregnancy. The detriment that the State would impose upon the pregnant woman by
denying this choke altogether is apparent. Specific and direct harm medically
. diagnosable even 1n early pregnancy may be involved. Maternity, or additional offspring,
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may force upon the woman a distressful _life and .future. Psychological-harm may be
immineni.- Mental and physical health may be taxed by child care. There is also the
distress, for all concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and.there is the problem
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of bringing a-child into a family alrady unable" (Roe, 24) ..
The court is also very adamant that this does not mean that a woman has the right
at any time to have an abortion for any reason. While the right ·to obtain and abortion'is a
right of personitl_privacy, this-right is not unqualified and must be ccmsidered against -
important state interests. in regulation.· '.'Although the results are divfded, most of these
• courts hav_e agreed tha( the right of privacy, however based, is broad enough to cover the
l)bortion decisio; that the right, nonetheless, is not absolute and is subject to ·some.
limitation; and that at some point the state interests as to protection of health, medical
standards; and prenatal life, become dominant. We agree with this approach" (Roe, 25).a
Another important area that the Cdurt addresse_s in this case is when life actualiy
begins. They decided thatthat couldn't b detrmined, at' least not until there is a ' - ,
decfsion reached by the medical world. "Texas urges that, apart from the Fourte_enth
Amendment, life pegins at conception and ·is 'present throughout pregnancy, and that,
therefore, the State has a compelling interest in protecting that life from and after
. . .
pregnancy. We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those
trained iri the respective discipiines of medicine, philosophy, and theology, are unable to
arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's
knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer" (Roe, 27).
As a wrap up ofthe decision of the Supreme Court in_ the decision of Roe v. Wade . . .
the court says this: ''This holding, we feel, is consistent with the relative weights of the
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respective in\erests involved, with the lessons and examples of medical. and legal history,
with the lenity of the common law,.and with the demands of the profound problems of
- the present day. The decision leaves. the State free to place increasin·g restrictions on . •
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abortion as the I>eriod of.pregnancy '1;ngthens, so long as those restrictions ari; tailored to
the recognized state interests; The decision vindicates the right of the physician to
• :administer medical treatment according to his professional judgement up to the points ' .
, where impol't$lt state interest provides compelling justifications for 1ntervention. Up to •
those points; the aborti-0!1 decision in all its aspects is inherently, and primarily, a medical
deciion, and basic responsibility for it must rest with the physician. If an individual • ' . ' .
practitioner abuse the privilege of exercising proper medical judgement, the usual
remedies, judicial and intra-professional, are available.
Outside Opinions of Abortion:
There are many people who feel that not as much as· been acomplished since Roe
v. Wade sjce the.decision in 1973, _Much of this is attributed to the fact that.there are too ·
many hoops that a woman needs to pass through.before she is allowed an abortion,
/.
"Despite'the commitments to liberty and equality contained in the Supreme Court's.
decision in Roe, today the right to choose abortion right is tenuous for all and nonexistent
for many. In the 25 years since that dcision, many states, most notably Pennsylvania,
. •
have passed a variety of statutes seeking to lit women's right and ability to choose
abortien" (Muq,hy, 7),
There are other cases that have followed Roe v. Wade that have affected a
woin's right to hose. One of these cases is .Thornburgh v, American College of
Gustavus Student Repository
'
Obstetricians and Gynecologists (1996). The Court's decision in Thornburgh recognized
. • · ' .
the need to protect a woman's righfto choose in order to ensure her personal autonomy.
- " . . . . . • . The C:ourt stated that, "Few decisions are more personal and intimate, more properly
ppvate, or more basic to individual dignity arid autonomy, than a woman's decision with
the guidance of he physician and with the limits specified in Roe whether to e!1d her
' . pregnancy. A woman's, right to make that choice freely is fundamental. And _other result, , . ' .
in our view, would protect inadequately a central part of the sphere of liberty that our !aw
guantees equally to all" (Murphy, 7). •
-Another impoant case since Re v. Wade was Planned Parenthood v. Casey in
which the.upreme Cciurf reaffirmed the central tenets of Roe v. Wade, "resolving after
years· of bitter debate whether the initial landmark ruling would remain the law of the
land".(Kolbert, A21). Ho\Vever, even since this ruling, there are critics that state tat not
enough has changed. "After Casey, states may regiilate abortion oefore fetal viability
based on their _interest in protecting potential life and maternal heal th as long as their
'regulation do not impose undue burdens. What is an undue burden? A regulation will be
invalid if it has the purpose or effect of imposing a substantial obstacle in the way of a·
woman seeking an abortion" (Coyle, 'Al). One problem that this poses for many prochoice
people _are the items that nave not been labeled an undue burden, thus making
them okay for states to implement. "Parental notification, mandated ani-ab9rtion
counseling, waiting periods, physician-only requirements, prohibitfons on federal funds·
.and facilities, all have been examined under this new standard and have been determined
not to be undue bu(dens on women seeking abortions'' (Murphy, 7).
6
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All of this leas to the attitude that the Supreme Court dec!sions in Roe did not do
as much for a woman• right tci choose; as was'hoped by pro-ch9ice persons. Kate
• Micnelmam, of the National Abortion and Reprnductive Rights Action League; referring
to the variety of recent state restrictions on abortion states, "We ;ire returning to .a pre- ••
Roe patchwork of laws.,.We've made progress-. no question. Women are not dying in
the back 'alleys" (Coyle, Al). However, she worries that the state and federal restrictions,
combined with the Continuing harassment of womn and the violence at clinics will force
• women to less safe choices ..
. For pro-life suppoite, however, the decision of Roe was, and continues-to be,
very detrimental to their plight. And they want to continue to implemerit restrictions that
make it mor and more difficult for a woman to obtain a safe abortion: Through legal·
and social actions, they are succeeding in making it more and inore difficult for women to . . •
make the choice for themselves. However, it is,impossible to see who has "won" the
battle yet.·
Between technological atlvances, partial-birth abortion discussions and the undue.
burden legislation, it is getting increasingly difficult to dec!de who is winning the
abortion· battle. "Nor is technology going to res9lve the abortion conflict. While many ' . .
proponents of medical abortion (methotrexa_te and rnifepristone) had hoped the hew
forms of early, nonsurgical abortion would increase access to the procedure and increase
the number physicians willing to. provide services, this is not yet the case" (Kolbert,
A21).
There are those people who adamantly oppose the decision to use any part of the
Constitution in the decision of Roe v. Wade. "I objected to Roe v. Wade the moment it .
7
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\
was decided, not because of any doubts about abortion, but because the decision was a
radical deformation of the Constitution. Th_e· Constitution has nthing to say about
abortion, "leaving it, like most subjects, to the judgement and moal sense of the American
people and_ their elected representatives; . Roe and the decision reaffii;ming it are equal in
. • their audacity and abuse ofjudi,:ial office to Dred Scoft v. Sanford. Just as Dred Scott - •
' •
forced a outhern pro-slavery position o the nation, ROe is nothing more than the
Supreme Court's imposition on _us of the morality of the ultural elies" (Bork, 174).
So it is clear that there e quite differing views on the idea of abortion. There are
tJiose·who oppos ir under almost all citcumstances, those Who think that the pregnant
women is-the only person capable of making that decision for herself and should have no . • . . .
outside interference, and everyone in between. It inherefore not difficult to see why
' . .
I . • • • ,.
' , ther:e are so many discrepancies amongst the courts and the decisions of the courts.
Capital Punishment :
· Gregg v. Georgia: ·
In the case of Gregg v. Georgia, the petitioner, Troy regg, was charged with
committing armed robbery and murder. In accordance with Georgia procedure in capital
cases·, the trial was held in two stages, the guilt stag and the sentencing stage. ''The
evidence at the guilt trial established that on November 2), 1973, th_e petitioner and a
traveling companion, Floyd Allen, while hitchhiking north in Florida were picked up by
Fred Simmons and Bob Moore. Their car broke down, but they continμed north after
• Simmons purchased another vehicle with some of the cash he was carrying. While still in •
. . . .
Elorida, they picked up another hitchhiker, Dennis Weaver, who rode with them to
s·
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, .
• ' - • I ' . Atlanta, where he was let out about 11 p.m: A shc;irt time 4lter, the four men intrrupted
their journey for a rest stop along the highway. The next morning the _bodies of Simmons
and Moore were discovered in a ditch nearby" (Gregg, 5).
The, Georgia court, and the jury, not only found Gregg guilty, but also sentencd
· _him to the death- penalty. There were some stipulations that they had to follow, however. . .
"At the penalty stage,_ the judge instructed the jury that it could recommend'either a death
sentence or a life prison sentence on each CO\Jnt that it was_ free to consider mitigating or
·aggravating circumstances, if any, as·presented by the partis; and that it would not be
authorized to consider imposi_ng the death sentence unless it first found beyond a • •
reasonable doubt (I) that the murder was committed while the offender was engaged in - ' ;
the commission of other ca:pital feloitl es, viz., the armed robberies of the victims; (2) that
, he committed the murder for purpose of receiving the victiμis',money and automobile; or
(3) that the murder was "outrageusly and wantonly vile,_ horrible, and inhuman" in that it
"involved the depravity of [the] mind of the deJendant." The Jury found the first and
second of these aggravating circumstances and returned a sentence of death" (Gregg, . 1).
The Supreme Court concluded that it ·was not a Constitutional violation. In the
cipinios of Justices Stewart, Powell, and Stevens:
. (I) The punishment of death for the crime of -murder does not, iinder all circumstances, , ,
violate the Eighth and Fol!rteenth Amendments,
(a) Th_e Eighth Amendment, which has been_interpreted in a flexible and dynamic
manner to accord with evolving standards of_decency, forbids the use of punishment_
that is "excessive" either because it involves the unnecessary and wanton infliction of
• pain CJr because it is grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime
9
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l
(b) Though a iegislature may not impose ecessive punishment, itis required to select the
least severe penalty possible, and a.heavy rests upon those attacking its judgement.
(c) The existence of capitai punishment was accept<,d by-the Framers of the Constitution,
and f01: nearly two centuries the (:urt has recognized that capital punishment fo the
. . • ' . , .
crime of gmrde; is not invalid pe; se.
(d) Legislative measures adopted by the pe-opl's chosen representatives weigh heavily in
ascertaining contemporary standards of decency; and the argument that such - .·. . ' . .
• . standards require that the Eighth Amendment be construed as prohibiting the deaμ\
, -
penalty has been undercut by the fact that in fhe four yearS since Funnan was
- '
decided, Congress and at least 35 states have enacted new status providing for the
- death penty.
(e) Retribution and_t!Je possibility of deterrence of capital crimes by prospective
offenders are not impermissible consideration for a legislature to weigh in determining
whether the death penalty should be imposed, and it annot be said that Georgia's
' -
legislative judgment that such a penalty is necessary in some cases is clearly wrong, ' - .
(f) Capital punishment for the crime of murder cannot by viewed ,as invariably
disproportionate to the severity of the crime (Gregg, 2).
While the Constitutionality of capital punishment is an' often-debated argument, -
the Supreme Court has, at least for the purposes for-this particular case, that it was not
unconstituti?nal to impose th death sentence. More specifically, the argument'is based
aroμnd if the death penalty is contradictory to 'the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendme,nt.
• "In the discussion to this point we have sought to identify the principles· and - • •·
considerations_ that guide a court in addres-sing and Eighth Amendment claim. We now
1 0
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consider specifically
The Effects of Adolf Hitler on Present Day Germany's Religion, Politics, and Economy
No full textIn this thesis, I choose to write about and research the workings of Adolf Hitler. I ask the question, "What was life like for all people in Nazi Germany, and how did Hitler affect the economy, politics, and religion in both positive and negative ways?" There is much to learn from this man if we are able to study him with an open-mind. This was a man who touched everyone whether one is aware of it or not. He can teach us a lot about people's basic psychology as well as their politics. Whether we learn things from his rights or wrongs, we must respect the fact that this person changed a lot of things about society in many different ways. Many would ask why we would possibly want to study this man, and bring him up from the grave. The answer is that we can learn as many things from the positive leaders of this world than we can from the negative.THE EFFECTS OF ADOLF HITLER ON PRESENT DAY
GERMANY'S RELIGION, POLITICS, AND ECONOMY
P-OLITICAL .. SCIEN-CE-THESIS.
HEATHER L. HASCHIG
DECEMBER 16, 1999
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I
CHAPTER 1
An Introduction
We all must write papers on different subjects for
different reasons, but why do we choose to write about
these topics? There are obviously various reasons. Some
of us are given assignments to write about something and
have very little room to put anything but the facts on
;:>aper-,--.o.the.rs--···Of .... _us .. w±"i-te.-beGause••·-·O•f••··••a-••• -Pass-ien··-in-sid-e -··-a-nd
the need to express our ideas in some written form. When
it comes to a thesis, we write for both reasons. we choose
our subject because we have a certain amount of passion and
a drive to say what we want to say.
In this thesis, I choose to write about and research
the workings of Adolf Hitler. I ask the question, "What
was life like for all people in Nazi Germany, and how did
Hitler affect the economy, politics, and religion in both
positive and negative ways?" There is much to learn from
this man if we are able to study him with an open-mind.
This was a man who touched everyone whether one is aware of
it or not. He can teach us a lot about people's basic
psychology as well as their politics. Whether we learn
things from his rights or wrongs, we must respect the fact
that this person changed a lot of things about society in
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2
many different ways. Many would ask why we would possibly
want to study this man, and bring him up from the grave.
The answer is that we can learn as many things from the
positive leaders of this world than we can from the
negative.
The format of this thesis will be simple and easy to
follow. It will be broken up into six different chapters.
The first chapter describes why the topic was chosen, and
this is important in helping the reader understand the
subject a little more in depth.
The second chapter will be dedicated to the connection
between how Hitler's ruling affected the people of Germany
then and now. This chapter will focus on things like basic
cultural issues as well as population findings.
The third chapter will describe Germany's economy
under Hitler and how that affects the present economy in
Germany. We must realize under this topic that things
could possibly be better off because of his dedication to
his rule.
The fourth chapter will center on the politics of
Germany, addressing important questions like, "How were
people's political views changed during Hitler's
dictatorship?" and "Do things run politically different
because of Hitler, and are the people of Germany afraid of
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3
another dictatorship?" It is easy to understand why fear
may be there in some minds, then and now.
The fifth chapter will focus on the religion of
Germany. This was obviously a focal point during Hitler's
period of control, and the strength of people is expected
to shine through in this chapter.
The sixth and final chapter will be written about how
researching Hitler affected a 21-year-old college student,
namely myself, and how learning more than the "popular
facts" could affect the thinking of the average person
today.
Studying Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler are essential
to politics today. We can learn so many things from what
Hitler accomplished and destroyed. It is imperative that
we are able to understand that just as many important
things can be learned from negative events as can be from
positive ones. We can learn what not to do when we see
destruction as much as we can learn what to do when we see
great things happening. The economy, politics, and
religion are all intricate parts to society and are
changing rapidly as time goes on. We need to analyze these
parts during different times to see what we can do to
improve factors of each of them.
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It can be argued that Hitler affected more people's
lives than any other historical, political figure. It is
important to examine figures like this, because it gives us
a deeper understanding of ourselves and how we feel about
certain aspects of our lives. It lets us find where our
opinions come from. It gives us the power to know what
needs to change and how we can make those changes. We must
recognize the idea that knowledge about history can only
help us in the future and lead us to better things.
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CHAPTER 2
The People
Looking at basic biographical facts about
Hitler's life gives us an adequate look into how this man
began his thinking and rise to power. We begin this
chapter by looking at these facts, and then go on to
examine evidence of Hitler's lasting effects on the German
____ _ _ __people as well as others.
Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Austria.
You would think a man of his ranking at his time would be
educated in every way possible, but this was not the case.
He never finished high school and was turned down when he
applied to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He had a
strong passion for reading and did so whenever he had the
chance. It has been said that from all of this reading is
where his anti-Jewish and anti-democratic beliefs began.
He volunteered to be in the Bavarian army during World War
I and proved to be a very committed and brave soldier, who
actually did not embody leadership skills (Modern Germany,
476). How ironic that this "leader" was not promoted
beyond the rank of private first class!
Hitler joined the Nationalist German Workers' party in
1919, and in 1920, he began working with the National
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6
Socialist German Workers' Nazi party. In 1920 he was
elected chairman and given absolute power over the party
("Adolf Hitler's Early Years," 1). This position started
him on the road to being one of the most powerful dictators
of all time. All of this power came after the Bavarian
army told him that he was lacking in leadership qualities.
Hitler served as chancellor between 1933 and 1945. He
became the sole leader of Germany after President
Hindenburg died in 1934. Leading up to this grasp of
---------
power, he led an attempt to overtake the Bavarian
government in 1923 and was unsuccessful. He was sentenced
to five years in prison for high treason. While in prison,
Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, published in 1925, a book that
sold over 200,000 copies before the Nazis were even in
power (Modern Germany, 476). The book encompassed both
racist and antidemocratic ideas. He only spent nine months
of the five-year sentence in jail. He immediately
reestablished the Nazi party and used his great charm to
make political allies.
Once Hitler became a dictator in Germany, he wanted to
ban all political parties, excluding his own. All
activities in Germany were being controlled by the Nazis at
this point including the economy, media, and culture
{"Jewish Persecution," 1). The German people were
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7
dependent on the Nazis because of the control Hitler
possessed over them, and they were duped into believing
that without the Nazis, Germany would crumble.
A major piece of evidence that Hitler's rule affected
the German people comes in simply examining the population
of Germany today. The population of Germany now equals
81, 337, 541 million people. Only seven million of this
number consists of foreign residents (World Factbook, 1).
This equals just over eight percent of the population. --------
When looking at age structure, we find that the heart of
the population is between fifteen and sixty-four years of
age. It is interesting to examine the gender breakdown in
the category of sixty-five years and over. Females account
for almost two-thirds of this population while males are
only one-third (World Factbook, 2). This is strong
evidence to the fact that Hitler's rule lead to the deaths
of many German men who would have fallen in this age
category had they not been killed in World War II. This
idea is proven when we look at World War II death
statistics. A total of 7, 060,000 German civilians were
killed. Looking at this even more in depth, we find that
of that seven million killed, 3, 250, 000 were in the German
military, who were primarily male with very few exceptions
("World War II Death Count" 1). The gender breakdown would
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8
not be this significantly different had these males not
fought in World War II and been killed. We would be
looking at much closer to a fifty-percent ratio on both
sides.
The country of China falls second in the total number
of deaths in World War I I next to the former USSR. China's
total number of deaths equaled 11, 324, 000. Only 1, 3 2 4, 000
were military while 10,000,000 were civilian deaths ( "World
War II Death Count, " 1). The interesting statistic with ---------
Chin a comes from the age demographic; only six percent of
China's total population of 1, 2 46, 871, 951 people are over
the age of sixty-five ( "Facts About China, 1). Granted,
this 11, 324, 000 who were killed and not able to be counted
into the current population would not have a drastic effect
on the percentage we are dealing with, but it does allow us
to make some sort of correlation between Hitler and current
population differences of the present day.
Another piece of German life that was so drastically
changed was when Hitler decided he wanted the educational
system under governmental rule as well. He thought that
the Hitler Youth were adequately equipped to educate the
youth of Germany. The schools were all Nazified and
curriculum and textbooks were completely altered. The
local authorities were originally in control of the entire
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9
system, but once Hitler intervened, the control fell into
the hands of the Reich Minister of Education. History was
rewritten and completely made false. All textbooks placed
the Germans as the supreme race and made the Jews out to be
the root of all evil in the world. German Physics, German
Mathematics, and German Chemistry were created to replace
the natural sciences. It was taught that anything outside
of these "German" sub jects should not be taught because the
_________ "
o_ther: u thins v,1E;re juf31:_ways fo:r:the Jews to fir1cl 'tla,ys to
take over { "Jewish Persecution, " 1). This teaching still
affects the people that it reached. For many, this was the
only curriculum allowed or available through their days in
school. Many were not exposed to other teachings, and
still today are trying to recover and accept what this
curriculum replaced.
It is obvious to assume that if vital parts of a
society like education and population were affected by
Hitler, than something like the media would not just also
be affected, but probably be at the heart of a method of
control. The media of Germany has changed notably today
due to the authority held over it in Hitler's era. Today,
especially newspapers and radio feel more power than they
ever have before. Media has rapidly changed in Germany and
has been part of the recovery process for Germany's people.
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Under Hitler's rule, newspapers with Jewish ownership were
cancelled and not allowed to print ( "Jewish Persecution,
1). The press was told exactly what to write and how to
write it with absolutely no leeway. In this time radio was
the easiest way to affect the thinking of the German
people, because everyone listened at some point. These
moments of control have allowed the people of Germany today
to feel freedom more so than ever, and not take it for
granted for an instant.
-----------
Book burning was a big part of erasing German culture
before the rule of Hitler and has left German people today
at a loss for those who were not exposed to the culture
before Hitler. Books that were at the heart of ideas and
pure thoughts of pre-Hitler Germany were burned instantly
without being given another thought ( "Jewish Persecution, "
1). The recovery of these books has been difficult in
today's time. There were of course "rebels" of that day
who hid the books that under law were supposed to be
disposed of, and present day Germany can be thankful that
those were saved. However, many were burned without
multiple copies available, robbing many today of that
intricate part of Germany culture and philosophy.
Three of the other chapters outlining Germany's
religion, politics, and economy will of course also
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11
encompass aspects of Hitler's affects on people's lives.
Those three are probably some of the most integral parts of
someone's life and country. The above however, gives a
look at how Hitler affected basic population numbers and
gender breakdowns not only in Germany, but in China, for
comparison reasons. Along with this vital piece of
information, this tells us how he made a catastrophe out of
an educational system, how he managed to rule over the
media, and finally how he took away much of original German
---------
culture not only from people of his time, but generations
to come.
A way in which German culture was robbed involves a
painter named Johannes Koelz. He was an adversary of
Hitler during the 1930s and had to flee for his life in
1937 (Kerby, 1). He painted an anti-war picture entitled
Thou Shalt Not Kill and was forced to cut it up and give it
to his friends for safekeeping. He was afraid that if the
painting was found, this would surely lead to his death.
His daughter, Ava Farrington, who is now 62, has put
together four parts of the painting after receiving them
from friends and family still in Germany. She says, "The
people who my father gave the parts of the picture to are
no longer alive, so I am speaking to the next generation"
(Kerby, 2). This story was released on March 6, 1999 from
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12
the Leicester Mercury. It is evidence that Hitler's
regulations are still influencing people's actions today.
A woman has dedicated a portion of her life to finding what
her father left behind.
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13
CHAPTER 3
The Economy
In present day Germany the economy is booming and much
can be attributed to the ideas of Hitler. Germany is
regarded today as one of the world's most significant
economic powers. In this chapter we take a detailed look
at the economy of Germany during Hitler's rule and its
--------nresent day state. We will look at how his plans and
outlook for the future of Germany may have altered the
outcome of today.
There were three kinds of economies Hitler would have
been satisfied with in Germany. They included a
competitive economy, a monopolistic economy, and a command
economy. A quote from the book, Life in Nazi Germany sums
up what Hitler believed. "The organization of the Nazi
economic system was pragmatic; it was directed solely 'by
the need for the highest possible efficiency and
productivity required for the conducting of war'"(Fischer,
374). Hitler always was adamant about the fact that
politics and the best interest of it were supreme to all
other concerns. "The state drives the economy by means of
its geopolitical imperatives"(Fischer, 374). It came down
to the fact that Hitler was concerned with how he could win
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a war and what he needed to do now in the economy to make
that happen.
The most interesting and probably confusing part of
the Nazi economy is that it was not individually
socialistic or capitalistic, but a strange mixing of both
philosophies (Fischer, 374).
It was clear that Hitler had specific ideas about how
the economy could affect politics in a very positive way
right from the start. One of his ideas came with ---------
experimentation. It seems puzzling that a man of his
sternness was willing to take chances. The only criteria
he had for these experiments were that they not "undermine
efficiency and productivity" (Fischer, 375). It is kind of
ironic, because why would anyone begin to experiment with
something they believe would or had the chance to end up
hurting efficiency or productivity? It seems it would be
at the end of the experiment that these qualities would
shine through. This may speak for itself in telling us how
open Hitler was to true experimentation with the economy.
Hitler got people in Germany excited about the economy
and how good it could be. The Reinhart Plan was the
starting point for getting citizens interested. It was a
plan that apportioned over a billion marks to public works
projects, and along with it came the project of
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15
constructing the Autobahnen. Hitler knew that this was a
popular plan that had already been in the works, and he
succeeded with pushing this plan forward and getting the
community on his side. This plan was so popular because it
aided in bringing down the unemployment rate, one of
Germany's biggest problems of that era and today. The
project not only provided construction jobs, but also
caused a huge jump in the automobile business, and in turn
jobs were created there as well. Hitler's goal of full --------- --··-··-·-··- - - -········ - -···- - ·--···-···-·············· · · · · · · · · · · ·--··· ----,
employment was accomplished in the 1930s after significant
rearmament connected with the public works projects
(Fischer, 375),
"Hitler's immediate economic goal was selfsufficiency,
a goal that was dictated by Germany's lack of
crucial resources such as India rubber, copper, base
metals, mineral, and fuel oils" (Fischer, 376). This was
Germany's biggest downfall, and Hitler needed a major plan
of attack before this could be addressed. He proceeded to
look in to developing synthetic goods, and fathomed that
this would be the only way of being solely reliant on
themselves. Big businesses were persuaded to expand the
factories that produced the synthetic goods. This proved
how much power the government had over the economy, because
pretty much what they wanted to happen did (Fischer, 376).
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It is definitely true that some German citizens
benefited as others suffered. Farmers were poor and the
Nazis attempted to set goals in order to relieve them of
some of their hardship. A sequence of laws were passed to
try to attain these goals, but what ended up occurring was
that larger farmers were reaping the benefits while the
smaller farmers were either staying the same or getting
worse. German people were also migrating to the cities.
"By 1939 agriculture had lost about 1. 4 million people who -------- --------- - -- ------ -------------------- - - - - -
took higher-paying jobs in industry ... " (Fischer, 380). This
of course caused a labor shortage, which made the entire
situation worse. However, people who were employed by
business were succeeding under the National Socialist rule.
They lost some of their rights, such as their right to
strike and collective bargaining, but were realizing that
even though they were not gaining anything in politics,
they were making gains in their pockets.
Hitler's economic goals were not aimed at destroying the
German people. He was looking to make them more
independent. One way he did this was by destroying the
labor unions. Ultimately he wanted his country to be able
to depend only on itself, and not other nations. This idea
is definitely not irregular. Many nations have goals today
to make themselves self-sufficient. Hitler put into the
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minds of the German people that it was possible. It gave
them strength and confidence they had never felt before.
We now can look at how this has carried over to
present day Germany's economic system. Some of the same
problems remain in Germany fifty some years later, and yet
at the same time, Hitler's ideas have lead Germany to be
ranked one of the world's most important economic powers.
The unification of West and East Germany was official
on October 3, 1990 after the process had been started on
November 9, 1989 when the Berlin Wall began to come down
(World Factbook, 4). Unification between West and East
Germany has obviously caused a strain on the economy and
will continue to do so for some time. It will take bounds
of hard work to stabilize the activity here. It is clear
that the eastern side will stay dependent on the west at
least into the next century. The western region has
supplied the eastern side with some $390 billion dollars in
assistance since 1990 (World Factbook, 6). "Eastern
Germany's economy is changing from one anchored on
manufacturing to a more service-oriented economy" (World
Factbook 1995, 6). This is important and may help in the
unemployment problem. We realize when analyzing the
problems in the economic system caused by the unification
that truly it is not the unification itself that it is the
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problem here, but the person who caused the break up in the
first place. If Hitler's ruling and the end of World War
I I had not caused the break-up of the two regions, they
would not be suffering to make it whole and equal today.
Of course we
Contemporary American Presidential War Rhetoric
No full textMy concern in this thesis is to analyze the process by which intentional, created, polished attempts to overcome the obstacles in a given situation with a specific audience on a given issue to achieve a particular end have influenced American war campaigns. War campaigns are further defined as more controversial military conflicts in the latter half of the twentieth century, namely the Korean War, the Vietnam conflict and the Persian Gulf conflict.Senior Research Thesis
Contemporary American Presidential War Rhetoric
written for
The Political Science Department of
Gustavus Adolphus College
James Robert Hornolka
Fall of 1999
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Titis work is dedicated first and foremost to my parents; for my mother, my first
and best friend. And to my father, my first and best teacher, thank you for having an
answer to every question. Secondly, this one is for my sister the best sidekick a. little
brother could have. And this is for my big brother whom I aim to make proud.
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I know of no safer depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people
themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a
wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their
discretion by education.
-Thomas Jefferson
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Preface 3
CONTENTS
Introduction 4
1 Research Question Established ................................... 4
Issues to be Presented ................................................ 6
Strategy, Design and Refinement of the Topic ................. 7
2 Rhetorical Tactic
Burke's Assumptions on the Use of Rhetoric .................. 9
3 The Power of the President to Wage War . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... ... 15
4 Constructing War from Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . 27
The Formula for War Rhetoric ..................................... 28
Deliberate and Thoughtful Consideration ...................... 30
Narratives of Proof ................................................... 32
Exhortation to Intense Commitment ............................. 37
Legitimizing Extraordinary Powers .............................. 39
Strategic Misrepresentation ......................................... 44
Tactics for Action ...................................................... 45
5 Containment through Limiting Forms of War Rhetoric
Victimization ........................... ............................... 47
Implications ......................... , .................................. 52
Conclusions . . .. . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
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Homolka 1
Human nature accounts for the greed in all of human kind. As well,
human nature also provides irrationality and the desire for conquest.
Definitively, when one engages another in conflict resolution through the
physical embattlement of an opponent, or attempts to overcome a person by
blows or weapons, one has a fight. However, the collective effort put forth by
the peoples of a nation, domestically or abroad, often for the purpose of
oppressing an opposing faction or nation by force, is characterized as war.
Arguably, war is the most time enduring conflict resolution known to man:
sometimes a last-resort resolution often portrayed as a necessary evil.
I Introduction
Research Question Established
War campaigns have evolved into an art form. The medium used is
rhetoric. Rhetoric is defined as the art of speaking or writing effectively as a
means of communication and an attempt to persuade on a matter of public
interest.
Contemporary American war rhetoric, particularly the rhetorical acts of
the president serving as supreme commanding officer, plays a key role in the
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Homolka 2
development and evolution of American war efforts. The first phase in the
evolution of American war rhetoric is the discourse on policies concerning
foreign affairs and the government's assurance of enforcement. Next in the
evolution of war rhetoric is the declaration of war. Historically and legally
speaking, only the Congress can wage official war with the president announcing
the decision. However, in contemporary, post-Korean War America we have
seen an increase in the incidences by which the military strikes at the command
of the president without an official declaration of war from the United States
government.
Contemporary American presidential war rhetoric continues to influence
the war effort and the approval or disapproval of the American people
throughout the end of the campaign. The campaign to wage war can be seen as a
war in itself, a war to rally the support of the people and a rhetorical assault to
justify involvement in foreign affairs.
In 1947 Harry S. Truman standardized the United States' foreign policy
objectives in what has become known as the Truman Doctrine. Exemplifying
pre-war rhetoric, Truman's speech set forth policy that continues to serve as a
basis for American military involvement in foreign affairs. Truman stated, "One
of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation
of conditions in which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life
free from coercion. "1
'President Harry S. Truman's Address Before a Joint Session of Congress, March 12, 1947.
Available: gopher:/ /wiretap.spies.com:70 /00 /Gov /US-Speech/truman.47
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The substance of my thesis will concentrate on contemporary American
presidential war rhetoric. Contemporary is used to emphasize, but is not limited
to the post-Korean War period. Presidential War rhetoric is defined as the
influence of the U.S. government (policy issues) and the role of the President
(political arena) in justifying and intensifying war.
Issues to be Presented
I. Understanding war rhetoric through Burkian theory.
II. How does the U.S. President justify military intervention when national
interest is questionable?
A. Elements of the presidential war rhetoric formula.
B. Tactics for Action
III. Re-formulization of War Rhetoric
A. Although history repeats itself, war is a process and wartime
rhetoric is as evolutionary as war itself. The most salient variables
of war rhetoric are time and context.
N. War rhetoric as preventative rather than enabling and heightening
conflict.
A. Burke's Assumptions on the use of Rhetoric
B. Containment through Limiting Forms of War Rhetoric
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Strategy, Design and Refinement of the Topic
My concern in this thesis is to analyze the process by which intentional,
created, polished attempts to overcome the obstacles in a given situation with a
specific audience on a given issue to achieve a particular end have influenced
American war campaigns. War campaigns are further defined as more
controversial military conflicts in the later half of the twentieth century, namely
the Korean War, the Vietnam conflict and the Persian Gulf conflict.
According to rhetorical scholar Karlyn Kohrs Campbell,
A rhetorical perspective focuses on social truths, that is,
on the kinds of truths that are created and tested by people
in groups and that influence social and political decisions.
These truths represent what a group of people agrees to believe
or accept; such truths become what the group takes to be
'common sense.'2
In the fourth century B.C.E. Aristotle .. said, " ... truths, are not discoverable
through science or analytic logic, he described them as ... dependent on cultural
values, the situation, and the nature of the issue. They were the special concerns
of the area of study he called rhetoric."'
The goal of this thesis is to gain a more formidable explanation of the way
in which presidents use rhetoric to influence the masses in times of war. A good
approach to studying political communications (not necessarily quantitatively
measurable) is analysis of a series of case study examples and observations by
established war scholars and rhetoricians. By using comparative and in-depth
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analysis of specific incidents of conflict, constants and conclusions about
rhetoric's influence on the relationships between countries, states and factions,
may be drawn. Case studies are not, however, limited to simple analysis of
existing hypothesis, fact and observation. Rather, comparative case studies can
involve time series, cross-sectional or panel study research designs as well. The
purpose of examining war rhetoric in this manner is to establish theories about
the trends in war rhetoric and the influence of well-crafted communication to
perpetuate war efforts.
The next step is to assert initial hypotheses. The attempt is to take what is
learned or postulated and use it to explain U.S. military activity where
involvement is questionable (i.e. Grenada). Therefore, a more defined question
has evolved. That is the question of how the collective effort of key departments
in the government, such as the executive and defense departments, work to
justify military involvement where there is less clear interest of the United States.
Theories are larger frameworks of knowledge that allow for one to
formulate hypotheses and interpret study results. Theories also provide patterns
for interpretation, linking studies together, and allowing key concepts and
variables to have greater significance. The fundamental claim of this work is that
historically leaders of the United States, particularly presidents, have developed
distinctive techniques in an effort to either perpetuate or negate actions of war.
Further, the notion is that one can identify effective ways of communication that
'Karlyn Kohrs-Campbell, The Rhetorical Act, New York: Wadsworth, 1996, p. 4.
' Ibid., 6
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evoke specific responses and if applied to even more recent conflict the
correlation continues to hold true.
2 Rhetorical Tactic
Burke's Assumptions on the Use of Rhetoric
Rhetorical scholar Kenneth Burke has provided significant contributions
to my understanding of how and why human beings use rhetoric. In an effort to
understand the intricacies of presidential rhetoric it is imperative to establish an
understanding of Burkeian communication theory. As such, Burkeian theory
helps to explain the working order of messages and how dialogue operates in
influencing others. Creating an understanding of Burke's work will aid in
understanding the rhetorical choices of Presidents.
Burke establishes the term dramatism for the study of human motivation.
Two assumptions support dramatism; "One assumption . . .is that language
constitutes action, not motion; some of our motives are derived from our
animility."' Burke also establishes three conditions for action: "First it must
involve freedom of choice. The second condition necessary for an act is purpose
or will."' People must choose one option over others, whether it consciously or
' Sonja K. Foss, Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice, Prospect Heights:
Waveland Press, 1996, p. 455, 56.
' Ibid., 456
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not we must select a choice. Thirdly, "action requires motion; action cannot exist
without motion." •
Burke's second assumption about dramatism is that "humans develop and
present messages in much the same way that a play is presented. We use
rhetoric to constitute and present a particular view of our situation."' One could
view the progress of war as a play in which the actors, namely the president and
adversary, script the dialogue for the purpose of placing their character and
cause in the brightest light. When adversarial factions present their actions to the
public it is imperative to create the assumption that each party is in the right.
Further, "through rhetoric, we size up situations and name their structure
and outstanding ingredients. How we describe a situation indicates how we are
perceiving it."' When people or presidents evaluate situations by presenting
them as stories and describing the extraordinary circumstances around which the
situation warrants importance, those people must also offer their audience the
only choices that seem available given the circumstances. Also, we as the
audience are presented with the actions we are likely to take under the situation,
even if that means the rhetor is pointing out the obvious. The implications of
Burke's dramatist perspective are that rhetors and I would argue that American
presidents use language to elicit logical reasoning and emotional responses. An
example of this tactic is when a rhetor views a person or party as the cause of a
' Ibid., 456
' Ibid., 456
' Sonja K. Foss, Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice, (Prospect Heights:
Waveland, 1989) p 456.
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Homolka 8
particular problem and then proceeds to define that perception of the problem by
naming that person or party as an evil. Inherently, when a rhetor names a party
as an evil he or she is placing that evil in the adversarial role.
President Bush is a prime example for illustrating the way in which a
rhetor may position his perspective as necessary and good by first defining the
opposition as selfish and evil. Throughout the Gulf Conflict of the Bush
Administration Americans saw, in both presidential rhetoric and media
coverage, an emphasis on the character of Saddam Hussein and his ideology
more than on other issues, for example, American oil interests. Foss makes the
point that rhetors often tell a story in such a way as to feature their adversary's
characteristics and downplay other elements that may be contributing to the
problem.'
When one ventures to understand the workings of presidential war
rhetoric one must first consider the element of perspective from which the
message is sent. Further, whether one's rhetorical choices are made consciously
or unconsciously it is perspective that ultimately determines those choices. And
by choices I mean not only what type of language or structure and elements are
used, but also the ultimate objective or call to action the rhetor makes of his or
her audience.
The ultimate objective of any rhetorical act, particularly war rhetoric, is
the attempt to convince an audience of the rhetor's perspective and to persuade
' Ibid., 456
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the respective audience to take on some form of action. Burke attemptes to
decipher human motivation by arguing that "human conduct being in the realm
of action an end ... is most directly discussible in dramatistic terms".10 Foss
interprets this to mean that
in a broad sense, history can be viewed as a play, and,
just as there are a limited number of basic plots available
to the author, so also there are a limited number of situations
that occur to man. It, therefor, seems appropriate to talk
about situations that occur to man in the language of the stage."
As it relates to war rhetoric, my contention is that the limited numbers of
situations that relate to man constrain the dialogue in times of war. Presidential
war rhetoric is related to this argument via two fundamental premises.
The first premise is that when the country is at war there is an exclusive
burden upon the executive himself. The notion is that because of the exclusive
powers and responsibility of the executive, many of the decisions are
extraordinarily difficult. Decisions involving controversial activities are difficult
because they demand a careful balance of national interest and often moral
obligation. And for that very reason we receive presidential war rhetoric.
The second premise is that war rhetoric is largely ironic. War campaigns
are constrained to language that aims to increase the military involvement in the
conflict in an effort to actually end the war. Through careful language choice
and timing the rhetor seeks the approval for military involvement by depicting
the efforts as necessary, justified, non-comprising and the best means to the end.
'° Foss, Central States Speech Journal. v21, (Summer 1970), 81-86.
11 Ibid., 464
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Foss strengthens these assertions by arguing:
man sees these similar situations (or dramas) occurring, he develops
strategies to explain what is happening. When man uses language,
according to Burke, he indicates his strategies for dealing with
these situations ... as man speaks he indicates how he perceives
the world around him. 12
In presidential war rhetoric it is my argument that the rhetor answers the
five questions that construct Burke's use of human drama as discussed above.
First, an effective presidential speech must answer what was done (the act),
when or where it was done (the scene), who did it (agent), how he or she did it
(agency), and why (or the purpose)." Presidents must address each of these five
elements when describing either the war the nation is engaged in or the conflict it
is about to enter. The rhetor must answer the five elements when reflecting his
view of a particular situation. If the president fails to do so the American people
perceive military intervention as illegitimate and with more skepticism of
presidential ethos. Foss asserts that the importance of Burke's "Pentad of
Drama" is that it "provides a method of determining how a speaker views the
world. This is what Burke means when he says that the pentad provides 'a
synoptic way to talk about their [man's] talk-about [his world]."'"
Further, presidential description of a situation reveals what he regards as
the appropriate response to various human situations. For example, the
president who views and portrays the agent (often an adversary) as the cause of
the problem is required to propose solutions that attempt to limit the actions of
12 Ibid., 464
" Ibid., 465
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Homolka 11
the agent or to remove the agent completely. And for the situation where in the
president finds the agent to be the victim of the scene the purpose is to suggest
solutions that change the scene.1'
One thought is that presidents may deflect attention
from scenic matters by situating the motives of an act
in the agent [as were one to account for wars purely
on the basis of a 'warlike instinct' in people]. One may
also deflect attention from criticism of personal motives
by deriving an act or attitude not from traits of the
agent, but from the nature of the situation.
1
'
My contention is that these two methods are common tactics found in
presidential justifications for war when U.S. involvement is questionable, a topic
addressed in a case example to be considered later.
Although it is not the main objective of this thesis, it is important to note
that "it is possible to examine a speaker's discourse to determine what view of
the world he (or she) would have an audience accept. One may then make a
judgement as to both the appropriateness and adequacy of the description the
speaker has presented."11 Often presidential war rhetoric aims at creating the
perception that the president himself, acting as agent of the rhetorical situation,
was not in control of the scene, but was rather a victim having to remedy a
situation in which he has been forced to deal.
Perhaps one of the most important themes found in presidential war
rhetoric is the idea that somehow the president has been diplomatically coerced
" Ibid., 465
" Ibid., 465
" Ibid., 466
" Ibid. 466.
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into conflict resolution, particularly when the United States serves as a third
party mediator in some conflict. When the term diplomatic coercion is used it is
meant to include situations where there is either a direct challenge to U.S.
national interests or when the president and his cabinet believe involvement is
warranted by moral obligation to humanity. The word coercion is used to suggest
that an aggressor has instigated a potential warring situation.
And finally much as Foss argues "the act of writing a letter of support
becomes a means by which people 'absolve' themselves of guilt," presidents, too,
attempt to acquit themselves and the American people of guilt throughout any
war campaign.'"
3 The Power of the President to Wage War
The title of this chapter asks the question, from where does the American
executive derive the authority to activate the military? Further, how does an
American president justify military involvement where a threat to U.S. national
security or interests is questionable? Each of these questions can, by and large,
be explained by exploring a variety of presidential acts. By first offering a
technical analysis of constitutional provisions for legislative and executive war
powers, this chapter seeks to demonstrate how through the course of history
presidential acts of war rhetoric have in effect redefined or reinterpreted the
authority of the executive to wage war. Also, I consider the executive
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interpretation of presidential power in an effort to thwart congressional
objections to president-initiated military action.
Article two of the Constitution provides the basis for presidential power.
"The executive Power shall be vested in a President" and "he shall take care that
the Laws be faithfully executed" are terms that have come to confuse even the
best of constitutional interpretors. The text of the constitution provides the
president with, for example, the power to veto legislation, pardoning power
(except for other presidents convicted under impeachment), and most
problematic for interpretation, the power to act as commander-in-chief of the
military. Addit
Abortion Clinic Violence
No full textThe abortion controversy has become one of the most debated issues in American society. As it has grown, so has the division between pro-life activists and pro-choice activists. Opposition has become more vocal and active. Specifically, the number of clinic protests has increased. They range from peaceful protests to violent murders. In many cases, the protests get out of control. Protesters try to persuade the patients and the individuals who work within the clinic. Some protests resort to force, destruction, violence, and intentionally harm people. There are so many components to the abortion controversy that it becomes very important to research the effects of violent clinic protesting. There is no debate on the legality of the issue, abortion is a freedom granted to women by the United States government. Many choose not to accept it, and have the right to do so. The freedom to express these differences and voice opinions are the rights given to the American people by the American government. To what degree they choose to fight for their beliefs is debatable. Once protesters begin to infringe on the rights of other individuals, it becomes destructive. If the rights of an individual are violated through expression of differences, the violator has become irresponsible. Researching violent abortion clinic protests will determine the nature of the relationship between abortion clinics and its protesters.ABORTION CLINIC VIOLENCE
Jennifer Jackson
P0399
Dr. Gilbert
December 14, 1999
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CHAPTER!
THE NEW CONTROVERSY
The abortion controversy has become one of the most debated issues in American
society. As it has grown, so has the division between pro-life activists and pro-choice
activists. Opposition has become more vocal and active. Specifically, the number of
clinic protests has increased. They range from peaceful protests to violent murders. In
many cases, the protests get out of control. Protesters try to persuade the patients and
the individuals who work within the clinic. Some protests resort to force, destruction,
violence, and intentionally harm people. There are so many components to the abortion
controversy that it becomes very important to research the effects of violent clinic
protesting. There is no debate on the legality of the issue, abortion is a freedom granted
to women by the United States government. Many choose not to accept it, and have the
right to do so. The freedom to express these differences and voice opinions are the rights
given to the American people by the American government. To what degree they choose
to fight for their beliefs is debatable. Once protesters begin to infringe on the rights of
other individuals, it becomes destructive. If the rights of an individual are violated
through expression of differences, the violator has become irresponsible. Researching
violent abortion clinic protests will determine the nature of the relationship between
abortion clinics and its protesters.
Violence will not bring about a solution to any problem, under any circumstance.
When abortion clinic protesters choose to resort to violence outside abortion clinics, it
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does not resolve the abortion controversy, but makes it worse. Unacceptable forms of
protest by extremists need to be examined and recognized as unjust action. By examining
the abortion clinic protests, a better understanding of pro-life protester's motivation and
goals they believe they are achieving. By studying these acts, we will learn what affects
they have on everyone involved, including the clinic employees and patients. This is not
simply a study of pro-life v. pro-choice, but a look into what happens when violence
becomes a large part of the controversy. This study will determine whether or not prolife
clinic protesters have gone too far or if their actions help bring about victory for the
pro-life movement.
There are many important factors in examining clinic protests. It is necessary to
first examine the history of the abortion controversy. From this, we learn what decisions
were made and what laws were established. How people reacted to these laws will
determine a how they choose to act out against or in support of the laws. A close
examination will also reveal what groups and organizations were established and what
their goals were. It is important to understand what influence has grown and what
changes have taken place. History will help to explain why the right to have an abortion
is so important to some individuals. It will also examine what individual rights patients
have.
Also key to this study is the use outside resources. Numerous studies have been
done on the abortion controversy, both biased and non-biased. Reviewing these studies
of abortion clinic protests will help determine the goals of the research project. Many
resources examine the action towards clinics such as violence, bombings, arson, murders,
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and terrorism. Specific case studies will be helpful in determining the reasoning behind
the clinic violence and what exactly happens during a violent protest. Case studies
examine the moral and political actions taken by those convicted of violence and those
who give it. Views of religious fundamentalists, personnel of clinics in the United States,
individuals who have been subject to bombings and other forms of violence, and even
people tried and convicted of those offenses are other examples given in the resources.
By using this research, a clearer understanding of pro-life versus pro-choice views will be
revealed.
The first group to be examined in the study are the pro-life activists. The beliefs
they hold as well as their actions will be investigated. Understanding what the pro-life
extremists who violently protest abortion clinics believe is key to this study. It will
explain why they decide to take on the act of protesting and to what degree they choose
to do so. The religion of the protesters,is important in understanding their moral beliefs.
It gives better understanding as to why they do the things they do if they act out
according to their religious beliefs. It will also show how they approach and prepare to
protest abortion clinics. The research will include a look into the pro-life extremists
religious views as well as their First Amendment rights and whether or not they cross the
line with freedom of speech when they decide to act out violently. The other side of the
controversy, pro-choice is crucial in understanding this dilema. It is important to know
how they feel about the outbursts of violence and what action, if any they take to stop it.
More important to this side of the controversy are the individuals directly effected, the
clinic employees and patients. Understanding what they have gone through when
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protests get out of control is significant. These individuals risk their lives to enter the
clinic. Research will show what type of protection and precautions are taken to provide
safety in employee and patient atmosphere.
This study will present an intriguing look into the heart of the abortion
controversy. Abortion clinic protests are a specific event that occurs within the
controversy. It reveals the protesters' feelings in their truest forms. Abortion clinic
protests tell a different side of the controversy, one where the issue is painted out clearly.
Emotion's flair and it is more obvious to see protesters intentions through violence. This
study is expected to unveil negative consequences on all sides of the controversy. It will
reveal the harm it causes people involved with the abortion clinics, including the pro-life
protesters themselves. It is a study that is key to understanding the underlying factors in
the abortion controversy and how people will stand to support these factors. It is a
battle of prevailing views and who is influenced by the actions. To be able to understand
abortion clinic protests, examples will help define the true views of the pro-life extremists
and the people they effect.
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CHAPTER2
THE ROAD TO VIOLENCE
Examining the history of the abortion controversy reveals years of struggle. It has
been confronted on manydifferent levels including national court rooms to local churches.
Each perspective must defend and justify their position. Interpretation plays a large role
in the abortion controversy. How one individual view's life and its national and religious
laws can be completely different from the next individual. Important official decisions
have been made in the past that affect abortion rights. They have satisfied some, but
outraged others. The history of abortion is long and touchy. What has been finalized and
said in the past has great implications on the depths of the controversy today. The
passion for beliefs within the different groups can be overwhelming. Many believe that
they will make a difference if they publicly display their beli efs. People take a stand
because they are allowed to. Pro-life extremists may have to live under national laws, but
can to fight against them. At some points in time, the stand against abortion has become
out of control. Violent outbreaks are a result of what decisions have been made in the
past. In all aspects, history plays an important role in our lives. It is critical to the
understanding of the abortion controversy today that we look into its pasts. Without
history, we would be unable to interpret the implications of decisions and events.
The founder of Planned Parenthood was a woman by the name of Margaret
Sanger. In the early 1900' s, she began to campaign for the acception of birth control by
and for women. Sanger was, "a tireless pioneer of birth control whose struggle against
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legal, social, and moral prejudice had produced a chain of contraceptive clinics across the
country, (Lader, A Private Matter, 36.)" She was the first to take a stand and make a
difference in the abortion controversy. When Planned Parenthood was established, it was
run by women who were against abortion. They worked to provide support for women
who needed advice or help with birth control methods. As the first organized group for
childbearing rights, it was a stepping stone into women's rights. Planned Parenthood
with it's status and power ironically became an important figure in abortion rights.
Sanger died in 1966, just as the abortion movement began to become established. At this
time, Planned Parenthood continued to be against abortion. Several years after Sanger's
death, a doctor by the name of Alan Guttmacher helped bring Planned Parenthood into
the abortion movement. Planned Parenthood established clinics and counseling centers for
women. Shortly following the establishment of Planned Parenthood clinics, many other
clinics became established. According to Lader, Sanger was the first woman recognized
for speaking out for women's childbearing rights. Her fight for birth control rights created
a controversy. By establishing Planned Parenthood, she created one of the most
controversial clinics of this century. Sanger is recognized for standing up for women, not
for abortion. Consequently however, her ideals and beliefs are the root of all that was to
follow. People took her ideas and elaborated on them. Without the work of Sanger, the
abortion controversy might possibly be looked at in a completely different perspective.
The legality of abortion in the United States has always rested in the hands of the
government. Before 1973, most abortion decisions and laws were made by the state.
Following the case of Roe v. Wade in' January of 1973, the Supreme Court declared
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abortion a constitutional right. The case was not expected to make a difference in the
abortion controversy. It was actually set-up to test validity of the Texas abortion
statute which only allowed abortion only to save the life of a woman. Roe v. Wade was a
case was of, "An unmarried pregnant woman who wished to terminate her pregnancy b y
abortion instituted an action in United States District Court for the Northern District of
Texas, seeking a declamatory judgment that the criminal abortion statutes, which
prohibited abortions except with respect to those procured or attempted by medical
advice for the purpose of saving the life of the mother, were unconstitutional (Lexis
Nexus Legal Research)" Roe v. Wade was the first case to influence a federal decision on
abortion. 1 Similar to the Roe v. Wade case was the Doe v. Bolton case.2 In Doe v. Bolton,
the court gave a broad definition of"health" stating that, abortion could be performed, " .
. in the light of all factors - physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the
woman's age- relevant to the well being of the patient. All these factors may relate to
health (Doe vs. Bolton, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 70-40, IV, p. 11, Jan. 1973.)" Doe v.
Bolton actually began in late 1971, but ended on January 22, 1973, with the same decision
as Roe v. Wade. Even though these cas,es were in court for months even years, it
1 "Roe v. Wade abolished all restrictions on abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy
except that it had to be performed by a licensed physician. In the second trimester up t o
the point of viability (set at twenty-four to twenty-eight weeks of pregnancy), the state
could interfere only by regulating the qualifications of a doctor and the medical site for
abortion if these factors were 'reasonably related to maternal health (Lader 93.)"
2 "An indigent, married, pregnant woman, who desired but had been refused an abortion, 2 3
other individuals (nine physicians licensed in Georgia, seven nurses, five clergymen, and two
social workers), and two nonprofit Georgia corporations that advocated abortion reform
instituted an action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia,
seeking a declamatory judgment that the Georgia abortion statutes were unconstitutional
and an injunction against the statutes' enforcement (Lexus Nexus, Doe V. Bolton)"
7
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managed to keep people's interest. The decision of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton
created the great turmoil and caused numerous counterattacks to the case. "Roe v. Wade
elevated the issue of abortion to the national political agenda and invited a larger political
struggle in the country. In the following decades, the abortion controversy became
transformed. Pro-choice and antiabortion groups were mobilized ... (Craig & O'Brien,
Abortion & American Politics 83. )" It is· often the ultimate goal of pro-lifers to overturn
the Roe v. Wade decision.
Due to the decisions of these court cases, pro-life protesters began to make their
voices heard across the nation. They have instilled fear in doctors and abortion clinic
patients. "Because of harassment and intimidation by anti-abortion forces, few doctors
are willing to perform abortions (Kaplan, The Story of Jane XVII.)" Abortion is a
freedom that the government of the United States granted women. There are many who
choose not to except it, and fight against it. In contemporary times, there are still many
deeply felt differences on abortion issues. The freedom to express these differences and
voice opinions are the rights given to the American people by the American government.
Once the rights of an individual are violated through expression of differences by another
individual, that violator has become irresponsible. Pro-life demonstrators who go beyond
a peaceful protest have broken the rules of respect. "In the past 15 years, they have
bombed or torched 1 17 clinics and vandalized another 457. They have drilled holes in
clinic walls and poured in noxious chemicals. In the first quarter of 1993, three clinics
were destroyed by arsonists, (Bender, The Abortion Controversy 207)"
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The history of the abortion controversy has created extreme hatred between the
pro-life and pro-choice groups. It has caused a build-up of emotion that has overflowed
and let loose into all forms of protest. Although understanding the views of the two
groups is very important, the focus of this study revolves around the violent acts against
abortion clinics. It is crucial to unveil the drive and motivation behind violent acts.
Understanding the drive will help unveil what violent protesters feel they are
accomplishing by committing these violent acts. It is also important to look at how prochoice
activists feel about the violent acts against them and what the consequences have
been. The past set these groups up for a long and rough future. Violent acts against
abortion clinics are complicating the controversy. Choosing to act out against others and
purposely harm them will not accomplish pro-life activists ultimate goal of reversing the
Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion. It creates and issue within the abortion
controversy of how far one can stretch the First Amendment.
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Incidents of Violence and Disruption Against Abortion Providers, 19911
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•• A I!' Gustavus Student Repository
CHAPTER3
THE VIOLENCE
There have been numerous attacks against abortion clinics across the nation. " An
Eye for an eye is a principle well established in American psychology, if not in American
law. It accounts for the constant popularity of the death penalty; and it is also
increasingly coloring the debate about abortion (The Economist, Vengeance, Jan 7 1995,
v334, n7896, pA2 l [l ])" Over the years, the eye for an eye theme has slipped into the
thoughts of many Pro-life extremists. "Gradually, throughout the eighties increasing
percentages of these Pro-life activists began to shift away from sanctioned America
method of adjudicating disputes through persuasion toward the methods of coercion, lawbreaking,
and violence (Condit, Decoding Abortion Rhetoric 1 5 1 .)" Attacks can vary from
written or verbal death threats to first degree murder. Clinics have been bombed and
burned to the ground. The degree of violent attacks show that that Pro-life extremists
have no indication of backing down. 3 "The forms and motivations of violence are many.
Violence may be the act of an individual or group. It may be premeditated or
spontaneous. It may be directed against persons as individuals or as representatives of
the social system or some part of it (Blanchard & Prewitt 250.)" Violence reminds us
that the controversy is not cut and dry. Violence is a way of taking a hold of the situation
and controlling it by unjust means of force. Examples of violent situations reveal the
3 "The anti-abortion campaigners aim to stigmatize abortion as uniquely cruel and squalid act.
It is simple and effective strategy. Their relentless attacks, on every front-physical,
legislative, ideological, medical-have greatly skewed the framework and the language used
by those who strive to defend abortion rights (Hadley, Abortion Between Freedom and
Necessity, 1 5 7.)"
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depth of the controversy. Different violent events associated with abortion clinics help
lead us to the conclusion that Pro-life extremists are desperate for a solution and will use
any means to make people see it there way. The following are examples of different
violent events that have occurred in the United States since the Roe v. Wade decision was
made in I 973.
According to the National Abortion Federation, m 1997 the number of arsons
doubled and the number of bombings tripled over levels in 1996. Although the violent
attacks against abortion clinics were fewer from 1977-1983, there was still a "total of 2 1
acts of arson and bombings of facilities that provided abortions (Bender 199. )" "The
amount of monetary damages suffered by clinics in 1 997 amounts to approximately
8.5 million in damages due
to arsons and
Affirmative Action in the United States
No full textThe difficulty with the issue of affirmative action is deciding whether it is a sound policy to redress past discriminations. If so, is it legally permissible under current statutes and constitutional interpretation to advance race conscious admission polices at public institutions? The answers to these questions hold the key to the ultimate future and success of affirmative action. This paper will discuss the history of affirmative action in education in the United States, as well as analyzing how affirmative action laws have been applied. Additionally, this paper will analyze the repercussions of affirmative action laws by looking at various state lawsuits and their outcomes. Finally, this paper will be used to suggest possible alternatives and improvements to the ongoing process of applying affirmative action. Throughout the course of this analysis on affirmative action, I will attempt to explain why affirmative action policies are not legally permissible under constitutional law.Affirmative Action in the United States
Is this a sound policy to remedy past
discriminations?
Is this legally pennissible under current statutes and
constitutional interpretation?
Lyndsay Larson
Thesis
Chris Gilbert - Advisor
05/22/00
Gustavus Student Repository
Introduction
The history of affirmative action in the United States
is a confusing one. Discrimination has been and still is
sometimes rampant in American society. Through laws and
regulations, elimination of discrimination has been
attempted. One such measure to eliminate discrimination has
been affirmative action. Affirmative action is defined as
efforts to expand opportunities for women or racial, ethnic
and national origin minorities who have been subjected to
discrimination. However, affirmative action measures in the
educational setting are currently being hotly debated. The
question is whether affirmative action policies are in
effect, promoting reverse discrimination.
Beginning in the 1960's, public colleges and
universities have adopted affirmative action plans in order
to address the history of racial discrimination at their
institutions. Many of the same institutions have recently
faced criticism and legal redress for applying what has
become known as reverse discrimination. The Equal Protection
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States
Constitution has been interpreted to mean that
discrimination against minorities in admission policies is
illegal. This interpretation raises questions about
discrimination of whites, and grapples with deciding who
falls under the "any person" aspect of the Fourteenth
Amendment.
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The future of affirmative action is in doubt. Recent
federal cases such as Regents of University of California v.
Bakke, and Hopwood v. State of Texas have shown that using
racial quotas in admission policies violates the Fourteenth
Amendment and the 1964 Civil Rights Act. There are also
currently numerous state-level lawsuits, which contend that
using race as a factor in admission criteria is illegal.
However, proponents of affirmative action policies claim
that the aftermath of the Bakke and Hopwood cases, along
with California Proposition 209, is ruining racial
diversification on United States campuses. So, what can be
done about affirmative action? Are there alternatives short
of simply outlawing all affirmative action policies? There
have been numerous proposals and suggestions, including
"percentage solutions" and "adversity indexes" to name a
few.
The difficulty with the issue of affirmative action is
deciding whether it is a sound policy to redress past
discriminations. If so, is it legally permissible under
current statutes and constitutional interpretation to
advance race conscious admission polices at public
institutions? The answers to these questions hold the key to
the ultimate future and success of affirmative action. This
paper will discuss the history of affirmative action in
education in the United States, as well as analyzing how
affirmative action laws have been applied. Additionally,
this paper will analyze the repercussions of affirmative
2
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action laws by looking at various state lawsuits and their
outcomes. Finally, this paper will be used to suggest
possible alternatives and improvements to the ongoing
process of applying affirmative action. Throughout the
course of this analysis on affirmative action, I will
attempt to explain why affirmative action policies are not
legally permissible under constitutional law.
3
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I. Chapter 1
History of Affirmative Action in
Education
Before one can really look at how affirmative action
made its way into the educational setting, it is important
to discuss why affirmative action was even pursued. In order
to understand this one must analyze the U. S. Supreme Court
case of Plessy v. Ferguson. In 1892, Homer Plessy who was
seven-eighths Caucasian, took a seat in a "whites-only" car
in a Louisiana train. He refused to move to the car reserved
for the blacks, and was promptly arrested. Twenty-four years
earlier, Congress and the states had ratified the Fourteenth
Amendment, which requires states to provide all persons with
"equal protection of the laws" and "due process of the laws"
before taking away life, liberty, and property. So, the
question in the Plessy case was whether the racial
segregation on trains was an infringement on Homer Plessy's
right to equal protection.
In May of 1896, the Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana
was within its constitutional rights. The justices based
their decision on the separate-but-equal doctrine: that
separate facilities for blacks and whites satisfied the
Fourteenth Amendment so long as the facilities were equal.
In short, segregation does not in itself constitute unlawful
discrimination (Oyez Project).
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The Beginnings of School Desegregation
Not until the Hughes Court was there a suggestion that
racially segregated schools might be constitutionally
suspect. In the U. S. Supreme Court case, Missouri ex. rel.
Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 337 (1938) the Court struck down
a portion of Missouri's law that, while denying blacks
admission to its law school, provided funding for blacks to
attend law schools in other states. Gaines, a black citizen
of Missouri, had qualified for the University of Missouri's
Law School and wanted very much to attend. The Court held
that the equal protection clause had indeed been violated
because Missouri failed to provide a law school for blacks.
As a result of the ruling, Missouri established a separate
all-black law school. Although Gaines attempted to challenge
the separate-but-equal doctrine, its constitutionality was
not seriously questioned.
The next case questioning the constitutionality of the
separate-but-equal doctrine was Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S.
629 ( 1950). Sweatt, a black man, applied for admission to
the all-white University of Texas Law School. Sweatt's
application was rejected, and he refused to go to the
"separate but equal" black facility, citing lack of
resources, faculty, and prestige, in comparison to the white
law school. The Court decided that the black law school was
unequal, and ordered the admission of Sweatt into the
University of Texas Law School. This case did not however,
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sweep away the separate-but-equal doctrine. In effect, this
case only permitted the entrance of Sweatt, due to the
inequality of the black facility. The reason the separatebut-
equal doctrine continued to stand after this case was
that the Court still believed that there could be equality
in separate facilities. The easiest remedy for the Court at
that point in history was to simply admit Sweatt, but
continue to allow for separate-but-equal facilities.
In 1951, a case challenging the constitutionality of
racially segregated public schools arrived on the Supreme
Court docket. This case was Brown v. Board of Education of
Topeka, Kansas, 347 U. S. 483 (1954) (aka Brown v. Board I. ).
This case was consolidated with four other cases. Black
children were being denied admission to public schools
attended by white children. The Court was badly split, and
decided to put off oral arguments until the next term. In
this time Chief Justice Vincent died and was replaced by
Earl Warren, who would later be a pivotal part of the
decision.
The question presented to the Court was whether
segregation of children in public schools solely on the
basis of race deprives minority children of equal protection
of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment (Oyez
Project). The Court unanimously decided racial segregation
in public education had a detrimental effect on minority
children, because segregation is a sign of inferiority. The
idea of separate-but-equal was totally struck down as it was
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inherently f ound that separateness was unequal (D. O'Brian,
1273).
In the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,
Kansas II. 349 U.S. 294 (1955) the Court was f aced with
deciding how desegregation should be implemented, as it was
facing much resistance. The Court decided that the problems
identified in Brown I. varied a great deal with local
situations. The Court gave much of the responsibility to
local school authorities and courts with the guideline that
these localities move toward prompt compliance "with all
deliberate speed" (Oyez Project).
Implementing School Desegregation
In 1958 came the case of Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U. S. I.
78 (1958). Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas had
been scheduled for integration for the fall of 1957.
However, Governor Orval Faubus called out the state's
National Guard troops to keep the black children from
entering the high school to begin the desegregation process.
An injunction by U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell let
the eight black children be admitted despite Governor
Faubus' efforts. There was still severe resistance to this
action and President Dwight Eisenhower was f orced to send
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federal Army troops to Little Rock to enforce the court
order and protect the black children.
In February of 1958, William Cooper, a member of the
Little Rock School Board, asked a federal district court for
a two-and-one-half year delay in implementation, citing
safety reasons. The parents of one of the black students,
John Aaron, sued William Cooper, and Cooper then appealed to
the U. S. Supreme Court. The Court unanimously ruled in favor
of Aaron, saying that the implementation delay does not
comply with the "all deliberate speed" ruling in Brown II.
The Court recognized the good faith effort of the Little
Rock School Board, but found that the Arkansas legislature
and Governor had not acted in good faith. This case was
important in that the Court stood firmly behind its decision
in Brown, and it was evident that despite challenges by
particular states, this ruling was here to stay.
Affirmative Action & Integration in Higher
Education
In the late 1960's the federal government began
promoting "affirmative action" programs aimed at increasing
the opportunities available for blacks, women, and other
minorities in education and employment. Following the
enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, President Johnson
issued Executive Order No. 11246, encouraging the use of
affirmative action programs to overcome the effects of past
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and present discrimination (D. O'Brian, 1315). I n the 1970's
the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW, now
the Departments of Education and Health & Human Services)
issued guidelines and threatened the withdrawal of f ederal
f unds from colleges and universities that failed to comply
with the admission goals for blacks, women, and other
minorities.
I n 1974, the Supreme Court faced a challenge to the
aff irmative action programs: reverse discrimination. In the
case of DeFunis v. Odegaard, 416 U. S. 312 (1974) Odegaard, a
white student, was denied a place in the 150-student
entering class of the University of Washington Law School.
He claimed he was rejected because minority students were
f avored. By the time the case reached the Supreme Court,
DeFunis had already graduated from another university and
his case was considered moot. Not until four years later was
the issue of reverse discrimination constitutionally
challenged with residual effects.
This brings us to the important case of Regents of the
University of California v. Bakke, 438 U. S. 265 (1978),
where the Supreme Court handed down its major ruling on
aff irmative action programs in higher education. Alan Bakke,
a white male, applied but was denied admission to the
Medical School at the University of Calif ornia at Davis. In
a f irst year class of 100, 16 positions were reserved for
"disadvantaged" minority students. Bakke had twice been
denied admission despite his qualifications (MCAT & college
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GPA) exceeding those of any minority student admitted in the
two years his applications were rejected (Oyez Project).
Bakke decided to challenge the constitutionality of the
admission policy for minorities, contending that he was
denied admission on account of his race. So, the question
facing the Court was whether the University of California
violated the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause
and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by practicing an
affirmative action policy that resulted in the repeated
rejection of Alan Bakke's application for admission to its
medical school (Schwartz, 79).
The Regents countered that their affirmative action
polices were used for four reasons: One, to reduce the
deficit of minorities in medicine; two, to counteract social
discriminations; three, to increase doctors in under-served
communities; and finally, to diversify the student body.
The Court ruling was messy and confusing, to say the
least. The ruling was twofold. It held first that the
University could not have fixed quotas or set-aside places
for minority applicants in medical school if white
applicants were denied a chance to compete for those places
(Kinder). Since quotas were determined to be
unconstitutional, the Court ruled that Alan Bakke be
admitted to the University of California Davis Medical
School. Justice Powell, delivering the opinion of the Court,
found that using numbers and quotas is unconstitutional, and
that the University could not remedy society at the expense
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of individuals. Also, in response to U. C. Davis' claim to
increase doctors in under-served communities, the Court
responded by pointing out that the minority applicants would
not necessarily return to serve minority neighborhoods. The
Court also required the elimination of the special admission
programs.
The second aspect of the Court's decision was
considered by some as contradictory to the first part of the
decision. The Court decided that race could be a criteria
for admissions - just not the deciding factor (438 U. S.
26 5). The Court held that the objective to diversify the
student body is constitutional (but ineffective if only
relying on quotas}. They found that race and ethnic origin
may be considered in reviewing applications without
violating the Equal Protection Clause, as long as those
criteria are not the sole basis for admittance (Kinder}.
Powell stated in the opinion that affirmative action, but
not quotas, is permissible because under the First Amendment
universities need a diverse student body to ensure academic
freedom and the educational process (D. O'Brian}. Proponents
of affirmative action have seized on the second part of the
Bakke decision as a "greenlight" for racial preferences in
admission practices at public universities.
The Bakke decision was the precedent for roughly
eighteen years. In that time public universities continued
to admit minorities in large numbers, all the while doing so
with "diversity" in mind, not "quotas. " This was the
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precedent until 1992 when Cheryl Hopwood filed a lawsuit
(along with three other white law-school applicants) against
the University of Texas Law School in Hopwood v. State of
Texas. They asserted that they were denied admissions
because affirmative action policies gave unfair preferences
to less-qualified, minority applicants (Applebome).
The three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit U. S. Court of
Appeals in New Orleans ruled in 1996 that the law school's
admission policies were illegal, and that the Supreme
Court's ruling in the Bakke reverse discrimination case was
no longer valid. Unlike the Bakke decision, which supported
some affirmative action measures, the Hopwood case nullified
any motivations for racial preferences (Frontline 1999).
The 5th Circuit Court ruling said that the law school may not
use race as a factor in admissions, even for the purpose of
diversification (Applebome). This ruling however, is only
effective in the 5th Circuit, covering Texas, Louisiana, and
Mississippi, although only Texas has thus far adopted the
strict interpretation of the Hopwood decision.
To date, the Supreme Court has refused to hear the
Hopwood case - indicating its willingness to let states pass
anti-affirmative action measures on a specific state-bystate
basis. By agreeing not to separate applications based
on race or ethnicity, the University of Texas Law School
took steps to ensure more constitutional admission policies.
Another result from the Hopwood decision was that all
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affirmative action practices have been banned at Texas
institutions (Selingo 1999a).
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II. Chapter 2
Application of Affirmative Action
Due to the conflicting decisions in the Bakke and
Hopwood cases, applying affirmative action policies in
higher education has been diff icult. Many states are
f ollowing the Texas trend of outlawing aff irmative action
programs at their public institutions. Examples of these
efforts can be found in California, where Proposition 209
was passed, ending affirmative action, and in Michigan,
where two lawsuits are challenging the University of
Michigan's admission policies. There has also been an
initiative passed in Washington, and pending initiatives in
Florida. The overall application of af f irmative action
programs in higher education seems to be on the decline.
Many of the applications of these laws are being done to
stop aff irmative action policies, not to advance them.
California Proposition 209
I n September 1992, the Department of Education
announced that, f rom 1988 to 1990, the University of
California Berkeley's Boalt School of Law shielded minority
applicants from competition with white students in an eff ort
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to meet affirmative action quotas (Frontline 1999).
Investigators detailed a system in which the school divided
applicants by race and ethnicity and compared each applicant
only to others within the same group. The school denied and
wrongdoing, but agreed not to separate applicants based on
race or ethnicity in the future (Frontline 1999).
Three years later, all University of California
campuses came under fire for their affirmative action
programs. On January 19, 1995, University of California
Board of Regents member Ward Connerly announced he would
work to replace the university's affirmative actin programs
with something more just. Ward Connerly and California
Governor Pete Wilson eventually worked together to bring the
issue before the entire Board of Regents
(URL:www. ldfa.org/209.htmll.
On July 20, 1995, the Board of Regents voted 15-10 to
end race based preferences in admissions, hiring, and
contracting. On November, 5, 1996, California voters gave
their support and 54% of the California electorate voted yes
on Proposition 209 - a ballot initiative banning all
affirmative action in government employment and public
education - affirming the Governor's earlier attempts to end
racial preferences in the University of California system
(Frontline 1999).
The official text of California Proposition 209
"prohibits the state, local government, districts, public
universities, colleges, schools, and other government
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instrumentalities from discriminating against or giving
preferential treatment to any individual or group in public
employment, public education, or public contracting on the
basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin
(URL: www. econ. csuchico. edu/~muradt) . "
The Proposition 209 ban went into effect at graduate
and professional schools in 1996 , and in 1998 at the
undergraduate level (Frontline 1999). Similarly, Washington
passed Initiative 200 in 1998, which ended preferences based
on race and gender by public universities. Ward Connerly of
the Calif ornia Board of Regents, spearheaded this ef f ort, as
he did with Proposition 209.
Attacking Proposition 209 in the Courts
One day af ter Calif ornia voters passed Proposition 209,
the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a coalition of
civil right groups f iled a suit to block the enf orcement of
Proposition 209 (Americans United For Aff irmative Action).
However, on April 9, 1997, a three-judge panel from the 9'"
Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, ruling Proposition 209
to be constitutional.
The passing of Calif ornia's Proposition 209 leads us to
believe that some of the American electorate approves antiaffirmative
action measures. The fact that this Proposition
was challenged and still f ound to be constitutional shows
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the courts' willingness to intervene in these state-level
efforts to end reverse discrimination. The significance of
Proposition 209 is twofold. One, it shows voters that they
can vote and actually make a difference, and two,
Universal Preschool: Could it happen in the United States?
No full textWelfare is "aid provided by the government to poor and needy people; relief" (American ... 2375). The objective of a welfare policy is often thought of as food stamps and government paychecks for the unemployed. However, welfare is more encompassing than the previously mentioned. Welfare policies are put forth to create work opportunities, to educate, to train, to provide low-income housing when none is available, and they also provide monetary assistance when people are unable to support themselves. By providing these types of services, opportunities are created for those in need. In creating these openings, it is believed that people will be able to find work for life. If all the previous occur, no one will be in the need of welfare and assistance from society or the government. Some would argue that the best way to keep people off welfare is to educate the public. There could be no better way than to provide education to all citizens and to make sure that the education provided is the best possible.Universal Preschool:
Could it happen in the United States?
Jennifer R. Nelson
Political Science Thesis
Prof. Chris Gilbert
May 21, 2001
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Table of Contents
I) Introduction
II) United States' Welfare Policies and
Proposed Changes
A) Preventive Strategies
B) Alleviative Strategies
C) A New Federalism
D) Proposed Changes through Education and
Child Care
E) Head Start
III) Scandinavian Welfare States'
Approach to Prevent Poverty
A) Sweden's Approach
B) Norway's Approach
C) Denmark's Approach
IV) Universal Preschool and its
Implications
V) Bibliography
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Introduction
Welfare is "aid provided by the government to poor and needy people;
relief" (American ... 2375). The objective of a welfare policy is often
thought of as food stamps and government paychecks for the unemployed.
However, welfare is more encompassing than the previously mentioned.
Welfare policies are put forth to create work opportunities, to educate, to
train, to provide low-income housing when none is available, and they also
provide monetary assistance when people are unable to support themselves.
By providing these types of services, opportunities are created for those in
need. In creating these openings, it is believed that people will be able to
find work for life. If all the previous occur, no one will be in the need of
welfare and assistance from society or the government. Some would argue
that the best way to keep people off welfare is to educate the public.
There could be no better way than to provide education to all citizens and to
make sure that the education provided is the best possible.
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The United States and the Scandinavian nation-states handle welfare
policy differently, in the search of this goal. The United States currently
uses such methods of assistance as food stamps, social security, welfare
checks, and intensive urban programs in hopes of aiding the unemployed into
work. Scandinavian welfare states use universal health care, intensive job
training, job placement, and universal education in hopes of achieving the
same. The Scandinavian system is praised around the world for its ability to
place people into stable jobs. Many argue that the Scandinavian model of
welfare works well primarily because education is provided for all. Not only
is the education provided, but the nation-states are also beginning to
educate their children at a younger age. Studies have been conducted that
prove starting education with preschool and day care assists in producing
children who are more able to learn and socialize.
United States' Welfare Policies and Proposed
Changes
Most of the nation's major policies regarding welfare were created
during the New Deal years of the 1930's under President Franklin D.
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Roosevelt (Social Security, Unemployment Compensation, Aid to Families
with Dependent Children [AFDC], and Aid to Aged, Blind, and Disabled, now
called Supplemental Income or SSI). Many of the remaining policies were
instituted during the Great Society years of the 1960's during President
Lyndon Johnson's term (food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid) (Dye 110). During
these periods, more than half of the money that was spent on welfare
programs came from the federal government. The states were directed by
the federal government as how to use their money. It was then the state
and local government's job to decide whom it should assist. The previously
mentioned programs are meant to affect poverty in the same way, but by
using different approaches. These strategies can be understood when
broken down into the types of aid that they are providing, preventive and
alleviative.
Preventive Strategies
When Franklin D. Roosevelt was instituting his programs, he favored
preventive strategies for aid due to the Depression and the way society and
government viewed the indigent. Preventive strategies attempt to catch
people in need before they fall into poverty. These programs are based on
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the idea that "poverty could result from forces over which the individual
had no control- loss of job, old age, death of the family breadwinner, or
physical disability" (Dye 120). This strategy then creates solutions that
require individuals to obtain insurance against their own indigency resulting
from any of these misfortunes (Dye 120). Many of the programs instituted
by Roosevelt in the 1930's, though modified, are still used presently to
combat the effects of the previously mentioned misfortunes.
Social Insurance is one of the programs put in place in the 1930's that
is still used today. The idea behind Social Insurance is that it be based on
the same idea as private insurance in which one shares risks and puts money
aside for a rainy day. It was not to become charity or public assistance; it
was to be preventive. It was thought "it would eventually abolish the need
for any public assistance program because individuals would be compelled to
protect themselves against poverty" (Dye 121). Another preventive strategy
is Unemployment Compensation, which was another important program
brought forth by the Social Security Act of 1935 during the New Deal. This
program assists the unemployed by providing them with an unemployment
check. The stipulation to receiving the check is that the unemployed are
required to register with the U.S. Employment Service to encourage them to
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obtain employment elsewhere. The funding for this program is derived from
a payroll tax. Then this money is distributed to those who are registered.
This program hopes to assist those who are unemployed with their living
expenses while they are in search of other employment (Dye 122).
The previously mentioned programs are examples of preventive
programs that are put in place to prevent people from falling into indigence
due to circumstances beyond their control. Though it is believed by many
that these are good policies that help those who are unable to help
themselves, one has to ask if they are preventing all possible misfortunes.
There is no program in the preventive strategy that creates education
opportunities for poor children. There is no opportunity to purchase
insurance in case the system fails you and you are given a poor education, if
one at all. With a staggering two-thirds of those on welfare not having a
high-school diploma, one would think that lack of education would be a
misfortune that the government would want to prevent (Dye 130). Yet,
currently, early childhood education for the indigent is overlooked on large
scales, and is attempted as alleviation on small scales.
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Alleviative Strategies
The alleviative strategy was formulated during the New Deal and
expanded by the Great Society. The original idea was "to provide a minimum
level of subsistence to certain categories of needy adults- the aged, blind,
and disabled- and to provide for the care of dependent children" (Dye 125).
Originally, alleviative programs were designed to assist families or
individuals who faced things in their life that they were unable to deal with.
This differs from preventive programs because it is public assistance and it
does not require individuals to buy insurance. Instead, these programs were
put forth to use taxes to assist those who fell into indigence and were
unable to buy insurance against it, or if poverty was not their fault as in the
case of dependent children. The question is raised as to why education is
not part of a plan that is designed to help children rise out of indigence, or
to merely survive their circumstance.
The original idea of alleviative programs was expanded during the
Great Society and was then reduced by the Welfare reforms of 1996. This
expansion in the 1960's and 1970's did not just deal with the money allotted
to the programs, but it also dealt with those who were allowed to use the
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services. Once expanded in the 1960's to include such programs as food
stamps and Medicaid, the strategy was dealt a heavy blow in 1996.
One of the first services that was created during the New Deal to
assist those in need was AFDC. This program was set forth to create and
provide aid for families with dependent children. This program was jointly
funded by the federal and state governments, and was administered by the
state and local welfare departments under federal regulations and state law.
The state governments would calculate their own standard of need for food,
clothing, and shelter. AFDC payments to families were then calculated from
this formula. Those who were unable to obtain the standard put forth
qualified for AFDC funding. However, states were not required to give
these families 100% of their need and many states did not (Carr 222).
The federal government became removed from this process through
time and discovered that it was blindly funding programs that it had little
control over. In 1996, the federal government was through funding
programs in this way and passed the Welfare Reform Act, which ended
AFDC as it was previously known. There were now restrictions put in place
to ensure that the money was not being wasted, and to guarantee that
citizens were not going to be abusing the system. Some of these
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restrictions include: work requirements that require adults receiving
welfare benefits to be working with in two years of receiving aid,
restrictions on aid which did not allow for an adult to be using welfare aid
for more than five years (the infamous five- year clock), and welfare funds
denied to legal or illegal immigrants until they have become citizens (Dye
126). However, one of the most influential ways in which the reform
affected the states was the new funding policy.
Instead of federal and state governments funding the program
jointly, the federal government turned to a block grant system. The money
distributed to the states was based on the previous federal funding for
AFDC and related programs. The federal government also instituted
financial incentives that would be granted to states that were able to lower
their rate of out-of-wedlock births (Dye 125). Not only did the federal
government implement a block grant formula, but the reform also twisted
the arm of the states and did not allow them to skimp on their welfare
spending any longer. In order for the states to obtain their full funding,
they were required to spend 75% of the funding that they would have
received under AFDC. The states will also lose a dollar in federal funding
for each dollar that they fall short of this requirement (Dye 125). "This
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new law represents a sweeping reversal of federal policy in that it ends six
decades of guaranteed help for the nation's poorest children" (Brewster 41).
With this move, the government created not only a new welfare program,
but also created a new federalism.
A New Federalism
The debate over federalism and who should hold more power, state
or federal government, has been around since the creation of our thirteen
original colonies. However, the term "new federalism" was coined to
describe the efforts to reverse the flow of power to Washington and to
return responsibilities to state and local governments (Dye 290). The
phrase was created during the Nixon presidency. President Richard Nixon
used it to refer to the sharing of federal tax revenues with the state and
local governments with few strings attached.
The idea of new federalism did not die with Nixon's resignation.
President Reagan used the phrase "New Federalism" to describe a series of
proposals that he had designed to encourage cities and states to undertake
greater policy responsibilities themselves with less involvement from the
federal government. These proposals during the Reagan administration
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included "consolidation of many categorical grant programs into fewer block
grants, and end to general revenue sharing, and less reliance by the states
on federal revenues" (Dye 290).
Both Nixon's and Reagan's ideas on new federalism can be found in the
Welfare Reform Act of 1996. In this piece of legislation, more power is
returned to the state and local governments, and it is done so using less
federal involvement and block grants. When AFDC was replaced by TANF
(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) in 1996, the idea of new
federalism was realized on a large scale. As a result of TANF's block grant
funding, the flexibility given to the states, and the varying requirements,
exemptions, and permissions in the new law, the country was seeing a whole
new public assistance program (Carr 244). With the adoption of TANF, no
longer was the federal government directly responsible for the care of poor
families. Instead, the responsibility fell on the shoulders of the local and
state governments. This transfer of power demonstrated that T ANF is not
an entitlement. The state is given a set amount of money from the federal
government in its block grant, and how each chooses to spend this money is
up to the individual state. However, if the state does choose to divert
money from direct care to such causes as job training, pregnancy prevention,
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and other services, there may not be enough money left to help all of those
who qualify for TANF assistance. If this becomes a reality, those eligible
for the program have no guarantee of support. With this new federalism
comes the passing of the buck.
The state government may choose to transfer the financial
responsibility to county or even city governments. Texas is an example of
this, where the state government not only delegated responsibility to the
local and city governments, but also proposed to contract private businesses
to perform the eligibility and other functions that were previously carried
out by the state employees (Carr 244).
The new federalism that is created by this policy change has ever
altered the face of public assistance and federalism, as the country had
known it. This change has brought questions to the table as to the
effectiveness of the new policy. Some argue that with the states and local
governments in control of the spending, and with the flexibility to design
programs that fit their specific needs, that public assistance has grown to
be more effective. Yet there are others who argue that by taking the
power away from the federal government and allowing the states to do as
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they please with the money, that this flexibility has proven deadly to the
hopes of ending the need for public assistance.
Which of these ideas will be proven truth is still unknown. However,
this new federalism does make one wonder how a new policy would be added
into public assistance. Take universal preschool and/or universal childcare
for example. If it were proposed that these policies are needed to prevent
the spread of poverty, how would they be best proposed, to the federal
government or to the state governments?
Proposed Changes through Education and Child Care
The United States is struggling to find the key to moving people from
poverty into working positions. The answer may be as simple as education.
Not only are Scandinavian welfare states beginning to offer universal
preschool and day care, but all other levels of education have always been
available to all citizens since the 1940's. The United States allows for
universal education for students five through eighteen through means of
property taxes and other funding mechanisms. However, the amount
allotted for education from property taxes varies from area to area, and
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with this variation comes a gap in the caliber of education that is offered to
students.
There are proposals as to how the United States could improve upon
its system and better the education that is received by all (Sawhill 2). One
such proposal is universal preschool where all children would have preschool
provided for them by the government and not through property taxes, which
vary between cities, but with a straight tax that all would pay. It has not
been specified as of yet what kind of tax would be used to cover the
universal preschool. However, the proposed plan could bridge the gap
between the advantaged and the poor, as it has worked in the Scandinavian
nation-states. This would mean a drastic change to the present system,
which has not allotted substantial amounts of money to the early childhood
education of youth in the past, nor recently.
The United States has consistently seen work programs, job training,
and welfare checks as the solution to its shortcomings in educating the
indigent, as stated in the previous sections. This approach is a band-aid for
a much bigger problem, poorly educated children. Instead of placing more
money into preschool and elementary schools, which could possibly solve the
problem of poverty, the funding is placed in programs that try to re-teach
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those whom the system has failed (Burton 123). This is not to say that the
programs we are instituting are not beneficial for the population at large,
but they merely seem to sidestep the true issues, such as education. A
reason the U.S. may be trying to avoid the issue is because it sees the poor
as undeserving of the money needed to obtain a better education.
People generally see the poor as less intelligent than themselves. Due
to this stereotype, people are less willing to give money to the cause of
educating the poor because they see it as pointless (Gans 98). From this
perspective educating the poor would merely be attempting to educate those
who are meant to be in the position that they are in, poverty. Once the
decision is made to ignore the issue and to not allot money or time to
educating the poor, a vicious cycle is created (Gans 99). Adults are unable
to gain the skills and knowledge needed to obtain a position, which then
forces them to raise their children in poverty and on welfare. The cycle is
then continued when the children are attending poor, inadequate schools, if
they are attending one at all. How do we expect the indigent to ever rise
out of poverty if we do not give them the opportunity to do so?
This cycle then manifests when the poor children are unable to gain
positions and stay in school and are then drawn to the call of the streets
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(i.e., gangs, pick pocketing, and drug dealing) because it appears to be an
easy way to earn money and get by. Once this occurs, it is harder to bring
people back to education because they have found a life that appears to be
easier (Gans 106). The cycle is complete when those who have chosen the
street realize that they want to improve their life and leave the streets.
The only way that this can be achieved is for the uneducated to be trained
or taught once again (Weinberg 172). This re-education has proven to be
less effective than traditional education. It is more efficient if societies
were to educate all the first time around. Then the government's money is
not wasted on extraneous programs to assist people who were unable to
maintain, or even obtain, a job due to their lack of education. Instead, the
government could be spending the money on early education programs to
guarantee that students are all starting at the same point and given a fair
chance to succeed. In addition, teachers and school districts would be
better equipped to teach more effectively and maintain a constant student
body (Weinberg 172).
One of the ways to combat the draw of gangs and crime, and keep
children in school, is to have them become interactive with academics at an
earlier age. When children are introduced to learning at a younger age, they
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are better able to handle social situations and their cognitive abilities rise.
This not only makes the children better learners, but also better citizens
after schooling. Preschool is a perfect example of something that achieves
the goals mentioned previously in the paragraph. Children who attend
preschool are more likely to stay in school and graduate. Not only is
graduation a more obtainable goal, but children tend to do better in school in
general after attending a starter school (Weinberg 175). Due to these
results, politicians and advocates have rallied behind the importance of early
education and its impact on children, especially poverty stricken children.
The protest consists of arguments to increase funding for early education
and the improvement of availability of preschools to the impoverished
(Weinberg 173).
Preschool is proven to be the best first step for the young
because it helps to i
Never Destroys, But Prevents Much From Being Born
No full textThere are many international non-profit and missions workers currently in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The local people are very happy to greet them and wave incessantly as the white people drive past in Land Rovers. They were amazingly kind to me as well as I conducted my independent study. I traveled to the north and met the man, Idrissa, with whom I would tag along and do research. We discussed my how I arrived and my aspirations, and soon he learned that I did not have a Land Rover to use, nor did I have money or a nice place to stay, and that I ate rice and cassava leaf for every meal like most Sierra Leoneans. In fact, this foreigner was quite dependent in Sierra Leone whereas the white people he witnessed were extremely independent. It was then that I was invited in to meet and spend all day with his family, live in their crowded home, and even share a bed with the man. The people treat me different in Sierra Leone. It was not that I was treated as if I were one of them; but I had crossed a divide from a foreign, independent individual in their country to being a brief member of diverse community. The point of relevance is that the foreigners, many of them Americans, did not perceive any need to enter into community with the people and relinquish some or their independence, including myself but for necessity.Lonnie Ellis
Never Destroys, But Prevents Much From Being Born
Introduction
There are many international non-profit and missions workers currently in Sierra
Leone, West Africa. The local people are very happy to greet them and wave incessantly
as the white people drive past in Land Rovers. They were amazingly kind to me as well
as I conducted my independent study. I traveled to the north and met the man, Idrissa,
with whom I would tag along and do research. We discussed my how I arrived and my
aspirations, and soon he learned that I did not have a Land Rover to use, nor did I have
money or a nice place to stay, and that I ate rice and cassava leaf for every meal like most
Sierra Leoneans. In fact, this foreigner was quite dependent in Sierra Leone whereas the
white people he witnessed were extremely independent. It was then that I was invited in
to meet and spend all day with his family, live in their crowded home, and even share a
bed with the man. The people treat me different in Sierra Leone. It was not that I was
treated as if I were one of them; but I had crossed a divide from a foreign, independent
individual in their country to being a brief member of diverse community. The point of
relevance is that the foreigners, many of them Americans, did not perceive any need to
enter into community with the people and relinquish some or their independence,
including myself but for necessity.
Some of the most important contributors to my conception of individualism are
my brief living experiences in other cultures. In India I felt a blurring of the line between
the individual and the other as personal space is an anomaly when walking down the
street or riding in a jeep with nineteen other men. In Guatemala I realized what is done to
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elevate the concerns of the family over one's own. In Sierra Leone I ate with my new
friends crouched over one large bowl shared in common.
The individual is exalted in the United States like nowhere else on earth. Not
only is the individual exalted; the individual is culturally thought to be released in all its
splendor from commitments to family, community, and society. Foreigners to this
country, even those from Western Europe, often remark on the individualistic nature of
American culture. They amaze at the practice of people taking out fast food and eating it
as they drive their car, alone, to save time. They marvel at the amount of time Americans
seem to spend in solitude throughout the day.
The individual and community-the question of loyalty is ever-present in the
vision of society. There's a sense that we must choose between the thoughts of Einstein:
The life of the individual only has meaning insofar as it aids in making the life of
every living thing nobler, and more beautiful
and Henrik Ibsen:
The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone
With the extent of individualism in thinking, living, and political order in the United
States, could it be that standing the most alone-most apart from the ills of societymeans
attempting to make life more beautiful by embracing community? Now I'm
getting quite far ahead of myself.
There is a sense among most very one that a struggle is raging, and many suggest
that ideals like morality and community are losing. Paul Rogat Loeb thinks that cynicism
is increasing, and becoming more insidious. He cites Princeton sociologist Robert
Wuthnow as saying, "In an individualistic society caring is sometimes seen as an
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abnormality ... we do not even believe in sharing too deeply in the suffering of others.
Our individual autonomy is too important" (Loeb 83)
Individualism has its roots late in the Renaissance and was pushed along by
theorists such as John Locke, Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, and John Rawls. In
breaking free of more collectivist notions of the individual and society, the new cultural
individualism was not heavily criticized until Tocqueville came to the United States,
where he actually coined the term "individualism." Individualism, according to the
feminist theorist Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, is a systematic theory of politics, society,
economics, and epistemology that has now triumphed politically and intellectually into a
doctrine in which all rights are grounded in the individual and can only be infringed upon
by the state in extraordinary circumstances (Fox-Genovese 7).
The struggle between the individual and community, and the individual and
society, grinds on. Political philosophy debate centers on the distinction between
collectivism, the current communitarian critique of liberalism, and modem liberalism and
its belief in the individual as the supreme unit of worth. Approaches like political
philosophy are important, but this paper is on the practice of individualism in individuals'
interaction with society and the concurrent view of the world that is produced. With such
a mandate, I will wind my argument through sociology, political psychology, and
political science.
In this paper, I will give a sense of the useful descriptions of individualism, define
a new, related term, and then discuss several critiques and trends of American
individualistic thought. Through the description of the effects on individuals and
American life, I will attempt to theorize on how individualism shapes thinking about
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society and about life, as well as how individuals experience society. I will then discuss
how one's thinking of what politics and the state should be follows from this experience
of the individual in society. Following this, I will discuss generally what the American
individualistic experience means for the thinking of the public about politics, and use
statistics from survey data to further examine individualism's connection to public
opinion on several issues. Throughout this paper I will critique individualism and
attempt to discern the type of society that American culture advances, following this I
will analyze some political attitudes and modes of political beliefs that are connected to
individualistic thought.
Redefining Individualism
The term individualism carries many connotations, both negative and positive,
depending on the philosophy or ideology. In order to meaningfully discuss
individualism, it is necessary to get away from thinking of it as synonymous with
selfishness or as meaning the exact opposite of communism. At a scholarly level,
individualism is a very expansive and diverse term. Theorists have attempted to define
several different "individualisms," including nineteen different definitions offered in
1911 by Edwin Herbert Lewis (223). Nothing close to a consensus seems to be in the
making, but in its fundamental state, I think individualism is simply the way one views
the individual in relationship to.society. Merriam-Webster defines individualism as,
(1) : a doctrine that the interests of the individual are or ought to be ethically
paramount; also : conduct guided by such a doctrine
(2) : the conception that all values, rights, and duties originate in individuals b : a
theory maintaining the political and economic independence of the individual and
stressing individual initiative, action, and interests; also : conduct or practice guided
by such a theory
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This definition is consistent with individualism in the philosophical dialogue, but isn't
quite what I'm after here. I am looking to theorize about individualism in practice and
avoid the centuries-old philosophical debate of the worth and makeup of the individual in
relation to society. In addition, the theorists and analysts whose work I use will alter any
definition of individualism I hold. In order to provide a coherent analysis, I will invent
and define my own term. The philosophical description-that the individual is ethically
paramount and that values, rights, and duties originate in individuals-is closely
connected to the term I later provide, although which came first is unknown to me.
The word "individual" means indivisible; it means a unit. Cicero is said to have
translated the Greek word atomos, or "atom," into the Latin individuum. Atomism and
individualism are basically the same word, only today atoms are things and individuals
are persons (Lewis 223). I only mention the origin because it provides an important way
of thinking about individualism. It is also important to note that the termination -ism is
used to refer to theories, practices, or states and thus "individualism" could be one of
these three, or all at the same time (224).
Merriam-Webster defines atomism, from physics, as the "doctrine that the
physical or physical and mental universe is composed of simple indivisible minute
particles." My sense of individualism in its purest form is the mental construct that the
world is composed of indivisible and isolated individuals. However, others have also
defined the social notion of atomism as being extremely self-interested or as having a low
or negative value of relations with people. Therefore, I define a new term that
exemplifies the practice of constructing the individual as an indivisible unit separate and
distinct from society. Thus, I define unitism as,
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the conceptual construction of society as separate and distinct individuals, as solitary
parts constituting the whole
I feel unitism is more precise than individualism, and should be considered a form of it;
call it "unitistic individualism." While contemporary usage refers to individualism as an
ideology, emotion, or cultural trait, unitism simply holds society to be the sum of
individuals as units. Even though the individual's linguistic twin, atom, denotes diverse
elements made up of many subatomic particles that are affected by powerful physical
forces both from within and without, unitism is the abstraction of the world into
indivisible and solitary units. I use unitism to get away from thinking of individualism as
a hierarchy of worth with the individual on top, or thinking of it as a structure of morality
(which individualism may well be). Unitism is distinctly a work of the intellect and an
effect of the dominant culture on one's thinking. It is not an emotion or ideology, unlike
some forms of individualism, because it is a conceptual practice that acts prior to such
things by establishing first the units of analysis. It is not immoral or moral in itself; it
should be considered amoral, particularly because it is a framework ingrained in, among
other things, one's moral system through which one first determines the subjects of the
moral system-just as it does for one's ideology and philosophy. Unitism is a cultural
trait that often escapes analysis and reflection.
However, unitism is extremely important to one's thinking about anything dealing
with society or relations among people. Unitism must be considered relative, as a
tendency not an absolute, because one obviously cannot completely describe the world as
being made up of clearly defined units. Thus, as a cultural intellectual framework,
unitism tends to provide the thinking of centering the individual while belittling social
forces within and among individuals, by which I mean relations and including informal
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and formal networks and institutions, as well as sentiments and ideas common to society.
These social forces and networks will be analyzed further later on. One's support of
ideologies and practices is thought more to be a product of one's own thinking rather than
something passed on by the culture. One is more likely to think of social problems as the
result of individuals and their loss of morality, or their poor decision-making, rather than
societal influences that are ingrained within all of us and are acting among us.
Unitism works against thinking of individuals' relations as being a part of oneself.
For example, I believe that I, not simply as a male but as a person and as a male living in
a society with prevalent sexism, have deeply ingrained sexist tendencies (not to let me off
the hook in struggling against them). Suppose I am having a conversation with a female
friend. There is likely to be an almost imperceptible power relationship in which I may at
times subtly interrupt her and she may subtly defer the conversation to me and accept my
interruptions. The ingrained sexist tendency I have, as one of feeling that I have power
over women, can be thought to react with the ingrained subordinate tendency in her to
produce the unequal conversation and power relationship-without either of us realizing
it. I see the thinking of unitism being unable to explain such an event or such a
unconscious act, and hindering our perception of it. Unitism, then, is against a more
organic way of looking at society and individuals; by the term organic I mean that
individuals owe some of their essential characteristics to their relations between and
among others.
Because unitism is relative and a cultural intellectual framework, different
cultures have varying degrees of it. The United States is regarded by most as having a
high degree of individualism and, I believe, unitism as well. Robert D. Putnam's idea of
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social capital as the social networks that have worth in our lives including relations of
church and club is relevant here. Although not the inverse of individualism, social capital
will be used to suggest that individualism is increasing in the US. This paper will contain
variations of individualism; in particular different concepts arrived at through research by
Alexis de Tocqueville and Robert Bellah as they offer their important critiques on the
practice of individualism.
Tocqueville's Critique
Alexis de Tocqueville traveled throughout the US in the 1830s in order to study
the new democratic order he felt coming into existence everywhere but best exemplified
in the US. His work is often quoted and commented on today. He is credited with
coining the term "individualism" during his experiences with the people and culture. His
work in Book I, Chapter II is of importance for this study. In it he said,
Individualism is a mature and calm feeling, which disposes each member of the
community to sever himself from the mass of his fellows and to draw apart with his
family and his friends, so that after he has thus formed a little circle of his own, he
willingly leaves society at large to itself (Tocqueville Book I, Ch. II).
This description gets at individualism as an emotional "calling" of a person to seek a
more private life. Tocqueville's individualism conceivably follows from unitism because
if the individual is the supreme unit, separate and distinct, from which society follows,
why shouldn't the individual calmly spend one's life enjoying one's worth among family
and friends?
I will call the withdrawal from society mentioned above "Tocquevillian
individualism." It is not an absolute that Tocquevilliail individualism follows from
unitism, but in the American context, the common withdrawal from society stems from
the solitary concept of the individual. There is then no superstructure of individuals that
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is of more importance than a person as an individual in this world, and thus any larger
obligations to society that one feels have little cognitive basis. Cultural regions and
areas, even different town sizes, may have varying degrees of both individualism and
unitism. I would argue that small towns might not be particularly individualistic in the
sense that they have strong communal ties, but may still be quite unitistic.
Tocqueville stresses that individualism is a newer phenomena than selfishness,
which has been running through society for ages. "Selfishness originates in blind
instinct; individualism proceeds from erroneous judgment more than from depraved
feelings; it originates as much in deficiencies of mind as in perversity of heart." He sees
in individualism, as I see in unitism, a mostly intellectual phenomenon. He observed that
many Americans accrue enough wealth to look after their needs and after which "they
acquire the habit of always considering themselves as standing alone," and as a result,
"they are apt to imagine that their whole destiny is in their own hands" He writes that
involvement in public affairs is the best way to get past purely self-interested pursuits and
individualistic isolation and "tum from the private interests and occasionally take a look
at something other than themselves" (Book I, Ch. II).
Tocqueville conceives of the emerging democratic society as the "social
equality." Citizens living in this state have a dramatically lessened social experience of
hierarchy and differentiation of roles than in more aristocratic Europe. They "cannot
derive their belief from the opinions of the class to which they belong; for, so to speak,
there are no longer any classes." He offers much foreboding about how he sees
Americans using this "equality" (Book I, Ch. II).
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Americans feel an insistence to rely on one's own judgment in forming one's
opinions and not others, tradition, or authority. Tocqueville remarks of his astonishment
that people do not bother to study the works of those such as Luther, Descartes, and
Voltaire. "Everyone then attempts to be his own sufficient guide and makes it his boast
to form his own opinions on all subjects. Men are no longer bound together by ideas, but
by interests; and it would seem as if human opinions were reduced to a sort of intellectual
dust, scattered on every side, unable to collect, unable to cohere." People lose faith in
beliefs based on the supernatural, tradition, and intellectual authority. "The men who live
at a period of social equality are not therefore easily led to place that intellectual authority
to which they bow either beyond or above humanity ... They will laugh at modern
prophets; and that they will seek to discover the chief arbiter of their belief within, and
not beyond, the limits of their kind." He laments, "Everyone shuts himself up tightly
within himself and insists upon judging the world from there" (Book I, Ch. I)
Tocqueville hints at the process through which he sees individualism becoming
inevitably compatible with conformism. Because one cannot adequately formulate
educated opinions on one's own, one is, "reduced to take on trust a host of facts and
opinions which he has not had either the time or the power to verify for himself, but
which men of greater ability have found out, or which the crowd adopts" (Book I, Ch. II)
[italics added].
Obviously, one accepts many facts and opinions from others. But in an
individualistic society, one is often led to believe one formulated these beliefs on one's
own. Also, in asserting one's individuality, one is likely to consciously question overt
explanations of reality, while unconsciously accepting covert ones supplied by the actions
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and beliefs of those one interacts with. Robert Bellah writes, "There has been a longstanding
anxiety that the American individualist, who flees from home and family
leaving the values of community and tradition behind, is secretly a conformist" (148).
Even while the most offensive thing for many Americans to be labeled is "ordinary,"
individualism can create a more stark conformity precisely because conforming cannot be
acknowledged.
Tocqueville combined his observations of the culture to think about what the
future holds for society and governance. He wrote a chilling scenario of where American
culture might someday take its democracy, calling it "administrative despotism" or
sometimes, paradoxically, "democratic despotism." It is a kind of "orderly, gentle,
peaceful slavery which ... could be combined more easily than is generally supposed, with
some of the external forms of freedom and . . . there is a possibility of getting itself
established even under the shadow of the sovereignty of the people." Such a government
.. "does not break men's will, but softens, bends, and guides it; it seldom enjoins, but often
inhibits, action; it does not destroy anything, but prevents much from being born; it is not
at all tyrannical but hinders, restrains, enervates, stifles, stultifies." He wrote, "I do not
expect their leaders to be tyrants, but schoolmasters" (Book I, Ch. IV).
Theorists debate about the extent to which this scenario may be true today. It is
clear that Tocquevi
The Relief State vs The Welfare State: A Comparison of Social Policy in the United States and Sweden
No full textIf the purpose of the welfare state is to insure workers and their families against common risks, then why are the national social insurance systems in Sweden and the United States so different? While the two systems purport to include many of the same goals, one is viewed by its own citizens as a success, and the other looked upon by its people as ungovernable, unaffordable, and undesirable.The Relief State
vs
The Welfare State:
A Comparison of Social Policy in
the United States and Sweden
J. Gerrit Karnofski
POL - 220 U.S. Public Policy
Fall Semester 2003
Professor Christopher P. Gilbert
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Table of Contents
Ch. 1 Introduction
Ch. 2 Sweden's History of Social Policy
Ch. 3 United States History of Social Policy
Ch. 4 Conclusion
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Ch. 1
"Our welfare state, remember, is not primarily directed at the alleviation of poverty. Its
principal purpose is to insure workers and their families against common risks"
(Harvey, Marmor, and Mashaw p. 268)
Introduction
If the purpose of the welfare state is to insure
workers and their families against common risks, then why
are the national social insurance systems in Sweden and the
United States so different? While the two systems purport
to include many of the same goals, one is viewed by its own
citizens as a success, and the other looked upon by its
people as ungovernable, unaffordable, and undesirable.
According to some of the most recent figures, Sweden's
social expenditures made up a whopping 3 6% of the nation's
GDP (Alcock and Craig, 150). For the same year the United
States allotted only 9.4 % of its GDP to the same social
services. Essentially the U. S. spent less on less. While
the Swedish health care system is organized into a uniform,
nationwide program that gives each person access and the
right to the best available care, the United States has no
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such system. This additional 7.7 percent of its gross
national product in health and medical services that Sweden
invests is above and beyond the original 36 percent spent
on social securities.
Why does one nation's program seem to be wrought with
tangible benefits and almost boastful successes, while the
other lacks the financial resources and public support for
any meaningful assistance to occur? More importantly, how
did these two systems come about? What factors caused
Sweden's programs to flourish and the United States'
welfare statism to sit at inadequate levels? It is only
through a careful examination of history that we may
understand why the United States may be aptly described as
the "relief state" and Sweden should be called the "welfare
state. "
Ch. 2
Sweden's History of Social Policy
With the exceptions of two periods in European history
Sweden has not been a major power in European affairs. The
exceptions are the Viking era (roughly 800 to 1100 AD), and
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starting with Gustav II Adolph's (Gustavus Adolphus) run
through Germany in the Thirty Years War to "save
Lutheranism" (1600), and ending with the death of King Karl
in battle (171 2). Sweden managed to stay out of the most
encompassing war in world history, the second world war,
mainly because, according to Professor of history and
Scandinavian studies Byron J. Nordstrom, "it was not worth
Hitler's time and resources to conquer" (Nordstrom p 3 1 5).
Left to itself on Europe's northern edge, Sweden has
largely stayed on the periphery of Europe: geographically,
economically and politically.
Tapio Salonen, the Research Director in the School of
Social Work at Lund University, sees Sweden in societal
disorder as an underdevelopment:
Until the end of the nineteenth century, Sweden was a poor
backward agrarian country on the outskirts of Europe.
Years of famine and hardship had forced nearly one million
Swedes to emigrate overseas from the mid-nineteenth century
until the First World War. The industrialization of Sweden
took place after the boom in continental Europe. (Alcock
and Craig p. 145)
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Although it is true that there was a major immigration
of Swedish residents to America during the late 1 800s,
Salonen is incorrect in his view and this immigration was
not due to the backwardness of Swedish society. There were
many factors that attributed to the mass exodus of Swedes
to America and to lay the weight of Swedish immigration
solely on the arguments of famine and the backwardness of
Swedish society is incorrect.
In the late 1 800s and early 1 900s there was largescale
European immigration to America, and each nation and
region had its own set of pushes. However, for the most
part, the push factors stayed relatively the same
throughout. Sweden, being no exception to this, had its
own set of "pushes" which Salonen overlooked. Like the
rest of Europe during the 1800s, Sweden experienced a
population boom with some estimates asserting that Sweden's
population as much as tripled (Nordstrom p. 228). At this
point in history Sweden was a largely agrarian society so
the population boom created a large problem for Sweden.
The population boom and its many causes, i coupled with
Swedish society, created a large group of people without a
way to earn a steady living. Their agrarian society was
unfit to handle as there were two primary ways for fathers
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to pass their land on. First was simply to pass the farm
and land on to the oldest son, which had two main effects:
either the younger sons would move to the growing urban
centers to join the growing labor pool for industrialist s
and look for work, or they would immigrate (in most cases
to America), but not due to the backwardness of Swedish
society. Second was an enclosure act made by the Swedish
government, which set a minimum size that land could be
portioned into, to pass on to a father's offspring. Notice
that this backward society not only had a strong enough
central government to pass this act, but also to enforce
it.
One end product of this enclosure law was that some
men who were willing to pass land down to more than just
their first-born son were now not legally allowed to do so.
This pushed even more men to either migrate to urban
cent ers.and their factories or to immigrate to America.
Agricultural changes were only a few of the "push" reasons,
but these had nothing to do with the backwardness of Sweden
and rat her show a nation that was developing quite well.
There were also "pull" factors (traits of the United States
that enticed people despite how well off or developed their
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home nation was) that led Swedes and many other people to
want to immigrate to America.ii
As I have discussed, the Swedish economy has never
been a model of supremacy, but has usually been able to be
self-sufficient, and like much of the modern world Sweden
went through its industrial revolution in the 1800s,
producing a decline in the importance of agriculture and an
offsetting increase in the importance of primary sectors
{raw materials) and an industrial sector based on one or a
few fundamental core industries. (Nordstrom p. 237)
By World War I, just under half of Swedes earned their
living in farming, a significant change from merely forty
years earlier when that number was three-quarters
(Nordstrom p. 242). So the questions are: when, why and
how, during this economic transition, did Sweden go through
a separate but related transformation from a constitutional
monarchy to a Social Democracy, which brought with it
extensive social insurances?
A second aspect of 'the revolution of 1917 - 1918' in
Sweden was another step toward parlementarism. .. Since 1866
two changes had been slowly taking place in terms of the
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council of state. One involved a shift in the power balance
between kind and council... The second shift involved the
drift toward parlementarism. Increasingly, the council was
expected to have the confidence of the Second Chamber ... iii
Second Chamber election in 1917 and his (King Gustav V)
acceptance of the coalition government Eden {Prime Minister
appointed by King Gustav V) built, which included four
Social Democrats, were important steps in this process.
(Nordstrom p. 227)
The first major change that pushed Sweden toward a
welfare state was the result of several catalysts,
discussed earlier, that displaced many workers and smaller
land owners from their work in the fields. These workers
then began seeking jobs in the industrial centers of
Sweden. Nordstrom elaborates on this in his book
Scandinavia Since 1500:
In Sweden this agricultural proletariat grew from just over
half a million in 1775 to 1. 29 million in 1870-about onequarter
of the population. It was from this pool of rural
poor that many of the workers (men and women) in the
developing urban and rural industries, as well as tens of
thousands of emigrants, came. (Nordstrom p. 247)
These same displaced workers and their children,
"making up over a third of the workforce population"
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(Nordstrom p.247), that were to become the working poor of
the factories, were also going to be the citizens clamoring
for social change and the welfare state.
Together the trade unions and socialist parties contributed
to some gains for the working class in terms of wages,
working conditions, the right to organize and strike, and
political representation down to World war I, but much
remained to be accomplished. (Nordstrom p. 248)
Sven E. Olsson Hort, a professor of Sociology at the
Soderton University College, argues in an essay on the
state of social welfare in Sweden that groundwork towards
the Swedish welfare state was laid down in the first decade
of the Twentieth century:
... in 1913 when Parliament, by an overwhelming majority that
included the Conservative Party passed pension legislation
and introduced a general pension insurance system. The
latter encompassed almost all persons, which made it the
first universal national insurance system in the world, the
first central sate pension scheme in modern times that was
universal in coverage ... (Dixon and Scheurell p. 129)
However, other large-scale social insurances were on
hold with the outbreak of the World War I. Even though
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Sweden was not a direct participant in this war it had to
deal with the economic effects. This was because in 1912
the nations of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden issued a joint
declaration of neutrality in the event of any major war.
When World War I surfaced in 1914 they all stayed with
their declaration of neutrality; however, that didn't mean
the Great War would not adversely affect them:
None [of the Scandinavian nations] became directly
involved. Although subject to some of the war's impacts,
including shortages, rationing, inflation, disruption of
normal trade relations and economic life, and increased
government control, the Nordic countries escaped the worst
of the war (Nordstrom p. 258)
Salonen, in an essay titled "Sweden: Between Model and
Reality, " purports that the economy of Sweden and the rest
of the world was thrown into great upheaval because of
World War I and the steps taken forward before the war were
halted, "however, this reform era came to an end due to the
international recession following the First World War"
(Alcock and Craig p. 145).
Helen Ginsburg, Professor of Economics at Brooklyn
College and, finds that during the early 1920s, right after
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World War I, Sweden experienced a depression that brought
with it unemployment that averaged over 20 percent from
1921 to 1 923 . It stayed over 1 0 percent for the rest of
the decade (Ginsburg p.111). Political instability was a
trademark for all the Scandinavian nations during the
depression years and almost up until the start of World War
II, and Sweden was not an exception.
There were six main Swedish political parties formed
in the early 1 900s that persisted to the interwar periods
(the years between World War I and World War II):
Communists, Left Socialists, Social Democrats, Liberals,
Farmers, and Conservatives. There were two main reasons
for the instability of the period:
First, no single party or stable grouping of parties in the
typical Nordic five-party system developed. Second, the
socialist versus nonsocialist division was viewed by many
on each side as black and white, good versus bad, and
irreconcilable, which made cooperation or compromise nearly
impossible on issues ... (Nordstrom p. 270).
By the time World War II came the Swedish nation had
witnessed fifteen coalition governments. However, finally
stability was brought when the red-green (the reds being
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Social Democrats and the greens being the Farmer Party)
cooperative was forged (Nordstrom p.275).
The red-green party cooperation of 1933 was able to
accomplish something that no other coalition government
during the Interwar Era was able to do: reach an agreeable
compromise that pleased both parties and allowed for a
stable government .
In exchange for import restrictions, a margarine tax, and
other farm supports, Hansson [Per Albin Hansson, Prime
Minister of four Swedish cabinets from 1932 to 1946] was
assured a majority in both chambers of the parliament and
could set about passing emergency economic measures and
social reforms ... (Nordstrom p.278) .
This coalition, coupled with an economic depression
and the failure of virtually every previous government, set
the table for the Social Democrats to enact their social
insurances and run the Swedish government for nearly the
rest of the twentieth century.
Ch. 3
United States History of Social Policy
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In the early 1800s Sweden and the United States were the
same in reference to international power. Sweden only had
two periods of international power, but until World War I
the United States had had no era of vast power. Sweden sat
on the periphery of Europe politically and economically,
whereas the United States was on the other side of the
uncultured, undeveloped world. Yet something changed, and
the United States left Sweden and the periphery to become
one of the superpowers of the world, and eventually
becoming the sole superpower of the world. The United
States has had one era of major power, but this era has
lasted for nearly a century. For nearly half of that
century the United States has politically, economically,
militarily and culturally dominated the world.
Unlike Sweden, the United States did not have a slow,
drawn out development of social insurances or a strong
labor party to push through socialist minded policies. In
the United States social welfare came fast and directly in
response to the Great Depression. James T. Patterson,
professor of history at Brown University, summarized this
succinctly by saying, "during the ten years between 1929
and 1 93 9 more progress was made in public welfare and
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relief than in the three hundred years after this country
was first settled" (Patterson p. 56).
At the turn of the Nineteenth century there was not
much if anything in the way of social security offered to
American citizens:
A hundred years ago, government played a relatively small
role in welfare provision. Individuals and their families
were believed to be responsible for their own well-being,
and when they could not cope, relatives, friends and
neighbors, churches and charities were expected to help.
It was widely believed that government aid or
'relief' should be provided only as a last resort. (Dixon
and Scheurell p. 189)
President Franklin Roosevelt could aptly be described
as the father of American social insurances. This is
because of his New Deal policies, which were implemented in
the 193 0s in response to the Great Depression. Proponents
of social insurances have had a hard time gaining a
foothold in America for their policies because of the
intense individualism and faith in capitalism by the
American public. The American idea is to move your way up
from the bottom; anything can be accomplished if one works
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hard enough, which meshes well with the American Dream.
Patterson elaborates on this by noting:
During the first few years of the Depression, progress in
public aid was slow. Americans continued to hope that
private charity, which performed heroically under the
circumstances, and private pension plans, which remained
woefully inadequate, could cope with the situation.
(Patterson p. 56)
The sheer scale and length of the Great Depression
gave the supporters of larger encompassing social insurance
programs the ammunition they needed to push their sweeping
changes through the legislature. Not only did these
policies drastically alter American policies, but they also
affected the heart of American ideals toward poverty and
the poor. The generally held idea by the elite of pre-
Great Depression Americans was that if someone of sound
body and mind was poor, it was their fault. Professors
John M. Herrick and James Midgley drive this point home
when they state in an essay on social welfare in the United
States, "Popular assumptions about the causes of poverty
generally assumed personal attributes, most notably moral
character, influenced social well being" (Dixon and
Scheurell p. 191).
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"The scale of social disruption created by the
Depression led to wider acceptance of the need to
supplement local public and philanthropic assistance with a
more integrated social insurance system" (Alcock and Craig
p. 27). This wider range of acceptance gave President
Roosevelt the support to give social insurances a firm
place in the American culture. John Clarke and Frances Fox
Piven, in their chapter of International Social Policy,
give three principles for the New Deal social policies;
1. Social insurance should not be directed at the
elimination of all hardship, but only be concerned with a
limited range of specific risks (unemployment, ill-health,
old age and widowhood) which were involuntary conditions.
2. Workers should see connections between their income,
insurance payments and benefits, which they received,
avoiding expectations of high benefit levels, and
maintaining work incentives.
3. The scheme should be clearly distinguished form public
assistance. Benefits should be 'earned as a right through
contributions rather than being stigmatizing and meanstested
from the public purse or private charity'. (Alcock
and Craig p. 27-8)
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By the end of the Great Depression President Roosevelt
and the "Brain Trust" had tried to answer the questions
that the Great Depression raised. Some scholars warn that
we should not look back at this time and misinterpret the
New Deal and Roosevelt's work as creating a large network
of social insurances:
Roosevelt's New Deal combined measures to remedy
unemployment through public works schemes supported by
federal funds with longer-term programs establishing more
systematic and rigorously-administered welfare benefits ...
described this [the New Deal policies] as the creation of a
'work and relief state' rather than a 'welfare state'
(Alcock and Craig p. 27)
This misses the larger role that the New Deal played
in the development of social insurances in the United
States. The New Deal and all of its policies laid the
groundwork and opened up American society for the much
broader social insurances that were to come in the next 3 0
years.
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President Lyndon Johnson's agenda of the Great Society
and War on Poverty brought America to its second stage of
social security policy growth. This period (the 1960s) is
when the United States saw its social policies take a step
away from the "relief state" described earlier and more
towards a welfare state. The 1960s was a time of some
movement forward for the welfare state, but at the same
time it caused a backlash against itself. According to the
authors of The State of Social Welfare, growing numbers of
welfare recipients helped to usher in John F. Kennedy and
also Lyndon Johnson into the presidency:
Growing concern about the growth of welfare rolls,
particularly in Northern cities experiencing migration of
African Americans form the South, led the new
administration in Washington, D. C. , to ask social welfare
professionals to suggest strategies to attack poverty.
(Harvey, Marrnor, and Mashaw 200)
At the time there were two views on the huge increase
in welfare recipients in the 1 960s. The opponents of
increased welfare spending argued that the new relaxed
regulations were too broad and allowed for too many
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recipients, resulting in unnecessary spending and
undeserving recipients. "The welfare explosion was
attacked from the political right by critics who
characterized welfare recipients as lazy and immoral single
mothers" (Harvey, Marmor, and Mashaw p.201). However, the
proponents of these programs saw them as the correct answer
to the problem of 40 million people, or one-fifth of the
population, in poverty (Patterson p.78).
Regardless of one's views on the poor at this time,
social insurances did make some strides forward during the
1960s. In this decade, the Social Security Act was changed
to provide more federal financial support; Medicare and
Medicaid were created, as were public housing programs and
food stamps. While these programs marked a step forward in
social progress, they also caused the opposition to these
types of programs to join together. For example, the
passing of the Work Incentive Program, which " ... made work
mandatory for AFDC [Aid to Families with Dependant
Children] recipients in 1967, represented a shift in social
welfare policy ... " (Harvey, Marmor, and Mashaw p.201).
Finally, Pres
Germany and Eastern Expansion of the EU: A Critique
No full textMy research question is to describe the particular risks unique to Germany that are involved in the plan for eastern expansion of the European Union. I believe that although Germany could lose a lot through the expansion, it is something that in the long-term will be beneficial. Expansion can make a powerful nation even stronger if given the opportunity. The EU and Germany should work together to properly deal with these issues.
Finally, I believe that this expansion will work as long as the reforms to ensure that the members are qualified enough are carried out. Also, allowing only a few members into the Union at a time would also probably help alleviate a lot of the problems. Incrementalism can be an effective tool, especially when dealing with political issues, because many people are afraid of drastic change. By spacing the membership out, the EU would have time to adjust before the next wave of members came.Germany and Eastern Expansion of the EU:
A Critique
Amy Berger
Political Science Thesis
Professor Walbek
May 9, 2001
1
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Table of Contents
Introduction
European Union and Enlargement: An Overview
3-5
5-11
Economic Partners: Germany and the European Community 11-13
History in the Making: German Reunification
Germany and Immigration Policy
National Identity
Conclusion
Annotated Bibliography
13-18
18-22
22-26
26-30
30-42
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3
Introduction
The face of Europe has changed since the fall of Communism. Former Eastern
nations have completed the transition from communist nations to democratic ones. These
nations have opened their doors to the European Union and now the Union has the
opportunity to expand its membership from fifteen to possibly twenty-five members.
Along with this great historical opportunity, come unavoidable challenges. Never before
in its history, has the EU pursued an enlargement of this large magnitude. The last
expansion was in 1995, which included the nations of Austria, Finland and Sweden. This
enlargement evolved without too much unbearable pain.
During this time of uncertainty, European Union states have looked to one of the
EU' s most influential members for various forms of support and for policy leadership.
The non-EU world has done the same. An active member since the European Community
was founded in 1951; Germany has endured many political, economical and social
hardships to become one of the most powerful forces in Europe. Its location, size and
economy serve to bolster that power and influence. For these reasons, Germany stands to
gain and lose the most of all the current members if the EU expansion is to proceed as
proposed. In his article on European Enlargement, Oliver Craske points out that
"Germans are also becoming generally ambivalent towards enlargement: There was
agreement that the EU should enlarge eastwards, because Central Europeans 'are
Europeans too,' but there was no great enthusiasm. A 54 percent majority said that
enlargement would weaken the EU, while 23 percent thought it would be a strengthening
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4
fact. Indeed, Germany's growing wariness of its neighbors to the East, reflecting recent
events in Austria, is evidenced in the rise in support for the CDU's new leader Angela
Merkel, who has positioned herself as an opponent of immigration and is far more
skeptical of integration and enlargement"
1
Craske is right in this argument. As the
economic bulwark of the EU, Germany has become leery of the implications of expansion
due to its current domestic problems. German reunification sealed the fate of the Cold
War but reunification was between supposed "equals" of common origin. One need only
visit former East and West Germany to understand that among equals there are vast
differences. The argument for EU enlargement to include Eastern European nation-states
will not have the salience that German reunification had, the consequences of which antiintegrationists
have emphasized.
The proposed enlargement will not be easy. Although those Eastern European
states that aspire to EU membership appear to provide substantial investment
opportunities, they also bring with them many problems. Most of these hopeful members
have levels of economic development lower than those of major members in the current
European Union, as well as histories of political instability. They will require high levels
of attention and resources- a thoughtful mix of economic, political and social
commitments so that their membership will make a positive impact on the future of the
European Union.
A successful Eastern Enlargement will require German cooperation because of
Germany's status in the EU. The response has been somewhat mixed among Germans;
German politicians have been supportive, although the German people have been
Oliver Craske, ,,Setting the Date," Central European Review 2(19) (2000): 2.
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skeptical as to how it will impact them. Germany's unique position in Europe combined
with its reunification problems, immigration concerns, loss of national identity and
growing wariness about the lack of new EU reforms means that Germany and the EU
must work together to make this work.
5
My research question is to describe the particular risks unique to Germany that are
involved in the plan for eastern expansion of the European Union. I believe that although
Germany could lose a lot through the expansion, it is something that in the long-term will
be beneficial. Expansion can make a powerful nation even stronger if given the
opportunity. The EU and Germany should work together to properly deal with these
issues.
Finally, I believe that this expansion will work as long as the reforms to ensure
that the members are qualified enough are carried out. Also, allowing only a few
members into the Union at a time would also probably help alleviate a lot of the
problems. Incrementalism can be an effective tool, especially when dealing with political
issues, because many people are afraid of drastic change. By spacing the membership out,
the EU would have time to adjust before the next wave of members came.
European Union and Enlargement: An Overview
It is necessary to examine why this particular expansion is so different from prior
ones. These nations have many internal problems that must be solved or the EU will
suffer great loses: "Enlargement will, however, bring great heterogeneity to the Union
and some sectional and regional adjustment problems will result. These could limit the
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benefits of enlargement and make more difficult the further development of the acquis
unless adequate preparations are made"2
This section focuses on the challenges of extending membership to the region of
Central Europe. The countries who make up this region are currently carrying out
6
reforms, so that they will be allowed to obtain EU membership: "All reform measures are
directed towards a further approximation to Western European standards, their aim is the
final return to Europe by integrating into the political and economical structures of
Europe." 3 They want to fulfill this goal through their EU membership. Central European
countries export more to the EU than anyone else: 50 percent of their entire exports go
into the EU. 4Because the economic situations are also doing well, the tourism industries
continue to gain as well. Cheaper minimum wages have also led to high levels of
investment from industrial nations such as the United States and Germany. These
countries have started to update to western standards of living, however the risks, which
are connected with the EU, are there despite this. This section focuses on these risks,
particularly the "Ostpolitik" of the EU and its possibilities for the future.
Central European nations are still in the "developing phase" of market economies.
They must continue to carry out reforms. Without these reforms, the EU will be
weakened by their membership. This weakening will cause social conflicts throughout
Europe. The citizens of the EU will become even more skeptical. The international
economy will also suffer, because investors will not want to invest as much as before. As
a result, the entire expansion process will last even longer.
2
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/agenda2000/strong/22.html
3
Weidenfeld, Werner. A New Ostpolitik: Strategies for a United Europe, (Giitersloh: Bertlemann
Foundation Press, 1997) 20.
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The banks of these nations much also open themselves further to the West. Now
there are many new commercial and central banks, however, they do not have the right
systems. They also do not receive the needed help to reform these systems. These
countries also have high foreign debt. This point will definitely become problematic in
the future. When a country has high foreign debts, it is undoubtedly harder to finance
reform projects. The EU will try and support these projects, which will in turn harm the
EU budget by draining its resources.
7
Central Europe has high levels of unemployment. When these countries join the
EU, their citizens will also go to other stronger nations such as Germany to look for jobs.
Then the German government must deal with these refugees and that can only mean more
financial support programs and social programs.
Agriculture is also an important point. After the expansion of the EU the
agricultural production of the EU will be much bigger than before. There will be
approximately more than 100 million more consumers. Because these nations are
currently striving to develop their economies further, the agricultural sector is also
changing. The farmers are in need of more modem technology in order to produce more
food. The EU already has a special agricultural program, but it hasn't worked out as
perfectly as many had hoped. The farmers produce too much for the market, so there is a
still a big discrepancy between the rich and poor farmers. The common agricultural
policy must have a bigger priority: "But the share of the EU budget has fallen as Europe
has focused more on other policy areas. However, while it has certainly slipped down the
list of media and public concerns in the EU, this does not mean that is has gone away, and
4
Weidenfeld .21.
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it may move back up the agenda as membership of the EU expands eastwards." 5 If the
policy is not reformed, then the EU budget will continue to dwindle because of it.
8
Another more important point is the environmental problems that these countries
must pay for to solve. There is still too much pollution: "At the all-European
environmental conference "Environment for Europe" in Sofia, the financial requirements
for environmental redevelopment in the next two decades was put at DM 250 bn for the
Central and Eastern European region, and at DM 1,750 bn for the whole former Eastern
bloc." 6 If these countries do not protect the environment, it will cause further damage
that will affect not only the EU, but also the entire world. Many of these nations simply
do not know the right methods to clean up the environment, after living under a
communist system for so long. A relevant example of this is the former East Germany.
During the communist regime, the environment was not a priority: "Almost half of East
Germany's 17 million people did not have clean drinking water under communist regime,
according to the last environment report compiled in the GDR. Fertilizer, liquid manure,
pesticides, and the inadequately purified industrialized effluent and waste water of the
municipalities polluted the lakes and rivers" 7 The united Germany has had to pour out
additional money to solve a problem they never were aware of. It will take enormous
resources to tackle this issue for the EU.
The goal of eastern expansion is: "The expansion of the European integration
model into the European continent." 8 Agenda 2000 is the EU's answer to this objective.
5
McCormick, John. Understanding the European Union, (London: St. Martin, 1999) 194.
6 Weidenfeld (1997): S.41.
7 Konrad Jarausch and Volker Gransow, Uniting Germany: Documents and Debates, 1994-1993
(Providence: Berghahn, 1997).
8
Mickel 382.
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Agenda 2000 outlines the strategies of the EU in trying to obtain this goal. The EU has
two main strategies: Accession Partnership and Financial Programs. Accession
Partnership describes what the countries must do, especially what deals with democracy,
the environment and economy. For financial support there are different organized
programs, in which PHARE is the most important. There is much allotted money
available for countries at their disposal: "These resources will reach EUR 1 560 million
p.a. from 2000 and their effect will be enhanced by reformed management methods."9
There are also agricultural programs that help farmers develop better and more efficient
methods of food production.
9
The idea of an expansion of the EU is not new. The last one in 1995 involved
Austria, Finland and Sweden. However, this particular enlargement is different. It is an
incredible challenge. The EU has never before had the chance to have up to 25 members.
The EU Commission has put together a report on the Eastern Expansion. This report
illustrates the possible effects of it and obtainable solutions. This report strengthens the
idea that after this expansion, the EU will have over 25 countries and 475 million
residents.10
After concentrating primarily on the region of Central Europe and the problems
associated with it, I would like to point out that three nations out of the candidates have a
better chance of becoming the newest members of the EU: Hungary, Poland and the
Czech Republic. These countries are the most stabile in the group, especially when
compared to Russia and the Balkan nations. They have also made the most progress in
terms of meeting the criteria the EU has set forth. There are 31 chapters that they must
9 http://www.europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/160020.httn
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10
meet, and so far the three nations I have mentioned have completed the major chapters on
science, education, industrial and economic policies. The European Council meeting in
1999 further confirmed that these nations "have further gained momentum and are on the
right track." 11 I think that if the EU allows these nations to come in first and then there is
a waiting period, which allows nations such as Germany to adjust to the problems that
arise, things will be much better.
In the meantime, the EU must reform its common agricultural policy. The main
goal of CAP is: "The protection of the agricultural income through price guarantees for
important agricultural products. " (i.e.: milk, grains, and beef) 12Farmers should produce
less, so that there is not as big of a surplus. The market should also become more environfriendly.
The farmers should find better methods, so that the land can be used more
efficiently. There should also be more local programs, especially when the EU continues
to expand. Regional groups can help tremendously and the EU will not have to do as
much work. The key is working together, because when the system is reformed, the EU
and its members will endure more success.
The question of the future of Europe and the European Union is very important.
The EU has not yet fully defined its image. There are still many doubts as to what the
enlargement means for Europe in all reality. The stakes are high, and it is unknown
whether the EU is up for the challenge. They must try and avoid all problems before they
happen. In 1999 Professor Pradi said at the EU Parliament: "The question therefore is: do
we have the courage, vision and the ambition for a genuine prospect of peace, stability
10
http://www.europa.eu.int/couuu/enlargement/agenda2000/strong/22.htm
1 1
http://europa.eu.int/couuu/enlargement/negotiations/ach_en.httnl
12
Mickel, 256.
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and prosperity to an enlarged Union beyond, to a wider Europe?" 13 The EU has come a
long way from its original six members, but is still has a long way to go.
Economic Partners: Germany and the European Community
11
Germany has played an important role in the European Community since its
founding as the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951. Germany, along with
France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland joined the community, which was the
first true step toward establishing European integration. An EDC defense treaty was then
signed in 1952, which wanted a new national defense system for all the members of the
European Coal and Steel Community. It seemed like a good way to help Germany rebuild
its army while also allowing for one army for all of Europe. It failed miserably due to lack
of French popular support. Germany in turn decided to join NATO instead.
In 1955 the ECSC decided to create a common European market. The market
would allow goods and services to flow freely within the European Economic
Community, which was created as a result of this idea, in 1957. During the late 1970s,
further EEC institutions and programs were created: Euratom, European Parliament and
Commission, and the European Political Cooperation. It is believed that the latter was
based on Germany's Ostpolitik Programm.
The European Monetary Program is also worth mentioning. Germany's
Chancellor Brandt was one of the first to recommend the formation of a monetary union.
The plan called for the eventual establishment of a common European currency brought
about in gradual stages. Although the monetary union failed in many attempts, Germany
gained much, as its currency remained one of the strongest, if not the strongest overall, in
13 http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/negotiations/ach_En.html
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all of Europe. It has also helped other EU members improve their own currencies:
"Rather than importing inflation from other European countries, Germany has instead
exported monetary stability through the system to other EMS participants. 14
The Single European Act of 1986 helped implement a single common market,
which became official in 1993. The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 provided five objectives:
12
common foreign and security policies; development of an economic and monetary union;
development of common policy on domestic security matters; intensified cooperation in
environmental protection and enhancement of the role of the European Parliament." 15 By
fully supporting this treaty, Germany believed it could re-discover its role in the EU
again: "In political terms, German officials viewed the Maastricht Treaty as a way to
reassure European neighbors of Germanys' trustworthiness as an international partner."
"The French and British interpreted these comments to mean that German dominance in
Europe was only a short time away.
Germany was the only member to take the plunge in helping its former
Communist neighbors and it did so effectively: "In the early 1990s, Germany had
established itself as the leaning donor of aid, the single largest investor and the most
important trading partner for the former Soviet bloc." 17 It is because of Germany's
actions that the EU is able to pursue further eastern expansion. The EU knew that
Germany's positive and influential relationships with these nation-states could be used to
14
Michael Baun, An Imperfect Union. (Boulder: Westview Press, 1996) 20.
15
Eric Solsten, Germany: A Country Study. (Washington D.C.: Library of Congress, 1995). 447-8.
16 Solsten 448.
17 Solsten, 448.
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13
its benefit. Especially when German support meant so much to other EU members as well
as the EU itself.
History in the Making: German Reunification
To fully understand the possible impact of Eastern European Expansion on a nation
such as Germany, it is necessary to look at its own national project of integration.
Reunification has been one of the toughest challenges Germany has faced. It required the
uniting of two very different nations: one a former Communist country, the other a
democratic one. Unification has brought much happiness, as well as continuing social and
economic problems.
Much time has passed since the unification of Germany. In a recent speech
commemorating the tenth anniversary, Gerhard Schroder spoke:
"On the 10th anniversary of unification it deserves to be noted that the Wall was
not brought down in Bonn, Washington or Moscow. It was pushed open by the
people of eastern Germany."18
In this speech, he tried to reassure all Germans that what they had accomplished was
remarkable and that they were the ones who made it possible. This sense of togetherness
often gets lost when discussing Germany's current situation.
The unification of Germany came unexpected to many in Europe. After the fall of
the Berlin Wall in November of 1989, events quickly unfolded. Chancellor Helmut Kohl
designed what he called his "Ten Point Plan" on uniting Germany. He believed a rapid
unification was a distinct possibility. The main points of the plan were to provide aid,
18
http://www.germany-info.org/newcontent/gp/gp_aufbau.html
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support. Others such as France and Great Britain were hesitant, as they feared the
reemergence of a new and stronger German power. They both gave their support after
holding out for a while.
14
On October 3, 1990, Germany became one. It not only inherited five new Lander,
it also received new social and economic problems. It is true that both nations primarily
produced the same basic goods, but Eastern Germany differed in the fact that it was a
socialized system. Therefore the main task of the new government was to change the
existing socialist system to one of capitalism. This was not an easy task. Agencies such as
the Treuhandanstalt (trust agency) took over the old firms and pri