The Philadelphia Plan (1969 AD): The Historical Roots of Affirmative Action Policies in the United States of America

Abstract

The Philadelphia Plan of 1969 was an important milestone in the development of affirmative action policies in the US. The plan was an expression of the federal government’s dedication to ending racial discrimination in the US labor force. The plan was a product of the convergence of civil rights movements, government policies, and labor market conditions. The plan was a significant development in affirmative action policies as it institutionalized affirmative action policies in the US. The paper will discuss the historical antecedents of affirmative action policies from the New Deal to the Great Society. The paper will also discuss the role of various presidential administrations in developing affirmative action policies in the US. The various presidential administrations that will be discussed in this paper are those of F.D. Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, J.F. Kennedy, L.B. Johnson, Nixon, and others.

The historical institutionalist approach will be used in this paper to understand the development of the Revised Philadelphia Plan. Other sources used in this paper will include executive orders, labor statistics, Congressional debates, and scholarly analyses. The paper will also show that the plan was developed with an objective to integrate African American laborers with their white counterparts without replacing the existing workforce. According to labor statistics from 1963 to 1969, African American unemployment was almost double that of whites.

These findings show that although the Revised Philadelphia Plan faced resistance, had little employment benefits, and was not successful, it was an early affirmative action policy by the president that had a significant impact on many other policies in fifty-six cities in the United States. The Philadelphia Plan was a federal contracting policy that utilized the federal contracting power to enforce civil rights policies, which has been an important part of affirmative action policies.

It can clearly be determined that the Philadelphia Plan was an important strategy aimed at solving many of the issues affecting African Americans, especially when considering employment, the civil rights movement, and other important aspects affecting the United States. Moreover, it can clearly be determined that the policy offered an important guideline for the formulation of affirmative action policies aimed at solving the issue of employment, equality, and social justice, among others.