Presidential Leadership and Housing Segregation

Abstract

This paper first presents a simple typology for comparing presidential leadership in federal housing segregation policy. Then, in separate sections, it surveys the development of housing segregation policy during the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy administrations. Finally, in a short summary section, it integrates these findings with prior research from the Johnson through the Clinton administrations, using the presidential leadership typology presented earlier. It concludes that Truman and Kennedy exercised moderate liberal leadership in housing segregation policy while Eisenhower's administration was characterized by conservative nonleadership. By contrast, Lyndon Johnson exercised strong liberal leadership compared to the liberal nonleadership of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Like Eisenhower, Gerald Ford exhibited conservative nonleadership in this policy arena, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush exhibited moderate conservative leadership, and Richard Nixon's fair housing policy qualified him as a strong conservative leader.