Table Of ContentPraise for American Public Policy
“Dennis Johnson has written a brilliant policy history that will withstand the test of time:
sweeping in scope, honest in its findings, and an essential primer for marking gains and
losses as new policies arrive and old policies seek renewal. It will be the key reference work
for decades to come.”
Paul C. Light, New York University
“Professor Dennis Johnson has written an outstanding historical analysis of over ninety
national landmark domestic policies crafted by the president and enacted by Congress and
over sixty Supreme Court decisions from the beginning of the twentieth century through
Biden’s first year in office. It provides a unique and definitive overview of the most
significant domestic policies, how they were formulated and implemented, and whether
they were successful or not. This should be required reading for anyone studying American
public policy.”
James A. Thurber, American University
“American Public Policy is essential for political scientists, historians, and policy wonks. It
has everything a student of public policy is looking for—broad coverage yet incredible
detail, historical context with modern relevance, and much more. This book represents
one of the most comprehensive accounts of public policy there is. It tracks policy
development—including the societal circumstances that bring about policy change—as
well as what the policies meant. While attention to what went right with public policy is
important, the attention to policy failures sets this book apart; it fits the adage that we
learn more from our failures than our successes. In short, Dennis Johnson has delivered
another outstanding volume.”
David Dulio, Oakland University
“Dennis Johnson’s American Public Policy is a sweeping retelling of the high points—and
low points—of our country’s efforts to make policies that embody the American dream.
This is an engaging book that should be read by those with no familiarity with policy
history and for those who thought they knew it all. Johnson reminds us that our
government has often stood in its own way of achieving justice for all—the long road to
real child labor laws, states denying funds to public schools trying to integrate—making
the case that the American story is as messy now as it has always been.”
Robin Kolodny, Temple University
American Public Policy
This is a sweeping narrative of American domestic public policy—its triumphs, struggles, and
failures over the past 120 years. In a larger sense, it is a reflection on how the United States has
grown and matured, faced challenges and opportunities, and how its federal leaders and
policymakers have responded or failed to confront pressing problems. Moreover, American
Public Policy addresses the hurdles and challenges that still lie ahead.
Four critical questions are posed and answered. First, what were the most significant
adversities endured by the American people? Second, what were the landmark domestic
policies crafted by the president, enacted by Congress, or issued in Supreme Court decisions?
Third, what did they fail to do? Finally, how well have federal policymakers met the key
challenges facing America: income inequality, racism, financial crises, terrorist attacks, climate
change, gun violence, and other pressures? And what do we still need to do?
This book reaches out to students of public policy, American government, US history, and
contemporary affairs, as well as to citizens, journalists, and policy practitioners.
Dennis W. Johnson is Professor Emeritus and former Associate Dean at the Graduate School
of Political Management, George Washington University. Among his many books is a com-
panion study on public policy history, The Laws that Shaped America (Routledge, 2009).
American Public Policy
Federal Domestic Policy Achievements and
Failures, 1901 to 2022
Dennis W. Johnson
Cover image: Bill Chizek/Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Dennis W. Johnson
The right of Dennis W. Johnson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Johnson, Dennis W., author.
Title: American public policy / Dennis W. Johnson.
Description: Federal domestic policy achievements and. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2022003560 (print) | LCCN 2022003561 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032276144
(hardback) | ISBN 9781032276137 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003293538 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: United States‐‐Politics and government‐‐20th century. | United
States‐‐Politics and government‐‐1989-
Classification: LCC JK271 .J614 2022 (print) | LCC JK271 (ebook) | DDC 320.973‐‐dc23/eng/
20220516
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022003560
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022003561
ISBN: 978-1-032-27614-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-27613-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-29353-8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003293538
Typeset in Goudy
by MPS Limited, Dehradun
For Pat, with all my love.
Contents
About the Author xi
Photos xii
Acknowledgments xiv
Introduction 1
PART I
The Early Years of the Twentieth Century 9
1 The Progressive Era Begins: 1901–1912 11
2 Success and Backlash of Progressive Policy: 1913–1920 39
3 The Return to “Normalcy” and the Onset of the Depression:
1921–1932 68
4 The New Deal: 1933–1941 99
PART II
The War Years, Post-War and Modern America 139
5 War, Recovery, and Readjustment: 1941–1952 141
6 America at Midcentury: 1953–1960 178
7 The New Frontier and Great Society: 1961–1968 209
8 Watergate, Distrust, and Malaise: 1969–1980 252
PART III
Polarization, Growing Inequality, and Difficult Choices 285
9 Conservative Dominance: 1981–1992 287
10 Coming Into the Twenty-first Century: 1993–2000 320
