A Brief History of Public Policy Since the New Deal

A Brief History of Public Policy Since the New Deal traces the development of national domestic policy from the Great Depression through the early Trump years. A chronological look that illuminates the cumulative effects of policy change, the book also focuses on themes such as the interplay of ideas, events, politics, and people; models such as incrementalism, multiple streams, and punctuated equilibrium; the importance of foreign policy issues to the development of domestic policy; and features including the importance of problem definition and the "law of unanticipated consequences." Following the narrative, each chapter includes a summary of seven key policy areas: economic policy, social welfare, civil rights, environmental and education policy, moral/cultural issues, and federalism. The material is organized by eras identified by presidencies and by whether the era represented a burst of policymaking, made possible because key inputs of ideas, events, politics, and people aligned for change, or a rough equilibrium. Although presidencies are used to define eras, the role of all the institutions are given their due. A Brief History of Public Policy since the New Deal Contents Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction 1 The New Deal The First New Deal The Second New Deal The Third New Deal The New Deal At War The New Deal, Public Policy, and Political Institutions New Deal: Summary and Assessment 2 The Truman-Eisenhower Equilibrium The Truman Presidency The Eisenhower Presidency The Truman-Eisenhower Equilibrium: Summary and Assessment 3 The New Frontier / Great Society The Birth of the Great Society The Great Society in Full Bloom The Great Society Comes to a Halt New Frontier / Great Society: Summary and Assessment 4 The Nixon-Ford-Carter Equilibrium The Carter Presidency Equilibrium, 1969–1981: Summary and Assessment 5 The Reagan Revolution The Reagan Economic Breakthrough The Limits of Limited Government Social Policy Reagan and the Constitution The Reagan Revolution: Summary and Assessment 6 The Bush-Clinton Equilibrium The Bush Presidency The Clinton Presidency The 1994 Elections and Bill Clinton’s Second Term Bush-Clinton Equilibrium: Summary and Assessment 7 George W. Bush and the Republican Non-Breakout Opening Moves The Aftermath of Terror Big Government Conservatism in Action Energy and Environment Social Issues Response to Economic Crisis Policy in the George W. Bush Years: Summary and Assessment 8 New Directions in the Wake of the Great Recession? The Obama and Trump “Transformations” Economic Crisis Reform Transformation Stalled An Obama Transformation? Summary and Assessment The Trump Experiment Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index