Jurisprudence Transcending Time and Space: Affirmative Action and the Revolution of 1937

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to compare the jurisprudential debate on affirmative action to economic rights questions facing the Court during the Lochner Era. Proponents of the antidiscrimination principle believe that all racial classifications, including affirmative action, are unconstitutional, a view that corresponds with Lochner v. New York. Supporters of the anti-caste principle support affirmative action programs as a means to ensure that the circumstances of one's birth do not preclude the opportunity to succeed, a principle similar to West Cost Hotel v. Parish. These similarities demonstrate that legal principles reflect evolving notions of American ideals present throughout our history.