Affirmative action is a very controversial topic; everyone does not have the same views and opinions upon the issue. Due to the presidential elections and how the candidates both have different views upon affirmative action I felt as though this would be a great topic to research. Affirmative action is a growing argument among our society and is a multifaceted topic very vaguely defined. Some can characterize affirmative action as the ability to strive for equality and inclusiveness. Others see it as a quota-based system for different minority groups. However, affirmative action is a policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination and eliminate current and future discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity, such as education and employment.
             The path affirmative action took before it was finally accepted is a long and tiresome one, beginning in the years that preceded the Civil War. Once America entered into peace time, Congress passed a number of laws designed to put former slaves on an equal level with white citizens. Encouraged by Abraham Lincoln, the Fourteenth Amendment prohibited states from enforcing any laws which took away the privileges of any citizen.
             In later years the affirmative action policy was implemented by federal agencies enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and two executive orders, which provided that government contractors and educational institutions receiving federal funds develop such programs. The Equal Employment Opportunities Act (1972) set up a commission to enforce such plans. The establishment of racial quotas due to affirmative action has brought about charges of a so-called "reverse discrimination" which was strongly addressed in the late 1970s.
             Due to the claims of reverse discrimination the Supreme Court of the United States placed important limitations on affirmative action programs in its 1978 ruling in Regents of the University of California v...