Affirmative action was first implemented in 1965, by president Lyndon B. Johnson. Affirmative action was created to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Civil Rights Act had passed just a year before and it created a situation where minorities were considered equals but not treated as equals in the work force, schools, and in government. There was a desperate need for some sort of law aiding minorities who had been constantly held back by the racist system. Affirmative action called for many institutions to start quotas that made the hiring and acceptance of minorities. From that point on after 1965, many provisions were added to the goals of affirmative action.
             In 1969, the role of affirmative action was furthered into the craft unions and the construction industry, through a forceful plan called the Philadelphia Order (Steinberg 69). President Richard Nixon initiated it because he recognized the numerous violations and offenses of the equal opportunity laws by tight circles that controlled the craft and construction industries. Nixon wasn't able to force all of the construction companies to live up to the quotas, but he did force the companies that were doing construction for the government to include a percentage of minorities in their work force. Affirmative action seemed to be the right mode of thinking because it was preparing minorities for a chance to catch up to their white counterparts. The blockade of minorities into the construction industry showed that it was obvious that America might take time to adjust to the new policies. There were numerous opponents to the affirmative action programs and they were soon to emerge as time passed.
             Soon America was experiencing a wave of minority groups entering all types of schools, jobs, and government positions. It all seemed great because minorities were now doings things that they were o...