Copyright by Rhonda Leann Evans Case 2004 The Dissertation Committee for Rhonda Leeann Evans Case Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The Politics and Law of Anglo-American Antidiscrimination Regimes, 1945-1995 Committee: John C. Higley, Supervisor Gary P. Freeman H.W. Perry Sanford Levinson Jeffrey K. Tulis The Politics and Law of Anglo-American Antidiscrimination Regimes, 1945-1995 by Rhonda Leann Evans Case, B.A, J.D. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December, 2004 To my Mom and Reed, and in memory of my Father Acknowledgements This dissertation is the product of considerable personal sacrifice not only on my part but, more importantly, on the part of the people I love most. I, therefore, humbly dedicate it to my mother and my husband, for their abiding love and support, and to my father, who sadly did not live to see the project’s completion. I also thank Marcella Evans, who made it easier for me to be so far away from home during such trying times. In addition, I benefited from the support of a tremendous circle of friends who were always there when I needed them: Tracy McFarland, Brenna Troncoso, Rosie and Scott Truelove, Anna O. Law, Holly Hutyera, Pam Wilkins Connelly, John Hudson, Jason Pierce, Emily Werlein, Greg Brown, and Lori Dometrovich. While in Australia and New Zealand, I benefited from the kindnesses of far too many people to list here, but I extend a special thanks to Imogen, Baghurst, Kerri Weeks, Sonia Palmieri, Robyn Lui, Ling Lee, and Peter Barger. I owe my dissertation advisor, John C. Higley, a special debt of both personal and professional gratitude for his continuous support, generosity, and patience. Dissertations also require considerable institutional support. I thank the members of my dissertation committee, Jeffrey K. Tulis, Gary P. Freeman, Sanford Levinson, and H.W. Perry, Jr. I also thank our departmental staff for all of their assistance over the years, including Debbie Coleman, Nancy Moses, Lauren Baker, Tara Broderick, Annette Carlile, Laura Leissner, Meagan Mulligan, Patrick Couture, Maria, Tway, and Barbara Zuckerman. While a student in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, I benefited from numerous funding programs. They include the Edward A. Clark Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies; the University Co-operative Society; Fulbright New Zealand; the Cullen Trust; and the McDonald Trust. In addition, I received grants from the v International Chapter of the P.E.O. Sisterhood; the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute; the Institute for the Study of World Politics; the International Council for Canadian Studies; and the University of Ottawa. My fieldwork was made easier by generous institutional support furnished by the Political Science Program within Australian National University’s Research School of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Law at Victoria University of Wellington. Finally, I extend a personal thanks to Sharon Jasneski and Suzy Ippolito at the University of Pittsburgh’s library storage facility; to Heidi Kuglin and Lotte Kellaway at Archives New Zealand; to Wendy Nesmith and her entire staff in the Interlibrary Loan Office at the University of Texas at Austin; and to the Hon. Robert McClelland and his staff. Last, but certainly not least, I extend my gratitude to a little wire-haired fox terrier named Sammy, whose boundless affection, joy, and enthusiasm for the simple things in life sustained me. Rhonda Evans Case Austin, Texas vi The Politics and Law of Anglo-American Antidiscrimination Regimes, 1945-1995 Publication No._____________ Rhonda Leann Evans Case, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2004 Supervisor: John C. Higley Since 1945, states have increasingly been called upon to use their power in order to enforce egalitarian norms. The Anglo-American countries have done so through the construction of antidiscrimination regimes. Given their common law foundations, this entailed a complex and politically fraught renegotiation of state-society relations. This dissertation provides an account of the origins and development of antidiscrimination regimes in the Anglo-American countries between 1945 and 1995 and it performs two main analytic tasks. First, it identifies and elaborates the component parts of antidiscrimination regimes, and second, it specifies the political processes through which those component parts change over time. I chart the development of an ideology of antidiscrimination, and through two case studies, I show the conditions under which political elites in Australia and New Zealand institutionalized its core tenets. vii Table of Contents List of Tables ........................................................................................................... x Chapter One: Introduction.......................................................................................1 The Political Significance of Antidiscrimination Regimes .................................3 The Political Dynamics of Antidiscrimination Regimes....................................9 Antidiscrimination Regimes and Political Science...........................................19 Research Design.............................................................................................23 Roadmap to Subsequent Chapters..................................................................25 Chapter Two: The Common Law ..........................................................................26 Patterns of Societal Discrimination ................................................................29 Public Accommodations ................................................................................32 Real Estate Transactions ................................................................................43 Employment Discrimination..........................................................................47 Critique of the Common Law ........................................................................49 Chapter Three: The Ideology of Antidiscrimination...............................................53 The American Antecedent..............................................................................54 Intellectual Foundations of Antidiscrimination Laws......................................60 The Post-World War II Wave of Antidiscrimination Lawmaking in the U.S., Canada, and Britain...............................................................................72 The United Nations .......................................................................................81 Conclusion.....................................................................................................85 Chapter Four: New Zealand...................................................................................87 Discrimination in Postwar New Zealand: 1945-1970.....................................89 Pressure for A Legislative Response to Racial Discrimination ........................98 The Race Relations Act 1971........................................................................106 Antidiscrimination Legislation for Women...................................................122 Amendments to the Human Rights Commission Act...................................133 The Human Rights Act 1993........................................................................136 viii Chapter Five: Australia.........................................................................................142 1945-1975: Why No Federal Antidiscrimination Laws? ...............................145 The Push for Racial Discrimination Legislation............................................154 A Human Rights Commission......................................................................165 Antidiscrimination Legislation for Women...................................................169 The Disability Discrimination Act................................................................173 Conclusion...................................................................................................176 Conclusion............................................................................................................178 Bibliography..........................................................................................................183 Vita .....................................................................................................................194 ix List of Tables Table 3.1: State Laws Prohibiting Racial Discrimination in Public Accommodations, 1865-1897...................................................................................................... 59 Table 3.2: State Laws Prohibiting Discrimination in Public Accommodations, 1945 to 1961................................................................................................................ 73 Table 3.3: State Laws Prohibiting Discrimination in Employment and Providing for State Enforcement ....................................................................................... 76 Table 3.4: Fair Employment Practices Legislation in Canada, 1951-1964 ................. 79 Table 3.5: Fair Accommodation Practices Legislation in Canada, 1954-1960........... 80 Table 3.6: Human Rights Codes in Canada, 1962-1987................................................ 80 Table 4.1: Race Relations Act Legislative Timeline ....................................................