Affirmative action was first introduced in President Kennedy's Executive Order 10925, which stated that people should be hired without discrimination based on race, creed, to color or national origin. Lyndon Johnson is usually the one who gets credit for affirmative action when he called for economic justice for blacks, in his famous “To Fulfill These Rights” speech at Howard University. He stated that neither Kennedy nor Johnson made affirmative action what it is today. In some states, black unemployment increased, leading to riots. When Johnson was ousted from office, affirmative action became Nixon's priority (Colby, 2014). Colby (2014) states that Nixon was a racist and believed that blacks were inferior and that different groups possess inherent qualities, such as Asians being intelligent and intelligent. industrious. Nixon also believed that lawyers should not be black, as it was not their “cup of tea.” Although Nixon was a racist, he was also a pragmatist. He realized that blacks needed work and believed in a man's right to earn a living for his family. Nixon, however, had a limited vision of what he thought blacks were capable of. He proposed the Philadelphia Plan, which began in Philadelphia and then spread to other cities. The plan imposed racial preferences and quotas on all institutions receiving federal funding, including universities. Nixon then issued Executive Order 11478, which extended affirmative action to government employment. By the early 1970s many more Black men and women were employed in government positions (Colby, 2014). Liberalists wanted to believe that this was the answer to discrimination and structural inequality, but this was not the case. Employers who had to pay blacks more tried to fudge the numbers by using… half of the paper… also notes that a race-based system is supported by ¼ of the population, while a class-based system is supported by 2/3 of the population. He claims that a class-based system would arouse less resentment from whites. Additionally, class-based systems would produce higher graduation rates than merit-based or affirmative action programs. Eliminating race-based policies would finally let employers know that a minority applicant has successfully graduated. Drum also states that for class-based systems to take effect, conservatives must realize that racial discrimination still exists and is not just a thing of the past. In conclusion, Affirmative Action has strengths and weaknesses. Only when you look at both sides can you see that there are valid points for each view. When we can understand opposing points of view, we can begin to work on common issues.