The New Deal and Civil Rights.

The New Deal marked the beginning of a shift in the federal government's recognition of civil rights as an emerging national problem, but it was not until 1940 that this concern was actually translated into action. Even then the government's role was seen as having more to do with combating discriminatory employment and housing practices than with the promotion of equality and basic civil rights. Discrimination against persons of color remained deeply rooted in American life in the 1930s and was generally acceptable to a majority of the population. There were limits, however, to prejudice and discrimination in the law. In 1931 the Supreme Court in the case of Aldridge v. United States protected the right of a defendant in a criminal trial to question prospective jurors regarding their racial views. In 1932 the Court in Nixon v, Condon struck down a law in Texas allowing...