ABSTRACT
In the aftermath of the Civil War, Congress moved to strike down the legal vestiges of slavery. Congress is the primary law-making institution of the US political system. The legitimacy of this function is derived from the fact that all 535 of its members are elected. In 1975 the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) established the Action-Alert Network, which targeted white representatives in districts with populations that were more than 15 per cent black. The CBC threatened to mobilize the representatives’ black constituency if they voted against legislation favoured by the CBC. This ‘stick’ approach to power politics was seen by some as irreverent and thereby controversial given the Congressional norms of collegiality. The national visibility of the organization was enhanced by a protracted conflict with President Nixon over his negative posture towards African-Americans. The CBC boycott of President Nixon’s 1971 State of the Union Address created some concern and embarrassment for the president.
