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Abstract
Given the impediments to political participation by poor people, including their lack of free time, money, and education, theorists in the pluralist tradition argue that the representation of the poor is most likely to occur through advocacy by interest groups. However, achieving this representation requires either that existing groups be willing to advocate on behalf of those who cannot contribute money to the organization and do not carry influence with policy makers, or that new groups be able to form and gain access to policy makers. Since both of these options are unlikely, scholars have argued that representation of the poor is inherently uncertain because interest groups do not have strong incentives to advocate on their behalf. Despite these barriers, organizations have chosen to advocate on behalf of the poor at various historical moments, including the 1960s and early 1970s. My dissertation analyzes the reasons this representation occurred.
To determine how groups select the goals they will pursue, I present case studies of five civil rights organizations and their decisions about whether to represent low-income African Americans during four legislative battles concerning welfare reform during the 1960s and early 1970s. I analyze the archives of the Congress of Racial Equality, the NAACP, the National Urban League, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. First, I determine the level of attention each organization devoted to anti-poverty policy during each legislative period. My findings indicate that civil rights organizations' attention to welfare policy varied---while several organizations increased their advocacy on behalf of the poor during the War on Poverty, some did not increase their attention until the War on Poverty programs were under attack during the late 1960s. Second, I explain the factors that led organizations to shift their priorities. My findings indicate that internal and external factors interact to determine organizational goals. Both structural factors and external factors, such as an organization's relationship with other groups in its issue niche, determined group priorities. This project sheds light on how interest groups choose their priorities, and how politically marginalized groups gain representation in the US political system.
