ABSTRACT
In the sections that follow I offer glimpses of the concept of discrimination at work and trace its eventual transformation into a dominant political and legal idea. These glimpses include Charles Dickens’ reactions to slavery in America, the Congressional debate after the American Civil War over amending the Constitution, the fate of minority protection-clauses in peace treaties after World War I and World War II, and recent developments in American civil rights law and affirmative action policy. My recountings are opportunistic rather than comprehensive.
