<P> On July 2, 1964, the Act was signed into law by President Johnson . A Harris poll that spring showed 70% citizen approval of the Act . </P> <P> The strides that the Johnson presidency made in ensuring equal opportunity in the workforce were further picked up by his successor Nixon . In 1969 the Nixon administration initiated the "Philadelphia Order". It was regarded as the most forceful plan thus far to guarantee fair hiring practices in construction jobs . Philadelphia was selected as the test case because, as Assistant Secretary of Labor Arthur Fletcher explained, "The craft unions and the construction industry are among the most egregious offenders against equal opportunity laws...openly hostile toward letting blacks into their closed circle ." The order included definite "goals and timetables ." As President Nixon asserted, "We would not impose quotas, but would require federal contractors to show' affirmative action' to meet the goals of increasing minority employment ." </P> <P> It was through the Philadelphia Plan that the Nixon administration formed their adapted definition of affirmative action and became the official policy of the US government . The plan was defined as "racial goals and timetables, not quotas" </P> <P> After the Nixon administration, advancements in affirmative action became less prevalent . "During the brief Ford administration, affirmative action took a back seat, while enforcement stumbled along ." Equal rights was still an important subject to many Americans, yet the world was changing and new issues were being raised . People began to look at affirmative action as a glorified issue of the past and now there were other areas that needed focus . "Of all the triumphs that have marked this as America's Century--... none is more inspiring, if incomplete, than our pursuit of racial justice ." </P>

Which president introduced the philadelphia plan which provided the framework for affirmative action