Pollution, Political Agendas, and Policy Windows: Environmental Policy on the Eve of Silent Spring

The objective of this paper is to illustrate that concern over environmental pollution became a significant national issue in the United States during the late 1950s, many years earlier than is typically acknowledged by environmental historians and policy analysts. Kingdon's model of agenda development is used to document how air and water pollution was transformed from an issue of local concern and control to an issue of national significance during the 1950s. The analysis focuses on two case studies: the development of pollution as a political issue in the state of New Jersey; and the development of pollution as a significant policy issue in the national political arena. Political leaders both within New Jersey and nationwide linked pollution control to other contemporary concerns about urban decay and suburban growth in order to win the allegiance of undecided voters. Pollution control became part of the debate over the role of the federal government in addressing urban ills. Concern about pollution also became important in the general restructuring of the US political landscape in this period, helping to set the stage for Democratic Party activism on the environment and other issues after 1960.