First, both Powell and Dawson were power hungry, charismatic individuals who reali

of their influential ability in government during that time and their commitment to politics and social change.

Thus, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and William L. Dawson were tenacious, power driven men consumed with politics. Politics was life to them and both knew how to read people well. They differed most in their style of politics. Adam Clayton Powell was known for his wildness and unpredictability that made him a favorite of the minority population as well as the militant black civil rights leaders. He represents the American ideals of courage and aggressive determination in order to accomplish social change. He also represents the stereotypes of New York City, such as being liberal, free, and confrontational. He was a key figure in the Civil Rights movement because he constantly fought for minority rights, an end to poverty, and an overall increase in social equality in the United States. Dawson’s political style however, closely reflected the politics of the city of Chicago. Chicago was the city of machine politics and Dawson played the game. He was an organization man. He kept quite on issues that he was told not to comment on and fell in line with party politics. Dawson represents the American ideals of loyalty and working your way up in the system through time. He was able to consolidate his political power through the system of patronage and loyalty that was prevalent in Chicago during the Civil Rights Era. Both Powell and Dawson, the two African American Congressmen during that time, will be remembered as pioneers of the Civil Rights movement because

zed that in order to win elections and be effective in office they had to develop strong

political ties in local and national government as well as in the electorate. Their climb to political office and power was a slow and gradual process of manipulation and maneuvering various political factions in government as well as the voting public. “Powell had a reputation for not always honoring commitments and misstating facts in a particular situation” (Hamilton 404). Powell, elected to Congress from Harlem in 1944, was able to maintain a positive relationship with the White House during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations however many senators felt that Powell was shown political favoritism by government agencies when receiving federal loans and grants. “Powell was not above seeking White House help when he needed personal political support, to get a bill passed, to protect his committee’s jurisdiction and power, and the White House was

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