This article tells a story about the dynamic discourse of opposing forces regarding the "open housing" debate in Milwaukee in the late 1960s. Letters written by citizens, editorials published by daily newspapers, and statements made by Mayor Henry Maier offer evidence of a multidimensional debate about residential discrimination. On one level, the ideas expressed by citizens in the letters written to Mayor Maier demonstrate that civil and political rights were in combat with property rights. On a broader community level, the daily newspapers in Milwaukee were engaged in a debate with Maier about loftier societal principles and political leadership. Maier constructed a moral argument to support his position as he sought a metropolitan solution to the problem. The editors of the daily newspapers criticized Maier for a lack of leadership on the issue, and they believed that legislation would be a vital step toward real change in the city’s neighborhoods.