Dissent : the history of an American idea / Ralph Young.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York ; London : New York University Press, [2015]Description: xi, 603 pages ; illustrations : 25 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 147980665X (paperback : alk. paper)
- 9781479806652 (paperback : alk. paper)
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 303.484 Y75 | Available | 33111008020071 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Finalist, 2016 Ralph Waldo Emerson Award
One of Bustle's Books For Your Civil Disobedience Reading List
Examines the key role dissent has played in shaping the United States, emphasizing the way Americans responded to injustices
Dissent: The History of an American Idea examines the key role dissent has played in shaping the United States. It focuses on those who, from colonial days to the present, dissented against the ruling paradigm of their time: from the Puritan Anne Hutchinson and Native American chief Powhatan in the seventeenth century, to the Occupy and Tea Party movements in the twenty-first century. The emphasis is on the way Americans, celebrated figures and anonymous ordinary citizens, responded to what they saw as the injustices that prevented them from fully experiencing their vision of America.
At its founding the United States committed itself to lofty ideals. When the promise of those ideals was not fully realized by all Americans, many protested and demanded that the United States live up to its promise. Women fought for equal rights; abolitionists sought to destroy slavery; workers organized unions; Indians resisted white encroachment on their land; radicals angrily demanded an end to the dominance of the moneyed interests; civil rights protestors marched to end segregation; antiwar activists took to the streets to protest the nation's wars; and reactionaries, conservatives, and traditionalists in each decade struggled to turn back the clock to a simpler, more secure time. Some dissenters are celebrated heroes of American history, while others are ordinary people: frequently overlooked, but whose stories show that change is often accomplished through grassroots activism.
The United States is a nation founded on the promise and power of dissent. In this stunningly comprehensive volume, Ralph Young shows us its history.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Dissent and America -- The "free aire of a new world" -- Dissent in an age of reason -- Revolution -- Discord in the new republic -- Slavery and its discontents -- Reformers and dissidents -- Expansion and conflict -- Dissent imperils the union -- A nation divides -- Liberation and suppression -- Protest and conflict in the West -- Workers of the world unite! -- The new manifest destiny -- Progressives and radicals -- Making the world safe for democracy -- Traditionalism collides with modernism -- A new deal for America -- The good war? -- Dissent in an age of conformity -- Civil rights : an American revolution -- Make love, not war -- Mobilization and backlash -- A new age of dissent -- The arc of dissent.
Examines the key role dissent has played in shaping the United States, focusing on those who, from colonial times to the present, dissented against the ruling paradigm of their time, responding to what they saw as the injustices that prevented them from fully experiencing their vision of America. --Publisher's description.
Young examines the role dissent has played in shaping the United States. From colonial days to the present, dissent against the ruling paradigm was the response of citizens facing injustices that prevented them from fully experiencing their vision of America. Women fought for equal rights; workers organized unions; civil rights protestors marched to end segregation. Young shows why some dissenters are celebrated heroes of American history, while others are overlooked.