The 100 greatest Americans of the 20th century : a social justice hall of fame / Peter Dreier.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dreier, Peter, 1948-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social reformers--United States--Biography.

Social reformers.

History.

Social justice.

United States.

Political activists--United States--Biography.

Political activists.

Social change--United States--History--20th century.

Social change.

Social justice--United States--History--20th century.

United States--Social conditions--20th century.

Social conditions.

United States--History--20th century--Biography.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xii, 500 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Other Title:

One hundred greatest Americans of the twentieth century

Place of Publication:

New York : Nation Books, [2012]

Summary:

A hundred years ago any soapbox orator who called for women's suffrage, a federal minimum wage, or laws protecting the environment would have been considered a Utopian dreamer or a dangerous socialist. Now we take these ideas for granted. The radical ideas of one generation often become common sense for the next. We all stand on the shoulders of earlier generations of organizers, activists, writers, artists, and progressive politicians who challenged the status quo of their day. The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century is a deeply informed, colorful and witty history of the 20th century progressive leaders and movements that changed history. It also explores the new generation of 21st century activists who are shaping our future to promote a more humane, democratic, and just society. Book jacket.

Contents:

20th-century Timeline 11

The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century

Tom Johnson (1854-1911) 21

Robert M. La Follette Sr. (1855-1925) 24

Eugene Debs (1855-1926) 27

Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) 32

Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) 36

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) 40

Florence Kelley (1859-1932) 44

John Dewey (1859-1952) 49

Victor Berger (1860-1929) 53

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) 56

Jane Addams (1860-1935) 59

Lincoln Steffens (1866-1936) 63

Hiram Johnson (1866-1945) 67

W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963) 70

William "Big Bill" Haywood (1869-1928) 74

Alice Hamilton (1869-1970) 77

Emma Goldman (1869-1940) 80

Lewis Hine (1874-1940) 83

Robert F. Wagner Sr. (1877-1953) 87

Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) 91

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) 95

Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) 100

John L. Lewis (1880-1969) 105

Helen Keller (1880-1968) 109

Frances Perkins (1880-1965) 113

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) 117

Rose Schneiderman (1882-1972) 120

Fiorello La Guardia (1882-1947) 124

Roger Baldwin (1884-1981) 128

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) 133

Norman Thomas (1884-1968) 138

A. J. Muste (1885-1967) 142

Alice Stokes Paul (1885-1977) 146

Sidney Hillman (1887-1946) 150

Henry Wallace (1888-1965) 154

A. Philip Randolph (1889-1979) 160

Earl Warren (1891-1974) 165

Floyd Olson (1891-1936) 168

Dorothy Day (1897-1980) 172

Paul Robeson (1898-1976) 176

William O. Douglas (1898-1980) 181

Harry Bridges (1901-1990) 184

Langston Hughes (1902-1967) 188

Vito Marcantonio (1902-1954) 192

Virginia F. Durr (1903-1999) 196

Elk Baker (1903-1986) 200

Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) (1904-1991) 205

Myles Horton (1905-1990) 210

Carey McWilliams (1905-1980) 215

William J. Brennan Jr. (1906-1997) 220

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) 224

Rachel Carson (1907-1964) 228

Walter Reuther (1907-1970) 232

I. F. Stone (1907-1989) 237

Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) 241

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) 246

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) 250

Saul Alinsky (1909-1972) 254

Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) 259

Harry Hay (1912-2002) 263

Studs Terkel (1912-2008) 267

David Brower (1912-2000) 271

Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) 275

Arthur Miller (1915-2005) 279

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) 284

C. Wright Mills (1916-1962) 288

Barry Commoner (1917-) 293

Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) 298

Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) 303

Pete Seeger (1919-) 307

Jerry Wurf (1919-1981) 312

Bella Abzug (1920-1998) 317

Betty Friedan (1921-2006) 320

Howard Zinn (1922-2010) 325

Rev. William Sloane Coffin (1924-2006) 328

Malcolm X (1925-1965) 332

Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) 337

Michael Harrington (1928-1989) 342

Rev. James Lawson (1928-) 347

Noam Chomsky (1928-) 352

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) 357

Allard Lowenstein (1929-1980) 362

Harvey Milk (1930-1978) 367

Ted Kennedy (1932-2009) 372

Ralph Nader (1934-) 376

Gloria Steinem (1934-) 381

Bill Movers (1934-) 386

Bob Moses (1935-) 390

Tom Hayden (1939-) 394

John Lewis (1940-) 399

Joan Baez (1941-) 404

Bob Dylan (1941-) 407

Barbara Ehrenreich (1941-) 412

Jesse Jackson (1941-) 416

Muhammad Ali (1942-) 421

Billie Jean King (1943-) 426

Paul Wellstone (1944-2002) 429

Bruce Springsteen (1949-) 433

Michael Moore (1954-) 438

Tony Kushner (1956-) 443

The 21st Century So Far 447.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781568586816

1568586817

OCLC:

701015405