California crucible : the forging of modern American liberalism / Jonathan Bell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bell, Jonathan, 1976-

Series:

Politics and culture in modern America.

Politics and Culture in Modern America

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Liberalism--California--History--20th century.

Liberalism.

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

California--Politics and government--20th century.

California.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (352 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the three decades following World War II, the Golden State was not only the fastest-growing state in the Union but also the site of significant political change. From the late 1940's through the mid-1970's, a generation of liberal activists transformed the political landscape of California, ending Republican dominance of state politics and eventually setting the tone for the Democratic Party nationwide. In California Crucible, Jonathan Bell chronicles this dramatic story of postwar liberalism-from early grassroots organizing and the election of Pat Brown as governor in 1958 to the civil rights campaigns of the 1960's and the campaigns against the New Right in the 1970's. As Bell argues, the emergent "California liberalism" was a distinctly post-New Deal phenomenon that drew on the ambitious ideals of the New Deal but adapted them to a diverse population. The result was a broad coalition that sought to extend social democracy to marginalized groups-such as gay rights and civil rights organizations-that had not been well served by the Democratic Party in earlier decades. In building this coalition, liberal activists forged an ideology capable of bringing Latino farm workers, African American civil rights activists, and wealthy suburban homemakers into a shared political project. By exploring California Democrats' largely successful attempts to link economic rights to civil rights and serve the needs of diverse groups, Bell challenges common assumptions about the rise of the New Right and the decline of American liberalism in the postwar era. As Bell shows, by the end of the 1970's California had become the spiritual home of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party as much as that of the Reagan Revolution.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Introduction. Placing California in Post-World War II American Politics

Chapter 1. Politics and Party in California at Mid-Century

Chapter 2. Building the Democratic Party in the 1940's

Chapter 3. The Stevenson Effect

Chapter 4. A Democratic Order

Chapter 5. Turning Point: California Politics in the 1950's

Chapter 6. The Liberal Moment

Chapter 7. Democratic Politics and the Brown Administration

Chapter 8. Welfare Reform and the Idea of the Family

Chapter 9. Culture Wars, Politics, and Power

Chapter 10. The Legacy of the Democratic Party Renaissance

Epilogue: Liberal Politics in California in an "Era of Limits"

Notes

Index

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [281]-331) and index.

ISBN:

9781283896580

1283896583

9780812206241

081220624X

OCLC:

824522202