Civic ideals : conflicting visions of citizenship in U.S. history / Rogers M. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Rogers M., 1953-

Series:

Yale ISPS series

The Yale ISPS series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Citizenship--United States--History.

Citizenship.

Discrimination--Law and legislation--United States--History.

Discrimination.

Minorities--Legal status, laws, etc--United States--History.

Minorities.

United States--Race relations.

United States.

Discrimination--Law and legislation.

Minorities--Legal status, laws, etc.

Race relations.

United States--Race relations--History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

x, 719 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, ©1997.

Summary:

Is civic identity in the United States really defined by liberal, democratic political principles? Or is U.S. citizenship the product of multiple traditions - not only liberalism and republicanism but also white supremacy, Anglo-Saxon supremacy, Protestant supremacy, and male supremacy? In this powerful and disturbing book, Rogers Smith traces political struggles over U.S. citizenship laws from the colonial period through the Progressive era and shows that throughout this time, most adults were legally denied access to full citizenship, including political rights, solely because of their race, ethnicity, or gender. Basic conflicts over these denials have driven political development in the U.S., Smith argues. These conflicts are what truly define U.S. civic identity up to this day.

Smith concludes that today the United States is in a period of reaction against the egalitarian civic reforms of the last generation, with nativist, racist, and sexist beliefs regaining influence. He suggests ways that proponents of liberal democracy should alter their view of U.S. citizenship in order to combat these developments more effectively.

Contents:

The hidden lessons of American citizenship laws

Fierce new world : the colonial sources of American citizenship

Forging a revolutionary people, 1763-1776

Citizen of small republics : the Confederation era, 1776-1789

The Constitution and the quest for national citizenship

Attempting national liberal citizenship : the Federalist years, 1789-1801

Toward a commercial nation of white yeoman republics : the Jeffersonian era, 1801-1829

High noon of the white republic : the age of Jackson, 1829-1856

Dred Scott unchained : the bloody birth of the free labor republic, 1857-1866

The America that "never was" / the radical hour, 1866-1876

The gilded age of ascriptive Americanism, 1876-1898

Progressivism and the new American empire, 1898-1912

Epilogue : the party of America.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 645-672) and indexes.

Local Notes:

The Balch Ethnic Studies Collection.

ISBN:

0300069898

9780300069891

0300078773

9780300078770

OCLC:

36301097