Dissent : the history of an American idea / Ralph Young.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Young, Ralph, 1942- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hutchinson, Anne, 1591-1643.

Hutchinson, Anne.

Powhatan, approximately 1550-1618.

Powhatan.

Dissenters--United States--History.

Dissenters.

Protest movements--United States--History.

Protest movements.

Social reformers--United States--History.

Social reformers.

United States--Social conditions--Sources.

United States.

United States--Politics and government.

Social conditions.

Politics and government.

Genre:

Sources.

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 603 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

[Paperback edition] / with a new preface

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, 2018.

Summary:

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 protesters 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 comprehensive volume, Ralph Young shows us its history.

Contents:

Introduction: 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.

Notes:

With a new preface.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 549-581) and index.

ISBN:

9781479819836

1479819832

OCLC:

982896589