Dissent

The History of an American Idea

by Ralph Young

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Pub Date Apr 24 2015 | Archive Date Aug 10 2015

Description

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.

Advance Praise

"Temple University historian Young (Dissent in America) delivers a doorstopper that few readers will ever want to misuse in such a manner; his clear and elegant style and a keen eye for good stories make it a page-turner...Young convincingly demonstrates that the history of the United States is inextricably linked to dissent and shows how 'protest is one of the consummate expressions of Americanness.'"--STARRED Publishers Weekly

"A broad-ranging, evenhanded view of a tradition honed into an art form in America: the use of dissent as 'a critique of governance'...Young has a knack for finding obscure but thoroughly revealing moments of history to illustrate his points; learning about Fries' Rebellion and the Quasi-War with France is worth the price of admission alone, though his narrative offers much more besides...Refreshingly democratic—solid supplemental reading to the likes of Terkel and Alinsky, insistent on upholding the rights of political minorities even when they're wrong."--Kirkus Reviews

"French historian Alexis de Tocqueville warned about 'the tyranny of the majority' in American democracy. This work deals with that important topic from colonial times to the present. Young brings experience and knowledge to this subject...This history will satisfy fans of Howard Zinn, Pete Seeger, and Allen Ginsberg."--Library Journal

"Ralph Young takes us on a journey from the distant Puritan past to the cultural divisions of the contemporary age, showing that at every step along the way the nation's most powerful and productive force has been its rich tradition of dissent, the willingness of its citizens to cut against the grain of conformity to help build a fairer, more representative democracy. Marked by fast-paced and engaging prose, and filled with important insights and observations, Dissent may be the most important revisionist history of the nation since Howard Zinn's A People's History."--David M. Wrobel, Merrick Chair in Western American History, University of Oklahoma

"A sweeping, panoramic, narrative that is ambitious in nature, and broad and deep in scope. It provides an alternative history of the United States—indeed of 'America.' It is a history—not from the vantage point of the forgotten or the 'losers,' per se—but from dissenters: those who fought—valiantly, nobly, with great foresight and insight, and often against overwhelming, even impossible, odds and at great cost to themselves—in order to push, pull, shift, and shape the American world around them."--Glenn Feldman, University of Alabama at Birmingham

"A wonderfully erudite and lucid introduction to another 'American dream' that inspired millions around the world. A wise and topical invitation to reappraise global image of American culture today, when we are facing renewed struggle for hearts and minds."--Vladislav Zubok, London School of Economics and Politics

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EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9781479806652
PRICE	$89.00 (USD)

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Featured Reviews

Kel M, Media/Journalist

As American as apple pie

Dissent: The History of an American Idea by Ralph Young (NYU Press, $39.95).

What exactly is “dissent”? We know it when we see it, of course, but Temple University professor Ralph Young has a very flexible approach to definition, so that Dissent: The History of an American Idea covers griping about taxes, forming a party of the loyal opposition, leading a rebellion, and everything in between.

If you thought Americans wer a fractious bunch before, prepare to be amazed at how little you know of our contrarian nature. The big advantage here is that Young has a gift for compelling narrative, which makes this huge tome as appealing as most beach reads.

He makes a solid case for dissent being woven throughout our history and numbering among the foundational ideals of the United States (which explains the whole First Amendment, if you think about it). He also points out a number of examples of what happens when dissenters gain the upper hand—as when Tea Party Republicans get elected—and quickly find themselves moderating their views as the establishment works to sustain itself.

Young aptly illustrates a very basic fact: democracy, even a representative democracy, is a messy, loud business, and those times when Americans seem united are often when the republic is in the most danger.

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Cozy Book R, Reviewer

The backbone of our Nation is Dissent. This is the most compressive and well researched book on Dissent I have read. It is encompassing of the history of American dissent from the beginning of the Puritans to modern day. The author exemplifies in detailed research how Dissent has played a role in forming the Nation we are today. I highly recommend Dissent as a educational tool on understanding Dissent in American and the key role it holds in our American history. This is intelligently written and educational for everyone. Thank you for the advance reading copy NYU Press. I am buying a copy for my library of American History and recommend it to my associates.