Dissent

Starred review from March 2, 2015
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. He takes an elastic view of the concept of dissent, presenting it as anything “going against the grain,” and by not focusing on ideas alone, is able to cover a lot of territory. The result is a work that establishes the “centrality of dissent in American history.” The Puritans had barely arrived in the New World—for their own dissenting religious purposes—when Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson began their agitation against civil and religious authority. Over time, dissent became so widespread and so deeply ingrained in American society that people who shared a cause—for instance, 19th-century advocates for women’s suffrage—disagreed among themselves about the nature and expression of their dissent. Progressive thinkers didn’t have a monopoly on dissent; the Ku Klux Klan arose “to preserve white supremacy,” and, in the 1970s, conservative Christians mobilized to counter 1960s liberalism. 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.’ ” Illus.

March 15, 2015
A broad-ranging, evenhanded view of a tradition honed into an art form in America: the use of dissent as "a critique of governance." Americans are very good at complaining about everything under the sun. The stock market may be booming, jobs may be plentiful, and gas may be cheap, but still it's not enough. As Young (History/Temple Univ. Dissent in America: Voices that Shaped a Nation, 2009, etc.) observes, throughout most of our history, the intent of dissenters has been honorable, an expression of "lofty ideals" and loyal opposition. However, often-and increasingly more often, it seems-dissenters are bent on forcing their narrow interests on the larger polity, sometimes in the hope of escaping such burdens as paying taxes, sometimes in the hope that their worldview will be declared the worldview. As Young chronicles, dissent often comes with unintended consequences. In a particularly pointed episode, he notes that slavery entered the American tradition as a means of dismantling a system of white indenture that bred seething resentment wherever it was practiced, with occasionally fatal results. Slaves, it was hoped, would not be so given to dissent, though that premise, too, would be proven false. 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. Of particular interest is the constant shift in American politics between the positions of dissenter and establishmentarian-not just as when, countering secession, West Virginia itself seceded to form a state, but also as when tea party activists get elected to become part of the government they despise, at which point much cognitive dissonance ensues. 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.

April 1, 2015

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 (history, Temple Univ.; Dissent in America) brings experience and knowledge to this subject as the editor of a prior compilation on the history of dissent and as a professor of that subject. Beginning with an overview from colonial times through the Civil War, the chronicle continues through World War I and concludes with the period between the 1920s to the Occupy Wall Street movement. There is a major emphasis on minorities who were often left out of the American dream (e.g., Native Americans, African Americans, women, workers, conscientious objectors, Latinos, and students) while also including antagonists to these groups. The book's length may undermine its readability and often moving accounts. A more succinct and focused treatment is found in Peter Irons's The Courage of Their Convictions. VERDICT This history will satisfy fans of Howard Zinn, Pete Seeger, and Allen Ginsberg, to whom it's dedicated; conservatives are likely to find it too politically correct.--William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport

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