The Radical Reader: A Documentary History of the American Radical Tradition - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1565846826 ISBN 13: 9781565846821

Publisher: New Press, The, 2003

Synopsis

Key documents illustrate the richness of the American radical tradition. Radicalism is as American as apple pie. One can scarcely imagine what American society would look like without the abolitionists, feminists, socialists, union organizers, civil-rights workers, gay and lesbian activists, and environmentalists who have fought stubbornly to breathe life into the promises of freedom and equality that lie at the heart of American democracy. The first anthology of its kind, The Radical Reader brings together more than 200 primary documents in a comprehensive collection of the writings of America's native radical tradition. Spanning the time from the colonial period to the twenty-first century, the documents have been drawn from a wealth of sourcesspeeches, manifestos, newspaper editorials, literature, pamphlets, and private letters. From Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" to Kate Millett's "Sexual Politics," these are the documents that sparked, guided, and distilled the most influential movements in American history. Brief introductory essays by the editors provide a rich biographical and historical context for each selection included. Includes:
Common Sense, Thomas Paine
Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln
Confession, Nat Turner
Last Speech to the Jury, John Brown
Letters on the Equality of the Sexes, Sarah Grimke
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, Seneca Falls Convention
Life in the Iron Mills, Rebecca Harding Davis
Speech to Striking Coal Miners, Mother Jones
Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Ballot or the Bullet, Malcolm X
The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan
Silent Spring, Rachel Carson

About this title

About the Author:

Timothy Patrick McCarthy teaches history and literature at Harvard University, where he has won several teaching awards. He is co-editor, with John Stauffer, of Millennial Vistas: Reconsiderations of American Abolitionism, forthcoming from The New Press. John McMillian teaches history and literature at Harvard University. His articles and review essays have appeared in Radical History Review; Rethinking History; American Quarterly; and elsewhere. He is co-editor, with Paul Buhle, of The New Left Re-examined (Temple University Press).

From Booklist:

Progressive radicalism, the array of traditions that "seeks to expand existing definitions of freedom, equality, justice, and opportunity," is intrinsic to American society and essential to democracy. From the revolution that gave birth to our nation to abolitionism, the labor movement, suffrage and feminism, civil rights, gay liberation, and environmentalism, radicalism has been responsible for maintaining the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, and for ensuring that quality of life and justice aren't forfeited in the pursuit of wealth and power. Two Harvard-based historians explicate and encapsulate the rich and vital spectrum of American radicalism by presenting more than 200 declarations, appeals, editorials, and essays by such radical thinkers (each introduced in a brief bio) as Frederick Douglass, Sarah Grimke, Henry David Thoreau, Upton Sinclair, Emma Goldman, Angela Davis, Betty Friedan, Mario Savio, Cesar Chavez, Rachel Carson, Tony Kushner, and Ralph Nader. The result is proof-positive that the U.S. has always been "a protest nation," a society of necessary sacrifice and tremendous achievement, and every citizen should hope that it remains so. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: New Press, The
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1565846826
• ISBN 13: 9781565846821
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 688
• Editor: McCarthy Timothy Patrick, McMillian John Campbell