America S Promise

Noted scholar and activist Don Eberly details the history, achievements, and goals of the civil society movement. He demonstrates why civil society is crucial to the preservation of democratic values and institutions, and he explains why the concern over America's moral decay must be our major priority. Our society, argues Eberly, cannot thrive, and perhaps cannot survive, without strong social institutions, a vibrant moral order, and an active, intellectual grass roots dimension.

America's Promise is a concise, highly readable introduction to American History. Designed to clearly explain major themes and events, it also captures the rich and often amusing character of the American people. The strong narrative emphasizes public life and how individuals constructed public structures in which they lived and worked. Including the latest scholarship in social, cultural, and political history, the work integrates the history and importance of women and minorities. To aid students in learning and reviewing, each chapter begins with a preview of the main ideas that will be discussed and ends with a conclusion that reinforces the key concepts. Rather than being simply declaratory signposts, section headings highlight main ideas and help carry along the narrative. A glossary defines main terms, and a timeline helps students keep track of events. Selected readings are also included to encourage further reading and study. Finally, carefully selected illustrations and maps portray, pinpoint, and illuminate important episodes in American history. The most concise and competitively priced book available, America's Promise is a breath of fresh air in the introductory market.

In The Struggle for America’s Promise, Claire Goldstene seeks to untangle one of the enduring ideals in American history, that of economic opportunity. She explores the varied discourses about its meaning during the upheavals and corporate consolidations of the Gilded Age. Some proponents of equal opportunity seek to promote upward financial mobility by permitting more people to participate in the economic sphere thereby rewarding merit over inherited wealth. Others use opportunity as a mechanism to maintain economic inequality. This tension, embedded with the idea of equal opportunity itself and continually reaffirmed by immigrant populations, animated social dissent among urban workers while simultaneously serving efforts by business elites to counter such dissent. Goldstene uses a biographical approach to focus on key figures along a spectrum of political belief as they struggled to reconcile the inherent contradictions of equal opportunity. She considers the efforts of Booker T. Washington in a post–Civil War South to ground opportunity in landownership as an attempt to confront the intersection of race and class. She also explores the determination of the Knights of Labor to define opportunity in terms of controlling one’s own labor. She looks at the attempts by Samuel Gompers through the American Federation of Labor as well as by business elites through the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Civic Federation to shift the focus of opportunity to leisure and consumption. The Struggle for America’s Promise also includes such radical figures as Edward Bellamy and Emma Goldman, who were more willing to step beyond the boundaries of the discourse about opportunity and question economic competition itself.

This expansive collection of A-Z entries offers a compelling look into hate groups in America. Focusing on organizations in operation today, this resource book for student and general audiences covers numerous hot-button issues in politics and culture. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists nearly 900 hate groups active in the United States today. Some of these, such as the KKK, have deep roots in American history. Others are newer, formed in response to policies and shifts in our cultural landscape. Often these organizations imply defense of America and political ideals in their names, such as "Council of Conservative Citizens" and "American Family Association." Some, such as "White Aryan Resistance" and "Supreme White Alliance," are more direct in their associations. Nearly all posit an erosion of rights and values; a way of life that is becoming lost to immigrants; a diffusion or integration of population; and government overstep. Many of these groups preach a necessity for violence, through either outright or thinly veiled language. Membership in these organizations poses another topic for investigation, as their ranks are not just anti-government or pro-gun rights types who seek to defend the Constitution. Many are simply citizens who see their ideal for America as under threat by various groups—whether ethnic, racial, or religious. This unique reference will allow readers to explore the underlying issues central to understanding them. How do these hate groups get started, and why do people join?

AN EXAMINATION OF THE EXTRAORDINARY USES AND ABUSES OF AN AMERICAN IDEAL DURING A TIME OF PERCEIVED PROSPERITY In The Struggle for America's Promise, Claire Goldstene seeks to untangle one of the enduring ideals in American history, that of economic opportunity. She explores the varied discourses about its meaning during the upheavals and corporate consolidations of the Gilded Age. Some proponents of equal opportunity seek to promote upward financial mobility by permitting more people to participate in the economic sphere thereby rewarding merit over inherited wealth. Others use opportunity as a mechanism to maintain economic inequality. This tension, embedded with the idea of equal opportunity itself and continually reaffirmed by immigrant populations, animated social dissent among urban workers while simultaneously serving efforts by business elites to counter such dissent. Goldstene uses a biographical approach to focus on key figures along a spectrum of political belief as they struggled to reconcile the inherent contradictions of equal opportunity. She considers the efforts of Booker T. Washington in a post-Civil War South to ground opportunity in landownership as an attempt to confront the intersection of race and class. She also explores the determination of the Knights of Labor to define opportunity in terms of controlling one's own labor. She looks at the attempts by Samuel Gompers through the American Federation of Labor as well as by business elites through the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Civic Federation to shift the focus of opportunity to leisure and consumption. The Struggle for America's Promise also includes such radical figures as Edward Bellamy and Emma Goldman, who were more willing to step beyond the boundaries of the discourse about opportunity and question economic competition itself. CLAIRE GOLDSTENE, Davis, California, has taught United States history at the University of Maryland, the University of North Flordia, and American University. Her work has been published in numerous journals including Thought and Action, Journal of Third-World Studies, and Southern Historian, among others.