Fighting Authoritarianism: American Youth Activism in the 1930s

Britt Haas

Published by Fordham University Press 2018

Fighting Authoritarianism

American Youth Activism in the 1930s

Britt Haas

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780823278015

Overview
Contents

About this book

Calling into question the Cold War perspective that continued to permeate analyses of radicalism long after the fall of the Soviet Union, this study examines young Depression-Era radicals’ worldview—a worldview developed from the epicenter of young radical activism and ideology: New York City college campuses.

Author / Editor information

Haas Britt :

Britt Haas is an historian and teacher of writing at Siena College whose research interests include social movements and public policy.Britt Haas is an historian and teacher of writing at Siena College whose research interests include social movements and public policy.

Reviews

This book is a major contribution to the historiography of the era of the Great Depression. The role of youth has often been overlooked, but that is being corrected, especially with the scholarship of this book. Recommended highly for all people interested in the Great Depression.---—Donald W. Whisenhunt, Western Washing University

From the cloisters of Columbia University to the coalfields of Kentucky, from racism in the South to the civil war in Spain, American youth in the 1930s mobilized against social and political injustice. This engaging study of progressive youth organizations charts their origins, their quest to fashion an America true to its ideals, and their demise. One of the strengths of Fighting Authoritarianism is that we hear the voices of young people; voices that speak, most often, with optimism and hope. By giving youth agency, Haas eschews the Cold War paradigm of earlier studies that emphasized communist control, and confirms that youth activism can be a source of inspiration in dark times.-----Phillip Deery, Victoria University, Melbourne

Fighting Authoritarianism provides a new and important examination of U.S. youth activism of the 1930s. Moving beyond the Cold War concerns that have dominated past studies of dissident youth in that era, Britt Haas shows us how their ideals and actions were, in many ways, quintessentially American.---—Lawrence S. Wittner, Professor of History emeritus, SUNY/Albany

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
PART I Seeing the Problem and Envisioning a Plan
1 The Effects of the Crash: The Youth Problem from New York City to Harlan County, Kentucky, and Back Again Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	21
2 The Reed Harris Affair: Youth Claim Their Rights and Freedoms at Columbia University and Beyond Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	40
3 The Scottsboro Boys: Demands for Equality from the Deep South to New York City Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	61
PART II Implementing a Vision
4 The Popular Front. Strength in Unity: New York City Organizations Come Together in Solidarity Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
5 Playing Politics and Making Policy: Institutionalizing a Vision from New York to Washington Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
6 The Fight Against Fascism: The Spanish Republicans Find Their Support in New York City Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	163
PART III Disillusion and Dissolution
7 Dissolution: World War II Subverts the Zeitgeist and Youth’s Vision for America Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	191
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	231
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	313
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	319

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Fordham University Press
Pages
- Main content: 384
Keywords: Activists; Vision; Great Depression; New York City; College Campuses; Free Speech; Racial Equality; Peace

eBook

Published: November 7, 2017
ISBN: 9780823278015