"In discussing slavery and woman's rights, social security and the
graduated income tax," writes Robert Walker, "the reformers have
defined and redefined America." Recognizing in the history of reform a
prime source for the discovery of cultural priorities, Walker seeks in
Reform in America to organize the reform experience in a new way, so
that its collective patterns can be seen.
Reform in America identifies three principal streams of reform
advocacy in American history. Politico-economic issues, the mainstream
of reform, are exemplified by a detailed study of the politics of
money from 1832 to 1913. Reform on behalf of special groups, the
second major category, is illuminated by the examples of movements on
behalf of blacks and women and by an examination of the civil
liberties and civil rights movements, which again have been
principally concerned with the extension of rights and liberties to
particular groups. A third category is established by connecting
communitarianism, utopianism, and visionary planning to form a
tradition through which ideal alternatives are offered to the existing
social order.
Walker's interpretation minimizes the stark contrasts in social
activity and underlines those continuous forces that have moved
American society steadily in the direction of broadened political
participation, increased concern for special groups, and a dynamic
sequence of cultural goals. He thus draws our attention to what may be
America's most lasting frontier—the management of social change
toward certain general objectives. The appreciation of reform, in the
end, requires an adjusted perception of the national character, one
that sees competitive individualism as at least balanced and perhaps
outweighed by a demonstrated preoccupation with the common weal.
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The Continuing Frontier
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780813186702
Publisert
2021
Utgiver
Vendor
The University Press of Kentucky
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter