Redefining our traditional understanding of the New Deal, this book finally examines this pivotal American era through a sweeping international lens that juxtaposes a struggling democracy with enticing ideologies like Fascism and Communism. Historian Ira Katznelson asserts that, during the 1930s and 1940s, American democracy was rescued yet distorted by a unified band of southern lawmakers who safeguarded racial segregation as they built a new national...

"America is awash with alleged conspiracies. It seems like today, no one with a cell phone escapes the vortex of skepticism, cynicism, paranoia, and fear that occupy our thoughts almost constantly. Seeking out valid answers in this cacophony can be confusing and deeply frustrating. In this book, historian Michael D. Gambone provides case studies of popular conspiracy theories in America from the past 100 years, from Protocol of the Elders of Zion...

By legitimizing bigotry and redefining so-called American values, a revived Klan in the 1920s left a toxic legacy that demands reexamination today.

This is the worst of times... but we've been here before. During the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, America was highly individualistic, starkly unequal, fiercely polarized, and deeply fragmented, just as it is today. As the twentieth century opened, America became more egalitarian, more cooperative, more generous; a society on the upswing, more focused on our responsibilities to one another and less focused on our narrower self-interest. Sometime during...

Examines the intellectual deterioration of American politics, from Ronald Reagan to Dan Quayle, from George W. Bush to Sarah Palin, to its apotheosis in Donald J. Trump. Borowitz argues that over the past fifty years, American politicians have grown increasingly allergic to knowledge. Mass media has encouraged the election of ignoramuses by elevating candidates who are better at performing than thinking. Starting with Ronald Reagan's first campaign...

In this study, Mitch Kachun explores the multiple functions and contested meanings of African American emancipation celebrations, from the abolition of the slave trade to the fiftieth anniversary of U.S. emancipation." "Based on extensive research in African American newspapers and oration texts, this book retraces a vital if often overlooked tradition in African American political culture and addresses important issues about black participation in...

"Bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands narrates the fierce debate over America's role in the world in the runup to World War II through its two most important figures: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who advocated intervention, and his isolationist nemesis, aviator and popular hero Charles Lindbergh. Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939 launched a momentous period of decision-making for the United States. With fascism...