Race and Liberty in America: The Essential Reader (Independent Studies in Political Economy) [Paperback]

Jonathan Bean (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0813192315 | ISBN-13: 978-0813192314 | Publication Date: June 18, 2009 | Edition: First Edition

The history of civil rights in the United States is usually analyzed and interpreted through the lenses of modern conservatism and progressive liberalism. In Race and Liberty in America: The Essential Reader, author Jonathan Bean argues that the historical record does not conveniently fit into either of these categories and that knowledge of the American classical liberal tradition is required to gain a more accurate understanding of the past, present, and future of civil liberties in the nation. By assembling and contextualizing classic documents, from the Declaration of Independence to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision banning school assignment by race, Bean demonstrates that classical liberalism differs from progressive liberalism in emphasizing individual freedom, Christianity, the racial neutrality of the Constitution, complete color-blindness, and free-market capitalism. A comprehensive and vital resource for scholars and students of civil liberties, Race and Liberty in America presents a wealth of primary sources that trace the evolution of civil rights throughout U.S. history.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jonathan Bean is professor of history at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He is the author of Beyond the Broker State: Federal Policies Toward Small Business, 1936-1961 and Big Government and Affirmative Action: The Scandalous History of the Small Business Administration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky; First Edition edition (June 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813192315
• ISBN-13: 978-0813192314
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book and Essential Historical Reader, August 5, 2009

By 

David T. Beito "David T. Beito" (Professor, Department of History, University of Alabama) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Race and Liberty in America: The Essential Reader (Independent Studies in Political Economy) (Paperback)

If you rely on the professors who dominate campuses today for your knowledge of history, Race and Liberty in America will be full of major revelations. The writings in this book provide an eye-opening introduction to a rich antiracist tradition which historians have shamelessly ignored. In this magisterial anthology, Jonathan Bean mines a rich vein of writings and other speeches by the great classical liberal and conservative pioneers against racism, many of whom helped to create the modern civil rights movement. Many of these works have never appeared before in book form. The selections cover such diverse topics as the fight for abolitionism and the allied struggles against Chinese exclusion, Jim Crow and Japanese internment.

Bean introduces modern readers to such critically important, but now forgotten, anti-racist crusaders as entrepreneur Lewis Tappan, who was the essential financial angel of abolitionism, NAACP superlawyer Moorfield Storey, frontier novelist Rose Wilder Lane, and black Republican congressman Oscar DePriest.

The selections also contain surprising new information about such better known individuals as Frederick Douglass, Warren G. Harding, Milton Friedman, and Zora Neale Hurston. Please buy this wonderful book!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The civil rights history not taught in schools, July 9, 2009

By 

Freedom Man "FreedomMan" (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Race and Liberty in America: The Essential Reader (Independent Studies in Political Economy) (Paperback)

As Juan Williams said, this book is "full of revelations" Some of the figures (Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Branch Rickey) are well known but others (Calvin Coolidge, Kelly Miller, the dean of Howard U) are not. Americans hunger for "getting beyond race" by tackling TRUE racial injustices while always recognizing that race is a dangerous fiction that no government ought to respect in the ways it treats citizens. That's what these writers did -- and still do.

I learned a lot and hope teachers assign this book so that students can get another point of view.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Balanced View, December 3, 2010

By 

BookBargainsandPreviews.com "www.bookbargains... (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Race and Liberty in America: The Essential Reader (Independent Studies in Political Economy) (Paperback)

This book was chocked full of interesting information. The author does a great tracing the rise of civil rights in the U.S., giving a balanced look at the topic. He examines great men that were an integral part of the movement and puts a different spin on the topic than most. He uses a ton of primary sources and this book is a well-researched volume. I learned a lot and highly recommend it.