Author: Nixon Fernando
Publisher: Notion Press
ISBN: 1644299062
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 787
Book Description
If at any time you have looked upon the happenings in India with deep anguish and longed for solutions this book is for you. It brings together a set of timeless ancient ideas that have worked wonders when they were properly applied in the past; these ideas have been re-interpreted for the present India. The book also gives an action plan for the villages of India to journey into freedom through their own village self-initiative. In the search for a socio-political-economic solution for the difficult challenges faced by India the book delves into spiritualism and tradition without losing sight of scientific principles. This harmonizing between science and spirituality is unique about the book. Over all, the book seeks to inform Team India about the opportunities available for realizing India’s best potentials. A revolution must happen in the villages of India. The governments of independent India, in their sincere but misplaced attempts at doing welfare for the villages, have been stifling village life, killing village initiatives, and muting village self-expression. They did not lack good intention but they did lack the conviction to implement Gandhian ideas. It is high time for the citizens in the villages to dispel the ignorance, to take initiative, and work in teams to unleash their potentials. When villages rise, India will transform. And surely they will because the answers emerge from Gandhiji’s vision, from the successful ‘village republics’ described in the Uttaramerur inscriptions and from the various present day successful village revolutions that have dotted the length and breadth of India. India has had an uninterrupted civilisation for at least five thousand years. This is partly because our ancient wise have taught us to raise ourselves to excellence and freedom. The freedom the ancients talk about is not limited to the freedom the nation achieved at Independence. It is about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is flavoured by a deep self-understanding. It is about doing duties rather than asking for rights. And there is historical evidence to suggest that when this duty bound excellence manifested in the actions of the temporal powers, then under those temporal powers common people rose to excellence, happiness and prosperity. In this time and age, all those wielding power be it in their homes, workplaces, communities or government, must understand how these levers turn. Understanding duty bound excellence as encoded in dharma will make India rise to be the thought leader of the 21st century. His perspectives on the various aspects of Hinduism are well presented, and he makes a convincing case for the reader to pay heed to the intellectual giants of ancient India. In my view, this is an excellent book, and very briefly, it is a great tribute to Hinduism. - T.N. Seshan (IAS), Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Chennai, Feb 2013 This book is a very valuable contribution by Mr Nixon Fernando to remove the apathy and indifference with which those in power look at development issues. - Dr. Lalitha Ramamurthi, Chairperson, Gandhi Peace Foundation, Chennai. Nixon’s methods of drawing secular but spiritual wisdom from the works of the wise is sure to benefit serious thinkers and light up the path ahead a little more. - Prof. Bala V. Balachandran, Founder and Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India Distinguished Professor (Emeritus in service) Northwestern University, Illinois, USA
Rising to Second Freedom
Author: Nixon Fernando
Publisher: Notion Press
ISBN: 1644299062
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 787
Book Description
If at any time you have looked upon the happenings in India with deep anguish and longed for solutions this book is for you. It brings together a set of timeless ancient ideas that have worked wonders when they were properly applied in the past; these ideas have been re-interpreted for the present India. The book also gives an action plan for the villages of India to journey into freedom through their own village self-initiative. In the search for a socio-political-economic solution for the difficult challenges faced by India the book delves into spiritualism and tradition without losing sight of scientific principles. This harmonizing between science and spirituality is unique about the book. Over all, the book seeks to inform Team India about the opportunities available for realizing India’s best potentials. A revolution must happen in the villages of India. The governments of independent India, in their sincere but misplaced attempts at doing welfare for the villages, have been stifling village life, killing village initiatives, and muting village self-expression. They did not lack good intention but they did lack the conviction to implement Gandhian ideas. It is high time for the citizens in the villages to dispel the ignorance, to take initiative, and work in teams to unleash their potentials. When villages rise, India will transform. And surely they will because the answers emerge from Gandhiji’s vision, from the successful ‘village republics’ described in the Uttaramerur inscriptions and from the various present day successful village revolutions that have dotted the length and breadth of India. India has had an uninterrupted civilisation for at least five thousand years. This is partly because our ancient wise have taught us to raise ourselves to excellence and freedom. The freedom the ancients talk about is not limited to the freedom the nation achieved at Independence. It is about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is flavoured by a deep self-understanding. It is about doing duties rather than asking for rights. And there is historical evidence to suggest that when this duty bound excellence manifested in the actions of the temporal powers, then under those temporal powers common people rose to excellence, happiness and prosperity. In this time and age, all those wielding power be it in their homes, workplaces, communities or government, must understand how these levers turn. Understanding duty bound excellence as encoded in dharma will make India rise to be the thought leader of the 21st century. His perspectives on the various aspects of Hinduism are well presented, and he makes a convincing case for the reader to pay heed to the intellectual giants of ancient India. In my view, this is an excellent book, and very briefly, it is a great tribute to Hinduism. - T.N. Seshan (IAS), Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Chennai, Feb 2013 This book is a very valuable contribution by Mr Nixon Fernando to remove the apathy and indifference with which those in power look at development issues. - Dr. Lalitha Ramamurthi, Chairperson, Gandhi Peace Foundation, Chennai. Nixon’s methods of drawing secular but spiritual wisdom from the works of the wise is sure to benefit serious thinkers and light up the path ahead a little more. - Prof. Bala V. Balachandran, Founder and Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India Distinguished Professor (Emeritus in service) Northwestern University, Illinois, USA
Publisher: Notion Press
ISBN: 1644299062
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 787
Book Description
If at any time you have looked upon the happenings in India with deep anguish and longed for solutions this book is for you. It brings together a set of timeless ancient ideas that have worked wonders when they were properly applied in the past; these ideas have been re-interpreted for the present India. The book also gives an action plan for the villages of India to journey into freedom through their own village self-initiative. In the search for a socio-political-economic solution for the difficult challenges faced by India the book delves into spiritualism and tradition without losing sight of scientific principles. This harmonizing between science and spirituality is unique about the book. Over all, the book seeks to inform Team India about the opportunities available for realizing India’s best potentials. A revolution must happen in the villages of India. The governments of independent India, in their sincere but misplaced attempts at doing welfare for the villages, have been stifling village life, killing village initiatives, and muting village self-expression. They did not lack good intention but they did lack the conviction to implement Gandhian ideas. It is high time for the citizens in the villages to dispel the ignorance, to take initiative, and work in teams to unleash their potentials. When villages rise, India will transform. And surely they will because the answers emerge from Gandhiji’s vision, from the successful ‘village republics’ described in the Uttaramerur inscriptions and from the various present day successful village revolutions that have dotted the length and breadth of India. India has had an uninterrupted civilisation for at least five thousand years. This is partly because our ancient wise have taught us to raise ourselves to excellence and freedom. The freedom the ancients talk about is not limited to the freedom the nation achieved at Independence. It is about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is flavoured by a deep self-understanding. It is about doing duties rather than asking for rights. And there is historical evidence to suggest that when this duty bound excellence manifested in the actions of the temporal powers, then under those temporal powers common people rose to excellence, happiness and prosperity. In this time and age, all those wielding power be it in their homes, workplaces, communities or government, must understand how these levers turn. Understanding duty bound excellence as encoded in dharma will make India rise to be the thought leader of the 21st century. His perspectives on the various aspects of Hinduism are well presented, and he makes a convincing case for the reader to pay heed to the intellectual giants of ancient India. In my view, this is an excellent book, and very briefly, it is a great tribute to Hinduism. - T.N. Seshan (IAS), Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Chennai, Feb 2013 This book is a very valuable contribution by Mr Nixon Fernando to remove the apathy and indifference with which those in power look at development issues. - Dr. Lalitha Ramamurthi, Chairperson, Gandhi Peace Foundation, Chennai. Nixon’s methods of drawing secular but spiritual wisdom from the works of the wise is sure to benefit serious thinkers and light up the path ahead a little more. - Prof. Bala V. Balachandran, Founder and Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India Distinguished Professor (Emeritus in service) Northwestern University, Illinois, USA
Freedom Rising
Author: Christian Welzel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107034701
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 473
Book Description
This is the first study to demonstrate the role of cultural change in the global rise of freedoms. In multiple ways, the author illustrates how emerging "emancipative values" intertwine technological and institutional changes into a single trend toward human empowerment. The author interprets his broad and far-reaching findings from societies around the world in a new and coherent framework: the evolutionary theory of emancipation.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107034701
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 473
Book Description
This is the first study to demonstrate the role of cultural change in the global rise of freedoms. In multiple ways, the author illustrates how emerging "emancipative values" intertwine technological and institutional changes into a single trend toward human empowerment. The author interprets his broad and far-reaching findings from societies around the world in a new and coherent framework: the evolutionary theory of emancipation.
Freedom Rising
Author: Christian Welzel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107656826
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 473
Book Description
This book presents a comprehensive theory of why human freedom gave way to increasing oppression since the invention of states - and why this trend began to reverse itself more recently, leading to a rapid expansion of universal freedoms and democracy. Drawing on a massive body of evidence, the author tests various explanations of the rise of freedom, providing convincing support of a well-reasoned theory of emancipation. The study demonstrates multiple trends toward human empowerment, which converge to give people control over their lives. Most important among these trends is the spread of 'emancipative values', which emphasize free choice and equal opportunities. The author identifies the desire for emancipation as the origin of the human empowerment trend and shows when and why this desire grows strong; why it is the source of democracy; and how it vitalizes civil society, feeds humanitarian norms, enhances happiness, and helps redirect modern civilization toward sustainable development.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107656826
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 473
Book Description
This book presents a comprehensive theory of why human freedom gave way to increasing oppression since the invention of states - and why this trend began to reverse itself more recently, leading to a rapid expansion of universal freedoms and democracy. Drawing on a massive body of evidence, the author tests various explanations of the rise of freedom, providing convincing support of a well-reasoned theory of emancipation. The study demonstrates multiple trends toward human empowerment, which converge to give people control over their lives. Most important among these trends is the spread of 'emancipative values', which emphasize free choice and equal opportunities. The author identifies the desire for emancipation as the origin of the human empowerment trend and shows when and why this desire grows strong; why it is the source of democracy; and how it vitalizes civil society, feeds humanitarian norms, enhances happiness, and helps redirect modern civilization toward sustainable development.
Freedom Rising
Author: Ernest B. Furgurson
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307425959
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 498
Book Description
In this luminous portrait of wartime Washington, Ernest B. Furgurson–author of the widely acclaimed Chancellorsville 1863, Ashes of Glory, and Not War but Murder--brings to vivid life the personalities and events that animated the Capital during its most tumultuous time. Here among the sharpsters and prostitutes, slaves and statesmen are detective Allan Pinkerton, tracking down Southern sympathizers; poet Walt Whitman, nursing the wounded; and accused Confederate spy Antonia Ford, romancing her captor, Union Major Joseph Willard. Here are generals George McClellan and Ulysses S. Grant, railroad crew boss Andrew Carnegie, and architect Thomas Walter, striving to finish the Capitol dome. And here is Abraham Lincoln, wrangling with officers, pardoning deserters, and inspiring the nation. Freedom Rising is a gripping account of the era that transformed Washington into the world’s most influential city.
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307425959
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 498
Book Description
In this luminous portrait of wartime Washington, Ernest B. Furgurson–author of the widely acclaimed Chancellorsville 1863, Ashes of Glory, and Not War but Murder--brings to vivid life the personalities and events that animated the Capital during its most tumultuous time. Here among the sharpsters and prostitutes, slaves and statesmen are detective Allan Pinkerton, tracking down Southern sympathizers; poet Walt Whitman, nursing the wounded; and accused Confederate spy Antonia Ford, romancing her captor, Union Major Joseph Willard. Here are generals George McClellan and Ulysses S. Grant, railroad crew boss Andrew Carnegie, and architect Thomas Walter, striving to finish the Capitol dome. And here is Abraham Lincoln, wrangling with officers, pardoning deserters, and inspiring the nation. Freedom Rising is a gripping account of the era that transformed Washington into the world’s most influential city.
The Rise of Corporate Religious Liberty
Author: Micah Jacob Schwartzman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190262532
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 521
Book Description
What are the rights of religious institutions? Should those rights extend to for-profit corporations? Houses of worship have claimed they should be free from anti-discrimination laws in hiring and firing ministers and other employees. Faith-based institutions, including hospitals and universities, have sought exemptions from requirements to provide contraception. Now, in a surprising development, large for-profit corporations have succeeded in asserting rights to religious free exercise. The Rise of Corporate Religious Liberty explores this "corporate" turn in law and religion. Drawing on a broad range perspectives, this book examines the idea of "freedom of the church," the rights of for-profit corporations, and the implications of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby for debates on anti-discrimination law, same-sex marriage, health care, and religious freedom.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190262532
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 521
Book Description
What are the rights of religious institutions? Should those rights extend to for-profit corporations? Houses of worship have claimed they should be free from anti-discrimination laws in hiring and firing ministers and other employees. Faith-based institutions, including hospitals and universities, have sought exemptions from requirements to provide contraception. Now, in a surprising development, large for-profit corporations have succeeded in asserting rights to religious free exercise. The Rise of Corporate Religious Liberty explores this "corporate" turn in law and religion. Drawing on a broad range perspectives, this book examines the idea of "freedom of the church," the rights of for-profit corporations, and the implications of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby for debates on anti-discrimination law, same-sex marriage, health care, and religious freedom.
Freedom's Battle
Author: Gary J. Bass
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307269299
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 529
Book Description
This gripping and important book brings alive over two hundred years of humanitarian interventions. Freedom’s Battle illuminates the passionate debates between conscience and imperialism ignited by the first human rights activists in the 19th century, and shows how a newly emergent free press galvanized British, American, and French citizens to action by exposing them to distant atrocities. Wildly romantic and full of bizarre enthusiasms, these activists were pioneers of a new political consciousness. And their legacy has much to teach us about today’s human rights crises.
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307269299
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 529
Book Description
This gripping and important book brings alive over two hundred years of humanitarian interventions. Freedom’s Battle illuminates the passionate debates between conscience and imperialism ignited by the first human rights activists in the 19th century, and shows how a newly emergent free press galvanized British, American, and French citizens to action by exposing them to distant atrocities. Wildly romantic and full of bizarre enthusiasms, these activists were pioneers of a new political consciousness. And their legacy has much to teach us about today’s human rights crises.
Decolonization, Self-Determination, and the Rise of Global Human Rights Politics
Author: A. Dirk Moses
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108805191
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 449
Book Description
This volume presents the first global history of human rights politics in the age of decolonization. The conflict between independence movements and colonial powers shaped the global human rights order that emerged after the Second World War. It was also critical to the genesis of contemporary human rights organizations and humanitarian movements. Anti-colonial forces mobilized human rights and other rights language in their campaigns for self-determination. In response, European empires harnessed the new international politics of human rights for their own ends, claiming that their rule, with its promise of 'development,' was the authentic vehicle for realizing them. Ranging from the postwar partitions and the wars of independence to Indigenous rights activism and post-colonial memory, this volume offers new insights into the history and legacies of human rights, self-determination, and empire to the present day.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108805191
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 449
Book Description
This volume presents the first global history of human rights politics in the age of decolonization. The conflict between independence movements and colonial powers shaped the global human rights order that emerged after the Second World War. It was also critical to the genesis of contemporary human rights organizations and humanitarian movements. Anti-colonial forces mobilized human rights and other rights language in their campaigns for self-determination. In response, European empires harnessed the new international politics of human rights for their own ends, claiming that their rule, with its promise of 'development,' was the authentic vehicle for realizing them. Ranging from the postwar partitions and the wars of independence to Indigenous rights activism and post-colonial memory, this volume offers new insights into the history and legacies of human rights, self-determination, and empire to the present day.
Religion and the Populist Radical Right: Secular Christianism and Populism in Western Europe
Author: Nicholas Morieson
Publisher: Vernon Press
ISBN: 1648892175
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 227
Book Description
In Western Europe, populist radical right parties are calling for a return to Christian or Judeo-Christian values and identity. The growing electoral success of many of these parties may suggest that, after decades of secularisation, Western Europeans are returning to religion. Yet these parties do not tell their supporters to go to church, believe in God, or practise traditional Christian values. Instead, they claim that their respective national identities and cultures are the product of a Christian or Judeo-Christian tradition which either encompasses—or has produced—secular modernity. This book poses the question: if Western European politics is secular, why has religious identity become a core element of populist radical right discourse? To answer this question, Morieson examines the discursive use of religion by two of the most powerful and influential populist radical right parties: The French National Front and the Dutch Party for Freedom. Based on this examination, he argues that the populist radical right has capitalised on a cultural shift engendered by the increasing visibility of Islam in Europe. Western Europeans’ encounter with Islam has revealed the non-universal nature of Western European secularism to Europeans, and demonstrated the secularisation of Christianity into Western European ‘culture.’ This, in turn, has allowed secular French and Dutch citizens to identify themselves—as well as their nation and, ultimately, Western civilisation—as Christian or Judeo-Christian. Seizing on this cultural shift, the author contends that the National Front and Party for Freedom have built successful and similar brands of reactionary politics based on the notion that contemporary secularism is a product of Europe’s Christian heritage and values, and that therefore Muslim immigration is an existential threat to the core values of European politics, including the differentiation of politics and religion, and of church and state. ‘Religion and the Populist Radical Right: Secular Christianism and Populism in Western Europe’ will be of interest to scholars and researchers working on the intersections of Political Science, Sociology, and Religion. It will also appeal to the general audience interested in the relationship between populism in Western Europe and religious identity as it is written in an accessible style.
Publisher: Vernon Press
ISBN: 1648892175
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 227
Book Description
In Western Europe, populist radical right parties are calling for a return to Christian or Judeo-Christian values and identity. The growing electoral success of many of these parties may suggest that, after decades of secularisation, Western Europeans are returning to religion. Yet these parties do not tell their supporters to go to church, believe in God, or practise traditional Christian values. Instead, they claim that their respective national identities and cultures are the product of a Christian or Judeo-Christian tradition which either encompasses—or has produced—secular modernity. This book poses the question: if Western European politics is secular, why has religious identity become a core element of populist radical right discourse? To answer this question, Morieson examines the discursive use of religion by two of the most powerful and influential populist radical right parties: The French National Front and the Dutch Party for Freedom. Based on this examination, he argues that the populist radical right has capitalised on a cultural shift engendered by the increasing visibility of Islam in Europe. Western Europeans’ encounter with Islam has revealed the non-universal nature of Western European secularism to Europeans, and demonstrated the secularisation of Christianity into Western European ‘culture.’ This, in turn, has allowed secular French and Dutch citizens to identify themselves—as well as their nation and, ultimately, Western civilisation—as Christian or Judeo-Christian. Seizing on this cultural shift, the author contends that the National Front and Party for Freedom have built successful and similar brands of reactionary politics based on the notion that contemporary secularism is a product of Europe’s Christian heritage and values, and that therefore Muslim immigration is an existential threat to the core values of European politics, including the differentiation of politics and religion, and of church and state. ‘Religion and the Populist Radical Right: Secular Christianism and Populism in Western Europe’ will be of interest to scholars and researchers working on the intersections of Political Science, Sociology, and Religion. It will also appeal to the general audience interested in the relationship between populism in Western Europe and religious identity as it is written in an accessible style.
The Fate of Freedom Elsewhere
Author: William Michael Schmidli
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801469619
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Book Description
During the first quarter-century of the Cold War, upholding human rights was rarely a priority in U.S. policy toward Latin America. Seeking to protect U.S. national security, American policymakers quietly cultivated relations with politically ambitious Latin American militaries—a strategy clearly evident in the Ford administration's tacit support of state-sanctioned terror in Argentina following the 1976 military coup d’état. By the mid-1970s, however, the blossoming human rights movement in the United States posed a serious threat to the maintenance of close U.S. ties to anticommunist, right-wing military regimes.The competition between cold warriors and human rights advocates culminated in a fierce struggle to define U.S. policy during the Jimmy Carter presidency. In The Fate of Freedom Elsewhere, William Michael Schmidli argues that Argentina emerged as the defining test case of Carter’s promise to bring human rights to the center of his administration’s foreign policy. Entering the Oval Office at the height of the kidnapping, torture, and murder of tens of thousands of Argentines by the military government, Carter set out to dramatically shift U.S. policy from subtle support to public condemnation of human rights violation. But could the administration elicit human rights improvements in the face of a zealous military dictatorship, rising Cold War tension, and domestic political opposition? By grappling with the disparate actors engaged in the struggle over human rights, including civil rights activists, second-wave feminists, chicano/a activists, religious progressives, members of the New Right, conservative cold warriors, and business leaders, Schmidli utilizes unique interviews with U.S. and Argentine actors as well as newly declassified archives to offer a telling analysis of the rise, efficacy, and limits of human rights in shaping U.S. foreign policy in the Cold War.
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801469619
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Book Description
During the first quarter-century of the Cold War, upholding human rights was rarely a priority in U.S. policy toward Latin America. Seeking to protect U.S. national security, American policymakers quietly cultivated relations with politically ambitious Latin American militaries—a strategy clearly evident in the Ford administration's tacit support of state-sanctioned terror in Argentina following the 1976 military coup d’état. By the mid-1970s, however, the blossoming human rights movement in the United States posed a serious threat to the maintenance of close U.S. ties to anticommunist, right-wing military regimes.The competition between cold warriors and human rights advocates culminated in a fierce struggle to define U.S. policy during the Jimmy Carter presidency. In The Fate of Freedom Elsewhere, William Michael Schmidli argues that Argentina emerged as the defining test case of Carter’s promise to bring human rights to the center of his administration’s foreign policy. Entering the Oval Office at the height of the kidnapping, torture, and murder of tens of thousands of Argentines by the military government, Carter set out to dramatically shift U.S. policy from subtle support to public condemnation of human rights violation. But could the administration elicit human rights improvements in the face of a zealous military dictatorship, rising Cold War tension, and domestic political opposition? By grappling with the disparate actors engaged in the struggle over human rights, including civil rights activists, second-wave feminists, chicano/a activists, religious progressives, members of the New Right, conservative cold warriors, and business leaders, Schmidli utilizes unique interviews with U.S. and Argentine actors as well as newly declassified archives to offer a telling analysis of the rise, efficacy, and limits of human rights in shaping U.S. foreign policy in the Cold War.
The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920
Author: Manisha Sinha
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
ISBN: 1631498452
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 701
Book Description
"Sinha not only has taken on this vast subject, but has greatly expanded its definition, both temporally and spatially. . . . She covers these difficult issues with remarkable skill and clarity." —S. C. Gwynne, New York Times Book Review We are told that the present moment bears a strong resemblance to Reconstruction, the era after the Civil War when the victorious North attempted to create an interracial democracy in the unrepentant South. That effort failed—and that failure serves as a warning today about violent backlash to the mere idea of black equality. In The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic, acclaimed historian Manisha Sinha expands our view beyond the accepted temporal and spatial bounds of Reconstruction, which is customarily said to have begun in 1865 with the end of the war, and to have come to a close when the "corrupt bargain" of 1877 put Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House in exchange for the fall of the last southern Reconstruction state governments. Sinha’s startlingly original account opens in 1860 with the election of Abraham Lincoln that triggered the secession of the Deep South states, and take us all the way to 1920 and the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote—and which Sinha calls the "last Reconstruction amendment." Within this grand frame, Sinha narrates the rise and fall of what she calls the "Second American Republic." The Reconstruction of the South, a process driven by the alliance between the formerly enslaved at the grassroots and Radical Republicans in Congress, is central to her story, but only part of it. As she demonstrates, the US Army’s conquest of Indigenous nations in the West, labor conflict in the North, Chinese exclusion, women’s suffrage, and the establishment of an overseas American empire were all part of the same struggle between the forces of democracy and those of reaction. The main concern of Reconstruction was the plight of the formerly enslaved, but its fall affected other groups as well: women, workers, immigrants, and Native Americans. From the election of black legislators across the South in the late 1860s to the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 to the colonial war in the Philippines in the 1890s, Sinha narrates the major episodes of the era and introduces us to key individuals, famous and otherwise, who helped remake American democracy, or whose actions spelled its doom. A sweeping narrative that remakes our understanding of perhaps the most consequential period in American history, The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic shows how the great contest of that age is also the great contest of our age—and serves as a necessary reminder of how young and fragile our democracy truly is.
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
ISBN: 1631498452
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 701
Book Description
"Sinha not only has taken on this vast subject, but has greatly expanded its definition, both temporally and spatially. . . . She covers these difficult issues with remarkable skill and clarity." —S. C. Gwynne, New York Times Book Review We are told that the present moment bears a strong resemblance to Reconstruction, the era after the Civil War when the victorious North attempted to create an interracial democracy in the unrepentant South. That effort failed—and that failure serves as a warning today about violent backlash to the mere idea of black equality. In The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic, acclaimed historian Manisha Sinha expands our view beyond the accepted temporal and spatial bounds of Reconstruction, which is customarily said to have begun in 1865 with the end of the war, and to have come to a close when the "corrupt bargain" of 1877 put Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House in exchange for the fall of the last southern Reconstruction state governments. Sinha’s startlingly original account opens in 1860 with the election of Abraham Lincoln that triggered the secession of the Deep South states, and take us all the way to 1920 and the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote—and which Sinha calls the "last Reconstruction amendment." Within this grand frame, Sinha narrates the rise and fall of what she calls the "Second American Republic." The Reconstruction of the South, a process driven by the alliance between the formerly enslaved at the grassroots and Radical Republicans in Congress, is central to her story, but only part of it. As she demonstrates, the US Army’s conquest of Indigenous nations in the West, labor conflict in the North, Chinese exclusion, women’s suffrage, and the establishment of an overseas American empire were all part of the same struggle between the forces of democracy and those of reaction. The main concern of Reconstruction was the plight of the formerly enslaved, but its fall affected other groups as well: women, workers, immigrants, and Native Americans. From the election of black legislators across the South in the late 1860s to the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 to the colonial war in the Philippines in the 1890s, Sinha narrates the major episodes of the era and introduces us to key individuals, famous and otherwise, who helped remake American democracy, or whose actions spelled its doom. A sweeping narrative that remakes our understanding of perhaps the most consequential period in American history, The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic shows how the great contest of that age is also the great contest of our age—and serves as a necessary reminder of how young and fragile our democracy truly is.