What do you think?
Rate this book
Manufacturing Hysteria: A History of Scapegoating, Surveillance, and Secrecy in Modern America
A vital, engaging, and sometimes troubling story of modern America’s struggle to live up to its ideals.
In this ambitious and wide-ranging history, Jay Feldman takes us from the run-up to World War I and its anti-German hysteria through the September 11 attacks and Arizona’s current anti-immigration movement. What we see is a striking pattern of elected officials and private citizens alike using the American people’s fears and prejudices to isolate minorities (ethnic, racial, political, religious, or sexual), silence dissent, and stem the growth of civil rights and liberties.
Whether it’s the post–World War I persecution of radicals; the Depression-era deportations of Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans; the World War II internment of 112,000 ethnic Japanese along with thousands of German and Italian aliens; the Cold War campaigns against Communists, gays, and civil-rights activists; or the Vietnam-era COINTELPRO operations, we see how economic, military, and political crises have been used to curtail the rights of supposedly subversive minorities.
Much of the story can be laid at the feet of J. Edgar Hoover, but Feldman goes deeper to show how these tendencies have been part of a continuous vein that runs through American life. Rather than treating this history as a series of discrete moments, Feldman considers the entire programmatic sweep on a scale no one has yet approached. In doing so, he gives us a potent reminder of how, even in America, democracy and civil liberties are never guaranteed.
In this ambitious and wide-ranging history, Jay Feldman takes us from the run-up to World War I and its anti-German hysteria through the September 11 attacks and Arizona’s current anti-immigration movement. What we see is a striking pattern of elected officials and private citizens alike using the American people’s fears and prejudices to isolate minorities (ethnic, racial, political, religious, or sexual), silence dissent, and stem the growth of civil rights and liberties.
Whether it’s the post–World War I persecution of radicals; the Depression-era deportations of Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans; the World War II internment of 112,000 ethnic Japanese along with thousands of German and Italian aliens; the Cold War campaigns against Communists, gays, and civil-rights activists; or the Vietnam-era COINTELPRO operations, we see how economic, military, and political crises have been used to curtail the rights of supposedly subversive minorities.
Much of the story can be laid at the feet of J. Edgar Hoover, but Feldman goes deeper to show how these tendencies have been part of a continuous vein that runs through American life. Rather than treating this history as a series of discrete moments, Feldman considers the entire programmatic sweep on a scale no one has yet approached. In doing so, he gives us a potent reminder of how, even in America, democracy and civil liberties are never guaranteed.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 3, 2011
I am sure you have noticed that I enjoy History. This another book worth 'our time' to keep us ever vigilant about democracy and our civil liberties. There is a quote early in the book by Wendall Phillips, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
Feldman takes us thru events of the 20th century to our times. He, in great depth, shows us how elected officials and private citizens have used our fears and prejudices to isolate minorities (ethnic, racial, political, religious, or sexual to chip at our liberties.
I can well remember a few of the events. I recall the outcomes of the 'Japanese' hysteria. I remember the term "A Jap is A Jap". I remember the relocation of the Japanese from the West Coast. I remember the suspicions of Germans and Japs. We lived in Los Angeles and my brother and uncle were in the military and my parents worked in the shipyard. I was very young in the early years of the war but have fixed memories of the intensity of conversations. It was a time of hysteria and the suspending of liberties to both U.S. citizens and non citizens.
And the McCarthy hearings....I remember the headlines.
The migration of the Mormons to Utah....they left their country. Can we imagine leaving our country?
This book and others serve to reveal how 'political power' moves behind closed doors to isolate those in our country who are on the fringes of society....and how these maneuvers serve our powerful military machines. Every president has had an event which resulted a broadening of government powers to peer into the lives of Americans.
This is not a novel. But it does remind us of the human drama of lives and properties affected by mind 'control' and how easy it is and has been to trample on the Constitution.
Makes for thoughtful discussion.....my takeaway is we must not be reckless with the rule of law!
October 18, 2011
Jay Feldman has done a great service in writing this book. He writes of how politicians and community leaders have often stirred up controversy where it didn't exist and used minority groups as convenient scapegoats. The book covers actions done by Democrats and Republicans from the early 1900s up to the present.
It's shocking how much the government created mountains out of simply nothing in order to further policy goals (e.g. supporting World War I), consolidate power (Hoover at the BI and FBI), generate money (part of the reason why loyal Japanese-Americans were forced off their rich agricultural property during World War II), etc.
Even worse, the media whipped it the hatred and hypocrisy, time and again. And not just some controversial rag but the New York Times, Washington Post, etc. Bloodthirsty calls for silencing alternate opinions by all means necessary flew out of the so-called Free Press. Back then, these papers were right up there with today's Fox (Faux) News.
At first, I was a little overwhelmed by Feldman's example after example for each situation he covered. However, after awhile, I realized that this was one of the major accomplishments of the book. Overwhelming evidence that what happened was not an aberration. The constant scapegoating, federal spying and outright lies by Members of Congress and the Administration were not simply a sign of the times. Over and over again, he shows how individuals at the time told their superiors that the end result the boss wanted simply wasn't true and could not be supported by facts. The superiors outright ignored their confidants (not some anonymous grunt miles away but their direct aides and often high-government official aides) and pushed forward with some of the most undemocratic, un-American actions I've ever read.
Attacks on teachers, labor unions, minority groups, peace groups, women's rights, civil rights, etc. went on nonstop since the early part of the 20th Century. Whole movements were undermined and destroyed by FBI disinformation campaigns (under the various COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Programs), including many leftist parties that were not coordinating with global communist but were fighting for better wages, safer working environments and respect. The mind boggles at what would have happened if socialist parties had a chance to develop in this country. Would they have grown into the social democratic parties we see in Europe that provide safety nets and make sure that their citizens aren't one illness away from poverty?
The irony of most of what was happening was that while saying that they were working to protect the Constitution and fight against world authoritarianism, various federal, state and local governmental forces practically turned the United States into a police state, with the outright support of the media and often certain sections of the population. We've always been able to pull back from the precipice, but Feldman ends the book by noting that we must be ever vigilant, for there is a tipping point.
I originally thought of giving Manufacturing Hysteria four stars since I thought the epilogue that touched on the Bush II era was more of a sketch than a real contribution. If you paid attention during the last decade, you know what he would be writing, but it doesn't stand up to the quality and depth of the rest of the book. However, overall, this is an excellent book and worth reading and keeping close at hand as America continues growing up.
It's shocking how much the government created mountains out of simply nothing in order to further policy goals (e.g. supporting World War I), consolidate power (Hoover at the BI and FBI), generate money (part of the reason why loyal Japanese-Americans were forced off their rich agricultural property during World War II), etc.
Even worse, the media whipped it the hatred and hypocrisy, time and again. And not just some controversial rag but the New York Times, Washington Post, etc. Bloodthirsty calls for silencing alternate opinions by all means necessary flew out of the so-called Free Press. Back then, these papers were right up there with today's Fox (Faux) News.
At first, I was a little overwhelmed by Feldman's example after example for each situation he covered. However, after awhile, I realized that this was one of the major accomplishments of the book. Overwhelming evidence that what happened was not an aberration. The constant scapegoating, federal spying and outright lies by Members of Congress and the Administration were not simply a sign of the times. Over and over again, he shows how individuals at the time told their superiors that the end result the boss wanted simply wasn't true and could not be supported by facts. The superiors outright ignored their confidants (not some anonymous grunt miles away but their direct aides and often high-government official aides) and pushed forward with some of the most undemocratic, un-American actions I've ever read.
Attacks on teachers, labor unions, minority groups, peace groups, women's rights, civil rights, etc. went on nonstop since the early part of the 20th Century. Whole movements were undermined and destroyed by FBI disinformation campaigns (under the various COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Programs), including many leftist parties that were not coordinating with global communist but were fighting for better wages, safer working environments and respect. The mind boggles at what would have happened if socialist parties had a chance to develop in this country. Would they have grown into the social democratic parties we see in Europe that provide safety nets and make sure that their citizens aren't one illness away from poverty?
The irony of most of what was happening was that while saying that they were working to protect the Constitution and fight against world authoritarianism, various federal, state and local governmental forces practically turned the United States into a police state, with the outright support of the media and often certain sections of the population. We've always been able to pull back from the precipice, but Feldman ends the book by noting that we must be ever vigilant, for there is a tipping point.
I originally thought of giving Manufacturing Hysteria four stars since I thought the epilogue that touched on the Bush II era was more of a sketch than a real contribution. If you paid attention during the last decade, you know what he would be writing, but it doesn't stand up to the quality and depth of the rest of the book. However, overall, this is an excellent book and worth reading and keeping close at hand as America continues growing up.
August 30, 2011
Read Jay Feldman's 'Manufacturing Hysteria' from cover to cover in about 8 hours -- including all of the footnotes. Excellent read. Recommend!
Now I'll have to go find his other books.
Now I'll have to go find his other books.
November 14, 2011
Just arrived at the library. I've been looking forward to this one.
June 24, 2023
I thought this was really well done.
It is a solemn reminder that there are always going to be people who are eager to "other" and abuse and spy, so it is important to remember not just to hold back from that, but also to speak out when it is done to others. There may be times when propaganda seems useful, or hysteria that isn't directed against you is not such a concern, there there are terrible effects and integrity and commitment to truth are the remedy.
It is a solemn reminder that there are always going to be people who are eager to "other" and abuse and spy, so it is important to remember not just to hold back from that, but also to speak out when it is done to others. There may be times when propaganda seems useful, or hysteria that isn't directed against you is not such a concern, there there are terrible effects and integrity and commitment to truth are the remedy.
July 28, 2012
Absolutely full of information. This is a double-edged sword, however. If you enjoy reading about history and US politics, then you'll enjoy the book. However, if you're a casual history buff, be forewarned that this book is extremely dense with information.
Feldman does as good a job as possible making it readable and constructs the timeline well throughout, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't times while reading it that seemed to drag.
What I found most interesting is how much history has repeated itself time and time again in the US. Many of the quotes in the book I found could have been uttered by or about our current politicians. There was one quote in particular uttered against FDR that sounded almost verbatim to the criticisms of Obama today.
A good read and intensely interesting. Just be sure to pay attention.
Feldman does as good a job as possible making it readable and constructs the timeline well throughout, but I'd be lying if I said there weren't times while reading it that seemed to drag.
What I found most interesting is how much history has repeated itself time and time again in the US. Many of the quotes in the book I found could have been uttered by or about our current politicians. There was one quote in particular uttered against FDR that sounded almost verbatim to the criticisms of Obama today.
A good read and intensely interesting. Just be sure to pay attention.
Read
June 18, 2013'“I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, alive as you and me.” The oft-recorded folk standard tells of a misty encounter with the legendary labor activist and member of the Industrial Workers of the World. Hill was executed in Utah in 1915, after a dubious trial, for a double murder he most likely did not commit. In Manufacturing Hysteria, a wide-ranging history of sedition panics and government repression in modern America, journalist Jay Feldman uses Hill’s execution as an example of fear run amok.'
Read the full review, "Two, Three, Many McCarthyisms," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...
Read the full review, "Two, Three, Many McCarthyisms," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...
March 10, 2013
Engaging and at time, frightening account of surveillance of Americans and suppression of dissent by the US government.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews