Political Repression in Modern America: FROM 1870 TO 1976

by Robert Justin Goldstein

Robert Justin Goldstein's Political Repression in Modern America provides the only comprehensive narrative account ever published of significant civil liberties violations concerning political dissidents since the rise of the post-Civil War modern American industrial state. A history of the dark side of the "land of the free," Goldstein's book covers both famous and little-known examples of governmental repression, including reactions to the early labor movement, the Haymarket affair, "little red scares" in 1908, 1935, and 1938-41, the repression of opposition to World War I, the 1919 "great red scare," the McCarthy period, and post-World War II abuses of the intelligence agencies.
 
Enhanced with a new introduction and an updated bibliography, Political Repression in Modern America remains an essential record of the relentless intolerance that suppresses radical dissent in the United States.
 

Genres: History, American History, Politics

720 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1978

About the author

Robert Justin Goldstein is professor emeritus of political science at Oakland University and currently a research associate at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

He is the author of numerous books and articles focusing on the history of civil liberties in Western democracies, including controversies related to censorship and desecration of the flag.

Reviews

[msgillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is Howard Zinn on steroids. If you have any interest in the history of US politics, you should read this book. It isn't an easy read by any stretch of the imagination (it was Goldstein's doctoral thesis) but it is so worth it. The viciousness of both the government and corporations in drowning out any form of dissent is astonishing and frankly very depressing; but I think it is really necessary to be aware of how far people in power will go to maintain that power. The amount of detail is staggering, overwhelming at times. If you ever believed the government was on the side of the common man, this book will dispel that illusion. If you always knew that "the man" was out to get you, it will chill you with just how right you are.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, original, ignored.