The Movements Of The New Left, 1950-1975: A Brief History With Documents

by Van Gosse

"Movements of the New Left" is a documentary history of the movements for fundamental social change and radical democracy that disrupted the United States from their emergence in the 1950s through their dispersion and institutionalization in the early 1970s. Using an inclusive definition of the New Left, Gosse tracks the development and commonalities of the civil rights and black power movements and other struggles of people of color, of the peace, antiwar, and student movements, and of feminism and gay liberation. The introduction presents a solid overview of the history of these movements, combining chronological and thematic approaches against the backdrop of Cold War liberalism. Forty-five documents follow, each with an informative headnote providing context and explanatory footnotes that help students make sense of manifestoes, testimonies, speeches, newspaper advertisements, letters, and book excerpts from the tumultuous era referred to as "the Sixties." A chronology of the New Left, questions for consideration, a selected bibliography, and an index provide further pedagogical support.

Genres: History, Political Science, Politics, American History, Nonfiction

203 pages, Hardcover

First published October 29, 2004

About the author

Van Gosse is professor of history at Franklin and Marshall College.

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are two parts to this. It begins with a general historical survey of the period, ends with a series of relevant documents. Having lived a lot of what it discussed, I found much of the material familiar. Having been assembled in 2005, before the Trump administration and the revocation of Roe vs. Wade, the tone is more positive than a similar, contemporary effort would be. And, while a wide range of political issues is covered, the book is weak on environmental activism.

[Joseph Stieb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of the Bedford primary source series, but still interesting and useful. Gosse is clearly highly sympathetic to the New Left, and he lumps in a whole bunch of people (Friedan, MLK) who might not really fit (or only fit at some points in their lives). The sources are also oddly short in many cases. However, you still get a good sense of some major themes in the New Left, especially the commitment to Third Worldism and internationalism, which permeates basically every document. Furthermore, there's a strong element of searching for meaning in a world they perceived as regimented and conformist. Some of the documents are pretty whacky, but others are thought provoking pieces that everyone should read. Will use for classes, for sure.

[Spencer Willardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book was very interesting. The writing is such that it could be coming out of the protests on college campuses today. If you are interested in history and in taking the ideas of people seriously, then read them in their own words. I don't agree with most of the ideas espoused here, but was able to find common ground. Willingness to do that is crucial if we are to continue as a society.

[Kaelyn Ireland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid collection of documents with brief and accessible introductions to each to help the reader understand their historic context and how they relate to each other. This was assigned at the beginning of my graduate course on the movements of the New Left and was a great introduction to the topic. I will definitely be checking out more of Gosse's work.

[Justin P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great anthology of key writings from Leftists in the US.

[Craig Werner · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the lumper-splitter competition, Gosse is an extreme lumper, filing pretty much every activist movement of the Sixties under the rubric of the New Left. The introduction is a very general survey of events that doesn't do much to support the thesis. The compilation of documents is useful enough, but easily duplicated elsewhere.

[Dakota · Rating 4 out of 5]

I use this all the time for both school and personal gain. It provides great insight to the mind of liberal politics.