Charlie Brown's America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts

by Blake Scott Ball

Despite--or because of--its huge popular culture status, Peanuts enabled cartoonist Charles Schulz to offer political commentary on the most controversial topics of postwar American culture through the voices of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Peanuts gang.

In postwar America, there was no newspaper comic strip more recognizable than Charles Schulz's Peanuts. It was everywhere, not just in thousands of daily newspapers. For nearly fifty years, Peanuts was a mainstay of American popular culture in television, movies, and merchandising, from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to the White House to the breakfast table.

Most people have come to associate Peanuts with the innocence of childhood, not the social and political turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s. Some have even argued that Peanuts was so beloved because it was apolitical. The truth, as Blake Scott Ball shows, is that Peanuts was very political. Whether it was the battles over the Vietnam War, racial integration, feminism, or the future of a nuclear world, Peanuts was a daily conversation about very real hopes and fears and the political realities of the Cold War world. As thousands of fan letters, interviews, and behind-the-scenes documents reveal, Charles Schulz used his comic strip to project his ideas to a mass audience and comment on the rapidly changing politics of America.

Charlie Brown's America covers all of these debates and much more in a historical journey through the tumultuous decades of the Cold War as seen through the eyes of Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Comics, American History, Sociology, Cultural, Audiobook

239 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2021

Reviews

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book examines how the comic strip Peanuts reflected the main concerns of American society in the 20th century. The issues covered include the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the movement toward gender equality, and the rise of evangelicalism. It helps open up another level of appreciation of Peanuts. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in post-war American history.

[Jacob Vahle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books I’ve read this year. I read Peanuts each morning in the paper - little did I grasp Schultz’s subtle commentary on his historic moment. Great chapters on Linus and faith, Franklin and race, Lucy and feminism, and all sorts of other musings that were a wave of nostalgia for me. Now I need to find a peanuts anthology!

[Daniel Castaneda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ball's book is an excellent analysis of how popular culture is rarely separated from politics in the United States. In particular, he explores the Peanuts comic strip and how creator Charles Schulz managed to move both left and right politically from a safe (and, of course, ambiguous) vantage point of middle America. He shows convincingly that Schulz did not shy away from engaging politics and used his strip to raise questions or ambivalence about an issue in the minds of his readers. Because Peanuts was a popular comic strip, Ball uses letters sent to Schulz by readers to explore popular reactions, as well as to show that readers were attentive to the issues/subtext addressed in the strip. However, because Schulz often did not reveal his personal opinion, his comics could be interpreted by his readers, often leading to vastly different conclusions (as seen in the aforementioned letters). Ball describes this quality as a "Rorschach [test] for readers" (1).

Each chapter analyzes a different set of themes in the Peanuts comic, but the chapter I found most fascinating was about Franklin, the "first African American character to integrate a nationally syndicated newspaper comic strip" (65). Ball reveals a concerted effort by Harriet Glickman and black families to convince Schulz to introduce an African American character. In the end, he did, but his inclusion of Franklin was both "revolutionary and restricting" (65). While he made a positive first step, he could not figure out how to make Franklin a more significant part of the strip.

I would highly recommend the book to students of pop culture and politics in the United States, as it provides an excellent example of the creative use of a source to evaluate broader political issues in the country. Often, I found myself wondering how no one had written this book sooner (which is, of course, a testament to Ball's ability to show that his work is useful and important!).

[David Schroeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A phenomenal book examining post-War American society through the view of the centre. Well sourced, well argued and thoroughly enjoyable.

[Johnathan Sorce · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting analysis of various themes or issues of the 1960s and 70s (such as Civil Rights, Feminism, Vietnam, etc.) through their inclusion in Charles Schulz's beloved Peanuts comic strips. The greatest takeaway from the book is perhaps just how influential and widely consumed Peanuts was and how people from all sides of the political spectrum identified with Snoopy and Charlie Brown and their experiences in the cartoon.

[Craig Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely done book tracking Peanuts essentially centrist political/cultural sensibility with enough reprinted strips to make me want to go back and re-read all those collections I loved growing up. I hadn't been aware how sharp Schultz's criticism of the draft and of the futility of Vietnam had been. Liked the chapter on his kinda half-ass attempt to integrate the strip, which never made it much beyond well-meaning tokenism.

[Glenn Faris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great examination and history of the Peanuts comic strips. In-depth analysis of key features but little connection to the series as a whole. Doesn’t connect the end of Schultz’s career and the end of the strip to the narrative smoothly or in much detail. Intriguing and interesting read.

[Chris Aylott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strongest at analyzing Schulz's early work, but interesting throughout. Ball presents a consistent portrait of how Peanuts occupies -- mostly for good, sometimes for ill -- a carefully chosen middle ground in the values and ideologies of post-WWII America.

This is more of a social portrait than a literary portrait of Schulz's work. Ball is more interested in the ideas Schulz is discussing than in his visual and narrative artistic techniques, and I feel like he misses some subtle shadings of *how* Schulz expressed himself through his characters' often unreliable viewpoints. But Ball does do a great job of to showing just how well-read Schulz was, how deeply he thought about various issues, and how carefully he wove his research and thinking into his stories.

[Marie Highby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful

What a fascinating book, essentially tracing the second half of the twentieth century through the history of Peanuts. I gained a perspective on a range of issues that I’d never had before.

[Kristyn K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Would give this book 0 stars if I could. Charlie Brown is not at all political, it’s this guys imagination of what he wants the Peanuts strips to be! Do not read it!

[Helena Weisskopf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a really long essay…lost me in the second half but interesting overall

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure: Blake is an acquaintance of mine. We live in the same town and for awhile worshiped at the same church.

I’ve been excited about this book ever since I first heard it was in the works, because it hits all the notes for me— pop culture, social commentary, and the intersection of art and American history. Plus, I grew up on Peanuts. I was absolutely the target audience for this book.

And I wasn’t disappointed. Blake’s approach Is topical over chronological. After an excellent introduction in which he broadly covers Schulz’s early life, military service, and rise to fame, Blake spends a chapter each on the Cold War, religious themes, race, Vietnam, environmental issues, and feminism. The book ends with a somewhat somber epilogue exploring Schulz’s waning influence in the 80’s.

Consistent throughout the book is the depiction of Peanuts ( and Schulz) as kind of a neutral mirror in which each reader sees what they want to see. There were lots of examples of how people with opposing viewpoints could both express appreciation for the same strip, thinking Schulz was taking their side. And there’s a subtle critique in the epilogue for our current cultural climate that prefers overt partisanship over the nuanced and ambiguous middle ground.

The strongest chapters are on race and religion, while the weakest were on environmental issues and feminism. I think the difference was that In the first two, Blake had more of a focus on what Peanuts was saying (and not saying) as a proactive voice. I particularly loved the interaction between Schulz and his fans that led to the introduction of Franklin. I also loved the backstory of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” I was hoping Blake would answer the question I’ve wondered for a long time: did Schulz intentionally have Linus drop his blanket the moment he quoted the angel saying Fear Not?” I guess I’ll have to wait for the sequel.

The weaker chapters— energy conservation and feminism, focused on the cultural shifts and then talked about how Peanuts reacted to them. They also, unfortunately, highlighted maybe the one thing I dislike about Charles Schulz, which was how willing he was to let his characters be used to sell products—be it cars, insurance, or capitalism itself.

I wish Oxford Press had invested a little more in the physical book. The margin-to-margin typesetting, single spacing, and tiny reproductions of the comic strip made it harder to read.

And I wish I had heard more of Blake’s voice. As skilled as he is at narrative history, he could have approached the topic more personally. But for the most part, he comes across as a dispassionate reporter of the facts. I would have been interested in hearing about how Peanuts had shaped him. What was the “aha” moment for him, when he realized there was more to Peanuts than the Funny pages? I know it’s probably anathema for academic historians to insert themselves into the narrative, but for popular historians, it’s what I look forward to the most. I loved learning that Doris Kearns Goodwin interned in the Johnson White House, or that David McCullough grew up near Johnstown.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and I look forward to any follow up. Blake could start a franchise. “Calvin and Hobbe’s America.” Or “The Popular Politics of The Far Side.”

[Elisabeth Sauvage-Callaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a Peanuts fan for many decades, although I cannot purport to have read every Peanuts comic strip (I am in the process of acquiring "The Complete Peanuts" collection, but those books are not cheap, and so far, I have only purchased the first three volumes, so I am only up to 1956!).

I got this book as a Christmas gift, and found it quite interesting. I would call it a rather "scholarly" volume on Charles Schulz's complex relationship to political and social issues of his time, and how he broached them in his Peanuts comic strips. The first chapter is a brief biography of Schulz, Chapter 2 examines "the Cold War origins of "Peanuts," Chapter 3 "explores "Peanuts"' religious commentary, Chapter 4 touches upon the issue of racial integration (or lack thereof?) in "Peanuts." Chapter 5 "analyzes Charles Schulz's commentary on the Vietnam War - mostly via Snoopy's role playing as a WWI flying ace. Chapter 6 deals with Schulz's "personal disenchantment with the role of government" and how it was displayed in his "Peanuts" strips through the 1970s and 1980s. Finally, chapter 7 focuses on "feminism, sexuality, and gender identity in the work of Charles Schulz. A note about this last chapter: Although, in his introduction, the author states that it "will conclude with an in-depth look into how Peppermint Patty and Marcie became important symbols in lesbian publications, against Schulz's wishes," I never found this promise fulfilled in that chapter.

Still, this was a very decent read, and I did learn a few things about Charles Schulz. To be honest, I have never read a biography of Schulz, and I now think that I should. For instance, I was never aware of how much Schulz had been traumatized by his military experience during the Second World War - a trauma made worse by his mother's death right around the time when he was drafted. I also came to the conclusion that he was a "conservative liberal" or, maybe a "liberal conservative. " As such, his comic strips dealing with social issues were often so ambiguous that they could be interpreted in totally opposite ways. The author uses a lot of readers' correspondence to Charles Schulz to bring this point home. It is also very clear that he was very generous to his fans, with his time and with his talent. He would often respond to their letters, and quite frequently add an original drawing. He also spent a lot of time at Veterans hospitals, chatting with wounded veterans and also drawing for them.

In all, it is clear that Charles Schulz was a very complex man - and I believe that it is the case with a love of very talented comic strip artists whom I have loved and admired through the years (eg. Hergé, the creator of Tintin, and the French comic strip artist Marcel Gotlib.) I still greatly admire Charles Schulz, if only for all the joy his "Peanuts" comic strip has brought me through the years.

And if you are a Peanuts fan, I can only highly recommend another great book, "The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life."

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read this book after having a little bit of obsession with Peanuts. Even though the book is more on the documentary side I still found it really enjoyable.
Starting with what I loved about this book, I liked the flow of the story. This isn't a biography of Charles Schulz, but a portray of how his comic strip responded to current national events: cold war, racial equality, Vietnam war, environmental issues and the rise of feminism. Even though some of those events overlapped, the way that chapters were written wouldn't cause confusion. Everything was written with a lot of clarity. The story also goes in a chronological order. From the beginning of Schulz drawing career to his death. The language used in the book is fairly simple, which I consider a good thing as a english non native speaker.
Also, I enjoyed little comments and metaphors, that Ball would add at the end of some paragraphs and chapters. For example: "Peppermint Patty had a vision. Charles Schulz, while an imperfect spokesman, worked to make the world a little more amenable to her dream."
Going to the things I have some reservations about. In a chapter dedicated to racial equality, I feel like the author gave Schulz a little to big of benefit of the doubt with his good intentions. In a chapter about environmental issues, Ball spends a lot of time explaining the political state of America that does not really relate to the comic strips. I also wish that the author would write a little bit more about public reaction to the cartoonist death and how did that translate to the popularity of his strip. And something that is completely personal, I would like to see more comic strips in the book.
Sharing my opinion about Schulz himself, I actually really respect his 'wishy-washines' in his strips. I think it was probably the best decision businesswise to not associate his work with any political party.
Overall, reading this book was an enjoyable experience. Peanuts popularity is coming back, especially thanks to the social media. But I don't think that people necessarily read the strip for its political commentary, so learning about what happend 'behind the scenes' of certain comics was a great addition to my current fondness of Schulzs work.

[John Biers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really interesting analysis of the “Peanuts” strip, looking at the ways it refracted and chewed over the political debates of the late Twentieth Century. As someone who grew up in the 80s, Peanuts holds a unique resonance. Schultz is seminal figure from my early life, someone that the book shows is impossible to pigeonhole from an era when politics and culture felt less split between “red” and “blue” and was not binary the way it feels now. It’s fascinating to look at the cartoon with a fresh eye with an historian’s distance from the daily events that consumed people.

Ball shows how Schultz employed ambiguity to navigate — but not ignore - polarizing debates around women’s rights, race, religion and the Vietnam War in ways that resonated for readers with different views. All of these chapters are interesting, but the discussion of Vietnam, with the Snoopy/Red Baron subplot a riff on that war, is in some of the center of the book because the politics there are more on the surface than in other cases. Schultz’ view of Vietnam evolved, but he ultimately detested the war, but supported the troops — a position that again is complex.

One quibble: I was a bit confused by Ball’s use of the term “evangelical” to describe Schultz’ faith, because Schultz’ religious worldview seems quite different from the way I think of evangelism today; I think Ball could have explained a little better why he thinks that term still makes sense for Schultz. But overall, I really cherished this book. While I don’t pine for the Schultz era, there are some things that have been lost. Writing about Schultz as he was no longer at the zeitgeist in the late 1980s, Ball says: “Americans tastes seemed to be changing. No longer did they look for voices of consensus, but rather they increasingly sought out more sharply opinionated spokespeople in their media. Schultz seemed old-fashioned, in part, because he would not clearly pick a side."

[Hans Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Well! Here comes Ol' Charlie Brown! Good Ol' Charlie Brown... Yes, sir! Good Ol' Charlie Brown... How I hate him!"

From these startlingly rough lines on October 2, 1950, the cultural juggernaut that was Charles Schulz's Peanuts was launched: a daily newspaper comic strip which lasted for five decades prior to its final strip running, quite accidentally, on the day following its artists' death. In this remarkable book, Huntingdon College Professor of History Blake Scott Ball examines the politics of the long-running comic strip and its perpetually put-upon main character of Charlie Brown, the savant blanket-wielding Linus, the assertive and self-reliant Lucy, and more. Viewing Peanuts through the lens of the changing nature of American politics between 1950 and 2000, Dr. Ball presents evidence of creator Schulz's views shining through in myriad ways, on everything from the place of religion in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, racial integration in the 1950s and 1960s, the war in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s, and the women's liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. Layered in almost masterful ambiguity, Schulz - Ball contends - presented a firmly middle-of-the-road approach to the issues of the day, while still injecting enough of his own personal beliefs into the strips that, in some ways, they may be read as political commentary. Much like Charlie Brown himself, Schulz's "wishy washy" beliefs allowed him to capture and hold the center of American politics until the rise of the 1980s and 1990s culture warriors atomized the sort of safe centrism which Schulz and his beloved "blockhead" had occupied for decades.

A highly entertaining, highly informative read for any student of American history, and highly recommended.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up on Peanuts and read the comics daily, reading many of the ones referred to in this book, living from the late '60s to today. I thought this book brought to light many things I missed in my apolitical childhood. I generally liked the book, and learned quite a bit that I didn't already know about Charles M. Schulz. In chapters 6 & 7, particularly 6, the author seemed to forget that he was writing about politics in the Peanuts and just focused on recounting every debunked alarmist political theory that has come down the pike for page upon page, literally recounting four years of my political science degree. I found it frustrating to read during those sections, and was disheartened to hear of his apparent apostasy in his latter days. Overall, this was an enjoyable, well-researched work, but with the aforementioned exceptions.

[S.R. Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating!

Brilliantly researched and meticulously sourced, this book looks at how Charles Schulz's political views shaped Peanuts.

Snoopy, in his World War I flying-ace strips, for example, was actually Charles Schulz's way of commenting on the plight of soldiers and the progress of the Vietnam War.

What made the book so compelling is that it wasn't an author retrofitting a personal theory to pre-existing strips. By quoting Charles Schulz extensively, he's able to make the case that Schulz intentionally used the comic strip to occasionally comment on issues such as the women's movement, the environmental movement, & More.

This book is not a light read, but it is entirely fascinating if you are a fan of Peanuts and history.

[Rebecca Brenner Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

won a giveaway on academic twitter for an audiobook copy of CHARLIE BROWN’S AMERICA by Blake Scott Ball. the book analyzes American twentieth-century cultural, political, and social history through Charles Schulz and Peanuts. solid nonfiction history. well-researched- pretty sure it was his dissertation. covers gender, race, environment, abortion, and more. Ball argues that though essentially conservative, Schulz kept his cartoons ambiguous enough for audiences to interpret them however they saw fit, thus moving along with culture. I would’ve preferred 1️⃣more sources about real people’s FEELINGS about Peanuts and 2️⃣sharper critical analysis. overall a solid read- I’d recommend!

[Alene Lautenschlager · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book touched on interesting topics and bombarded the reader with information, but I was disappointed sometimes by the lack of depth that was found in the cartoon itself. Some chapters used the same cartoons as examples and there was not a lot of analyzing the cartoon itself, as most of the book instead talks about readers’ responses and historical events. While this is important, it seemed some of the book went off in tangents and I would get confused about dates/years every so often. Overall though there was a lot of information and the topics were interesting.

[Thomas Sonnenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very intoxicated when I read this book. This is a high contender if you want to trip out while reading. Connecting Vietnam, gender roles, racial inequality, population control, and more with the Peanuts gang flows well. Schulz's "wishy-washiness" in his political beliefs can portray a comic strip in multiple ways, representing various ideas. Also, I did have to read this novel for my history 1200 class, and I am writing a paper about it tomorrow. You're a good man, Charlie Brown.

[Aloysius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like so many kids, I was a fan of Charlie Brown comics and the TV specials, and like most people, I thought that it was a completely apolitical series. Oh how wrong I was. From the role of religion and the military draft to Civil Rights and environmentalism, Shultz's takes on the tumult of the latter half of the 20th century could be seen through the mouths of babes, so to speak. Impressive.

[Î-Chhin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book is an extreme pleasure, both intellectually and emotionally, for anyone who is both a big fan of _Peanuts_ and who cares about the large variety of social issues, concerns, and politics in the modern world.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some chapters are okay and others are really good. The chapters about Charlie Brown as a product of the cold war, and the chapter about Snoopy as a commentary on the Vietnam War are the best. The book is best when it talks directly about the comic strip.

[Mark Seeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great romp through American culture from the 50's through the 80's with Charles Schulz and his gang of characters. A delightful and insightful read for anyone growing up with Peanuts. I mourned that day Charles Schulz died.

[Ashton Herrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book did a great job showing the interplay between history, politics, and peanuts. I was not a big Peanuts fan until I read this book and now I’m much more fond of the little comic strip. I learned a lot!

[Rod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un análisis minucioso de la relación entre diversos procesos sociales trascendentes en los Estados Unidos y su reflejo en la obra de Schulz. Una obra sumamente interesante para todo aquel interesado en Peanuts el análisis profundo de los cómics

[Mark Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book and thoughtful commentary on middle America in the Cold War. I laughed and cried while reading it.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enlightening and well-researched. It put a comic strip I grew up on in a new perspective. Time to revisit my Complete Peanuts collection.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5