The Second Red Scare and the Unmaking of the New Deal Left

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book The Second Red Scare and the Unmaking of the New Deal Left by Landon R.Y. Storrs, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Landon R.Y. Storrs ISBN: 9781400845255
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: October 28, 2012
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Landon R.Y. Storrs
ISBN: 9781400845255
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: October 28, 2012
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

The loyalty investigations triggered by the Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s marginalized many talented women and men who had entered government service during the Great Depression seeking to promote social democracy as a means to economic reform. Their influence over New Deal policymaking and their alliances with progressive labor and consumer movements elicited a powerful reaction from conservatives, who accused them of being subversives. Landon Storrs draws on newly declassified records of the federal employee loyalty program--created in response to fears that Communists were infiltrating the U.S. government--to reveal how disloyalty charges were used to silence these New Dealers and discredit their policies.

Because loyalty investigators rarely distinguished between Communists and other leftists, many noncommunist leftists were forced to leave government or deny their political views. Storrs finds that loyalty defendants were more numerous at higher ranks of the civil service than previously thought, and that many were women, or men with accomplished leftist wives. Uncovering a forceful left-feminist presence in the New Deal, she shows how opponents on the Right exploited popular hostility to powerful women and their "effeminate" spouses. The loyalty program not only destroyed many promising careers, it prohibited discussion of social democratic policy ideas in government circles, narrowing the scope of political discourse to this day.

Through a gripping narrative based on remarkable new sources, Storrs demonstrates how the Second Red Scare undermined the reform potential of the New Deal and crippled the American welfare state.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The loyalty investigations triggered by the Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s marginalized many talented women and men who had entered government service during the Great Depression seeking to promote social democracy as a means to economic reform. Their influence over New Deal policymaking and their alliances with progressive labor and consumer movements elicited a powerful reaction from conservatives, who accused them of being subversives. Landon Storrs draws on newly declassified records of the federal employee loyalty program--created in response to fears that Communists were infiltrating the U.S. government--to reveal how disloyalty charges were used to silence these New Dealers and discredit their policies.

Because loyalty investigators rarely distinguished between Communists and other leftists, many noncommunist leftists were forced to leave government or deny their political views. Storrs finds that loyalty defendants were more numerous at higher ranks of the civil service than previously thought, and that many were women, or men with accomplished leftist wives. Uncovering a forceful left-feminist presence in the New Deal, she shows how opponents on the Right exploited popular hostility to powerful women and their "effeminate" spouses. The loyalty program not only destroyed many promising careers, it prohibited discussion of social democratic policy ideas in government circles, narrowing the scope of political discourse to this day.

Through a gripping narrative based on remarkable new sources, Storrs demonstrates how the Second Red Scare undermined the reform potential of the New Deal and crippled the American welfare state.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Being Numerous by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book How to Run a Country by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book The Holy Roman Empire by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book The Promise of American Life by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book American Zoo by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book The Limits of Constitutional Democracy by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book Understanding Institutional Diversity by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book Ecological Niches and Geographic Distributions (MPB-49) by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book Normal Accidents by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book Just Married by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book The New Financial Order by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book Classical Greek Oligarchy by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book The Global Remapping of American Literature by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book Nuclear Logics by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Cover of the book Come Out Swinging by Landon R.Y. Storrs
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy