Other books that might interest you

• 

  The Loud Minority - Why Protests...

  Daniel Q. Gillion

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The "silent majority"—a phrase coined by Richard Nixon in 1969 in response to Vietnam War protests and later used by Donald Trump as a campaign slogan—refers to the supposed wedge that exists between protesters in the street and the voters at home. 
   
  The Loud Minority upends this view by demonstrating that voters are in fact directly informed and influenced by protest activism. Consequently, as protests grow in America, every facet of the electoral process is touched by this loud minority, benefiting the political party perceived to be the most supportive of the protesters' messaging.
   
  Drawing on historical evidence, statistical data, and detailed interviews about protest activity since the 1960s, Daniel Gillion shows that electoral districts with protest activity are more likely to see increased voter turnout at the polls. Surprisingly, protest activities are also moneymaking endeavors for electoral politics, as voters donate more to political candidates who share the ideological leanings of activists. Finally, protests are a signal of political problems, encouraging experienced political challengers to run for office and hurting incumbents' chances of winning reelection.
   
  An exploration of how protests affect voter behavior and warn of future electoral changes, The Loud Minority looks at the many ways that activism can shape democracy.

  Show book

• 

  Before Brown - Heman Marion...

  Gary M. Lavergne

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  “Like Texas’s founding fathers, Sweatt fearlessly faced evil, and made Texas a better place. His story is our story, and Gary Lavergne tells it well.” –Paul Begala, political contributor, CNN  Winner of the Coral Horton Tullis Prize for Best Book of Texas History by the Texas State Historical Association  Winner of the Carr P. Collins Award for Best Work of Non-fiction by the Texas Institute of Letters   On February 26, 1946, an African American from Houston applied for admission to the University of Texas School of Law. Although he met all of the school’s academic qualifications, Heman Marion Sweatt was denied admission because he was black. He challenged the university’s decision in court, and the resulting case, Sweatt v. Painter, went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in Sweatt’s favor.   In this engrossing, well-researched book, Gary M. Lavergne tells the fascinating story of Heman Sweatt’s struggle for justice and how it became a milestone for the civil rights movement. He reveals that Sweatt was a central player in a master plan conceived by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for ending racial segregation in the United States. Lavergne masterfully describes how the NAACP used the Sweatt case to practically invalidate the “separate but equal” doctrine that had undergirded segregated education for decades. He also shows how the Sweatt case advanced the career of Thurgood Marshall, whose advocacy of Sweatt taught him valuable lessons that he used to win the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954 and ultimately led to his becoming the first black Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

  Show book

• 

  The Economic Consequences of the...

  John Maynard Keynes

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  "The Economic Consequences of the Peace" is a book written by John Maynard Keynes, a British economist, in 1919. The book was a critique of the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I and imposed harsh economic sanctions on Germany. 
  In the book, Keynes argued that the treaty would have disastrous economic consequences for Germany and for Europe as a whole. He believed that the sanctions would cripple Germany's economy and lead to political instability, which would in turn lead to further economic problems for the rest of Europe. 
  Keynes also criticized the economic policies of the Allied powers, particularly the United States, which he believed were contributing to a global economic depression. He argued that a more cooperative approach to international economics was needed, with countries working together to promote economic growth and stability. 
  "The Economic Consequences of the Peace" was a highly influential book that helped shape the field of international economics and influenced the development of Keynesian economics. The book's critique of the Treaty of Versailles was widely shared and helped to pave the way for a more conciliatory approach to Germany in the years that followed.

  Show book

• 

  The Past That Would Not Die

  Walter Lord

  • 0
  • 1
  • 0

  Lord’s history of the 1962 Ole Miss riots, sparked by one man’s heroic stance against segregation in the American South On September 30, 1962, James H. Meredith matriculated at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. An air force veteran with sixty hours of transfer credits, Meredith would have been welcomed were it not for the color of his skin. As the first African-American student to register at a previously segregated school, however, he risked his life. The Supreme Court had determined that Oxford’s university must desegregate, and several hundred federal marshals came to support Meredith. It would not be enough. As President Kennedy called for peace, a riot exploded in Oxford. By eleven o’clock that night, the marshals were out of tear gas. By midnight, the highway patrol had pulled out, gunfire was spreading, and Kennedy was forced to send in the army. In this definitive history, Walter Lord argues that the riot was not an isolated incident, but a manifestation of racial hatred that was wrapped up in the state’s identity, stretching all the way back to the Civil War.

  Show book

• 

  Segregation by Design - Local...

  Jessica Trounstine

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Segregation by Design draws on more than 100 years of quantitative and qualitative data from thousands of American cities to explore how local governments generate race and class segregation. Starting in the early twentieth century, cities have used their power of land use control to determine the location and availability of housing, amenities (such as parks), and negative land uses (such as garbage dumps). The result has been segregation—first within cities and more recently between them. Documenting changing patterns of segregation and their political mechanisms, Trounstine argues that city governments have pursued these policies to enhance the wealth and resources of white property owners at the expense of people of color and the poor. Contrary to leading theories of urban politics, local democracy has not functioned to represent all residents. The result is unequal access to fundamental local services—from schools, to safe neighborhoods, to clean water.

  Show book

• 

  The Hidden History of the...

  Thom Hartmann

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The New York Times–bestselling author “delivers a full-throated indictment of the U.S. Supreme Court in this punchy polemic” (Publishers Weekly). In this book, Thom Hartmann, the most popular progressive radio host in America, explains how the Supreme Court has spilled beyond its Constitutional powers—and how we the people should take that power back. Taking his typically in-depth, historically informed view, Thom Hartmann asks, What if the Supreme Court didn’t have the power to strike down laws? According to the Constitution, it doesn’t. From the founding of the republic until 1803, the Supreme Court was the final court of appeals, as it was always meant to be. So where did the concept of judicial review start? As so much of modern American history, it began with the battle between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and with Marbury v. Madison.  Hartmann argues it is not the role of the Supreme Court to decide what the law is but rather the duty of the people themselves. He lays out the history of the Supreme Court of the United States, from Alexander Hamilton’s defense to modern-day debates, with key examples of cases where the Supreme Court overstepped its constitutional powers. The ultimate remedy to the Supreme Court’s abuse of power is with the people--the ultimate arbiter of the law—using the ballot box. America does not belong to the kings and queens; it belongs to the people.   “A meticulously documented strategy for trimming the power of nine ideologically motivated political activists unaccountable to the will of the people. . . . important and timely.”—David Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World

  Show book