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The 'One Planet' Life: A Blueprint for Low Impact Development
by David ThorpeThe One Planet Life demonstrates a path for everyone towards a way of life in which we don’t act as if we had more than one planet Earth. The difference between this approach and others is that it uses ecological footprint analysis to help to determine how effective our efforts are. Much of the book is a manual – with examples – on how to live the 'good life' and supply over 65% of your livelihood from your land with mostly positive impacts upon the environment. It examines the pioneering Welsh policy, One Planet Development, then considers efforts towards one planet living in urban areas. After a foreword by BioRegional/One Planet Living co-founder Pooran Desai and an introduction by former Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson, the book contains: An essay arguing that our attitude to planning, land and development needs to change to enable truly sustainable development. Guidelines on finding land, finance, and creating a personal plan for one planet living. Detailed guides on: sustainable building, supplying your own food, generating renewable energy, reducing carbon emissions from travel, land management, water supply and waste treatment. 20 exemplary examples at all scales – from micro-businesses to suburbs – followed by Jane Davidson’s Afterword. The book will interest anyone seeking to find out how a sustainable lifestyle can be achieved. It is also key reading for rural and built environment practitioners and policy makers keen to support low impact initiatives, and for students studying aspects of planning, geography, governance, sustainability and renewable energy.
The 'Poor Child': The cultural politics of education, development and childhood (Education, Poverty and International Development)
by Arathi Sriprakash Lucy HopkinsWhy are development discourses of the ‘poor child’ in need of radical revision? What are the theoretical and methodological challenges and possibilities for ethical understandings of childhoods and poverty? The ‘poor child’ at the centre of development activity is often measured against and reformed towards an idealised and globalised child subject. This book examines why such normative discourses of childhood are in need of radical revision and explores how development research and practice can work to ‘unsettle’ the global child. It engages the cultural politics of childhood – a politics of equality, identity and representation – as a methodological and theoretical orientation to rethink the relationships between education, development, and poverty in children’s lives. This book brings multiple disciplinary perspectives, including cultural studies, sociology, and film studies, into conversation with development studies and development education in order to provide new ways of approaching and conceptualising the ‘poor child’. The researchers draw on a range of methodological frames – such as poststructuralist discourse analysis, arts based research, ethnographic studies and textual analysis – to unpack the hidden assumptions about children within development discourses. Chapters in this book reveal the diverse ways in which the notion of childhood is understood and enacted in a range of national settings, including Kenya, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom. They explore the complex constitution of children’s lives through cultural, policy, and educational practices. The volume’s focus on children’s experiences and voices shows how children themselves are challenging the representation and material conditions of their lives. The ‘Poor Child’ will be of particular interest to postgraduate students and scholars working in the fields of childhood studies, international and comparative education, and development studies.
The 'Red Terror' and the Spanish Civil War
by Julius RuizThis book deals with one of most controversial issues of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939): the "Red Terror. " Approximately 50,000 Spaniards were extrajudically executed in Republican Spain following the failure of the military rebellion in July 1936. This mass killing of "fascists" seriously undermined attempts by the legally constituted Republican government to present itself in foreign quarters as fighting a war for democracy. This study, based on a wealth of scholarship and archival sources, challenges the common view that executions were the work of criminal or anarchist "uncontrollables. " Its focus is on Madrid, which witnessed at least 8,000 executions in 1936. It shows that the terror was organized and was carried out with the complicity of the police, and argues that terror was seen as integral to the antifascist war effort. Indeed, the elimination of the internal enemy - the "Fifth Column" - was regarded as important as the war on the front line.
The 'Valiant Englishman': Christopher Bethell, Montshiwa’s Barolong and the Bechuanaland Wars, 1878–1886 (Routledge/UNISA Press Series)
by Andrew MansonThis book describes the career of an English aristocrat, Christopher Bethell, who arrives in southern Africa in 1878 as the classic "remittance" man, despatched to the colonies to avoid a scandal at home. Bethell, an intelligence officer and later, a border agent, is the protagonist who facilitated the acquisition of arms for Montshiwa's Ratshidi-Barolong to resist the depredations of freebooters, mercenaries based mostly in the Transvaal. In his alliance with Kgosi Montshiwa Tawana, Bethell identifies with Kgosi Montshiwa’s struggle to maintain political independence and economic security. The alliance was further cemented by Bethell’s marriage to a Morolong woman Tepo Boapile – an unusual occurrence in nineteenth century southern Africa. Surrounded by aggressive freebooters from across their eastern border with the Transvaal and the ambiguous forces of colonial advancement from the Cape colony and Britain, Montshiwa and Bethell form an unlikely but enduring relationship aimed at safeguarding Rolong interests. As the Bechuanaland Wars of the early to mid-1880s intensify in brutality Montshiwa and his Chief of Staff, Christopher Bethell are forced to desperate measures to defend the Rolong and avoid outright dispossession. Bethell’s demise is the trigger for firm British imperial intervention, the securing of the Road to the North and events that will determine the fate of Africans in south and central Africa. The book is a reminder that, in the author’s words, "past relations between South Africa’s different races were characterised as much by collusion and collaboration as they were by hostility, friction and dissent."
The (De)Legitimization of Violence in Sacred and Human Contexts
by Muhammad Shafiq Thomas Donlin-SmithThis book provides a multidisciplinary commentary on a wide range of religious traditions and their relationship to acts of violence. Hate and violence occur at every level of human interaction, as do peace and compassion. Scholars of religion have a particular obligation to make sense out of this situation, tracing its history and variables, and drawing lessons for the future. From the formative periods of the religious traditions to their application in the contemporary world, the essays in this volume interrogate the views on violence found within the traditions and provide examples of religious practices that exacerbate or ameliorate situations of conflict.
The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time: Decoding History's Unsolved Mysteries
by Brad MeltzerMaster storyteller Brad Meltzer counts down and decodes the world’s top 10 most intriguing conspiracies stories. Wanted: the truth. In a riveting collection, Brad Meltzer guides us through the 10 greatest conspiracies of all time, from Leonardo da Vinci’s stolen prophecy to the Kennedy assassination. <P><P>This richly illustrated book serves up those fascinating, unexplained questions that nag at history buffs and conspiracy lovers: Why was Hitler so intent on capturing the Roman “Spear of Destiny?” Where did all the Confederacy’s gold go? What is the government hiding in Area 51? And did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone? Meltzer sifts through the evidence, weighs competing theories, separates what we know to be true and what’s still––and perhaps forever––unproved or unprovable, and in the end, decodes the mystery and arrives at the most likely explanation.
The 10 Rules of Successful Nations
by Ruchir SharmaThe 10 Rules of Successful Nations offers a pithy guide to real-world economics, adapted from the New York Times bestseller The Rise and Fall of Nations. A wake-up call to economists who failed to foresee every recent crisis, including the cataclysm of 2008, The 10 Rules of Successful Nations is a slim primer full of pioneering insights on the political, economic, and social habits of successful nations. Distilled from Sharma’s quarter century traveling the world as a writer and investor, his rules challenge conventional textbook thinking on what matters—and what doesn’t—for a strong economy. He shows why successful nations embrace robots and immigrants, prefer democratic leaders to autocrats, elect charismatic reformers over technocrats, and pay no mind to the debate about big versus small government. He explains why rising stock prices matter as much or more than food prices, which measure of debt is the best predictor of economic crises, and why no one number can accurately capture the value of a currency. He also demonstrates how a close reading of the Forbes billionaire lists can offer the clearest real-time warning of populist revolts against the wealthy. Updated with brand-new data, 10 Rules reimagines economics as a practical art, giving general readers as well as political and business leaders a quick guide to the most important forces that shape a nation’s future.
The 100 Best Trends 2005: Emerging Developments You Can't Afford to Ignore!
by George Ochoa Melinda CoreyIf there's one thing that we know about the future, it's this: It has already begun. The changes that will shape our lives in the next ten to twenty years are already in motion-from demographic changes to new technology, and from social trends to novel ways of doing business. The pace of change can be overwhelming, and until now, there hasn't been an accessible reference guide that summarizes the most important trends in every industry.
The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame
by Peter DreierA hundred years ago, any soapbox orator who called for womenOCOs suffrage, laws protecting the environment, an end to lynching, or a federal minimum wage was considered a utopian dreamer or a dangerous socialist. Now we take these ideas for granted? because the radical ideas of one generation are often the common sense of the next. We all stand on the shoulders of earlier generations of radicals and reformers who challenged the status quo of their day. Unfortunately, most Americans know little of this progressive history. It isnOCOt taught in most high schools. You canOCOt find it on the major television networks. In popular media, the most persistent interpreter of AmericaOCOs radical past is Glenn Beck, who teaches viewers a wildly inaccurate history of unions, civil rights, and the American Left. "The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century," a colorful and witty history of the most influential progressive leaders of the twentieth century and beyond, is the perfect antidote.
The 100% Solution: A Plan for Solving Climate Change
by Solomon Goldstein-Rose"At last--a global plan that actually adds up."--James Hansen, former director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space StudiesThe world must reach negative greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Yet no single plan has addressed the full scope of the problem--until now. In The 100% Solution, Solomon Goldstein-Rose--a leading millennial climate activist and a former Massachusetts state representative--makes clear what needs to happen to hit the 2050 target: the manufacturing booms we must spur, the moonshot projects we must fund, the amount of CO2 we'll have to sequester from the atmosphere, and much more. Most importantly, he shows us the more prosperous and equitable world we can build by uniting the efforts of activists, industries, governments, scientists, and voters to get the job done. This is the guide we've been waiting for. As calls for a WWII-scale mobilization intensify--especially among youth activists--this fully illustrated, action-oriented book arms us with specific demands, sets the stakes for what our leaders must achieve, and proves that with this level of comprehensive thinking we can still take back our future.
The 103rd Ballot: The Legendary 1924 Democratic Convention That Forever Changed Politics
by Robert Keith MurrayA fascinating political narrative, analyzing the chaotic1924 Democratic Convention that left the Democratic Party divided for years in its wake—with striking parallels to this summer's upcoming Democratic Convention, which will determine the Democratic candidate for the 2016 election for president of the United States.Divided over the contentious issues of Prohibition and the Ku Klux Klan, a fractured Democratic Party met in the summer of 1924 to elect a presidential nominee. With drastically opposing views between front-runners William Gibbs McAdoo of California and Governor Al Smith of New York, and the "favorite sons"—candidates running without national support—rigid division amongst the party led to the need for a 103rd ballot. Robert Keith Murray expertly captures the upheaval of the convention and the detrimental impact it had on the party long after a candidate had been officially selected. This riveting narrative and exceptional analysis provides a captivating look on one of the most controversial presidential conventions in American history, one that will highly resonate with readers given the state of political dissonance today.
The 12-Step Bush Recovery Program
by Gene Stone Carl Pritzkat Tony TravostinoThe first step is admitting that you have a Bush problem–and that you have ten bucks for this book. • Do you think that after eight years of George Bush, this country is in good shape? • Do you feel that the U. S. Constitution has too many Amendments? • Do you often dream of George Bush in a flight suit? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, it’s time to seek help. In the tradition of the bestsellingBush Survival Bible,The 12-Step Bush Recovery Programis a lifesaving handbook that will help you recover from the Bush years. This vital guide to post-Bush era wellness features useful discussions of important issues such as Avoiding Relapse, Dealing with Embarrassment, Making Your Home a Recovery Zone, and Staging an Intervention. George W. Bush isn’t just a nuisance, he’s a problem that afflicts nearly three out of four Americans. So if you or someone you love has a Bush problem, know this: You don’t have to face it alone. Help is within reach. WithThe 12-Step Bush Recovery Program, you can share in the promise of a better you, a better America, a better world, and a better solar system. Does The 12-Step Bush Recovery Program work? Just look at these unsolicited testimonials: “The 12-Step Bush Recovery Programis the best book of its sort that I’ve ever read. ” –G. Washington, Virginia “Every American should read this book in order to understand the depth of the problem as well as the need for a new president. ” –A. Lincoln, Illinois “I liked this book, but I still don’t understand what it’s about. ” –G. W. Bush, Texas “Read this book and I will shoot you. ” –D. Cheney, Hades From the Trade Paperback edition.
The 12-Step Guide for the Recovering Obama Voter
by Craig S. Karpel"My name is Craig K., and I'm an Obamaholic." So begins the mock confession of a former community organizer who woke up one morning with a massive political hangover. Today, many Americans find themselves in the same uncomfortable position. Just as President Obama's uplifting words and bold promises once inspired exaggerated hopes, failed policy after failed policy have left us a nation of recovering Obamaholics. In this can't-put-it-down diatribe, award-winning journalist Craig S. Karpel alleges satirically--but proves with alarming facts--that voting for Obama was the result of a debilitating political addiction. Karpel guides us through a 12-step program for attaining "voting sobriety," and like any 12-step process, recovery begins with an admission that we have hit bottom and need to make amends. Thus we must admit to each other, and ourselves, that the Obama presidency isn't Obama's fault--it's ours. Rather than returning him to office, we the voters should be impeached for having elected him in the first place. Follow Karpel's 12-Step Guide for the Recovering Obama Voter, and get on the path to recovery--before November 6th!
The 14th Colony (Cotton Malone #11)
by Steve Berry<P>What happens if both the president and vice-president-elect die before taking the oath of office? The answer is far from certain. In fact, what follows would be nothing short of total political chaos. Shot down over Siberia, ex-Justice Department agent Cotton Malone is forced into a fight for survival against Aleksandr Zorin, a man whose loyalty to the former Soviet Union has festered for decades into an intense hatred of the United States. <P> Before escaping, Malone learns that Zorin and another ex-KGB officer, this one a sleeper still embedded in the West, are headed overseas to Washington D. C. Noon on January 20th, "Inauguration Day" is only hours away. A flaw in the Constitution, and an even more flawed presidential succession act, have opened the door to disaster and Zorin intends to exploit both weaknesses to their fullest. <P>Armed with a weapon leftover from the Cold War, one long thought to be just a myth, Zorin plans to attack. He's aided by a shocking secret hidden in the archives of America's oldest fraternal organization, "the Society of Cincinnati," a group that once lent out its military savvy to presidents, including helping to formulate three invasion plans of what was intended to be America's "14th colony," Canada. <P>In a race against the clock that starts in the frozen extremes of Russia and ultimately ends at the White House itself, Malone must not only battle Zorin, he must also confront a crippling fear that he's long denied, but which now jeopardizes everything. Steve Berry's trademark mix of history and speculation is all here in this provocative new thriller. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The 14th Dalai Lama: Peacekeeping and Universal Responsibility (Peacemakers)
by Mario I. AguilarThis book outlines the life of spiritual diplomacy of the 14th Dalai Lama and his emergence as a global peace icon. It traces his evolution as a Tibetan Buddhist monk rooted in the Geluk tradition, as a Nobel laureate, and as an internationally recognized peacemaker. The volume brings to the fore the Dalai Lama’s monastic life grounded in the compassion and ethical responsibility of a bodhisattva, somebody who is willing to renounce samsara for the benefit of others, as well as that of a political leader of Tibet. It examines the deep impact of his ideas of peacekeeping and universal responsibility on world politics, which draw on acceptance, inclusion, and respect as their central pillars. Further, this book highlights his departure from the practices of the earlier Dalai Lamas, and how the Chinese invasion and his exile in India transformed him into a universal figure of peace, rather than solely being the leader of Tibet. An introspective read, this book will be of much interest to readers interested in spiritual diplomacy and political philosophy. It will also be of interest to scholars and researchers of peace and conflict studies, international relations, politics, and religion, especially Buddhism.
The 15 Biggest Lies in Politics
by Major Garrett Tim J. PennyIn the world of politics, it's hard to separate the truth from the lies. In this strongly argued but nonpartisan book, Major Garrett and Timothy J. Penny draw on their combined decades of experience watching government work to illuminate the deceptions and delusions to which we as citizens are subjected every election season. Here are some of the lies: Tax Cuts Are Good Social Security Is a Sacred Government Trust Medicare Works Money Buys Elections Republicans Believe in Smaller Government Democrats Are Compassionate
The 15-Minute City: A Solution to Saving Our Time and Our Planet
by Carlos MorenoA fresh and innovative perspective on urban issues and creating sustainable cities In The 15-Minute City: A Solution for Saving Our Time and Our Planet, human city pioneer and international scientific advisor Carlos Moreno delivers an exciting and insightful discussion of the deceptively simple and revolutionary idea that everyday destinations like schools, stores, and offices should only be a short walk or bike ride away from home. This book tells the story of an idea that spread from city to city, describing a new way of looking at living that addresses many of the most intractable challenges of our time. Hundreds of mayors worldwide have already embraced the concept as a way to help recover from the pandemic, and the idea continues to gain speed. You'll learn why more and more cities are planning to make cars far less necessary for contemporary city-dwellers and how they're planning to achieve that goal. You'll also find: Strategies for cities to recover and adapt to benefit residents, saving them precious time Techniques to change the habits of automobile-dependent city residents and maximize social benefits of living in a human-centric city Scientifically developed, research-backed solutions for enduring urban issues and problems Deeply committed to science, progress, and creativity, Moreno presents an essential and timely resource in The 15-Minute City, which will prove invaluable to anyone with an interest in modern and innovative approaches to consistently challenging urban issues that have bedeviled policy makers and city residents since the invention of the car.
The 15: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes
by Alek Skarlatos Anthony Sadler Jeffrey E. Stern Spencer StoneAn ISIS terrorist planned to kill more than 500 people. He would have succeeded except for three American friends who refused to give in to fear.On August 21, 2015, Ayoub El-Khazzani boarded train #9364 in Brussels, bound for Paris. There could be no doubt about his mission: he had an AK-47, a pistol, a box cutter, and enough ammunition to obliterate every passenger on board. Slipping into the bathroom in secret, he armed his weapons. Another major ISIS attack was about to begin.Khazzani wasn't expecting Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone. Stone was a martial arts enthusiast and airman first class in the US Air Force, Skarlatos was a member of the Oregon National Guard, and all three were fearless. But their decision-to charge the gunman, then overpower him even as he turned first his gun, then his knife, on Stone-depended on a lifetime of loyalty, support, and faith.Their friendship was forged as they came of age together in California: going to church, playing paintball, teaching each other to swear, and sticking together when they got in trouble at school. Years later, that friendship would give all of them the courage to stand in the path of one of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations.The 15:17 to Paris is an amazing true story of friendship and bravery, of near tragedy averted by three young men who found the heroic unity and strength inside themselves at the moment when they, and 500 other innocent travelers, needed it most.
The 1619 Project Myth
by Phillip W. Magness&“There is no one better to pick apart the disastrous 1619 Project than Phil Magness. If every classroom that incorporated the 1619 Project into its curriculum replaced it with this book, the country would be better off.&” —Coleman HughesSlavery is part of America&’s story—its greatest shame. But abolition is part of America&’s story, too. Ignoring the latter isn&’t just bad scholarship. It&’s brazen deceit. And more often than not, it&’s done for political reasons. But that didn&’t seem to bother the writers at the New York Times when they launched the 1619 Project in August 2019. Advertised as a journalistic deep dive on the history of slavery, the series promised thematic explorations on a number of topics ranging from the first slave ship&’s arrival in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, to the present day. Independent Institute Senior Fellow and David J. Theroux Chair Phillip W. Magness was intrigued. What he found, though, was something else entirely. To say he was disappointed is putting it mildly. The 1619 Project was riddled with partisan hysteria, sloppy &“scholarship,&” blatant errors of fact and interpretation, and, above all else, an anti-capitalist ideological agenda to make the case for tearing down our free market economy. Worse still, its transformation from intellectual debate to political dogma poisoned discourse on the right and the left. Angry Twitter mobs canceled and called for the censoring of all critics. Civil discourse and rational thinking became almost impossible. Almost impossible. Thankfully, The 1619 Project Myth boldly sounds the alarm on the New York Times&’ outright ideological warfare against American history. It&’s the essential guide to the many lies, distortions, and propaganda peddled by the 1619 Project and its defenders. Magness&’ writing is cool, calm, collected, and firm. An acclaimed academic and historian in his own right, he debunks and dismantles every myth and blunder of the 1619 Project, including: how the 1619 Project&’s creator Nikole Hannah-Jones twisted history into shallow political propaganda (just in time for election season); why the Project&’s activist defenders rely on sneering derision instead of historical facts; why capitalism is not racist … and, in fact, helped free the slaves; why reparations are a moral and logistical dead end; how the American Historical Association fumbled a chance to protect its institutional integrity and defend real scholarship; how Hannah-Jones responded to her critics by ignoring their corrections and making her message even more partisan, political, and anti-capitalist; and so much more… In these pages, Magness delivers a long-overdue rebuke to &“scholars&” who treat history as a political weapon. History isn&’t a tool for scoring points. It&’s a long, complicated, and morally nuanced story that demands humility, intelligence, and moral courage from every scholar who dares plumb its depths. This is a must-read book on slavery, freedom, and the true American story.
The 1848 Revolutions and European Political Thought
by Gareth Stedman Jones Douglas MoggachThe revolutions that swept across Europe in 1848 marked a turning-point in the history of political and social thought. They raised questions of democracy, nationhood, freedom and social cohesion that have remained among the key issues of modern politics, and still help to define the major ideological currents - liberalism, socialism, republicanism, anarchism, conservatism - in which these questions continue to be debated today. This collection of essays by internationally prominent historians of political thought examines the 1848 Revolutions in a pan-European perspective, and offers research on questions of state power, nationality, religion, the economy, poverty, labour, and freedom. Even where the revolutionary movements failed to achieve their explicit objectives of transforming the state and social relations, they set the agenda for subsequent regimes, and contributed to the shaping of modern European thought and institutions.
The 1912 Election and the Power of Progressivism: A Brief History With Documents
by Brett FlehingerFaced with the challenge of adapting America’s political and social order to the rise of corporate capitalism, in 1912 four presidential candidates — Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Eugene Debs — shaped Americans’ thoughts about their public futures. Their positions would come to frame national conversation over the role of corporations in American life, determine the relation between the state and society that still controls our thinking about market regulation, and usher in a period of Progressive reform. Connecting the debates of 1912 to some of the most pressing issues of the Progressive Era, this volume presents selected sensational speeches, correspondence between these important figures and their allies and opponents, and 12 lively political cartoons. The documents are supported by an interpretive essay, a chronology, a bibliography, and a series of questions for student consideration, including ideas for a classroom debate.
The 1937 Chicago Steel Strike: Blood on the Prairie
by John F. HoganThis in-depth history of the Memorial Day Massacre brings new clarity to the conflicting reports that left too many questions unanswered. A violent period of American labor history reached its bloody apex in 1937 when rattled Chicago police shot, clubbed, and gassed a group of men, women, and children attempting to picket Republic Steel&’s South Chicago plant. Ten died and over one hundred were wounded in what became known as the Memorial Day Massacre. A newsreel camera captured about eight minutes of the confrontation, yet local and congressional investigations amazingly reached opposite conclusions about what happened and why. Now Chicago historian John Hogan sifts through the conflicting reports of all those entangled in that fateful day, including union leaders, news reporters, and an undercover National Guard observer revealed after seventy-six years.
The 1960s: A Documentary Reader (Uncovering The Past: Documentary Readers In American History Ser. #1.0)
by Brian WardDrawn from a wide range of perspectives and showcasing a variety of primary source materials, Brian Ward's The 1960s: A Documentary Reader highlights the most important themes of the era. Supplies students with over 50 primary documents on the turbulent period of the 1960s in the United States Includes speeches, court decisions, acts of Congress, secret memos, song lyrics, cartoons, photographs, news reports, advertisements, and first-hand testimony A comprehensive introduction, document headnotes, and questions at the end of each chapter are designed to encourage students to engage with the material critically
The 1964 Election and Its Aftermath: from In Retrospect
by Robert Mcnamara"Can anyone remember a public official with the courage to confess error and explain where he and his country went wrong? This is what Robert McNamara does in this brave, honest, honorable, and altogether compelling book."—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Written twenty years after the end of the Vietnam War, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's controversial memoir answers the lingering questions that surround this disastrous episode in American history, and chronicles the political events and fatal misassumptions that were behind the US involvement in Vietnam.A Vintage Shorts Vietnam Selection. An ebook short.
The 1968 Florida Teachers' Strike: Public Sector Unionism and the Fight against Sunshine State Conservatism (Making the Modern South)
by Jody Baxter NollIn early 1968, more than 27,000 teachers across Florida mailed their resignation letters, initiating the country’s first statewide teachers’ strike. The striking teachers fought for and won a monumental victory, improving education in the state and gaining collective bargaining rights for all public sector employees. Even as the influence of industrial labor unions decreased across the country, the Florida teachers’ strike and the spirit of teacher militancy that swept the nation during the late 1960s and 1970s demonstrate that a vibrant labor movement remained. Jody Baxter Noll’s study challenges the prevailing view of these decades as a period of decline for the American labor movement by turning the spotlight on teachers and public sector unionism.In his examination of the 1968 strike and its aftermath, Noll illuminates the vital role of teachers in shaping political and social policy in the United States. As a predominantly women-led workforce, teachers challenged notions of feminine passivity in their mobilization efforts and used their union to fight for gender equality. The strike also provides insight into how interracial unionism could be a potent weapon for labor movements, even in the Deep South.In exploring the political and social factors that prompted the teachers’ strike, Noll considers Florida’s instrumental role in forming modern conservatism. Led by Republican governor Claude Kirk, the first Republican governor elected in the Deep South since Reconstruction, Florida helped to create a blueprint for Republicans to build a New Right powerhouse throughout the country. Though Florida has remained on the periphery of much scholarship on the ascendancy of the New Right, Noll demonstrates that the state more accurately reflects the nation’s political attitudes than much of the rest of the South because of its economic, racial, social, and political diversity.