American Reform and Reformers - by Paul a Cimbala & Randall M Miller (Hardcover)

About the Book

In entries such as Jane Addams and the Settlement House Movement, Booker T. Washington and Black Self-Help, and Betty Friedan and the National Organization for Women, this dictionary provides in-depth examination of major American reformers and the movements they defined. With coverage extending from the early republic to today, the book considers abolitionism, women's rights, temperance, the social gospel, birth control, pacifism, civil rights, environmentalism, consumerism, and other controversial movements. Each entry combines biography with historical analysis to show the historical context and character of the movement and person. Individually, the entries provide modern, interpretive treatments of their subjects. Collectively, they reveal the direction and dynamics of American reform over two centuries.

Emphasizing social reform over civic reform, the book gives special attention to reformers and reforms that have significantly altered the social order. Written by prominent scholars, the entries show the importance of personality and historical context in reform movements and the relationship between particular reforms and the temperament of an age. With full-bodied biographies of the reformers and their movements, a time-line on American reform, up-to-date interpretations and bibliographies, and a wide range of subjects, this book provides the most comprehensive and cogent view of American reform and reformers anywhere. It also provides the fullest treatment to date of post-World War II reform activity and personalities.

Book Synopsis

In entries such as Jane Addams and the Settlement House Movement, Booker T. Washington and Black Self-Help, and Betty Friedan and the National Organization for Women, this dictionary provides in-depth examination of major American reformers and the movements they defined. With coverage extending from the early republic to today, the book considers abolitionism, women's rights, temperance, the social gospel, birth control, pacifism, civil rights, environmentalism, consumerism, and other controversial movements. Each entry combines biography with historical analysis to show the historical context and character of the movement and person. Individually, the entries provide modern, interpretive treatments of their subjects. Collectively, they reveal the direction and dynamics of American reform over two centuries.

Emphasizing social reform over civic reform, the book gives special attention to reformers and reforms that have significantly altered the social order. Written by prominent scholars, the entries show the importance of personality and historical context in reform movements and the relationship between particular reforms and the temperament of an age. With full-bodied biographies of the reformers and their movements, a time-line on American reform, up-to-date interpretations and bibliographies, and a wide range of subjects, this book provides the most comprehensive and cogent view of American reform and reformers anywhere. It also provides the fullest treatment to date of post-World War II reform activity and personalities.

Review Quotes

.,."to understand how these extraordinary individuals came to the fore in their fields, the challenges they faced, and the legacies they left, only American Reform and Reformers will do."- Rettig on Reference

?...to understand how these extraordinary individuals came to the fore in their fields, the challenges they faced, and the legacies they left, only American Reform and Reformers will do.?- Rettig on Reference

?A highly informative biographical dictionary for both the student of history and the general public. Recommended.?-Reference Book Review

?Recommended for college and university libraries at liberal arts institutions and as a book of supplemental readings for courses in recent US social history.?-Choice

?This dictionary covers major reformers and reform movements from the beginning of the American Republic to the present, providing an in-depth examination of the direction and context of reform efforts in U.S. history. The informative and well-written essays help show the relationship between the mood of the age and particular movements. Recommended for university and large public library collections.?-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

..."to understand how these extraordinary individuals came to the fore in their fields, the challenges they faced, and the legacies they left, only American Reform and Reformers will do."- Rettig on Reference

"A highly informative biographical dictionary for both the student of history and the general public. Recommended."-Reference Book Review

"Recommended for college and university libraries at liberal arts institutions and as a book of supplemental readings for courses in recent US social history."-Choice

"This dictionary covers major reformers and reform movements from the beginning of the American Republic to the present, providing an in-depth examination of the direction and context of reform efforts in U.S. history. The informative and well-written essays help show the relationship between the mood of the age and particular movements. Recommended for university and large public library collections."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

About the Author

RANDALL M. MILLER is Professor of History and Director of American Studies at Saint Joseph's University. He is the author or editor of 16 books, including the award-winning Dear Master: Letters of a Slave Family (1978, rev. ed., 1990) and, with John David Smith, the award-winning Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery (Greenwood, 1988).

PAUL A. CIMBALA is Associate Professor of History at Fordham University. He has published articles on slavery and Reconstruction and is completing a study of the Freedmen's Bureau and Reconstruction in Georgia. He is also working on a book on black musicians in the 19th-century rural South.