Building the Democratic Party in California 1954-1966
Author: Roger Kent
Publisher:
Published: 1981
Total Pages: 476
ISBN-13:
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California Rising
Author: Ethan Rarick
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Published: 2006-04-26
Total Pages: 536
ISBN-13: 0520248287
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"Edmund G. (Pat) Brown has long been considered one of the two or three most effective governors of California. Thanks to this exhaustively researched and vividly written study by Ethan Rarick, we can now grasp the true strength and charisma of this extraordinary governor and the highpoint of public value and performance he orchestrated in the creation of contemporary California. A seasoned reporter, Rarick left everything behind to research and write this book. He made the right decision."—Kevin Starr, University Professor of History, University of Southern California "This is an impressive and important work--exhaustively researched, elegantly written. It's not only the biography of the central figure in modern California history, Governor Pat Brown, but the story of a crucial era in California and its place in the nation's imagination. California Rising is a major document in our understanding of the man and the place he helped make."—Peter Schrag, former editorial page editor of the Sacramento Bee and author of Paradise Lost: California's Experience, America's Future "Ethan Rarick has written a shrewd and lively account of the life of Pat Brown, California's most constructive governor in the last half-century. What a pleasant way to learn about the history of the golden state during the key period in which state government was confronted with the economic and social challenges of rapid modernization. A very impressive book."—Nelson W. Polsby, Heller Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley "An important and enjoyable book."—Bruce Cain, coeditor of Voting at the Political Fault Line "Ethan Rarick's narrative of the life of Pat Brown is a fascinating look at the maturation of a political animal. We follow closely as Brown gladhands his way up California's political ladder and becomes his state's most progressive governor. In this meticulous study, Rarick fleshes out Brown's battles with Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan throughout the 1960s. California Rising profits from Rarick's broad understanding of California and his constructive use of Brown's personal notes and correspondence."—Douglas Brinkley, author of Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War
California Crucible
Author: Jonathan Bell
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Published: 2011-12-30
Total Pages: 353
ISBN-13: 081220624X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn the three decades following World War II, the Golden State was not only the fastest-growing state in the Union but also the site of significant political change. From the late 1940s through the mid-1970s, a generation of liberal activists transformed the political landscape of California, ending Republican dominance of state politics and eventually setting the tone for the Democratic Party nationwide. In California Crucible, Jonathan Bell chronicles this dramatic story of postwar liberalism—from early grassroots organizing and the election of Pat Brown as governor in 1958 to the civil rights campaigns of the 1960s and the campaigns against the New Right in the 1970s. As Bell argues, the emergent "California liberalism" was a distinctly post-New Deal phenomenon that drew on the ambitious ideals of the New Deal but adapted them to a diverse population. The result was a broad coalition that sought to extend social democracy to marginalized groups—such as gay rights and civil rights organizations—that had not been well served by the Democratic Party in earlier decades. In building this coalition, liberal activists forged an ideology capable of bringing Latino farm workers, African American civil rights activists, and wealthy suburban homemakers into a shared political project. By exploring California Democrats' largely successful attempts to link economic rights to civil rights and serve the needs of diverse groups, Bell challenges common assumptions about the rise of the New Right and the decline of American liberalism in the postwar era. As Bell shows, by the end of the 1970s California had become the spiritual home of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party as much as that of the Reagan Revolution.
1960
Author: David Pietrusza
Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company
Published: 2008
Total Pages: 572
ISBN-13: 1402761147
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIt was the election that would ultimately give America "Camelot" and its tragic aftermath, a momentous contest when three giants who each would have a chance to shape the nation battled to win the presidency. Award-winning author David Pietrusza does here for the 1960 presidential race what he did in his previous book, 1920: the Year of the Six Presidents--which Kirkus Reviews selected as one of their Best Books of 2007. Until now, the most authoritative study of the 1960 election was Theodore White''s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the President, 1960. But White, as a trusted insider, didn''t tell all. Here''s the rest of the story, what White could never have known, nor revealed. Finally, it''s all out--including JFK''s poignant comment on why LBJ''s nomination as vice president would be inconsequential: "I''m 43 years old. I''m not going to die in office." Combining an engaging narrative with exhaustive research, Pietrusza chronicles the pivotal election of 1960, in which issues of civil rights and religion (Kennedy was only the second major-party Roman Catholic candidate ever) converged. The volatile primary clash between Senate Majority leader LBJ and the young JFK culminated in an improbable fusion ticket. The historic, legendary Kennedy-Nixon debates followed in its wake. The first presidential televised debates, they forever altered American politics when an exhausted Nixon was unkempt and tentative in their first showdown. With 80 million viewers passing judgment, Nixon''s poll numbers dropped as the charismatic Kennedy''s star rose. Nixon learned his lesson--resting before subsequent debates, reluctantly wearing makeup, and challenging JFK with a more aggressive stance--but the damage was done. There''s no one better to convey the drama of that tumultuous year than Pietrusza. He has 1,000 secrets to spill; a fascinating cast of characters to introduce (including a rogue''s gallery of hangers-on and manipulators); and towering historical events to chronicle. And all of it is built on painstaking research and solid historical scholarship. Pietrusza tracks down every lead to create a winning, engaging, and very readable account. With the 2008 elections approaching, politics will be on everyone''s mind, and 1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon will transform the way readers see modern American history. A sampling of what Theodore White couldn''t chronicle--and David Pietrusza does: · Richard Nixon''s tempestuous Iowa backseat blowup, and his bizarre Election Day road trip · The full story of a sympathetic call from JFK to Coretta Scott King · John Ehrlichman''s spy missions on the Nelson Rockefeller and Democratic camps · The warnings before Election Day that Chicago''s mayor Daley would try to fix the race''s outcome · JFK''s amphetamine-fueled debate performance
Jess
Author: Jackson K. Putnam
Publisher: University Press of America
Published: 2005
Total Pages: 466
ISBN-13: 9780761830689
DOWNLOAD EBOOKJesse Marvin Unruh acquired a national political reputation despite the fact that he never gained office above the California governmental level. He spent sixteen years (1955-1970) in the state legislature, seven of them as assembly speaker. While there he secured passage of moderate-liberal legislation and upgraded the quality of the state legislature to the number one position in the nation.
The Right Moment
Author: Matthew Dallek
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2000-09-19
Total Pages: 293
ISBN-13: 0743213742
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRonald Reagan's first great victory, in the 1966 California governor's race, seemed to come from nowhere and has long since confounded his critics. Just two years earlier, when Barry Goldwater lost to Lyndon Johnson by a landslide, the conservative movement was pronounced dead. In California, Governor Edmund "Pat" Brown was celebrated as the "Giant Killer" for his 1962 victory over Richard Nixon. From civil rights, to building the modern California system of higher education, to reinventing the state's infrastructure, to a vast expansion of the welfare state, Brown's liberal agenda reigned supreme. Yet he soon found himself struggling with forces no one fully grasped, and in 1966, political neophyte Reagan trounced Brown by almost a million votes. Reagan's stunning win over Brown is one of the pivotal stories of American political history. It marked not only the coming-of-age of the conservative movement, but also the first serious blow to modern liberalism. The campaign was run amidst the drama of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, terrible riots in Watts, and the first anti-Vietnam War protests by the New Left. It featured cameo appearances by Mario Savio, Ed Meese, California Speaker Jesse "Big Daddy" Unruh, and tough-as-nails Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker. Beneath its tumultuous surface a grassroots conservative movement swelled powerfully. A group that had once been dismissed as little more than paranoid John Birchers suddenly attracted a wide following for a more mainstream version of its message, and Reagan deftly rode the wave, moving from harsh anticommunism to a more general critique of the breakdown of social order and the failure of the welfare state. Millions of ordinary Californians heeded his call. Drawing on scores of oral history interviews, thousands of archival documents, and many personal interviews with participants, Matthew Dallek charts the rise of one great politician, the demise of another, and the clash of two diametrically opposing worldviews. He offers a fascinating new portrait of the 1960s that is far more complicated than our collective memory of that decade. The New Left activists were offset by an equally impassioned group on the other side. For every SDS organizer there was a John Birch activist; for every civil rights marcher there was an anticommunist rally-goer; for every antiwar protester there were several more who sympathized with American aims in Southeast Asia. Dallek's compelling history offers an important reminder that the rise of Ronald Reagan and the conservatives may be the most lasting legacy of that discordant time.
Big Daddy
Author: Bill Boyarsky
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Published: 2007-11-26
Total Pages: 295
ISBN-13: 0520923340
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRevealing and frank, this highly engaging biography tells the story of an American original, California's Big Daddy, Jesse Unruh (1922-1987), a charismatic man whose power reached far beyond the offices he held. Unruh, who was born into Texas sharecropper poverty, became a larger-than-life figure and a principal architect and builder of modern California—first as an assemblyman, then as assembly speaker, and finally, as state treasurer. He was also a great character: a combination of intelligence, wit, idealism, cynicism, woman-chasing vulgarity, charm, drunken excess, and political skill all wrapped up in one big package. He dominated the California capitol and extended his influence to Washington and Wall Street. He was close to Lyndon Johnson and the Kennedys, but closest to Robert Kennedy, and was in the Ambassador Hotel kitchen when Kennedy was shot. Bill Boyarsky gives a close-up look at this extraordinary political leader, a man who believed that politics was the art of the possible, and his era.
Building the Democratic Party in California,1954-1966
Author: Regional Oral History Office Amelia R Fry
Publisher: Palala Press
Published: 2016-05-25
Total Pages:
ISBN-13: 9781359696755
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Congressional Record
Author: United States. Congress
Publisher:
Published: 1964
Total Pages: 1356
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)
Law and Order
Author: Michael W. Flamm
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2005
Total Pages: 322
ISBN-13: 023111513X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKLaw and Order offers a valuable new study of the political and social history of the 1960s. It presents a sophisticated account of how the issues of street crime and civil unrest enhanced the popularity of conservatives, eroded the credibility of liberals, and transformed the landscape of American politics. Ultimately, the legacy of law and order was a political world in which the grand ambitions of the Great Society gave way to grim expectations. In the mid-1960s, amid a pervasive sense that American society was coming apart at the seams, a new issue known as law and order emerged at the forefront of national politics. First introduced by Barry Goldwater in his ill-fated run for president in 1964, it eventually punished Lyndon Johnson and the Democrats and propelled Richard Nixon and the Republicans to the White House in 1968. In this thought-provoking study, Michael Flamm examines how conservatives successfully blamed liberals for the rapid rise in street crime and then skillfully used law and order to link the understandable fears of white voters to growing unease about changing moral values, the civil rights movement, urban disorder, and antiwar protests. Flamm documents how conservatives constructed a persuasive message that argued that the civil rights movement had contributed to racial unrest and the Great Society had rewarded rather than punished the perpetrators of violence. The president should, conservatives also contended, promote respect for law and order and contempt for those who violated it, regardless of cause. Liberals, Flamm argues, were by contrast unable to craft a compelling message for anxious voters. Instead, liberals either ignored the crime crisis, claimed that law and order was a racist ruse, or maintained that social programs would solve the "root causes" of civil disorder, which by 1968 seemed increasingly unlikely and contributed to a loss of faith in the ability of the government to do what it was above all sworn to do-protect personal security and private property.
