Extremism in America

George Michael

• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9780813048543
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

The American Republic was born in revolt against the British crown, and ever since, political extremism has had a long tradition in the United States. To some observers, the continued presence of extremist groups--and the escalation of their activities--portends the fragmentation of the country, while others believe such is the way American pluralism works. The word extremism often carries negative connotations, yet in 1964 Barry Goldwater famously said, "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice."

Extremism in America is a sweeping overview and assessment of the various brands of bigotry, prejudice, zealotry, dogmatism, and partisanship found in the United States, including the extreme right, the antiglobalization movement, Black Nationalism, Chicano separatism, militant Islam, Jewish extremism, eco-extremism, the radical antiabortion movement, and extremist terrorism. Many of these forms of single-minded intolerance are repressed by both the state and society at large, but others receive significant support from their constituencies and enjoy a level of respectability in some quarters of the mainstream. The essays in this volume, written by area specialists, examine the relationship between these movements and the larger society, dissect the arguments of contemporary American anarchist activists, look at recent trends in political extremism, and suggest how and why such arguments resonate with a considerable number of people.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. The Tea Party and the Far Right: Fellow Travelers?
• 2. “Hell Yes, We’re Fighting!” Revolutionary Anarchism’s Call for Destruction and Creation
• 3. The New Black Panther Party, Black Nationalism, and the Tangled Legacy of COINTELPRO
• 4. The Chicano Separatist Movement
• 5. Islamic Extremism in the United States
• 6. Terrorism by Jewish Extremists in the United States
• 7. The Christian Identity Movement
• 8. Antiabortion Extremism and Violence in the United States
• 9. The Radical Environmental and Animal Liberation Movements
• 10. Misidentified and Misunderstood: Extremists and Extremist Groups Incarcerated in U.S. Correctional Facilities
• 11. Terrorism and Extremism in the United States: A Historical Overview
• Conclusion: The Outlook for Extremism in the Twenty-First Century
• List of Contributors
• Index