American Patriots

A concise history that proves that dissent is patrioticThe history of America is a history of dissent. Protests against the British Parliament’s taxation policies led to the American Revolution and the creation of the United States. At the Constitutional Convention the founders put the right to protest in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. In the nineteenth century, dissenters protested against the War of 1812 and the Mexican War, they demanded the abolition of slavery, suffrage for women, and fair treatment for workers. In the twentieth century, millions of Americans participated in the Civil Rights Movement, the antiwar movement, and second-wave feminism. In the twenty-first century, hundreds of thousands protested the war in Iraq, joined the 2011 Occupy movement, the 2017 Women’s March, and the 2020 Black Lives Matter uprisings. The crowds grew larger than ever, but the sentiments expressed were familiar. There have been dissenting Americans for as long as there has been an America.In American Patriots, historian Ralph Young chronicles the key role dissent has played in shaping the United States. He explains that activists are not protesting against America, but pushing the country to live up to its ideals. As he guides the reader through the history of protest, Young considers how ordinary Americans, from moderates to firebrands, responded to injustice. He highlights the work of organizations like SNCC and ACT UP, and he follows iconic individuals like Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Woody Guthrie, charting the impact of their dissent. Some of these protesters are celebrated heroes of American history, while others are ordinary people, frequently overlooked, whose stories show that change is often accomplished through grassroots activism.Yet not all dissent is equal. In 2021, thousands of rioters stormed the US Capitol, and Americans on both sides of the aisle watched the destruction with horror. American Patriots contrasts this attack with the long history of American protest, and challenges us to explore our definition of dissent. Does it express a legitimate grievance or a smokescreen for undermining democracy? What are the limits of dissent? Where does dissent end and sedition begin?In a time when legitimate dissent is framed as unpatriotic, Young reminds us of the dissenters who have shaped our country’s history. American Patriots is a necessary defense of our right to demand better for ourselves, our communities, and our nation.

"Clear and elegant; a page-turner. Young convincingly demonstrates that the history of the United States is inextricably linked to dissent and shows how 'protest is one of the consummate expressions of Americanness.'", "French historian Alexis de Tocqueville warned about 'the tyranny of the majority' in American democracy. This work deals with that important topic from colonial times to the present. Young brings experience and knowledge to this subject. This history will satisfy fans of Howard Zinn, Pete Seeger, and Allen Ginsberg.", "A broad-ranging, evenhanded view of a tradition honed into an art form in America. Young has a knack for finding obscure but thoroughly revealing moments of history to illustrate his points; learning about Fries' Rebellion and the Quasi-War with France is worth the price of admission alone, though his narrative offers much more besides. Refreshingly democratic, solid supplemental reading to the likes of Terkel and Alinsky, insistent on upholding the rights of political minorities even when they're wrong.", "The Temple University historian Ralph Young's Dissent, a beautifully written, always-interesting, and analytically smart synthesis of American history, contends that dissent has shaped our world from the Puritans to the Barack Obama presidency. Here is wishing Young's big book a shelf life as long as the works of Hofstadter, Williams, and Zinn.", "As we navigate a media world that is designed to enrage and often deceive, there has never been a better moment to revisit the role that dissent plays in refreshing our political vision. Dissent is, as Young ably shows, the opposite of polarization because it demands that we not only confront ideas that make us uncomfortable or even angry but also discuss them so that we can overcome new national challenges together as neighbors and patriots."

Ralph Young is Professor of Instruction in History at Temple University. He is the author of Make Art Not War: Political Protest Posters from the Twentieth Century and Dissent in America: The Voices That Shaped a Nation.