false 1052103 3 In this absorbing history of the first two decades of the twentieth century, David Traxel paints a vivid picture of a transformative period in the United States, when many remarkable individuals fought to decide which path the country would follow. Victorian restraint was being cast aside by men and women testing social conventions and sexual mores, dancing to dangerous &#8220;jazz&#8221; music, and expressing themselves through revolutionary forms of art.<br><br>Traxel traces how these modern ideas were also related to a powerful progressive reform movement that hoped to end the social evils that had accompanied unrestrained industrialization, and he examines the impact of huge waves of European immigration on both the American economy and its social fabric. The struggles to end child labor, win votes for women, rid cities of corrupt political machines, improve public health and education, and prohibit alcohol brought forth a passionate response from millions of Americans who desired both a more efficient and a more compassionate society. Greenwich Village bohemians including Jack Reed, Eugene O&#8217;Neill, and Louise Bryant; politicians such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson; social reformers Margaret Sanger and &#8220;Mother&#8221; Jones; journalists William Allen White and Lincoln Steffens; and industrialist Henry Ford come alive in these pages. They were Democrats and Republicans, progressives and Socialists, as well as radicals such as the Industrial Workers of the World and anarchists such as Emma Goldman.<br><br>Combining lively anecdote with historical scholarship, Traxel shows how American crusading continued through World War I, though now focused on &#8220;making the world safe for democracy.&#8221; But by the time the doughboys returned the public was tired of what had come to seem empty rhetoric and unattainable goals. By 1920 the Progressive Era was over, though its laws and effects have lived on. This portrait of early twentieth-century America reveals important qualities of our national character that endure to this day. 1038578 24 1 2006 Crusader Nation: The United States in Peace and the Great War, 1898-1920 total:8|5:3|4:2|3:3| 8 32 13 2 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jul 16 11:34:29 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 16 11:40:18 -0700 2008
Traxell weaves a wonderfully rich narrative that reads more like an historical novel than an historical work of non-fiction. It's a very engrossing read that connects the likes of Teddy Roosevel...more...]]> 4 0 true false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 19 14:42:28 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 19 14:45:46 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Sep 26 08:54:29 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 26 08:54:29 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 09 22:06:15 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 22:06:15 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Aug 16 22:12:50 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 22:12:50 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Jul 29 08:44:33 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 08:44:33 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Jan 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu May 28 11:11:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 11:11:18 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Apr 19 18:22:13 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 18:22:13 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri Aug 21 12:15:10 -0700 2009 Sun Dec 28 18:14:01 -0800 2008 Fri Aug 21 12:15:10 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri Jan 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jul 04 13:08:38 -0700 2008 Fri Jan 16 07:04:05 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Mar 21 19:58:18 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 21 20:01:01 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Mon Jan 28 12:13:42 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 28 12:13:48 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 19 04:55:43 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 19 04:55:45 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1052103