The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be Tapa dura - 2009

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The next time you hear a conservative accusing progressives (a.k.a. liberals) of being unpatriotic and anti-American, tell them this: "Progressives invented the American ideal and inspired the American Revolution. Conservatives, then known as Tories, opposed it. Since then, every major advancement in American freedom, democracy, social justice, and economic opportunity has been fostered, fought for, and won by progressives against conservative resistance. Now who's anti-American?"

In The Progressive Revolution, author Michael Lux gives new life to the chapters of American history that conservatives want everyone to forget. He demonstrates clearly that progressives and the progressive movement created American ideals and forged the kind of country in which we want to live, while conservatives, in William F. Buckley's famous phrase, stood "athwart history yelling 'Stop'."

Lux begins by restoring Tom Paine to his rightful place as the inspiration for the American Revolution and reclaiming the Declaration of Independence as a clarion call for progressive democracy that has echoed around the world and through the ages. He goes on to recount the big change moments in American history, from the Bill of Rights through the ending of slavery to the great twentieth-century accomplishments of the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the civil rights movement. He also documents the conservative backlash that strove to prevent and then reverse each of these expansions of freedom.

This clear and accessible account does more than set the record straight on such great progressive achievements as women's suffrage, national parks, Social Security, civil rights legislation, and restoring the environment. It builds a platform from which to argue that progressives today continue the centuries-old struggle to improve America and advance the cause of freedom, in contrast to how conservatives have always worked to defend the interests of elites and instill fear of big changes.

Whether you're a political junkie, an impassioned progressive, a history buff, or a conservative seeking insights on how the other side thinks, The Progressive Revolution will challenge your preconceptions, expand your understanding of American history, and give you plenty of food for thought.

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• Reference and Research Bk News, 05/01/2009, Page 172