The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century A Social Justice Hall of Fame

by Dreier, Peter

• ISBN13: 9781568586816
• ISBN10: 1568586817
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-06-26
• Publisher: Bold Type Books

Summary

A hundred years ago, any soapbox orator who called for women's suffrage, laws protecting the environment, an end to lynching, or a federal minimum wage was considered a utopian dreamer or a dangerous socialist. Now we take these ideas for granted-- because the radical ideas of one generation are often the common sense of the next. We all stand on the shoulders of earlier generations of radicals and reformers who challenged the status quo of their day. Unfortunately, most Americans know little of this progressive history. It isn't taught in most high schools. You can't find it on the major television networks. In popular media, the most persistent interpreter of America's radical past is Glenn Beck, who teaches viewers a wildly inaccurate history of unions, civil rights, and the American Left. The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century, a colorful and witty history of the most influential progressive leaders of the twentieth century and beyond, is the perfect antidote.

Author Biography

Peter Dreier is the E. P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics and chair of the Urban and Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College. He writes regularly for the Nation, Los Angeles Times, American Prospect Huffington Post, and other publications.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
20th-century Timeline	p. 11
The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century
Tom Johnson (1854-1911)	p. 21
Robert M. La Follette Sr. (1855-1925)	p. 24
Eugene Debs (1855-1926)	p. 27
Louis Brandeis (1856-1941)	p. 32
Clarence Darrow (1857-1938)	p. 36
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)	p. 40
Florence Kelley (1859-1932)	p. 44
John Dewey (1859-1952)	p. 49
Victor Berger (1860-1929)	p. 53
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935)	p. 56
Jane Addams (1860-1935)	p. 59
Lincoln Steffens (1866-1936)	p. 63
Hiram Johnson (1866-1945)	p. 67
W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963)	p. 70
William "Big Bill" Haywood (1869-1928)	p. 74
Alice Hamilton (1869-1970)	p. 77
Emma Goldman (1869-1940)	p. 80
Lewis Hine (1874-1940)	p. 83
Robert F. Wagner Sr. (1877-1953)	p. 87
Upton Sinclair (1878-1968)	p. 91
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)	p. 95
Margaret Sanger (1879-1966)	p. 100
John L. Lewis (1880-1969)	p. 105
Helen Keller (1880-1968)	p. 109
Frances Perkins (1880-1965)	p. 113
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)	p. 117
Rose Schneiderman (1882-1972)	p. 120
Fiorello La Guardia (1882-1947)	p. 124
Roger Baldwin (1884-1981)	p. 128
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)	p. 133
Norman Thomas (1884-1968)	p. 138
A. J. Muste (1885-1967)	p. 142
Alice Stokes Paul (1885-1977)	p. 146
Sidney Hillman (1887-1946)	p. 150
Henry Wallace (1888-1965)	p. 154
A. Philip Randolph (1889-1979)	p. 160
Earl Warren (1891-1974)	p. 165
Floyd Olson (1891-1936)	p. 168
Dorothy Day (1897-1980)	p. 172
Paul Robeson (1898-1976)	p. 176
William O. Douglas (1898-1980)	p. 181
Harry Bridges (1901-1990)	p. 184
Langston Hughes (1902-1967)	p. 188
Vito Marcantonio (1902-1954)	p. 192
Virginia F. Durr (1903-1999)	p. 196
Elk Baker (1903-1986)	p. 200
Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) (1904-1991)	p. 205
Myles Horton (1905-1990)	p. 210
Carey McWilliams (1905-1980)	p. 215
William J. Brennan Jr. (1906-1997)	p. 220
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972)	p. 224
Rachel Carson (1907-1964)	p. 228
Walter Reuther (1907-1970)	p. 232
I. F. Stone (1907-1989)	p. 237
Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993)	p. 241
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973)	p. 246
John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006)	p. 250
Saul Alinsky (1909-1972)	p. 254
Bayard Rustin (1912-1987)	p. 259
Harry Hay (1912-2002)	p. 263
Studs Terkel (1912-2008)	p. 267
David Brower (1912-2000)	p. 271
Woody Guthrie (1912-1967)	p. 275
Arthur Miller (1915-2005)	p. 279
Jane Jacobs (1916-2006)	p. 284
C. Wright Mills (1916-1962)	p. 288
Barry Commoner (1917-)	p. 293
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977)	p. 298
Jackie Robinson (1919-1972)	p. 303
Pete Seeger (1919-)	p. 307
Jerry Wurf (1919-1981)	p. 312
Bella Abzug (1920-1998)	p. 317
Betty Friedan (1921-2006)	p. 320
Howard Zinn (1922-2010)	p. 325
Rev. William Sloane Coffin (1924-2006)	p. 328
Malcolm X (1925-1965)	p. 332
Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)	p. 337
Michael Harrington (1928-1989)	p. 342
Rev. James Lawson (1928-)	p. 347
Noam Chomsky (1928-)	p. 352
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)	p. 357
Allard Lowenstein (1929-1980)	p. 362
Harvey Milk (1930-1978)	p. 367
Ted Kennedy (1932-2009)	p. 372
Ralph Nader (1934-)	p. 376
Gloria Steinem (1934-)	p. 381
Bill Movers (1934-)	p. 386
Bob Moses (1935-)	p. 390
Tom Hayden (1939-)	p. 394
John Lewis (1940-)	p. 399
Joan Baez (1941-)	p. 404
Bob Dylan (1941-)	p. 407
Barbara Ehrenreich (1941-)	p. 412
Jesse Jackson (1941-)	p. 416
Muhammad Ali (1942-)	p. 421
Billie Jean King (1943-)	p. 426
Paul Wellstone (1944-2002)	p. 429
Bruce Springsteen (1949-)	p. 433
Michael Moore (1954-)	p. 438
Tony Kushner (1956-)	p. 443
The 21st Century So Far	p. 447
Bibliography	p. 473
Permissions	p. 497
About the Author	p. 499
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