The Taming of the American Crowd

From Stamp Riots to Shopping Sprees

By: Al Sandine

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Hardcover | 1 November 2009

At a Glance

Hardcover
240 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.59 x 13.97 x 2.54

Hardcover

$244.75

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The history of the United States has been largely shaped, forbetter or for worse, by the actions of large groups of people. Rioters on a village green, shoppers lurching about a labyrinthine mall, slaves packed into the dark hold of a ship, strikers assemblingoutside the factory gates, all have their place in the rich and sometimes tragic history of the American crowd. This unique study traces that history from the days of anti-colonial revolt to today's passive, "colonized crowds" that fill our sports arenas, commercial centers, and workplaces. In clear and lively prose, Al Sandine argues for the progressive role crowds have played in securing greater democracy, civil rights, and free speech. But he also investigates crowds in their more dangerous forms, such as lynch mobs and anti-immigrant riots.
The Taming of the American Crowd explains how the crowd as an active subject of change--often positive, sometimes not--has been replaced by the passive crowd as object of control and regulation.Today, the imperatives of mass society organize people in large numbers to consume goods and conform to permissiblebehavioral patterns; not to openly contest power. But, with the world entering a new period of economic uncertainty and mass protests erupting across the globe, it is time to reversethat trend. This book shows us the history of the untamed crowd and urges us to reclaim its legacy.

Industry Reviews

"Sandine has given us a timely and indispensable book. The Taming of the American Crowd is not only a spirited tour through centuries of crowd action and crowd control but a searching meditation on today's consumer-crazy, politically passive Americans, who have squandered the power of the assembled populace to address enormous inequalities in power and wealth and to serve as an instrument for protest and change."--Gary B. Nash, UCLA, director of the National Center for History in the Schools, past president of the Organization of American Historians
"The Taming of the American Crowd offers a unique blend of popular culture and working class historywritten with great flair.Sandine is one of the few scholars reckless and ambitious enough to take on a wide-ranging subject without sacrificing analytical rigor. If you've ever participated in a demonstration, gone crazy in the bleachers or danced all night, you'll love this book."--Barbara Ehrenreich

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