America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s - Essay Sample

Introduction

The civil war which took place in the 1960s was the reason why Michael Kazin and Maurice Isserman wrote the book The America Divided; The Civil War Of The 1960s. The authors did an interpretive survey of the cultural, social, and political of America's history. The book also offers a compiling tale of the tumultuous era that was filled with compelling and fresh insights into the civil war. The authors tried to elaborate more on what made the year a decade and why people felt like making history by revealing to the world their challenges. The book also covers even like the operation rolling thunder, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the rise of the Beatles, and Bob Dylan and Motown. The chapters of the book also shed some light on the eras that never saw the growth of the New Rights, which led to implications. This also gave an understanding and a critical dimension of the 1960s and the future of America. This essay will, therefore, review The America Divided, The Civil War Of The 1960s, and the purpose of the themes of the book, the summary, and how it affects the reader.

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The Theme

Perhaps what the authors were trying to reveal was that the 1960s lacked excellent scholars and historians that could move beyond misrepresentations and advertising jingles to provide historical context and clarity of the past. This is why Kazin and Isserman try to explain and clarify the turbulent events that took place in the past with the distortion and assumption of sophisticated reinterpretation of the dramatic incidents about humanity. Even though the authors successfully interpreted the episodes, the book also had some flaws. The book, which also relied on the secondary literature, had established and substantial chapters that talked about the Great Society, the New Left, Vietnam, and the civil rights movement.

Summary

Precisely, the book captures the years 1963, 1968, and 1965 to show how the U.S went through simultaneous events. For instance, the primary theme of this book is political history. The authors gave a coherent demystification and explanation of the beginning and the end of liberalism. The book also captured the emergence of the new conservatism that was overlooked by the liberal left-historians. The reason behind this direction was that it event was not woven smoothly, especially the analysis of the New Rights and the youthful activities. This is because liberalism was not so dominant, but was conservatism in the 1960s.

The lengthy discussion of Isserman and Kazin of the Great Society also consisted of compelling evidence about Patrick Moynihan (the American Senator), and how he claimed that the social welfare programs in the sixties were underfinanced and oversold. Moreover, the authors also challenge the liberal consensus when it came to the social welfare policy by showing more on the opposition to the programs by the urban Democrats, the Republicans, and the poor citizens. The insight revealed by the authors elaborated more on the assertions encountered by both the Democrats and the Republicans.

Reaction

Perhaps the greatest failure of the book is on the analysis of the New Left, particularly in the treatment of the official response and the American foreign policy. The authors focused on the opposition of the New Left in the Vietnam War. They failed to explore more on the confluence between the aspiring developments and radicals in places such as Czechoslovakia, France, Cuba, and China. I partially agree with the authors because they did not explain the underpinnings of the New Left with thoughts that were given by Herbert Marcuse, William Appleman, and Wright mills. As a result, Kazin and Isserman failed to clarify the critique of the New Left and how it was linked to the global system of America's imperialism and expansion not only in Vietnam but also to Latin America, Russia, and Japan.

One issue about the book is that the authors are the book's silence on the well-documented and numerous counterintelligence operations that resulted to official misinformation, disruption, and repression of the progressive moments that took place in the early 1970s and the late 1960s by the state, the local authorities and the federal. This oversight, which was covered by the background of the events, left a critical gap in the understanding of the audience of why and how radical and progressive radical movements that was disintegrated and declined. The missed opportunity to link these events has left people with the lasting mistrust that the permeate society continues to face.

Conclusion

Kazin and Isserman drew up the latest scholarship to show the audience the insights of the youth culture, the Vietnam War, and the impact of the 1960s on the society, culture, and American politics. The authors did this by covering essential events like the aspiring developments and radicals in places such as Czechoslovakia, France, Cuba, and China. The authors also shed some light on the overlooked rise of the New Right and the impact that never offered a critical dimension of the period but also the future of America. Even though a few things were omitted, Isserman and Kazin managed to analyze, discuss, and define all sides of cultural, social, and political conflicts in the 1960s.

One issue about the book is that the authors are the book's silence on the well-documented and numerous counterintelligence operations that resulted to official misinformation, disruption, and repression of the progressive moments that took place in the early 1970s and the late 1960s by the state, the local authorities and the federal. This is because, The authors focused on the opposition of the New Left in the Vietnam War and failed to explore more on the confluence between the aspiring developments and radicals in places such as Czechoslovakia, France, Cuba, and China.

Bibliography

Christensen, Bryce. "Divided We Fall: Family Strife in America's Second Civil War." Divided We Fall, 2017, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203793077-1.

Isserman, Maurice, and Michael Kazin. "America Divided. The Civil War of the 1960s." Vingtieme Siecle. Revue Dhistoire, no. 69 (2001): 215-77. https://doi.org/10.2307/3772400.

Perman, Michael. "The Union Divided: Party Conflict in the Civil War North (Review)." Civil War History 49, no. 2 (2013): 202-3. https://doi.org/10.1353/cwh.2003.0043.