A Renegade History of the United States: How Drunks, Delinquents, and Other Outcasts Made AmericaPopular historian Thaddeus Russell offers a highly provocative and absorbing new perspective on America's history that will turn convention on its head and is sure to elicit as much controversy as it does support. Russell shows that drunkards, laggards, prostitutes, and pirates were the real heroes of the American Revolution. Slaves worked less and had more fun than free men. Prostitutes, not feminists, won women's liberation. White people lost their rhythm when they became good Americans. Without organized crime, we might not have Hollywood, Las Vegas, labour unions, legal alcohol, birth control, or gay rights. Zoot-suiters and rock-and-rollers, not Ronald Reagan or the peace movement, brought down the Soviet Union. And Britney Spears will win the war on terror. The more that 'bad' people existed, resisted, and won, the greater was our common good. In A RENEGADE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, Russell introduces us to the origins of America's identity as we have never seen it before. |
Contents
DRUNKARDS LAGGARDS PROSTITUTES PIRATES AND OTHER HEROES | 23 |
Part Two | |
A RHYTHMLESS NATION | |
THE IRISH | |
THE JEW WAS A NEGRO | |
OUT OF AFRICA | |
THE REAL AMERICAN REVOLUTION | |
HOW GANGSTERS MADE AMERICA A BETTER PLACE | |
FASCISM AND THE NEW DEAL | |
JUST HOW POPULAR WAS WORLD WAR | |
HOW JUVENILE DELIN UENTS WON THE COLD | |
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According Adams African Americans American culture army attacked became blackface Boston brothels called Chicago citizens citizenship city’s civil rights clubs colonies color Congress country music Dan Emmett dance halls declared discipline dress drinking early East German Emmett ex-slaves fascism film Founding Fathers Freedmen’s Bureau freedom gangsters girls historian Hollywood homosexual houses immigrants industry Irish Americans Italian Americans Japanese jazz Jewish Jews John labor leaders living Louis Prima marriage military minstrel Negro newspaper Nigger nineteenth century percent performed Philadelphia plantation played pleasure police political popular president produced prostitutes punishment race racial Reconstruction ref2 ref4 ref7 renegade reported Revolution rhythm and blues Roosevelt sexual slavery slaves social society soldiers songs South South Carolina Stonewall streets taverns theater told twentieth century United University Press woman women workers working-class wrote York City young