Jules Archer - Extremists: Gadflies of American Society

Historical texts often reflect the time period in which they were written, and new information is constantly being discovered. This book was originally published in 1964, and much has changed since then. While every effort has been made to bring this book up to date, it is important to consult multiple sources when doing research.

Copyright 1969 by Jules Archer
Foreword 2017 by Sky Pony Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
First Sky Pony Press edition, 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Sky Pony Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Sky Pony is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyponypress.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Series design by Brian Peterson
Cover photo credit Associated Press

Print ISBN: 978-1-63450-164-4
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-0708-5

Printed in the United States of America

To
Edith Margolis Keyshore, without whom not only this book but fourteen others and over a thousand magazine pieces as well might never have appeared

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

by Kathleen Krull

Forty-six years ago, noted author Jules Archer published this book, The Extremists . What was he trying to do? Nothing less than to tell the whole history of the United States. But, with characteristic cleverness, he uses a catchy and intriguing wordextremistas a lens.

Archer defines extremists broadly: Those in American history who pursued their goals by unlawful, unjust or extravagant meanswhether against the power structure, in defense of the power structure, or against another group in the society. Extremists are not necessarily either good or badthey just are. History is their judge.

He takes a cue from American educator Abraham Flexner: Extremists are the gadflies that keep society from being too complacent, or self-satisfied; they are, if sound, the spearhead of progress. In one sense, this is a book about those who have been agents for change, for better or worse, throughout our history.

I love Archers emphasis on the Bill of Rights, the first ten Amendments to our Constitution. (As the author of A Kids Guide to Americas Bill of Rights, 2015, I support a thorough education on the Bill of Rights.) The First Amendment guarantees our right of free speech, meaning that everyone is entitled to be an extremist, no matter how unpopular the opinion. As he mentions, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) can take legal action to defend someones right to speak his or her mind. The trick for us, the students of history, is to use our brains, thoughtfully evaluate both sides of an issue, and draw our own conclusions about extremism. Be informed, then make up your own mind.

It does turn out, in Archers loose definition, that just about anyone can be called extremist. The word becomes a vehicle to tell the American story right up to one of its most extremist years, 1968.

Chapter 1 is tantalizingly titled Ear-Slicers, Witch-hunters, and Roughnecks. In a twist you might not have seen coming, those who sliced ears were the Puritans. Fleeing intolerance in England, they sailed here and promptly installed their own brand of religious intolerance. They really hated Quakers, with cruel and bloody punishments for dissent. Puritans were at it again with the Salem witch trials, resulting in nineteen executions that particularly targeted teenage girls acting too exuberantly. Years later, roughnecks were tough guys who worked down at the Boston waterfront, hired by the Sons of Liberty to fan the flames of the American Revolution with physical violence.

Subsequent chapters take us into the thick of the Revolution, the extremist event that broke us away from England and began a new country.

Archer goes on to cast a wide net: patriots, vigilantes, rebels, bigots of every flavor, assassins, radicals, the Ku Klux Klan, Bohemians, John Birchers, members of what we would call the lunatic fringe, the Nat Turner rebellion and other slave revolts, and high school students wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. The Civil War is presented as perhaps the ultimate example of extreme extremists in action.

Archer gives the womens rights movement more attention than he usually doesattacking the patriarchal power structure fits in so well with his theme. As the author of A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull ( 2008), I have some quibbles with his facts about Woodhull, an extremist if ever there was one. But he gets major points for including her, all but unknown in his day, and many other women throughout.

He concludes with 1968, a year of shocking assassinations, violent anti-war demonstrations, riots over African American civil rights. Many at the time were frightened at the prospect of the very forces of law and order breaking down. Hence the need for this book, for his message that extremists have always been part of American life, for his advice to choose, as thinking Americans, to keep our cool. Changing obsolete attitudes and correcting Americas domestic and foreign policy mistakes is crucial workbut is extremism the way to go?

This book is more advanced, denser than some of his others. But it fits in perfectly with his usual themes: resisting injustice, the importance of young people, with all their idealism and energy, and the call to get involved and make a difference. As always, clearly and concisely, Archer sums up giant chunks of history. The text is illustrated and enlivened with political cartoons from the various time periods.

In a previous lifetime, I knew Archer personally and worked with him on two of his other books Winners and Losers: How Elections Work in America (1984), which was a School Library Journal Best Book and a Notable Childrens Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, and then The Incredible Sixties: The Stormy Years that Changed America (1986), another SLJ Best Book. I knew him to be a passionate idealist, always urging young people to become informed citizens.

In this dance across all of American history (except for the last forty-six years), topics for classroom discussion abound. Perhaps the most interesting: how would Jules Archer have updated his book were he still alive?

Kathleen Krull, 2017

What Is Extremism?

Police in Oakland, California, clashed violently with militant students in a week of anti-draft demonstrations late in November 1967. Governor Ronald Reagan praised the police action. The taking of alleged grievances to the streets, he declared, can not and will not be tolerated.

The following Sunday morning at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, the Episcopal bishop of California delivered a sermon on extremism. He criticized right-wing extremists for attacking democratic institutions. Governor Reagan, said the Right Reverend C. Kilmer Myers, sounded as though he would like nothing better than to clobber all dissent by use of military force. At the same time the bishop castigated the militant student leader of the demonstrations, Jeff Segal, for pursuing a left-wing extremism that ends only with a police state.