W.J. Rorabaugh's Books

Prohibition

A Concise History

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

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Americans have always been a hard-drinking people, but from 1920 to 1933 the country went dry. After decades of pressure from rural Protestants such as the hatchet-wielding Carry A. Nation and organizations such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union and Anti-Saloon League, the states ratified the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Bolstered by the Volstead Act, this amendment made Prohibition law: alcohol could no longer be produced, imported, transported, or sold. This bizarre episode is often humorously recalled, frequently satirized, and usually condemned. The more interesting questions, however, are how and why Prohibition came about, how Prohibition worked (and failed to work), and how Prohibition gave way to strict governmental regulation of alcohol. This book answers these questions, presenting a brief and elegant overview of the Prohibition era and its legacy. During the 1920s alcohol prices rose, quality declined, and consumption dropped. The black market thrived, filling the pockets of mobsters and bootleggers. Since beer was too bulky to hide and largely disappeared, drinkers sipped cocktails made with moonshine or poor-grade imported liquor. The all-male saloon gave way to the speakeasy, where together men and women drank, smoked, and danced to jazz. After the onset of the Great Depression, support for Prohibition collapsed because of the rise in gangster violence and the need for revenue at local, state, and federal levels. As public opinion turned, Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised to repeal Prohibition in 1932. The legalization of beer came in April 1933, followed by the Twenty-first Amendment's repeal of the Eighteenth that December. State alcohol control boards soon adopted strong regulations, and their legacies continue to influence American drinking habits. Soon after, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith founded Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The alcohol problem had shifted from being a moral issue during the nineteenth century to a social, cultural, and political one during the campaign for Prohibition, and finally, to a therapeutic one involving individuals. As drinking returned to pre-Prohibition levels, a Neo-Prohibition emerged, led by groups such as Mothers against Drunk Driving, and ultimately resulted in a higher legal drinking age and other legislative measures. With his unparalleled expertise regarding American drinking patterns, W. J. Rorabaugh provides an accessible synthesis of one of the most important topics in US history, a topic that remains relevant today amidst rising concerns over binge-drinking and alcohol culture on college campuses.

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145

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190689935

ISBN 13

9780190689933

Berkeley at War : The 1960s

The 1960s

By: W.J. Rorabaugh Professor of History University of Washington

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Berkeley at War : The 1960s

The 1960s

By: W.J. Rorabaugh Professor of History University of Washington

Berkeley, California, was the bellwether of the political, social, and cultural upheaval that made the 1960s a unique period of American history--a time when the top-down methods of a conservative establishment collided head-on with the bottom-up, grass-roots ethos of the civil rights movement and an increasingly well-educated and individualistic middle class. W.J. Rorabaugh, who attended the graduate school of the University of California at Berkeley in the early 1970s, presents a lively and informative account of the events that overtook and changed forever what had once been a quiet, conservative white suburb. The rise of the Free Speech Movement, which gave a voice to disfranchised students; the growth and increasing militance of a black community struggling to end segregation; the emergence of radicalism and the anti-war movement; the blossoming of "hippie" culture, with its scorn for materialism and enthusiasm for experimentation with everything from sex and drugs to Eastern philosophies; the beginnings of modern-day feminism and environmentalism--and how all of these coalesced in the explosive conflict over People's Park--are traced in a meticulously researched and authoritative narrative. At issue was the question of power, and the struggle between the establishment and the powerless led to developments that the advocates of a freer society could scarcely have foreseen: Ronald Reagan, elected governor of California in reaction to the events at Berkeley, and Edwin H. Meese III, who battled against the student movement and People's Park, rose to national power in the 1980s (without, however, gaining any popularity in Berkeley, where Walter Mondale won 83 percent of the vote in 1984). An invaluable account of its time and place, this book anchors the '60s in American history, both before and since that colorful decade.

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Page Count

325

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0198022522

ISBN 13

9780198022527

The Alcoholic Republic

An American Tradition

By: W.J. Rorabaugh

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The Alcoholic Republic

An American Tradition

By: W.J. Rorabaugh

Rorabaugh has written a well thought out and intriguing social history of Americas great alcoholic binge that occurred between 1790 and 1830, what he terms a key formative period in our history....A pioneering work that illuminates a part of our heritage that can no longer be neglected in future studies of Americas social fabric. A bold and frequently illuminating attempt to investigate the relationship of a single social custom to the central features of our historical experience....A book which always asks interesting questions and provides many provocative answers.

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324

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199766312

ISBN 13

9780199766314

Takeover

How the Left's Quest for Social Justice Corrupted Liberalism

By: Donald Critchlow,W.J. Rorabaugh

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Takeover

How the Left's Quest for Social Justice Corrupted Liberalism

By: Donald Critchlow,W.J. Rorabaugh

“How did liberals get to be the way they are today?” That’s the question many Americans are asking as they witness the efforts of the most left-wing president in American history. At last, historians Donald T. Critchlow and W. J. Rorabaugh supply the answer. As the authors show, it is a mistake to see the Obama administration’s agenda as a single man’s vision. Equally flawed, they reveal, is the now-common argument that today’s liberalism is simply a continuation of early-twentieth-century progressivism. Today’s Left has embraced a more radical vision for transformative change: to remake all aspects of American life. Takeover delineates the sharp break in the history of modern liberalism that began in the 1960s. Critchlow and Rorabaugh show how leftists in pursuit of “social justice” went from protest rallies to the halls of power by rewriting the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating rules for their own benefit and using the courts to advance their radical agenda. The authors masterfully connect the dots in America’s recent history, showing the close links among such seemingly unrelated causes as radical environmentalism, nationalized health care, class warfare, abortion rights, feminism, regulating the free market, assisted suicide, sex education, and energy policies to reduce consumption. Takeover is a bold revisionist history that completely reshapes our understanding of the current political crisis.

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175

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1497644313

ISBN 13

9781497644311

Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

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Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

Explores life in America in the early Sixties when Kennedy was President.

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350

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0521816173

ISBN 13

9780521816175

The Craft Apprentice

From Franklin to the Machine Age in America

By: W.J. Rorabaugh

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The Craft Apprentice

From Franklin to the Machine Age in America

By: W.J. Rorabaugh

The apprentice system in colonial America began as a way for young men to learn valuable trade skills from experienced artisans and mechanics and soon flourished into a fascinating and essential social institution. Benjamin Franklin got his start in life as an apprentice, as did Mark Twain, Horace Greeley, William Dean Howells, William Lloyd Garrison, and many other famous Americans. But the Industrial Revolution brought with it radical changes in the lives of craft apprentices. In this book, W. J. Rorabaugh has woven an intriguing collection of case histories, gleaned from numerous letters, diaries, and memoirs, into a narrative that examines the varied experiences of individual apprentices and documents the massive changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution.

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285

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195363981

ISBN 13

9780195363982

America's Promise

A Concise History of the United States

By: W. J. Rorabaugh,Donald T. Critchlow,Paula C. Baker

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America's Promise

A Concise History of the United States

By: W. J. Rorabaugh,Donald T. Critchlow,Paula C. Baker

America's Promise is a concise, highly readable introduction to American History. Designed to clearly explain major themes and events, it also captures the rich and often amusing character of the American people. The strong narrative emphasizes public life and how individuals constructed public structures in which they lived and worked. Including the latest scholarship in social, cultural, and political history, the work integrates the history and importance of women and minorities. To aid students in learning and reviewing, each chapter begins with a preview of the main ideas that will be discussed and ends with a conclusion that reinforces the key concepts. Rather than being simply declaratory signposts, section headings highlight main ideas and help carry along the narrative. A glossary defines main terms, and a timeline helps students keep track of events. Selected readings are also included to encourage further reading and study. Finally, carefully selected illustrations and maps portray, pinpoint, and illuminate important episodes in American history. The most concise and competitively priced book available, America's Promise is a breath of fresh air in the introductory market.

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508

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

074251191X

ISBN 13

9780742511910

The Craft Apprentice

From Franklin to the Machine Age in America

By: W.J. Rorabaugh

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The Craft Apprentice

From Franklin to the Machine Age in America

By: W.J. Rorabaugh

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285

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195363981

ISBN 13

9780195363982

Prohibition

A Very Short Introduction

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

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Prohibition

A Very Short Introduction

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

Published in hardcover as Prohibition: A Concise History in 2018.

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159

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190280107

ISBN 13

9780190280109

The Alcoholic Republic

An American Tradition

By: W.J. Rorabaugh

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The Alcoholic Republic

An American Tradition

By: W.J. Rorabaugh

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324

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199766312

ISBN 13

9780199766314

Prohibition

A Very Short Introduction

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

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Prohibition

A Very Short Introduction

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

Published in hardcover as Prohibition: A Concise History in 2018.

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159

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Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190280107

ISBN 13

9780190280109

American Hippies

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

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American Hippies

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

This short overview of the United States hippie social movement examines hippie beliefs and practices.

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249

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1107049237

ISBN 13

9781107049239

The Real Making of the President

Kennedy, Nixon, and the 1960 Election

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

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The Real Making of the President

Kennedy, Nixon, and the 1960 Election

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

When John Kennedy won the presidency in 1960, he also won the right to put his own spin on the victory-whether as an underdog's heroic triumph or a liberal crusader's overcoming special interests. Now W. J. Rorabaugh cuts through the mythology of this famous election to explain the nuts-and-bolts operations of the campaign and offer a corrective to Theodore White's flawed classic, The Making of the President. War hero, champion of labor, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, JFK was long on charisma. Despite a less than liberal record, he assumed the image of liberal hero-thanks to White and other journalists who were shamelessly manipulated by the Kennedy campaign. Rorabaugh instead paints JFK as the ideological twin of Nixon and his equal as a bare-knuckled politician, showing that Kennedy's hard-won, razor-thin victory was attributable less to charisma than to an enormous amount of money, an effective campaign organization, and television image-making. The 1960 election, Rorabaugh argues, reflects the transition from the dominance of old-style boss and convention politics to the growing significance of primaries, race, and especially TV-without which Kennedy would have been neither nominated nor elected. He recounts how JFK cultivated delegates to the 1960 Democratic convention; quietly wooed the still-important party bosses; and used a large personal organization, polls, and TV advertising to win primaries. JFK's master stroke, however, was choosing as a running mate Lyndon Johnson, whose campaigning in the South carried enough southern states to win the election. On the other side, Rorabaugh draws on Nixon's often-ignored files to take a close look at his dysfunctional campaign, which reflected the oddities of a dark and brooding candidate trapped into defending the Eisenhower administration. Yet the widely detested Nixon won almost as many votes as the charismatic Kennedy, even though Democrats outnumberd Republicans by three to two. This leads Rorabaugh to reexamine the darker side of the election: the Republicans' charges of vote fraud in Illinois and Texas, the use of money to prod or intimidate, manipulation of the media, and the bulldozing of opponents. White and others helped shape persisting impressions of both candidates, influencing the way Nixon conducted subsequent campaigns and the Democrats nurtured the Kennedy legacy. The Real Making of the President gives us a more sobering look at all of that, fundamentally reshaping our understanding of one of the nation's most memorable elections.

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260

Publisher

University Press of Kansas

Published Date

ISBN 10

0700618872

ISBN 13

9780700618873

Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

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Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties

By: W. J. Rorabaugh

Explores life in America in the early Sixties when Kennedy was President.

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Age

Page Count

350

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0521816173

ISBN 13

9780521816175

Takeover

How the Left's Quest for Social Justice Corrupted Liberalism

By: Donald Critchlow,W.J. Rorabaugh

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Takeover

How the Left's Quest for Social Justice Corrupted Liberalism

By: Donald Critchlow,W.J. Rorabaugh

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Page Count

175

Publisher

Open Road Media

Published Date

ISBN 10

1497644313

ISBN 13

9781497644311

America's Promise

A Concise History of the United States

By: W. J. Rorabaugh,Donald T. Critchlow,Paula C. Baker

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America's Promise

A Concise History of the United States

By: W. J. Rorabaugh,Donald T. Critchlow,Paula C. Baker

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

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Page Count

508

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

074251191X

ISBN 13

9780742511910

Book's by W.J. Rorabaugh

Prohibition

Prohibition

Berkeley at War : The 1960s

Berkeley at War : The 1960s

The Alcoholic Republic

The Alcoholic Republic

Takeover

Takeover

Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties

Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties

The Craft Apprentice

The Craft Apprentice

America's Promise

America's Promise

The Craft Apprentice

The Craft Apprentice

Prohibition

Prohibition

The Alcoholic Republic

The Alcoholic Republic

Prohibition

Prohibition

American Hippies

American Hippies

The Real Making of the President

The Real Making of the President

Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties

Kennedy and the Promise of the Sixties

Takeover

Takeover

America's Promise

America's Promise

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