Description
Book SynopsisAmericans like to think that they look after their own, especially in times of hardship. And for the Great Depression and the Great Society eras, the collective memory is one of solidarity and compassion for the less fortunate. This title challenges this story by examining opinion polls and letters to presidents from average citizens.
Trade Review"All who are interested in US public opinion concerning the role of government in support of social programs and the role that leaders can play in supporting or dismantling such programs should read this brief, timely, and well-written gem."--Choice "[I]n analyzing public opinion in three distinct periods of American political history, Katherine Newman and Elisabeth Jacobs set out some interesting observations for contemporary policy-makers."--Alastair Hill, LSE British Politics and Policy blog "The authors raise important questions about public opinion, policy making, and democracy. Scholars exploring shifts in the American safety net and American politics more generally will have to attend to the authors' arguments and their careful synthesis of public opinion data. Lay audiences and policy makers will find a useful and provocative, though quite general, overview of welfare state development alongside a passionate call for progressive political leadership to address the economic inequality and insecurity of the 'second gilded age.'"--Marisa Chappell, Journal of American History "Who Cares? makes a contribution by providing a concise history of the interplay between the development of antipoverty policy initiatives and public opinion since the New Deal and by demonstrating consistent themes in attitudes toward the welfare state."--Tracy Roof, Perspectives on Politics
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xiii Introduction Devoted to the Common Good? 1 Chapter 1: Dissent and the New Deal 11 Chapter 2: Warring over the War on Poverty 56 Chapter 3: Economic Anxiety in the New Gilded Age 112 Chapter 4: Searching for "the Better Angels of Our Nature" 149 Notes 167 Bibliography 203 Index 211
