Historically, repressive governments tend to punish political dissent. Therefore, peaceful dissent is a mark of an open society where freedoms are protected.
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FAIR USE NOTICE FAIR USE NOTICE: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for scientific, research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.
What is dissent? What role has dissent played in the development of American democracy? The Oxford English Dictionary helps us begin to answer the first question. The OED defines dissent as “difference of opinion or sentiment; disagreement” and the “opposite of consent.” This document collection encourages teachers and students to elaborate that definition and to develop answers to the second question by examining four case studies in dissent from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These case studies represent four very different forms of dissent: the mass demonstrations and violence of Haymarket, the parades and petitions of the women’s suffrage and anti-suffrage movements, the pamphlets and clinics of Margaret Sanger’s birth control crusade, and the free-speech forums and masquerade balls of the Dill Pickle Club. These case studies, in their variety, allow us to consider the different forms that dissent might take, and the different paths that these movements could follow within national history.
Please consider the following questions as you review the posts in this blog site:
Develop a definition of dissent based on your reading of these documents. What do the documents have in common? How does the concept of dissent allow us to bring together documents that are, in many ways, quite different?
What forms has dissent taken in U.S. history? What are the objectives of the writers and organizations represented in these documents? In what ways do they dissent from the political and social conditions of their times? What are their methods for advocating change? What are their relationships to mainstream American politics and culture?
What is the role of dissent in a representative democracy such as the United States? Why have groups of Americans chosen to go outside of official channels (e.g., elections) in order to try to reform government and society? How have traditions of dissent changed the ways that Americans practice democracy?
In what ways does the pursuit of individual liberty conflict with the quest for social equality and justice? In what ways are these goals compatible?
Your dissent exercise examples/suggestions are welcome on my facebook page
Bohemian Culture: The Dill Pickle Club
Photo showing the entrance to the Dill Pickle Club, a Chicago social club popular among artists, intellectuals, and nonconformists of all classes from the 1910s to the 1930s.
The Dill Pickle Club was established by the labor activist Jack Jones around 1914 on Chicago’s Near North Side. It was a social club in the broadest sense of the term, by turns coffeehouse, nightclub, lecture hall, art gallery, and performance space. The club hosted lectures and debates (some serious, some not), concerts and plays, dances and parties. It attracted free-thinking, nonconformist artists and intellectuals known as Bohemians. (The term Bohemian comes from the association of “gypsies,” or Romani people, with an anti-establishment, vagabond life and with the Eastern European region of Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic.) The Dill Pickle Club was not an elite or exclusive environment, but instead offered patrons the thrill of meeting people from different economic, educational, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. Socialites could mingle with factory workers, professors with activists, writers with prostitutes. The Dill Pickle was not alone in promoting nonconformist thought and expression; rather, it was one of about 200 free-speech forums that flourished in Chicago during the first half of the twentieth century. A random selection of lecture titles from the 1910s and ‘20s gives a sense of the club’s wide-ranging topics: “Is Jazz Better than Opera?” “Is Monogamy a Failure?” “Nuts I Have Known,” “Evolution and Revolution,” “Who’s Responsible for the Depression,” “Why Bolshevism Succeeded in Russia.” Some of these lectures were given by local professors and doctors, others by popular nonacademic speakers, such as attorney Clarence Darrow and anarchist Emma Goldman. The club was popular with celebrated writers such as Sherwood Anderson, Carl Sandburg, and Ben Hecht. However, the Dill Pickle struggled to survive the Great Depression and closed in the mid-1930s under pressure from tax auditors and moralists.
Questions to Consider
The Dill Pickle Club changed sites a few times, but settled in this basement on Tooker Place, off Dearborn, not far from the Newberry Library. What does this photograph of the entrance tell you about the club? What does the door’s famous inscription, “STEP HIGH STOOP LOW LEAVE YOUR DIGNITY OUTSIDE,” suggest about the atmosphere that Jack Jones wanted to create?
Examine the flyer for the Dill Pickle’s Masked Ball. Masquerades were among the clubs most frequent and most popular events. What will be the ball’s special features? What do you think the promise of “A Night in Bohemia” might have meant to people who went to the dance? Why do you think costume balls were so popular among Dill Pickle patrons?
Examine the flyers for the anti-war dance and the free love debate. What do these flyers suggest about bohemian culture, or the culture of dissent, in Chicago during these decades?
What are some of the relationships and differences between political and cultural forms of dissent, as suggested by these documents?
This poster advertises a masked ball at the Dill Pickle Club, also featuring dance performances, poetry readings, musical acts, and sketch comedy.A hand-drawn poster advertising an anti-war dance at the Dill Pickle Club. Dated 1929 or 1935.
On Peaceful, Political Revolution: Sanders has openly called for one, proving he’s the only candidate who grasps the peaceful but forceful revolt needed to overthrow plutocracy. To learn why our political revolution must be bigger–and longer lasting–than Bernie’s presidential campaign, read the “Revolution” page (above) which explains this revolutionary effort.
Mission: While we intend to vote for Bernie in the Democratic primaries, we also aim to sign up at least 1,000,000+ American citizens pledged to write-in Senator Bernie Sanders for President or vote Green in the general election of 2016before the primaries begin in February. Why?
Rationale: Bernie is the underdog, and he’s going to be vastly outspent by Secretary Clinton. 96% of the time, the candidate spending the most money wins a race. If he’s going to secure the Democratic nomination, leverage and insurance will be needed. 1,000,000+ voters pledged to write-in Senator Sanders will be a compelling argument for some Democratic primary voters. Bloomberg Politics reports, “in Iowa and New Hampshire, with four-fifths of likely Democratic voters in both states saying they think Clinton is destined to be the nominee.” A write-in campaign is designed to undermine that “destiny.” Call it arm twisting, call it “breaking eggs,” call it compellence; we call it leverage on Democratic primary voters and insurance against corrupted super delegates “pledged” to another candidate before one primary vote is cast. A write-in strategy is an innovative idea to help a candidate secure a party’s nomination. We are convinced that if this strategy is not employed, there is very little possibility Senator Sanders will secure the nomination.
The risk: Unlike Gore vs Bush vs Nader in 2000, Democratic primary voters will have the choice this year to unite the broad, American liberal/progressive left behind Senator Sanders or risk putting another Republican in the White House. The Bernie or Bust campaign puts the burden of unity on them. Q & A Two on the FAQ page above addresses concerns about putting the Executive Branch under control of the Republican half of the political duopoly. #SheepNoMore
Tactic: The total number of pledged voters will be conveyed to Democratic Party voters, and they will be discouraged from dividing the liberal-progressive, American left in the general election. The pledge is also an important role serving to remind super delegates that if they rob Senator Sanders of the nomination, a million or two voters will not support any other candidate than Bernie Sanders in the general election next year.
Please join the thousands of citizens to date by employing BOTH of these two, simple steps:
1) Take the voter pledge (click HERE) andvitallyimportant,please…
2) Commit yourself to quickly finding at least just two more people to take the pledge. 14% of Democrats will not vote for Hillary, but we need your help finding them to take the pledge. Time is of the essence. Please use your email to ask people you know, friends, neighbors, relatives (but no one from work), etc. to take the Bernie or Bust pledge before or while asking people in social media and follow up until you know two people have taken the pledge. If every pledge-signer recruits just two more citizens who recruit two more every day, we’ll have over 1,000,000 pledge-takers in less than a month. That’s all you need to do to make this grassroots pressure effective: take the pledge and recruit two more citizens. (We will send pledge-takers a reminder email with suggestions for Facebook or Twitter messaging to make it easy as possible.)
Power of two
There is not “plenty of time” for pledge-takers to find two people to take the Bernie or Bust pledge who also find two more people, etc. etc, please take a few minutes to get this off your “things to do” list today,tomorrow,assoonaspossible. That’s all you need to do to make this grassroots pressure effective: pledge and recruit two citizens. The pledge numbers need to get over a million in three months. This amount of leverage requires use of this simple “power of two” depicted here:==>>
Be the medium: If you understand the importance of using grassroots, revolutionary tactics to help shape major-party, primary campaign outcomes, please do more. Click the SHARE tab for suggestions. Do as much as you want to do to help Senator Sanders become the next President of the United States. In other words, from time to time when you have time, be the medium. Share this URL around the Internet: citizensagainstplutocracy.org. If you forget and use citizens against plutocracy dot com, that will work too.
Thank you!
To the media: Do your job. This is a revolution! Cover it as one.
Senator Sanders
Why Senator Sanders? While we do not agree with every vote Bernie has taken as a member of Congress, we believe that he’s the onlyrevolutionary candidate opposed to plutocracy and the “best bet” for winning the election in 2016. Sanders is running on a “radical idea,” telling the truth.
Revolt Beyond Bernie: We seekpolitical power for the sane majority, who are opposed to government of, by and for the wealthy. Bernie Sanders is not responsible for what we do but, we can help him fight battles–especially against the DNC– like few others can. For more, see the REVOLUTION tab above.
A Historic Candidate:Bernie Sanders would be the first Jewish American President, the first socialist American President, the first American President elected on a platform calling for a politicalrevolution and at 75, the oldest elected American President. 75 is the new 60! Sanders’ form of socialism is “100% American.”
Sheepdog for Secretary Clinton? The knock on Senator Sanders from some on the left is that his role will be to corral progressives, like a sheep dog, “to herd and be herded like sheep back into the Democratic fold….” If next year’s primaries follow the path of previous primaries, that will likely be the case; but to us, that prospect is unacceptable. Therefore, the write-in Bernie Sanders strategy. For elaboration on this point, see the REVOLUTION link at the top of this page.
Tim Black makes the case for #BernieOrBust:
If this pledge is too radical or scary for you, please sign our petition urging Senator Warren and the members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus to publicly endorse Senator Sanders for President. https://www.change.org/p/senator-warren-and-the-progressive-caucus-endorse-senator-sanders-for-president
Frequently Asked Questions: Click the FAQ page above.
Revolt Against Plutocracy logo
A Facebook-rooted Revolution. We launched this campaign from our Facebook page. A comment found here is worth bearing in mind: “The Republicans, Fox “News” and Rupert Murdoch want Hillary to win the nomination so that they can crucify her in the Presidentials (sic). (So much history, so much scandal, so many unanswered questions, so much to criticize.) They DO NOT want to face Bernie in the Presidential [election] because they know, when Bernie talks, people listen – REALLY listen. They know that Bernie will annihilate them in the Presidental [election]. He can’t be bought. He can’t be intimidated, [and] he can’t be tamed by corporate America. He can’t be silenced. He has all the momentum now and is gaining momentum exponentially. There are people following him from all over the world, and millions more will follow him in the lead up to him taking the White House. Bernie is a once-in-a-generation WORLD leader. Be prepared for FOX and Murdoch to wage a vicious campaign depicting him as a radical who will destroy your country. Murdoch destroyed our Australian Democratic Prime-Minister and Treasurer even though they guided us through the Global Financial Crisis with a triple-A credit rating from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, we avoided a recession … and our Treasurer Wayne Swan was awarded “World’s Best Treasurer” at a ceremony in Washington in 2011. At the same time Murdoch waged a media war in Australia and tore them down with a relentless “ECONOMIC IRRESPONSIBILITY” campaign. SERIOUSLY! Be prepared to fight and spread the word. I cannot emphasise how destructive they will be. Rupert Murdoch will NOT want Bernie to get to the Presidential [Campaign], because someone like Bernie – who is not at all enamoured [of] obscene wealth – scares Rupert Murdoch to death. So please do everything that you can to help him win. Bernie fights for you, please fight for him.”
