Bennett. The Party of Fear - From Nativist Movements to the New Right in American History

Abstract

Professor Bennett has written an overview of American nativism that will rival John Higham's classic Strangers in the Land. It is characterized by erudition and breadth. The book's arresting cover depicts its major thesis. It shows the Statue of Liberty holding the torch of freedom high while peering out from behind a Ku Klux Klan hood. As Bennett sees it, right wing political activists, from the Know Nothings of the pre-Civil War period to the "hard" rightists of the 1970s and 80s have seen themselves as sentinels defending America and her precious dream from dangerous enemies. Throughout his study, Bennett analyzes the nativist impulse in American history with an eye to its own assumptions and dynamics. Further, he provides convincing historical context for each nativist movement and its followers.