Not in Our Name: American Antiwar Speeches, 1846 to the Present

by Jesse Stellato

Overview

Not in Our Name collects and analyzes the most important antiwar speeches in American history. It is a book about the origins and consequences of America’s wars, but also about the integrity and sacrifices of those who fought on the front lines of dissent. By telling the stories of the people who spoke out in good-faith disagreement with their government and fellow citizens, Not in Our Name records some of the most compelling acts of courage in American politics and some of the most passionate, beautiful, and mighty speeches in American history.

In Not in Our Name, Jesse Stellato presents the history of American antiwar speeches in a readable way that is neither pacifist nor partisan, featuring speakers with diverse backgrounds and political beliefs. By combining historical research with a review of classical Greek and Roman rhetorical theory, Not in Our Name also helps answer a fundamental question: “What makes a great antiwar speech?”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780271048680
Publisher:	Penn State University Press
Publication date:	07/16/2012
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Jesse Stellato is an author and lawyer residing in Miami, Florida. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Boston College Law School.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Editor's Note xi

Introduction 1

1 Mexican-American War 15

Theodore Parker Delivers "A Sermon or War" 16

Charles Sumner Calls for the Withdrawal of American Troops from Mexico 26

Abraham Lincoln Inveighs Against President Polk 31

2 Civil War 39

Clement Vallandigham Argues That the War Cannot Be Won 40

Alexander Long Proposes Peace at Any Price 45

3 Spanish-American war and Philippine Insurrection 54

Moorfield Storey Warms of a Dangerous and Growing Militarism 56

Charles Eliot Norton Defines "True Patriotism" 63

Carl Schurz Discusses the Perils Faced by an Occupying Force 69

Charles Eliot Norton Accuses America of "Counterfeit Patriotism" 74

4 World War I 78

William Jennings Bryan Resigns as Secretary of State to Launch an Antiwar Crusade 79

George Norris Assails the Senate's War Resolution 79

Robert La Follette Argues That the War Lacks Popular Support 88

Kate Richards O'Hare Discusses the War's Degradation of Women 93

Eugene V. Debs Argues That the Working Class Will "Furnish the Corpses" of War 98

5 World War II 105

Norman Thomas Discusses the War's Effect on Civil Liberties 106

Richard Wright Justifies African American Opposition to World War II 108

Charles Lindbergh Asks, "Who are the War Agitators?" 113

6 Korean War 119

Paul Robeson Declares That Blacks Will Never Fight the Soviet Union 120

W. E. B. Du Bois Runs for Congress on a Peace Platform 125

7 Vietnam War 131

Martin Luther King Jr. Urges Americans to Go "Beyond Vietnam" 133

Eugene J. McCarthy Celebrates the "Spirit of 1963" 144

Robert F. Kennedy Says of the War in Vietnam: "It Must be Ended" 151

Shirley Chisholm Demands "People and Peace, Not Profits and War" 160

Fannie Lou Hamer Rallies Antiwar Students at Berkeley 165

John Kerry Testifies on Behalf of Vietnam Veterans Against the War 170

8 War on Terror 181

Barbara Lee Pleads with the House Not to "Become the Evil That We Deplore" 183

Barack Obama Criticizes a "Dumb War" 186

Noam Chomsky Asks, "Why Iraq?" 193

Robert Byrd Chastises the Senate for Standing "Passively Mute" 199

Epilogue: The Globalization of Dissent 208

Arundhati Roy Rails Against "Imperial Democracy" 208

Appendix A Full-Text Sources 217

Appendix B Rhetorical Devices in Antiwar Speeches 222

Notes 231

Biographical and Bibliographical Notes 261

Index 275

Credits 289

Editorial Reviews

Jesse Stellato's splendid collection of antiwar speeches, Not in Our Name, presents material unique to the literature of protest and dissent, one of the glories of American letters and a tribute to the power of open democracy and the First Amendment. Stellato's analysis and commentary reveal rich veins of political rhetoric, some more familiar, some unjustly forgotten, while opening up the larger question of how language that is consciously crafted can shape national life and foreign policy.  Here the decisions of government may conflict with the will of its citizens.  Reading these speeches, we realize that the exercise of power and the power of the aesthetic, the practice of historical interpretation and the creativity of literature, often inhabit the same words.”

—James Engell,Harvard University

“As a longtime antiwar activist and a rhetorical historian who studies U.S. empire, I welcome this project with a glad heart and open arms—finally, an anthology to help America remember its long and rich history of opposing war. Taken as a whole, I suspect that the book will become an instant classic. Its breadth is impressive.”

—Stephen Hartnett,University of Colorado Denver

“This interesting, well-crafted book is a welcome addition to the literature on antiwar dissent. It will appeal to scholars and general readers who are interested in the American antiwar tradition, in rhetoric, and in the culture of dissent.”

—Scott H. Bennett The Historian

From the Publisher