The adoption of the Bill of Rights in 1791 marked the creation of a uniquely innovative mechanism for constitutional change by which Americans have continued to renew and redefine their governance over a two-hundred-year period. Now, in time for the bicentennial celebration of this great document, seven distinguished scholars combine their expertise to explore the history and contemporary meaning of these first ten amendments to the Constitution.

Crucible of Liberty

History

Arsenault, Raymond

Americas

Free Press

Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice (Pivotal Moments in American History)

Here is the definitive account of a dramatic and indeed pivotal moment in American history, a critical episode that transformed the civil rights movement in the early 1960s. Raymond Arsenault offers a meticulously researched and grippingly written account of the Freedom Rides, one of the most compelling chapters in the history of civil rights. Arsenault recounts how in 1961, emboldened by federal rulings that declared segregated transit unconstitutional, a group of volunteers--blacks and whites--traveled together from Washington DC through the Deep South, defying Jim Crow laws in buses and terminals, putting their bodies and their lives on the line for racial justice. The book paints a harrowing account of the outpouring of hatred and violence that greeted the Freedom Riders in Alabama and Mississippi. One bus was disabled by Ku Klux Klansmen, then firebombed. In Birmingham and Montgomery, mobs of white supremacists swarmed the bus stations and battered the riders with fists and clubs while local police refused to intervene. The mayhem in Montgomery was captured by news photographers, shocking the nation, and sparking a crisis in the Kennedy administration, which after some hesitation and much public outcry, came to the aid of the Freedom Riders. Arsenault brings the key actors in this historical drama vividly to life, with colorful portraits of the Kennedys, Jim Farmer, John Lewis, Diane Nash, Fred Shuttlesworth, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Their courage, their fears, and the agonizing choices made by all these individuals run through the story like an electric current. The saga of the Freedom Rides is an improbable, almost unbelievable story. In the course of six months, some four hundred and fifty Riders expanded the realm of the possible in American politics, redefining the limits of dissent and setting the stage in the years to come for the 1963 Birmingham demonstrations, Freedom Summer and the Selma-to-Montgomery March. With characters and plot lines rivaling those of the most imaginative fiction, this is a tale of heroic sacrifice and unexpected triumph.

Oxford University Press

They were black and white, young and old, men and women. In the spring and summer of 1961, they put their lives on the line, riding buses through the American South to challenge segregation in interstate transport. Their story is one of the most celebrated episodes of the civil rights movement, yet a full-length history has never been written until now. In these pages, acclaimed historian Raymond Arsenault provides a gripping account of six pivotal months that jolted the consciousness of America. The Freedom Riders were greeted with hostility, fear, and violence. They were jailed and beaten, their buses stoned and firebombed. In Alabama, police stood idly by as racist thugs battered them. When Martin Luther King met the Riders in Montgomery, a raging mob besieged them in a church. Arsenault recreates these moments with heart-stopping immediacy. His tightly braided narrative reaches from the White House--where the Kennedys were just awakening to the moral power of the civil rights struggle--to the cells of Mississippi's infamous Parchman Prison, where Riders tormented their jailers with rousing freedom anthems. Along the way, he offers vivid portraits of dynamic figures such as James Farmer, Diane Nash, John Lewis, and Fred Shuttlesworth, recapturing the drama of an improbable, almost unbelievable saga of heroic sacrifice and unexpected triumph. The Riders were widely criticized as reckless provocateurs, or "outside agitators." But indelible images of their courage, broadcast to the world by a newly awakened press, galvanized the movement for racial justice across the nation. Freedom Riders is a stunning achievement, a masterpiece of storytelling that will stand alongside the finest works on the history of civil rights.

The saga of the Freedom Rides is an improbable, almost unbelievable story. In the course of six months in 1961, four hundred and fifty Freedom Riders expanded the realm of the possible in American politics, redefining the limits of dissent and setting the stage for the civil rights movement. In this new version of his encyclopedic Freedom Riders, Raymond Arsenault offers a significantly condensed and tautly written account. With characters and plot lines rivaling those of the most imaginative fiction, this is a tale of heroic sacrifice and unexpected triumph. Arsenault recounts how a group of volunteers-blacks and whites-came together to travel from Washington D.C. through the Deep South, defying Jim Crow laws in buses and terminals and putting their lives on the line for racial justice. News photographers captured the violence in Montgomery, shocking the nation and sparking a crisis in the Kennedy administration. Here are the key players-their fears and courage, their determination and second thoughts, and the agonizing choices they faced as they took on Jim Crow-and triumphed. Winner of the Owsley Prize Publication is timed to coincide with the airing of the American Experience miniseries documenting the Freedom Rides" Arsenault brings vividly to life a defining moment in modern American history." -Eric Foner, The New York Times Book Review" Authoritative, compelling history." -William Grimes, The New York Times" For those interested in understanding 20th-century America, this is an essential book." -Roger Wilkins, Washington Post Book World" Arsenault's record of strategy sessions, church vigils, bloody assaults, mass arrests, political maneuverings and personal anguish captures the mood and the turmoil, the excitement and the confusion of the movement and the time." -Michael Kenney, The Boston Globe

The first full-length biography of civil rights hero and congressman John Lewis &nbsp; For six decades John Robert Lewis (1940-2020) was a towering figure in the U.S. struggle for civil rights. As an activist and progressive congressman, he was renowned for his unshakable integrity, indomitable courage, and determination to get into "good trouble." &nbsp; In this first book-length biography of Lewis, Raymond Arsenault traces Lewis's upbringing in rural Alabama, his activism as a Freedom Rider and leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, his championing of voting rights and anti-poverty initiatives, and his decades of service as the "conscience of Congress." &nbsp; Both in the streets and in Congress, Lewis promoted a philosophy of nonviolence to bring about change. He helped the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. plan the 1963 March on Washington, where he spoke at the Lincoln Memorial. Lewis's work as a civil rights leader led to frequent arrests and beatings, most notably when he suffered a skull fracture in Selma, Alabama, during the 1965 police attack later known as "Bloody Sunday." He was instrumental in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and in Congress he advocated for racial and economic justice, immigration reform, LGBTQ rights, and national health care. &nbsp; Arsenault recounts Lewis's lifetime of work toward one overarching goal: realizing the "beloved community," an ideal society based in equity and inclusion. Lewis never wavered in this pursuit, and even in death his influence endures, inspiring mobilization and resistance in the fight for social justice.

John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community (Black Lives)

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

Yale University Press

St Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950

Univ Pr of Florida

"Arsenault's new history of St. Petersburg is not only the best and most professional effort so far, it is also a good book in its own right . . . a book from which to take both pleasure and instruction."--St. Petersburg Times "A marvelous exploration . . . both a visual treat and a pleasure to read. At the same time, it makes a very important contribution to modern Florida history."--Raymond Mohl, Florida Atlantic University St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950 chronicles the early history of St. Petersburg and the lower Pinellas Peninsula. From the precolumbian culture of the Tocobaga mound-builders to the arrival of the railroad, from the St. Petersburg-Havana yacht races to the tin-can tourists to the first stirrings of the Sunbelt phenomenon following World War II, Raymond Arsenault's history presents a rich tapestry of the area. A forerunner of the modern Sunbelt city, early St. Petersburg successfully mixed southern and northern cultures and used vigorous public relations and advertising to promote itself. By the mid-20th century, the "Sunshine City" had developed into one of the most important resort communities in the United States, a self-styled subtropical playground that stood tantalizingly apart from the mainstream of urban America. Before the age of expressways, heat pumps, fast-food restaurants, and suburban shopping malls, local life revolved around institutions and traditions long associated with the Florida Dream--the centuries-old promise of perpetual warmth, health, comfort, and leisure. Arsenault describes these institutions and many of the personalities that enlivened them--Doc Webb, William Straub, Al Lang, Frank Davis, Handsome Jack Taylor, Katherine Bell Tippetts, and others, whose activities contributed to the distinctive and colorful history of St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950 (Florida Sand Dollar Books)

University Press of Florida

Florida’s Big Bend Coast is one of America’s longest and wildest continuous wetlands. Seminole Indians once sought refuge from American soldiers along its shores. Today, visitors find a different kind of refuge, a refuge from a hectic world. In the first comprehensive armchair guide to this region, naturalist and explorer Doug Alderson introduces readers to Florida’s frontier past and evolving future. Interweaving history, folkways, and observations from life in the great outdoors, Alderson tells tales of his travels by sea kayak along the Big Bend Saltwater Paddling Trail, which runs from the Aucilla River to the town of Suwannee. He retraces the footsteps of famed naturalist John Muir in Cedar Key, shares little-known stories of backcountry feuds that rivaled the Hatfields and McCoys, uncovers amusing theories as to why mullet jump, and invites salty local characters to share the spotlight. Sometimes poignant, often humorous, and always engaging, Waters Less Traveled is the perfect travel companion for anyone who wants a bit of adventure without leaving home.

Waters Less Traveled: Exploring Florida's Big Bend Coast (Florida History and Culture)

Alderson,Doug

Mormino, Gary R.

Wild Ass Of Ozarks: Jeff Davis Social Bases Southern Politics

Univ Tennessee Press

St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950

Donning Co.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Arsenault, Raymond. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Arsenault, Raymond

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Arsenault, Raymond. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Crucible of Liberty

Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice (Pivotal Moments in American History)

Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice (Pivotal Moments in American History)

Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice (Pivotal Moments in American History)

John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community (Black Lives)

St Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950

St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950 (Florida Sand Dollar Books)

Waters Less Traveled: Exploring Florida's Big Bend Coast (Florida History and Culture)

Wild Ass Of Ozarks: Jeff Davis Social Bases Southern Politics

St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950