Bibliograph

A troubled birth, the 1930s and American public opinion, Susan Herbst

Type

Label

A troubled birth, the 1930s and American public opinion, Susan Herbst

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Illustrations

illustrationsmaps

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

A troubled birth

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1240772597

Responsibility statement

Susan Herbst

Series statement

Chicago studies in American politics

Sub title

the 1930s and American public opinion

Summary

"Pollsters and pundits failed to predict the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Is this because they do not know our fellow Americans and how they think? Who are the public? In A Troubled Birth: The 1930s and American Public Opinion, Susan Herbst argues that we need to go back to the beginning of the idea of "public opinion" and a mass public to understand what the American public is now. Herbst contends that the idea that there was a public whose opinions mattered began in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, with the growth of mass media, the devastating impact of the economic collapse on so many people, and the entry of political leaders, like Franklin Roosevelt, who were talented at trying to shape what the public thought. In the 1930s we had a stew pot of political beliefs from far left to far right, many challenging the established democracy of the day, in the wake of the failure of government to deal with the economic and social effects of the depression. Herbst argues that public opinion about political matters can only be understood as a product of a messy mixture of culture, politics, economics-in short, all the things that influence how people live. If we are to understand what people think about politics we must dig deep into the context in which people are developing these opinions"--, Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

Introduction: Birth of a Public -- President in the Maelstrom: FDR as Public Opinion Theorist -- Twisted Populism: Pollsters and Delusions of Citizenship -- A Consuming Public: The Strange and Magnificent New York World's Fair -- Radio Embraces Race and Immigration, Awkwardly -- Interlude: A Depression Needn't Be So Depressing -- Public Opinion and Its Problems: Some Ways Forward

Creator