Download or read book Republic of the Dispossessed written by Rowland Berthoff and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Berthoff (history, Washington U., St. Louis) argues that modern American society is distinctive from contemporary European thought by virtue of its middle class. Over the course of ten essays, the author develops the idea of an American middle-class who brought with them from Europe a set of social values that has acted as a template for middle-class values. These ideals of a balance between personal liberty and communal equality have inspired a peculiarly American reaction to the modern changes of industrialization, urbanization, and immigration, causing a reactive apprehension in the middle-class that they are, like their peasant and artisan ancestors, once again being dispossessed. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR