The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! : Pageantry and Patriotism in Cold-War America

At a time when Americans dedicate their national holidays to barbecues, sporting events, and driving madly on crowded interstate highways to vacation homes and theme parks, it may be difficult to remember an era when patriotic observance was a matter of high seriousness and legislated pageantry. But now the memory is restored in fascinating detail by Richard M. Fried in the eye-opening The Russians Are Coming! After summarizing such patriotic developments as the sanctification of the American flag and the wide--and occasionally coercive--acceptance of the Pledge of Allegiance, Fried describes how the Ad Council, the American Heritage Foundation, and other organizations created "campaigns to sell America to the Americans" through carefully constructed "rededication" celebrations like "Know Your America" Weeks, Freedom Weeks, and traveling exhibitions such as the Freedom Train, which in the late 1940s brought original copies of seminal American documents directly to cities and towns across the country. He vividly recreates the spectacle of clashing New York City parades involving thousands of participants, as celebrants of the newly-created Loyalty Day marched in opposition to pro-Communist May Day demonstrations just blocks away. Most startling, though, is Fried's account of how Mosinee, Wisconsin was "invaded" by Communists in a staged media event sponsored by the American Legion. Citizens allowed themselves to be searched at random while local officials acted the part of Stalinists, and the town restaurants were required to serve only potato soup and black bread. Meticulously researched and colorfully told, The Russians Are Coming! recreates an absorbing--and revealing--dimension of American history.

this Book Explores A Widely Lived Yet Little Remembered Facet Of America's Cultural And Political History: The Cold War As Experienced At The Grassroots Level. Here, Fried Traces The Cresting Of Modern Patriotic Observance During World War Ii And Then Shows How Patriotic And Civic Activists Afterwards Labored To Recreate A Remembered Unity And Commitment In The Tension-filled Cold War Era. A Variety Of National And Local Entities Mounted Campaigns To Sell America To The Americans Through Rededication Celebrations Like Know Your America Week And Freedom Week. The American Heritage Foundation Wheeled Out The Freedom Train, Which Carried Seminal Documents Of The Nation's Past To Railroad Depots Across The Us. Fried Revisits The 1950 Communist Invasion Of Mosinee, Wisconsin, When Ersatz Stalinists Harassed And Bullied Citizens And The Town's Eateries Served Only Potato Soup And Black Bread. He Also Depicts The Creation And Inauguration Of New Patriotic Events Like Loyalty Day And Armed Forces Day.

meticulously Researched, This Book Recreates A Colorful, Sometimes Comical, And Always Revealing Dimension Of Our History.

library Journal

with The End Of The Cold War, Scholars Can Examine That Era From A Broader And Deeper Perspective Than Previously Possible. This Book Reveals The Concerted Governmental Effort To Overcome American Cultural Complacency Through Staged Patriotism As A National Strategy Against The Communist Challenge. Traditional Holidays, For Example, Became Serious, Legislated Pageants. Fried (history, Univ. Of Illinois; Nightmare In Red, Oxford Univ., 1991) Covers The Sanctification Of The American Flag, The Implementation Of The Pledge Of Allegiance, And Other Media Campaigns To Sell Americanism. Many Of These New Stories Confirm Alexis De Tocqueville's Prescient Insight From The Early 19th Century That Warned About The Tyranny Of The Majority. Readers May Be Comforted, However, That Post-cold War Political Correctness Fads Likely Will Be No More Enduring Than Those Adopted During The Cold War. Recommended For Public And Academic Libraries.william D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport

At a time when Americans dedicate their national holidays to barbecues, sporting events, and driving on crowded interstate highways to vacation homes and theme parks, it may be difficult to remember an era when patriotic observance was a matter of high seriousness and legislated pageantry. But now the memory is restored in fascinating detail by Richard M. Fried in this eye-opening book. After summarizing such patriotic developments as the sanctification of the American flag and the wide--and occasionally coercive--acceptance of the Pledge of Allegiance, Fried describes how the Advertising Council, the American Heritage Foundation, and other organizations created "campaigns to sell America to the Americans" through carefully constructed "rededication" celebrations like "Know Your America" Weeks, Freedom Weeks, and traveling exhibitions such as the Freedom Train, which in the late 1940s brought original copies of seminal American documents directly to cities and towns across the country. He vividly recreates the spectacle of clashing New York City parades, as celebrants of the newly-created Loyalty Day marched in opposition to pro-Communist May Day demonstrations just blocks away. Most startling, though, is Fried's account of how Mosinee, Wisconsin was "invaded" by Communists in a staged media event sponsored by the American Legion. Citizens allowed themselves to be searched at random while local officials acted the part of Stalinists, and the town restaurants were required to serve only potato soup and black bread. Meticulously researched and colorfully told, this book recreates a revealing dimension of American history.--Adapted from dust jacket "This book explores a widely lived yet little remembered facet of America's cultural and political history: the Cold War as experienced at the grassroots level. Here, Fried traces the cresting of modern patriotic observance during World War II and then shows how patriotic and civic activists afterwards labored to recreate that remembered unity and commitment in the tension-filled Cold War era. A variety of national and local entities mounted campaigns "to sell America to the Americans" through "rededication" celebrations like Know Your America Week and Freedom Week. The American Heritage Foundation wheeled out the Freedom Train, which carried seminal documents of the nation's past to railroad depots across the country. Fried revisits the 1950 "Communist invasion" of Mosinee, Wisconsin, when ersatz Stalinists harassed and bullied citizens and the town's eateries served only potato soup and black bread. He also depicts the invention of new patriotic events like Loyalty Day and Armed Forces Day." "Meticulously researched, The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! recreates a colorful, sometimes comical, and always revealing dimension of our history. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET This book explores a widely lived yet little remembered facet of America's cultural and political history: the Cold War as experienced at the grassroots level. Here, Fried traces the cresting of modern patriotic observance during World War II and then shows how patriotic and civic activists afterwards labored to recreate a remembered unity and commitment in the tension-filled Cold War era. A variety of national and local entities mounted campaigns "to sell America to the Americans" through "rededication" celebrations like Know Your America Week and Freedom Week. The American Heritage Foundation wheeled out the Freedom Train, which carried seminal documents of the nation's past to railroad depots across the US. Fried revisits the 1950 "Communist invasion" of Mosinee, Wisconsin, when ersatz Stalinists harassed and bullied citizens and the town's eateries served only potato soup and black bread. He also depicts the creation and inauguration of new patriotic events like Loyalty Day and Armed Forces Day. Meticulously researched, this book recreates a colorful, sometimes comical, and always revealing dimension of our history. In 1950s America, flag waving, martial pomp, and staged ceremony were presented and perceived as America's last best defence against the communist threat. In this volume, Fried explores the often absurd lengths the average citizen in McCarthyite America went to to help shore up patriotism and fend off the threat of the Red Menace The author presents a look at a time "when patriotic observance was a matter of high seriousness and legislated pageantry," with a special section on an event in Mosinee, Wisconsin, staged by the American Legion, where the town was "invaded" by Communists.--Jacket.