How Far the Promised Land?: World Affairs and the American Civil Rights Movement from the First World War to Vietnam Hardcover - 2005 - 1st Edition

First line

SOME TEN YEARS before Woodrow Wilson and William Trotter journeyed to Paris, in the summer of 1908, racial violence rocked Springfield, Illinois, the city where Abraham Lincoln had lived and was buried.

From the rear cover

"A fascinating account of the role of internationalism in race reform discourse. . . . An important contribution to the literature on race and international affairs and the growing body of work on internationalism in American reform politics. How Far the Promised Land is essential reading for civil rights scholars and for scholars interested in international approaches to American history."--Mary L. Dudziak, University of Southern California, author of Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy

"In his introduction to this innovative and engaging history, Jonathan Rosenberg argues that we cannot fully understand the twentieth-century civil rights movement if we do not understand exactly how its leaders and laity made sense of, and use of, international affairs. He goes on to demonstrate, in great and effective detail, just how they made sense and use of international affairs, and how the relationship between civil rights and international affairs has shaped our history. Rosenberg writes clearly, crisply, and vividly. He has an ear for unforgettable quotes--the voices of his subjects ring loudly and give the story its force--and an eye for moving human drama."--James Goodman, Rutgers University, author of Stories of Scottsboro

"Jonathan Rosenberg amply proves his thesis that race reformers from World War I on were acutely aware of a variety of international issues, and that they incorporated references to events overseas in their arguments for racial progress in America. He has done a wonderful job of assembling a convincing collection of quotations that attest to the cosmopolitan view of race reformers, particularly those in the NAACP, and he demonstrates the importance of international consciousness over a longer time period and in much greater detail than have others."--Frank Costigliola, University of Connecticut, author of France and the United States: The Cold War Alliance since World War II