Education and the Cold War: The Battle for the American School

262 Pages·2008·1.3 MB·English

by  Andrew Hartman

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Education and the Cold War
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Education and the Cold War
The Battle for the American School
Andrew Hartman
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education and the cold war
Copyright © Andrew Hartman,2008.
All rights reserved.No part ofthis book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission except in the case ofbriefquotations embod-
ied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2008 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™
175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010 and
Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire,England RG21 6XS.
Companies and representatives throughout the world.
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint ofthe Palgrave Macmillan
division ofSt.Martin’s Press,LLC and ofPalgrave Macmillan Ltd.Macmillan® is a reg-
istered trademark in the United States,United Kingdom and other countries.Palgrave
is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries.
ISBN-13:978-0-230-60010-2
ISBN-10:0-230-60010-7
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hartman,Andrew.
Education and the Cold War :the battle for the American school / by Andrew
Hartman.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-230-60010-7 (alk.paper)
1.Education—Political aspects—United States.2.Education—United States—
History.3.Cold War.I.Title.
LC89.H27 2008
379.73—dc22 2007028866
A catalogue record ofthe book is available from the British Library.
Design by Scribe Inc.
First edition:March 2008
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States ofAmerica.
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This book is dedicated to Erica,with all my love.
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction Education and the Cold War:An American Crisis 1
1 John Dewey and the Invention ofChildhood:
Progressive Education in the Beginning 7
2 Education and the Great Depression:
The Unraveling ofthe Popular Front
and the Roots ofEducational Vigilantism 29
3 From Hot War to Cold War for Schools and
Teenagers:The Life Adjustment Movement as
Therapy for the Immature 55
4 The Communist Teacher Problematic:
Liberal Anticommunism and the
Education ofBella Dodd 73
5 Progressive Education is Red-ucation:
Conservative Thought and Cold
War Educational Vigilantism 91
6 A Crisis ofthe Mind:The Liberal
Intellectuals and the Schools 117
7 From World-Mindedness to Cold
War-Mindedness:The Lost
Educational Utopia ofTheodore Brameld 137
8 Desegregation as Cold War Experience:
The Perplexities ofRace in the Blackboard Jungle 157
9 Growing Up Absurd in the Cold War:
Sputnik and the Polarized Sixties 175
Conclusion The Educational Reproduction ofthe Cold War 197
Notes 203
Bibliography 237
Index 245
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Acknowledgments
First and foremost,I need to thank my loving wife,Erica.She made this difficult
task easier in every imaginable way,as a wage earner,copy editor,and moral sup-
porter.Ifnot for her,I do not know where I would be,nor do I care to contemplate
such a counter-factual.Thank you,Erica.
I would like to thank everyone at Palgrave Macmillan,which has been a superb
press to work with,from start to finish.Amanda Moon,the editor who contracted
me,was incredibly helpful,as were Brigitte Shull and Airie Stuart.Jonathan Zim-
merman’s peer review was encouraging,thoughtful,and pointed.
This book originated as my PhD dissertation,directed by Leo P.Ribuffo,who
was instrumental,every step ofthe way.It was during his challenging class on “U.S.
social thought in the postwar era”that I formed my topic.He read and commented
on several drafts,including the early,ugly ones.Leo’s firm guidance was always
exactly what I needed.I could not have asked for more in a mentor,even though
his Niebuhrian outlook finds my unreconstructed “pinko-ism”a touch naïve.
I am indebted to Andrew Zimmerman.Ifnot for his course on “history and his-
torians,”my first semester of graduate school would likely have been my last.He
taught me what it means to be a committed and engaged scholar-teacher.Andrew,
along with Melani McAlister,who taught me that “everyone has a theory,”read and
offered excellent comments on dissertation drafts.I am also grateful to Edward
Berkowitz and Gregg Jackson for enlivening my dissertation defense with their
skeptical questions,which made the book that much better,even ifthey still don’t
approve.The continued support ofDonald Collins,who introduced me to educa-
tional history,has been welcome.
The George Washington University history faculty consistently stimulated my
intellect over the course ofmy five years spent there.I especially thank the follow-
ing professors:Adele Alexander,Tyler Anbinder,William Becker,Gregg Brazinsky,
Martin Sherwin,and Richard Stott.One ofthe great things about my time spent at
GWU was being able to take courses in the American Studies department,espe-
cially with Chad Heap,James Horton,and Teresa Murphy.
I also learned a tremendous amount from my graduate student partners in
crime, often during our weekly Thursday night carousing. Thanks especially to
Chris Hickman,Bo Peery,and Jason Roberts,all ofwhom read various chapters,
and Sara Berndt,Kristen Gwinn,Jeremy Hill,Varad Mehta,and Kyle Riismandel.
My DC reading group,Salik Farooqi,Megan Davis,Ariane Fischer-Pasternak,and
Joe Malherek, was particularly crucial to helping me forge the worldview that
informs this book.I must also thank the legendary teacher Charles Angeletti,who
unknowingly started me down this path during my time at Metropolitan State
College in Denver.And I’ll be forever grateful to my friend Andres Martinez for
ensuring that I wasn’t alone during a tough time in my teaching career.
The librarians and archivists who helped me along the way are some of the
unsung heroes of academia.Special thanks to Patrizia Stone at the Kheel Center