For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United StatesAnimal rights. Those two words conjure diverse but powerful images and reactions. Some nod in agreement, while others roll their eyes in contempt. Most people fall somewhat uncomfortably in the middle, between endorsement and rejection, as they struggle with the profound moral, philosophical, and legal questions provoked by the debate. Today, thousands of organizations lobby, agitate, and educate the public on issues concerning the rights and treatment of nonhumans. For the Prevention of Cruelty is the first history of organized advocacy on behalf of animals in the United States to appear in nearly a half century. Diane Beers demonstrates how the cause has shaped and reshaped itself as it has evolved within the broader social context of the shift from an industrial to a postindustrial society. Until now, the legacy of the movement in the United States has not been examined. Few Americans today perceive either the companionship or the consumption of animals in the same manner as did earlier generations. Moreover, powerful and lingering bonds connect the seemingly disparate American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of the nineteenth century and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals of today. For the Prevention of Cruelty tells an intriguing and important story that reveals society’s often changing relationship with animals through the lens of those who struggled to shepherd the public toward a greater compassion. |
From inside the book
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... Philadelphia clubwoman, White helped create and launch the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) in 1867, but her male cofounders denied her any leadership role and relegated her to a subordinate women's ...
... Philadelphia's streets. As an adult, she, along with other animal advocates, made workhorse reform a headline campaign. Reproduced with permission of the American Anti-Vivisection Society. wellspring for both the leaders and the ...
... Philadelphia—a city with a reformist tradition—seemed to be the hotbed for protomovement activities. Shortly after his marriage in 1854, Philadelphia attorney Richard P. White learned that his young wife, Caroline, emphatically cared ...
... Philadelphia lawyer, devoted considerable time to the abolition cause. Her mother, a cousin to Lucretia Mott, was both an abolitionist and a suffragist. The political ideology and activism of the Earle household greatly influenced ...
... Philadelphia's Market Street. She later recounted that such scenes so traumatized and depressed her that for days afterward, she loathed returning to that street. A self-described animal lover, she personally rescued and adopted ...
Contents
1 | |
19 | |
39 | |
59 | |
5 Reaching Out to the Mainstream | 91 |
6 Our Most Strenuous Protest | 119 |
7 The Road to Liberation | 147 |
Epilogue | 197 |
Notes | 203 |
Bibliography | 267 |
Index | 295 |