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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... organizations large and small and always found welcoming staff members willing to sacrifice their precious time to assist me in digging through piles and files of archival material. Those organizations include, among others, the Argus ...
... Organization Working for Animals Used in Research, Drugs, and Surgery Women's Christian Temperance Union Women's Branch of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (previously the Women's Branch of the PSPCA) ...
... organizational explosion. Currently, over seven thousand organizations, representing well over ten million members, lobby, agitate, and educate on issues concerning the rights and treatment of nonhumans.5 Historically, this expansive ...
... organization, he initiated what was probably the first court case for animals' substantive legal rights just a few ... organizations, including the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in 1954, but she nonetheless characterized ...
... organizations and document legislative initiatives without providing any context or analysis. Limited in scope and depth, much of the existing scholarship incorrectly concludes that early organizations suffered from a narrow agenda that ...
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 |