Us and Them? A History of Intolerance in America

Us and Them illuminates the dark corners of our nation's past and traces our ongoing efforts to live up to the American ideals of equality and justice. Fourteen case studies--enhanced through the use of original documents, historical photos, newly commissioned paintings, and dramaticnarrative--bring readers a first-hand account of the history and psychology of intolerance. We read about Mary Dyer, executed for her Quaker faith in Boston in 1660. We learn how the Mormons were expelled from Missouri in 1838. The attack on Chinese miners in Wyoming in 1885, the battle of WoundedKnee in 1890, the Ku Klux Klan activities in Mobile, Alabama in 1981, and the Crown Heights riot in 1991 are among the memorable episodes presented in clear, evocative language that brings to life history that is often forgotten or slighted.

Jim Carnes was born in Columbus, Mississippi, in 1955. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he served as an editor with Encyclopaedia Britannica for eight years. He is currently the Director of the Teaching Tolerance project of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama.