In school we learn that, from its inception, the United States avoided the class sins of Europe, creating a level playing field without noblemen or kings, where those from the most humble backgrounds could succeed. Accordingly, class is usually missing from the history we’re taught. Yet historian Steve Fraser argues that the vision of American society as classless is a delusion and, through an examination of key episodes in US history, he reminds us that class has always been a key force – and remains so to this day.
Resources:
Steve Fraser, Class Matters: The Strange Career of an American Delusion Yale University Press, 2018