American Anti-intellectualism and Libraries

  • Election of 1824

    John Quincy Adams is elected president without the majority of votes. His opponent, Andrew Jackson, won more votes but lost in the electoral college. This election was seen as a competition between an "egghead" and a man of the people (Rigney, 1991).
  • Period: to

    Development of widespread local public libraries

    (Kevane and Sundstrom, 2014)
  • Atlantis: The Antediluvian World Published

    Seminal product of early modern anti-intellectualism. Proposes that all life comes from Atlantis (Diaz, 2021).
  • Period: to

    Progressive Era

    The rise of industry leads to scholars-as-experts leads to a more positive attitude toward intellectuals. In addition, now college education was increasingly available to the middle class
    (Rigney, 1991)
  • Period: to

    McCarthyism

    Senator McCarthy encourages a widespread fear of communism, targeting intellectuals and specialists (Rigney,1991).
  • GI Bill Passed

    The passage of the GI Bill provided veterans with financial aid for higher education, helping to create the media understanding of higher education that persists today. (Claussen, 2011)
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower elected president

    A fundamental shift in the Republican party to align with the American public (Shogan, 2007).
  • Period: to

    Activists target intellectual isolation

    Student activists work to make higher education more accessible for traditionally marginalized groups. (Waters and Dionne, 2019)
  • Richard Hofstader publishes Anti-Intellectualism in American Life

    The seminal text about American Anti-Intellectualism. Hofstader's work remains the most highly regarded text on the subject (Rigney, 1991)
  • Period: to

    Post Modern Philosophy

    Challenges presented to the power of rationality. Can we ever know anything? Undermines the authority of intellectuals (Rigney, 1991)
  • Peak in challenged books

    More books were challenged in 2021 than in any year previously. This reflects the culture of "fake news" and distrust in intellectual institutions (Italie, 2022).