Red Dynamite: Creationism, Culture Wars, and Anticommunism in America

Carl R. Weinberg

Open Access Published by Cornell University Press 2021

Red Dynamite

Creationism, Culture Wars, and Anticommunism in America

Carl R. Weinberg
Funded by: Indiana University / TOME

In the series Religion and American Public Life

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501759307

Overview
Contents

About this book

In Red Dynamite, Carl R. Weinberg argues that creationism's tenacious hold on American public life depended on culture-war politics inextricably embedded in religion. Many Christian conservatives were convinced that evolutionary thought promoted immoral and even bestial social, sexual, and political behavior. The "fruits" of subscribing to Darwinism were, in their minds, a dangerous rearrangement of God-given standards and the unsettling of traditional hierarchies of power. Despite claiming to focus exclusively on science and religion, creationists were practicing politics. Their anticommunist campaign, often infused with conspiracy theory, gained power from the fact that the Marxist founders, the early Bolshevik leaders, and their American allies were staunch evolutionists.

Using the Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a starting point, Red Dynamite traces the politically explosive union of Darwinism and communism over the next century. Across those years, social evolution was the primary target of creationists, and their "ideas have consequences" strategy instilled fear that shaped the contours of America's culture wars. By taking the anticommunist arguments of creationists seriously, Weinberg reveals a neglected dimension of antievolutionism and illuminates a source of the creationist movement's continuing strength.

Thanks to generous funding from Indiana University and its participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.

Author / Editor information

Carl R. Weinberg is Adjunct Associate Professor of History and Senior Lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington. He is the author of Labor, Loyalty, and Rebellion. His website is https://carlrweinberg.com/. You can can also follow him on Twitter @Euclid585.

Reviews

Molly Worthen, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, author of Apostles of Reason:

If you thought you understood the Scopes trial and the battle over evolution, think again. Carl R. Weinberg's richly textured account in Red Dynamite explodes all simplistic understandings of these early culture wars and embeds them in the broader history of American political and labor movements.

Ronald L. Numbers, University of Wisconsin-Madison, author of The Creationists:

Historians have largely overlooked the alleged social and political consequences of believing in evolution. In Red Dynamite, a pioneering, absorbing, and meticulously researched investigation, Carl R. Weinberg exposes the significant role played by fears that evolutionary theory promoted the evils of socialism, communism, and working-class revolt.

Matthew A. Sutton, Washington State University, author of Double Crossed:

In this smart and engaging book, Carl R. Weinberg masterfully shows how mid-twentieth-century Christian conservatives succeeded in demonizing Darwin. Convinced that evolutionary thought promoted immoral behavior, conservatives defended what they considered to be God-given hierarchies of power. Understanding this historical moment provides necessary insight into contemporary American politics.

Red Dynamite offers stunning new depth to a relatively familiar tale; this cogent work demonstrates just how interactive even seemingly very narrow ideological, spiritual, and religious beliefs can be with larger social, political, and cultural trends in American history.

Red Dynamite is an engaging and richly sourced narrative. It is especially relevant for historians of education studying science pedagogy, curricular backlash, textbook wars, and Christian homeschooling.

[A]n important step in itself and something to which scholars of American religion and conservative politics should pay special attention.

Splendid chronicle.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction: Belaboring Scopes Open Access Download PDF	1
1. Lighting the Darwin Fuse Open Access Download PDF	22
2. The Lamb-Dragon and the Devil’s Poison Open Access Download PDF	54
3. Blood Relationship, Bolshevism, and Whoopie Parties Open Access Download PDF	77
4. The Wolf Pack and the Upas Tree Open Access Download PDF	112
5. Beast Ancestry, Dangerous Triplets, and Damnable Heresies Open Access Download PDF	138
6. Flood, Fruit, and Satan Open Access Download PDF	166
7. Trees, Knees, and Nurseries Open Access Download PDF	202
8. The Nightcrawler, the Wedge, and the Bloodiest Religion Open Access Download PDF	247
Epilogue: The Baby Christian and the Dark Place Open Access Download PDF	271
Acknowledgments Open Access Download PDF	285
Notes Open Access Download PDF	289
Index Open Access Download PDF	339

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 366
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 13
- Images: 13
- Other: 13 b&w halftones
Keywords: evolutionary thinking; George McCready Price; Marxism; Darwinsim

eBook

Published: October 15, 2021
ISBN: 9781501759307