Title: Buying power : a history of consumer activism in America /
Authors: Glickman, Lawrence B., 1963-
Publisher: University of Chicago Press,
Year: 2009
Subjects: United States. History.; Consumers Political activity United States History.; Boycotts United States History.; Consumer behavior Political aspects United States History.; Consumer protection United States Citizen participation History.
Abstract: A sweeping and definitive history of this political tradition, Buying Power traces its lineage back to our nation's founding, revealing that Americans used purchasing power to support causes and punish enemies long before the world boycott even entered our lexicon.
Contents: Introduction: an American political tradition -- The birth of consumer activism -- The American Revolution considered as a consumer movement -- Buy for the sake of the slave -- Rebel consumerism -- Travels of the boycott: what's in a name? -- The birth of the consumer movement -- Remaking consumer activism in the Progressive Era -- The strike in the temple of consumption -- "Make Lisle the style" -- Advocates and activists: consumer activism since World War II -- Putting the postwar "consumer movement" in its place -- The rise and fall of the Consumer Protection Agency: the origins of American antiantiliberalism, 1959-1978 -- Epilogue: Consumer activism comes full circle: the revival of consumer activism in contemporary America.