Talkin' Socialism: J. A. Wayland and the Radical Press

In this history of radical publishing at the turn of the century, Elliott Shore focuses on the Appeal to Reason, the flagship newspaper of J. A. Wayland's publishing empire. As modern periodical publishing came of age with the appearance of the first mass-circulation newspapers and magazines, so too did both populism and socialism in the United States. They drew strength from the same factors--the advance of technology, spreading industrialization, the growth and concentration of urban populations, and rising literacy rates. In the Appeal to Reason the two powerful and important forces--journalism and radicalism--came together.

Between 1900 and 1910 the circulation of the Appeal to Reason grew to more than half a million, placing it among the nation's leading weeklies. Its editors and writers included such prominent figures of the socialist movement as Eugene Debs and Upton Sinclair. Published for twenty-five years in Girard, Kansas, it was the most successful socialist institution in this country, unifying the movement from coast to coast.

The Appeal belongs equally to the history of radicalism and to the history of journalism. Shore examines it from both perspectives. He presents the inner workings of the socialist press and by focusing on Wayland, explores the possibilities of peaceful but fundamental change at the time when America became a mass consumer culture.