Intellectuals and anti-intellectualism in twentieth-century American public discourse

Abstract

Abstract At the close of a synoptic article on ‘The Rise of American Intellectual History’, John Higham recommended that his fellow scholars tum their attention to ‘widespread popular attitudes’, and trace the ‘rise, decline, or modification’ of concepts such as democracy, nationalism, individualism, class consciousness, race prejudice and anti-intellectualism1. Higham's piece appeared in The American Historical Review in 1951; it is not surprising that he included anti-intellectualism on the list, given its extensive use as a descriptive and a prescriptive term by his contemporaries.2 As were many American academics at mid-century, John Higham was troubled by the perceived growth of anti-intellectualism in public life; and he hoped to employ the tools of historical analysis to understand and, perhaps, to counter this trend.