This is the detailed report of a survey conducted to determine,
first, the underlying reactions of Americans to "Communist
conspiracy outside and inside the country", and second, reactions
to "those who in thwarting the conspiracy" would also jeopardize
the liberties they seek to protect. The inquiry, conducted in 1954
by the Gallup Poll and the National Opinion Research Center,
involved 6000 men and women, and precise procedures were followed
to eliminate sampling only those eager to state an opinion. In
addition, 14 civic leaders were selected from towns within a
certain population range. All this indicates the thorough and
resourceful approach. But only the tables and comparative
conclusions can tell the intricate and occasionally startling story
of the survey- which has certain limitations as well as more
meaningful implications. For reference primarily, and use by
civic-mined individuals and agencies.?? (Kirkus Reviews)
If there is a-"desert island" book in the conduct of social
research, it is arguably this book. Whether in terms of
sociological structures or psychological nuances, Communism,
Conformity, and Civil Liberties, originally published in 1955, is a
recognized landmark. Stouffer helped strengthen the fundamental
liberties of all Americans by showing dangerous consequences of
efforts to thwart a perceived Communist conspiracy, including some
of the very real liberties that can be destroyed in the process of
a witch-hunt. Stouffer explores attitudes of Americans against a
backdrop of a history of intolerance that dates back to the
Know-Nothing party before the Civil War and extending through the
Ku Klux Klan after World War I. The overall results show a markedly
strong relationship between perception of high national risk and
personal intolerance of differences, and also the perception of
threat and tolerance that operates as a predisposing tendency that
affects judgments about specific political movements and events.
Stouffer enriches the sense and meaning of survey research by
emphasizing patterns of percentages rather than actual amounts;
survey craftsmanship; the use of paired sampling techniques to
reduce problems of chance; the importance of completion rates in
survey research work; the importance of interruptions during a
questioning period; the choice of field workers in performing the
surveys. The actual survey instruments are included as prepared by
the National Opinion Research Center and the Gallup Organization.
They remain a model for large-scale samples of this kind. The
beautiful, highly personal, introduction by James Davis places
Stouffer in an appropriate academic and professional context.
Stouffer was a great sociologist with two landmark efforts to his
credit: The American Soldier and then Communism, Conformity and
Civil Liberties. Professor Davis calls this "a great classic of
empirical sociology." It is indeed that: a model of craftsmanship,
exemplary argumentation, and presentation of data still
unsurpassed. The book is not part of ancient history, but of
living, democratic culture.
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