Book Description

Abstract: The political process model is a social movement theory which analyzes social movements as well-organized power struggles that develop over long periods of time. In Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 1930-1970, Doug McAdam examines the Civil Rights Movement as a political process that began well before most scholars proposed in previous scholarship of the Civil Rights Movement. While most scholars considered the mid 1950's as being the start of the Civil Rights Movements, McAdam applied his model to the history of African American protest and insurgency between 1876 and 1970, suggesting a longer period for this social movement. Unlike former models such as collective behavior, mass society and resource mobilization, the political process model presents a theory in which insurgents are not discontent crazed individuals who erratically strike out against society with violence in hope of altering momentary displeasure, nor does insurgency depend solely on levels of external resources to achieve group objectives. In this thesis, I apply the political process model to the history of African American activism between 1800 and 1860, focusing on the clandestine system of escape known as the Underground Railroad. The modern Civil Rights Movement has often been thought of as the first major social and political movement among African Americans for freedom and equality. This study, however, by examining the Underground Railroad using the Political Process model, will demonstrate that the historical context of politically motivated resistance and organized social protest of African Americans has its roots at least in the early-nineteenth century, when this successful, well-organized network for assisting runaway slaves developed.