Harvest of dissent

by Bruce E. Field

Bruce Field here explores the people and events of a little-studied episode in American history by describing how the leadership of the Farmers Union split over the Korean War. When the organization was faced with accusations of being communist sympathizers NFU national president Jim Patton chose to support the war while a splinter group led by Iowa Farmers Union president Fred Stover continued to protest American involvement. Harvest of Dissent traces the tension that gripped America's heartland in the early 1950s as American farmers spoke their minds about their country's foreign policy. Drawing heavily on both Patton's and Stover's papers as well as on interviews with members of the NFU, Field presents an engaging study of the two men's leadership styles and personalities as he relates the infighting that tore apart this organization and the effects it had on both domestic and foreign affairs.