Four-Letter Nation: The Long, Dirty History of American Profanity
Nov 2026 · Sold by Simon and Schuster
Ebook
336
Pages
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infoThis book will become available on November 24, 2026. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
A fascinating history of American profanity that traces how taboo language has shaped US politics, religion, and pop culture, and how it has evolved into an expression of power and rebellion.
For four hundred years, Americans have been told to watch their language. For four hundred years, they haven’t listened.
From Puritan colonies where cursing could earn you a whipping to Civil War camps, jazz clubs, comedy stages, rock festivals, rap lyrics, and presidential politics, Four-Letter Nation tells the surprising, rollicking history of America’s forbidden words—and shows that “bad language” has never been merely about bad manners.
The words Americans are not supposed to say have exposed our deepest fights over religion and respectability, class and power, sex and gender, race and rebellion, art and censorship. Again and again, the nation’s censors and reformers—what Jaffe calls the Word Police—have tried to purify American speech, protecting the country from moral ruin one dirty word at a time. And again and again, soldiers, singers, writers, radicals, presidents, and ordinary loudmouths have pushed back.
Funny, incisive, and full of startling stories, Four-Letter Nation is a history of America told through its most forbidden words. It reveals how profanity moved from sin to vulgarity to authenticity, how “low” language became a mark of candor and power, and why our dirtiest language says so much about who we are.
For four hundred years, Americans have been told to watch their language. For four hundred years, they haven’t listened.
From Puritan colonies where cursing could earn you a whipping to Civil War camps, jazz clubs, comedy stages, rock festivals, rap lyrics, and presidential politics, Four-Letter Nation tells the surprising, rollicking history of America’s forbidden words—and shows that “bad language” has never been merely about bad manners.
The words Americans are not supposed to say have exposed our deepest fights over religion and respectability, class and power, sex and gender, race and rebellion, art and censorship. Again and again, the nation’s censors and reformers—what Jaffe calls the Word Police—have tried to purify American speech, protecting the country from moral ruin one dirty word at a time. And again and again, soldiers, singers, writers, radicals, presidents, and ordinary loudmouths have pushed back.
Funny, incisive, and full of startling stories, Four-Letter Nation is a history of America told through its most forbidden words. It reveals how profanity moved from sin to vulgarity to authenticity, how “low” language became a mark of candor and power, and why our dirtiest language says so much about who we are.
A fascinating history of American profanity that traces how taboo language has shaped US politics, religion, and pop culture, and how it has evolved into an expression of power and rebellion.
For four hundred years, Americans have been told to watch their language. For four hundred years, they h...
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About the author
Steven H. Jaffe is a writer, historian, and curator who has worked for a wide range of museums and institutions, including the Museum of the City of New York, the South Street Seaport Museum, the New-York Historical Society, and the American Jewish Historical Society. He is the author of New York at War and Activist New York, among other books. He lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, with his family.
Steven H. Jaffe is a writer, historian, and curator who has worked for a wide range of museums and institutions, including the Museum of the City of New York, the South Street Seaport Museum, the New-York Historical Society, and the American Jewish Historical Society. He is the author of New York...
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