49f633f7b5086826…

Preprint
ID: 5d7f5e10f895ab0012b962182,588 bytesFirst seen Jun 24, 20261 collection

Fields

NameValue
abstractAs contemporary Americans grapple with divided politics, mistreatment of displaced people, and, in particular, the challenges posed by gun violence, The Grapes of Wrath -- one of the most widely read and burned books in the U.S. -- provides a vital political text. Contemporary gun narratives claim that armed citizens thwart tyrannical government and injustice. Yet Steinbeck tells a very different story about individual gun ownership. Despite almost universal ownership of guns among male farmers, guns are rendered impotent and irrelevant for protest. Instead, guns are the instruments of power that sustain corporate agriculture by intimidating workers, discouraging unionization, and enforcing laws that limit the movement, health, survival, and dignity of the dispossessed migrants. In the context of corporate agriculture and large-scale property ownership, privately and publicly deployed guns erode the legitimacy of the police, rule of law, and government -- triggering collective rebellion.
abstractViews889
approvedDate2019-09-17T14:24:07.881Z
assetFileNameLiebell Ghost of Tom Joad APSA 2019.pdf
assetFileSizeBytes259029
assetMimeTypeapplication/pdf
assetUrlhttps://www.cambridge.org/engage/api-gateway/coe/assets/orp/resource/item/5d7f5e10f895ab0012b96218/original/the-ghost-of-tom-joad-property-guns-and-the-law.pdf
authorIds["orcid:0000-0001-5601-2404"]
categoryIds["5ce663395846762193c9c426"]
citations0
commentsCount0
communityIdAPSA
competingInterestsDeclarationnull
contentDownloads308
contentTypeWorking Paper
contentTypeId5ce663395846762193c9c430
doi10.33774/apsa-2019-2p5f2
doiUrlhttps://doi.org/10.33774/apsa-2019-2p5f2
engageUrlhttps://www.cambridge.org/engage/coe/article-details/5d7f5e10f895ab0012b96218
eventIdnull
funders[]
gainedEthicsApprovalnull
hasCompetingInterestsnull
isLatestVersiontrue
keywords["Guns","Locke"," Steinbeck","Second Amendment","Protest"]
licenseId5cc9d9bf7d4e0000ac04ef27
publishedDate2019-09-17T14:24:07.893Z
statusPUBLISHED
statusDate2019-09-17T14:24:07.893Z
subjectId5e68cb1bd1f19d49ce3ac752
submittedDate2019-09-16T10:24:53.110Z
supplementaryFiles[]
thumbnailUrlhttps://www.cambridge.org/engage/api-gateway/coe/assets/orp/resource/item/5d7f5e10f895ab0012b96218/mediumThumb/the-ghost-of-tom-joad-property-guns-and-the-law.jpg
titleThe Ghost of Tom Joad: Property, Guns, and the Law
version1
vornull
webLinks[]

Canonical JSON

{
  "id": "5d7f5e10f895ab0012b96218",
  "type": "Preprint",
  "data": {
    "abstract": "As contemporary Americans grapple with divided politics, mistreatment of displaced people, and, in particular, the challenges posed by gun violence, The Grapes of Wrath -- one of the most widely read and burned books in the U.S. -- provides a vital political text.  Contemporary gun narratives  claim that armed citizens thwart tyrannical government and injustice. Yet Steinbeck tells a very different story about individual gun ownership. Despite almost universal ownership of guns among male farmers, guns are rendered impotent and irrelevant for protest. Instead, guns are the instruments of power that sustain corporate agriculture by intimidating workers, discouraging unionization, and enforcing laws that limit the movement, health, survival, and dignity of the dispossessed migrants. In the context of corporate agriculture and large-scale property ownership, privately and publicly deployed guns erode the legitimacy of the police, rule of law, and government -- triggering collective rebellion.",
    "abstractViews": 889,
    "approvedDate": "2019-09-17T14:24:07.881Z",
    "assetFileName": "Liebell Ghost of Tom Joad APSA 2019.pdf",
    "assetFileSizeBytes": 259029,
    "assetMimeType": "application/pdf",
    "assetUrl": "https://www.cambridge.org/engage/api-gateway/coe/assets/orp/resource/item/5d7f5e10f895ab0012b96218/original/the-ghost-of-tom-joad-property-guns-and-the-law.pdf",
    "authorIds": [
      "orcid:0000-0001-5601-2404"
    ],
    "categoryIds": [
      "5ce663395846762193c9c426"
    ],
    "citations": 0,
    "commentsCount": 0,
    "communityId": "APSA",
    "competingInterestsDeclaration": null,
    "contentDownloads": 308,
    "contentType": "Working Paper",
    "contentTypeId": "5ce663395846762193c9c430",
    "doi": "10.33774/apsa-2019-2p5f2",
    "doiUrl": "https://doi.org/10.33774/apsa-2019-2p5f2",
    "engageUrl": "https://www.cambridge.org/engage/coe/article-details/5d7f5e10f895ab0012b96218",
    "eventId": null,
    "funders": [],
    "gainedEthicsApproval": null,
    "hasCompetingInterests": null,
    "isLatestVersion": true,
    "keywords": [
      "Guns",
      "Locke",
      " Steinbeck",
      "Second Amendment",
      "Protest"
    ],
    "licenseId": "5cc9d9bf7d4e0000ac04ef27",
    "publishedDate": "2019-09-17T14:24:07.893Z",
    "status": "PUBLISHED",
    "statusDate": "2019-09-17T14:24:07.893Z",
    "subjectId": "5e68cb1bd1f19d49ce3ac752",
    "submittedDate": "2019-09-16T10:24:53.110Z",
    "supplementaryFiles": [],
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://www.cambridge.org/engage/api-gateway/coe/assets/orp/resource/item/5d7f5e10f895ab0012b96218/mediumThumb/the-ghost-of-tom-joad-property-guns-and-the-law.jpg",
    "title": "The Ghost of Tom Joad: Property, Guns, and the Law",
    "version": "1",
    "vor": null,
    "webLinks": []
  }
}

Appears in 1 collection

cambridge-up/open-engage1 version · Jun 24, 2026

Full hash:49f633f7b5086826e41f278b1fd125419d5b2fff6fde75915056d84250790929