Herbert Croly

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Herbert Croly : biography

January 23, 1869 – May 17, 1930

Herbert David Croly (January 23, 1869 – May 17, 1930) was an intellectual leader of the progressive movement as an editor, and political philosopher and a co-founder of the magazine The New Republic in early twentieth-century America. His political philosophy influenced many leading progressives including Theodore Roosevelt, as well as his close friends Judge Learned Hand and Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter.Levy, (1985) ISBN 0-691-04725-1

His book, The Promise of American Life (1909) looked to the conservative spirit of effective government as espoused by Alexander Hamilton, combined with the democracy of Thomas Jefferson. The book was one of the most influential books in American political history, shaping the ideas of many intellectuals and political leaders. It also influenced the later New Deal. Calling themselves "the new nationalists" Croly and Walter Weyl sought to remedy the relatively weak national institutions with a strong federal government. He actively promoted a strong army and navy and attacked pacifists who thought democracy at home and peace abroad was best served by keeping America weak.

Croley was one of the founders of modern liberalism in the United States, especially through his books, essays, and highly influential magazine founded in 1914, The New Republic. In his 1914 book Progressive Democracy, Croly rejected the thesis that the liberal tradition in the United States was inhospitable to anticapitalist alternatives. He drew from the American past a history of resistance to capitalist wage relations that was fundamentally liberal, and he reclaimed an idea that Progressives had allowed to lapse – that working for wages was a lesser form of liberty. Increasingly skeptical of the capacity of social welfare legislation to remedy social ills, Croly argued that America’s liberal promise could be redeemed only by syndicalist reforms involving workplace democracy. His liberal goals were part of his commitment to American republicanism.Kevin C. O’Leary, "Herbert Croly and Progressive Democracy," Polity (1994) 26#4 pp. 533–552

Education

Croly attended the City College of New York for one year and entered Harvard College in 1886.Levy, (1985)

David Croly soon became concerned that his son was being exposed to improper philosophical material at Harvard. The father was a follower of Auguste Comte and discouraged Herbert from studying theology and philosophers that did not agree with Comte. During Herbert’s first two years at Harvard, David became gravely ill, and in 1888 Herbert dropped out of Harvard to become his father’s private secretary and companion. His father died on April 29, 1889.

After Herbert married Louise Emory in 1892 he re-enrolled in Harvard. But, in 1893, Herbert suffered a nervous breakdown and withdrew again from Harvard. Herbert and Louise moved to Cornish, New Hampshire, where he recovered. After two years, in 1895, Herbert enrolled for the final time at Harvard at the age of 26. He excelled in his studies until 1899, when he withdrew for the last time from Harvard for unknown reasons, without a degree.

In 1910, after the publication of Herbert Croly’s book The Promise of American Life, he was awarded an honorary degree by Harvard University.Forcey, (1961)

Later Life and Death

Though Croly eventually joined calls for American involvement in World War I, he became pessimistic and frustrated by the costs of war. In late 1917 and 1918, Croly began questioning his own beliefs about nationalism and democracy. The Treaty of Versailles delivered a severe blow to Croly’s progressive spirit, causing him to declare that the Paris Peace Conference was the apocalypse of liberalism.Forcey, C. (1961). The crossroads of liberalism; Croly, Weyl, Lippmann, and the progressive era, 1900-1925. New York: Oxford University Press.

The vicious treatment of unions during the labor movements in the 1920s was difficult for Croly, a big union supporter. The issue of prohibition put Croly’s beliefs about the role of the national government to the test. He ultimately adopted the policy Louis Brandeis suggested to him—that the federal government be responsible for interstate trafficking of alcohol but that states take responsibility for internal enforcement. But, for Croly, the challenge of how to handle prohibition was the final straw in breaking his faith in his old vision of democracy.Levy, D. W. (1985). Herbert Croly of the New republic: The life and thought of an American progressive. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.