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18-820: During the period of the American Renaissance, the United States' preoccupation with national identity (or New Nationalism ) was expressed by modernism and technology , as well as academic classicism . It expressed its self-confidence in new technologies, such as the wire cables of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City . It found its cultural outlets in Prairie School houses and in Beaux-Arts architecture and sculpture, in

36-422: A "new liberal democratic theory, which emphasized not individualism but social consciousness, and which spoke less of freedom than it did of social control." This idea was called "Hamiltonian means", which in the book is defined as "the establishment of federal regulatory commissions, staffed by experts, to oversee the big corporate enterprises whose existence he [Croly] accepted and even welcomed." In Croly's view,

54-426: A national government that was more rather than less powerful than it had been, as a bulwark against what he regarded as overbearing self-interest, greed, corruption, and unchecked power. At the same time, Croly valued the individual motivated by civic virtue and "constructive individualism" and urged all to pursue this objective. According to David Kennedy in his book Progressivism: The Critical Issues , Croly talks of

72-489: A speech in Osawatomie, Kansas , on August 31, 1910. The central issue he argued was government protection of human welfare and property rights , but he also argued that human welfare was more important than property rights. He insisted that only a powerful federal government could regulate the economy and guarantee justice , and that a President can succeed in making his economic agenda successful only if he makes

90-591: Is the first task of the statesmanship of the day. To that end, the platform called for the following: The Promise of American Life , written in 1909 by Herbert Croly , influenced Theodore Roosevelt to adopt the platform of New Nationalism and was popular with intellectuals and political leaders of the later New Deal. New Nationalism was in direct contrast with Woodrow Wilson 's policy of The New Freedom , which promoted antitrust modification, tariff reduction, and banking and currency reform. According to Lewis L. Gould, "The Progressive party did not go as far as

108-921: The " City Beautiful " movement, and in the creation of the American empire. Americans felt that their civilization was uniquely the modern heir, and that it had come of age. Politically and economically, this era coincides with the Gilded Age and the New Imperialism . The classical architecture of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois in 1893 was a demonstration that impressed Henry Adams , who wrote that people "would some day talk about Hunt and Richardson , La Farge and Saint-Gaudens , Burnham and McKim and Stanford White , when their politicians and millionaires were quite forgotten." In

126-524: The New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt would, but it represented a long step in that direction." The Promise of American Life The Promise of American Life is a book published by Herbert Croly , founder of The New Republic , in 1909. This book opposed aggressive unionization and supported economic planning to raise general quality of life. By Croly's death in 1930, only 7,500 copies of The Promise of American Life had been sold. Despite this,

144-628: The United States Theodore Roosevelt in a speech in Osawatomie, Kansas on August 31, 1910. The progressive nationalist policies outlined in the speech would form the basis for his campaign for a third term as president in the 1912 election , first as a candidate for the Republican Party nomination and then as a Progressive . Roosevelt made the case for what he called "the New Nationalism" in

162-492: The book was immensely influential, influencing Theodore Roosevelt to adopt the platform of the New Nationalism after reading it, and being popular with intellectuals and political leaders of the later New Deal. The book is said to "offer a manifesto of Progressive beliefs" that "anticipated the transition from competitive to corporate capitalism and from limited government to the welfare state ." For Croly,

180-565: The country was clouded by a Republican prejudice. His writing contained several criticisms of the Democrats but almost none of the Republicans. Croly's book was also criticized for its lack of national focus. It focused almost entirely on problems that were of interest to those living in cities but not to rural America. The tariff, conservation, currency, banking, and agriculture all were only mentioned in passing, if at all. Connected to that

198-537: The dome of the reading room at the new Library of Congress , Edwin Blashfield 's murals were on the given theme, The Evolution of Civilization. The exhibition American Renaissance: 1876–1917 at the Brooklyn Museum , 1979, encouraged the revival of interest in this movement. New Nationalism (Theodore Roosevelt) New Nationalism was a policy platform first proposed by former President of

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216-464: The emphasis on individualism associated with Thomas Jefferson's liberal democratic theory was irrelevant in a time of great reform and that its revival would be counterproductive in the restoration of American democracy that was taking place during the Progressive Era. Croly then suggests that "Hamiltonian means must be employed to secure Jeffersonian ends." To Croly, this meant that to fulfill

234-443: The individualistic, libertarian America of the agrarian 18th and 19th centuries was gone, swept away by the forces of the industrial revolution, urbanization, centralization and modernity. He advocated a new political consensus that included as its core nationalism, but with a sense of social responsibility and care for the less fortunate. Since the power of big business, trusts, interest groups and economic specialization had transformed

252-737: The most profound and illuminating study of our National conditions which has appeared for many years, especial emphasis is laid on the assertion that the whole point of our governmental experiment lies in the fact that it is a genuine effort to achieve true democracy—both political and industrial. The Promise of American Life has received criticism from a number of angles. Some feared the underlying tones of totalitarianism or fascism. Others worried that Croly's plan would make America socialist—a criticism Croly foresaw in his book and attempted to combat by labeling his government as nationalistic rather than socialistic. Even those who believed Croly's government could be democratic had concerns that Croly's vision for

270-425: The nation in the latter part of the 19th century, only the embracing of a counterbalance to this power would serve the society of the future. Croly pressed for the centralization of power in the federal government to ensure democracy, a "New Nationalism". In Croly's view, "the traditional American confidence in individual freedom has resulted in a morally and socially undesirable distribution of wealth." He argued for

288-424: The promise of American life there needed not to be "a maximum amount of economic freedom, but by a certain amount discipline" and "not merely by the abundant satisfaction of individual desires, but by a large measure of individual subordination and self-denial." After reading The Promise of American Life , former President Theodore Roosevelt wrote the following: In Mr. Herbert Croly's "Promise of American Life,"

306-452: The protection of human welfare his highest priority. Roosevelt believed that the concentration in industry was a natural part of the economy. He wanted executive agencies, not courts, to regulate business. The federal government should be used to protect the laboring men, women and children from exploitation . In terms of policy, Roosevelt's platform included a broad range of social and political reforms advocated by progressives. In

324-423: The socioeconomic sphere, the platform called for the following: The electoral reforms proposed included The main theme of the platform was an attack on what he perceived as the domination of politics by business interests , which allegedly controlled both established parties. The platform asserted: To destroy this invisible Government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics

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