Promise Of America

"The Promise of American Life" is a book by Herbert Croly that opposed aggressive unionization and supported economic planning to raise general quality of life in early twentieth-century America. It made a significant impact on many leading progressives, 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". Croly 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 the nation in the latter part of the 19th century, Croly pressed for the centralization of power in the Federal Government to ensure democracy, a "New Nationalism".

In The Promise of America, historian Odd S. Lovoll tells the story of the thousands of Norwegian immigrants who gambled on a fresh start in the United States. Now, Lovoll has carefully revised this successful book to reflect new understandings of the Norwegian-American past, updating the story to today. Changes include additional photos, expanded treatment of the causes of migration, extensive details about the urban Norwegian-American experience, new information about immigrant fiction and reading societies, enriched discussions of Norwegians in the Civil War and the Socialist movement, and more.

Spreading democracy abroad or protecting business at home: this book offers a new look at the history of the contest between isolationalism and internationalism that is as current as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and as old as America itself, with profiles of the people, policies, and events that shaped the debate.

America's Promise is a concise, highly readable introduction to American History. Designed to clearly explain major themes and events, it also captures the rich and often amusing character of the American people. The strong narrative emphasizes public life and how individuals constructed public structures in which they lived and worked. Including the latest scholarship in social, cultural, and political history, the work integrates the history and importance of women and minorities. To aid students in learning and reviewing, each chapter begins with a preview of the main ideas that will be discussed and ends with a conclusion that reinforces the key concepts. Rather than being simply declaratory signposts, section headings highlight main ideas and help carry along the narrative. A glossary defines main terms, and a timeline helps students keep track of events. Selected readings are also included to encourage further reading and study. Finally, carefully selected illustrations and maps portray, pinpoint, and illuminate important episodes in American history. The most concise and competitively priced book available, America's Promise is a breath of fresh air in the introductory market.

Examines the important role and influence of Thomas Paine and his political writings on promoting a revolutionary spirit and radical fervor, from the time of America's colonial rebellion and Revolutionary War to the present day.

A “persuasive . . . heartfelt and vividly written” call to counter systemic racism and build national solidarity in America (Publishers Weekly). The American Promise enshrined in our Constitution states that all men and women are inherently equal. And yet racism continues to corrode our society. If we cannot overcome it, Theodore Johnson argues, the promise that made America unique on Earth will have died. In When the Stars Begin to Fall, Johnson presents a compelling blueprint for the kind of national solidarity necessary to mitigate racism. Weaving together history, personal memories, and his family’s multi-generational experiences with racism, Johnson posits that solutions can be found in the exceptional citizenship long practiced in Black America. Understanding that racism is a structural crime of the state, he argues that overcoming it requires us to recognize that a color-conscious society—not a color-blind one—is the true fulfillment of the American Promise. Fueled by Johnson’s ultimate faith in the American project, grounded in his family’s longstanding optimism and his own military service, When the Stars Begin to Fall is an urgent call to undertake the process of overcoming what has long seemed intractable.

Huntington examines the persistent gap between the promise of American ideals and the performance of American politics. He shows how Americans have always been united by the democratic creed of liberty, equality, and hostility to authority, but how these ideals have been frustrated through institutions and hierarchies needed to govern a democracy.

The Promise of American Life was first published in 1909. It had an immediate and extensive influence on what social historians call the Progressive Era. At the dawn of the New Deal Era, Felix Frankfurter wrote that Croly's book became "a reservoir for all political writings after its publication. Roosevelt's New Nationalism was countered by Wilson's New Freedom, but both derived from Croly."While this may have been hyperbole, it is also a reflection of the impact The Promise made on intellectuals coming of age in the days of doubt and hope just before the Fust World War. Arthur Schlesinger Jr., calls this book "a substantive and sensitive essay on the American political experience, worth examination not just for historical reasons but on its continuing merits as a diagnosis of the American condition."Croly himself summarizes the work thus: "From the beginning the land of democracy has been figured as the land of promise. The American's loyalty to the national tradition rather affirms than denies the imaginative projection of a better future." Croly's book can be viewed as both an affirmation and critique of how the idea of progress works its way out in American life. And reading it at the end of the century only reaffirms one's sense of appreciation of the American tradition as a whole.The technology and science may be different, but the themes covered by Croly show an astonishing continuity of value issues: American Democracy and National Principles, Reform and Reaction; Federalists and Republicans, Nationalism and Internationalism; and the Individual and the National Purpose. All of these themes are central to Croly and remain so to this day. The new, forty-page introduction by Scott R. Bowman, brings the story of The Promise up to date. But it may be studied with a critical eye to the social maladies confronting Americans as a new century approaches.