author
Herbert David Croly
1869–1930
A key voice of America’s Progressive Era, this editor and political thinker helped shape modern liberal debate and co-founded The New Republic. His writing is best known for arguing that national purpose and democratic reform should work together.
1 Audiobook
The Promise of American Life
by Herbert David Croly
About the author
Born in New York City on January 23, 1869, Herbert David Croly became one of the most influential political writers of the early twentieth century. He was the son of two prominent journalists, and that background helped draw him toward public debate, criticism, and reform-minded writing.
Croly is best remembered as a political philosopher, editor, and co-founder of The New Republic in 1914. His 1909 book The Promise of American Life became especially important in Progressive Era politics, laying out a strong case for energetic national government in service of democracy and social reform.
He died in New York on May 17, 1930, but his ideas continued to matter long afterward. Readers still turn to his work for a clear window into the ambitions, tensions, and hopes of progressive politics in the United States.