The Promise of American Life

Herbert David Croly (1869-1930) was a liberal political author. He was born in New York City to Jane Cunningham Croly and David Goodman Croly. His mother wrote for the New York World and edited Demorest's Monthly. His father was a reporter for the New York Herald and the New York World. In 1909 his book, The Promise of American Life, was published. The book, which discusses historical evolution of American society, includes analysis of slavery and slave-holders, corporations and unions, centralization and democracy, and individual as well as national purpose. Croly's work influenced Theodore Roosevelt (who borrowed the "new nationalism" slogan), Woodrow Wilson, and the architects of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. In 1985 historian David Levy published the first biography of Croly, Herbert Croly and the New Republic.