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Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN: 978–1–137–36228–5 PDF ISBN: 978–1–349–47421–9 DOI: 10.1057/9781137362285 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. First edition: 2013 www.palgrave.com/pivot To Our Parents Omnium rerum principia parva sunt doi: 10.1057/9781137362285 Contents Acknowledgments vii 1 Introduction 1 2 Reconciling “Nationalism” and “Democracy” 9 3 The Demise of the Ante-Bellum Parties 15 4 The Need for Statesmanship 25 5 Croly’s Lincoln and Pragmatic Statesmanship 36 6 Assessing Croly’s Appeal to Lincoln 49 7 Conclusion 79 Bibliography 83 Index 88 vi doi: 10.1057/9781137362285 Acknowledgments Both of us had spent our graduate and post-graduate years studying the Progressive Era and the Progressives’ adoption of Lincoln as a model of political leadership. During those years we were both struck by the fact that the Progressives called for a departure from the political axioms of the American Founding and yet celebrated a President whose entire career was spent defending those very principles. The idea for this book thus began with an article for an aca- demic conference many years ago in which we examined this issue. As we combined our efforts, our study grew into the final form that follows in this book. We have benefited from the insight and patience of family and colleagues along the way. Collectively, we thank Scarlet Neath and Palgrave Macmillan not only for seeing the potential value of this project but also for developing a venue in Palgrave Pivot that permits schol- ars to explore at book length a focused topic. We are also grateful to Vidhya Jayaprakash and the copy-editors at Palgrave Macmillan. Finally, we also thank the Center for Political and Economic Thought at Saint Vincent College for providing financial assistance towards the publication of this book. We also have our debts as individuals. David is grateful for all of the assistance he has received from professors and colleagues including James Ceasar, David and Mary Nichols, R.J. Pestritto, and John Alvis. His children, Patrick, Brigid, Brendan, Maeve, and Finbar, have generously endured the many hours of their father’s absence to undertake this work. Above all, he is most doi: 10.1057/9781137362285 vii viii Acknowledgments indebted to his wife, Megan, for all of the support that has made this work possible. Jason is grateful for the guidance, inspiration, and support of his teach- ers and colleagues, among them Larry Arnhart, Gary Glenn, Christine Dunn Henderson, Bradley C.S. Watson, Jerome Foss, and Mary Beth McConahey. He is most thankful for the continued love and patience of his wife, Marcie, and children, Wesley and Rebecca. doi: 10.1057/9781137362285 1 Introduction Abstract: Here we outline the Progressive attempt to invoke the legacy of Lincoln as a model for a new kind of political leadership in America and the problems that this effort incurs. First, Croly’s account of Progressive leadership rejects what is most central to Lincoln’s statesmanship—traditional constitutionalism and rule of law. Differences over fundamental principle between Croly and Lincoln give rise to doubts about whether Lincoln would have endorsed the Progressive conception of reform at all. Besides their disagreement on the nature of leadership, Croly appears to have overlooked some of the most essential features of Lincoln’s political thought. Whereas Lincoln insists on the fundamental truth of the Declaration of Independence’s claims for natural rights and human equality in the debate over slavery, Croly calls for a wholesale revision of these principles in order to meet the demands of a modern industrial age. Alvis, J. David and Jividen, Jason R. Statesmanship and Progressive Reform: An Assessment of Herbert Croly’s Abraham Lincoln. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. doi: 10.1057/9781137362285. doi: 10.1057/9781137362285 