Liberal coalition
Encyclopedia
The Liberal coalition was a political grouping in the United States from the 1940s to the 1970s which promoted Modern liberalism in the United States.
(AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations
(CIO), which merged into the AFL-CIO in 1955, the United Auto Workers
(UAW), union lobbyists, and the Committee on Political Education's (COPE), which organized turnout campaigns and publicity at elections. Walter Reuther
of the UAW was the leader of liberalism in the labor movement, and his autoworkers generously funded the cause
The main liberal organizations, out of hundreds, included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP), the American Jewish Congress
(AJC), the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU), the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
(LCCR), the National Committee for an Effective Congress
(NCEC), and the Americans for Democratic Action
(ADA). Key allies in Congress included Hubert Humphrey
of Minnesota, Paul Douglas
of Illinois, Henry Jackson
of Washington, Walter Mondale
of Minnesota, and Claude Pepper
of Florida in the Senate Leaders in the House included Representatives Frank Thompson
of New Jersey, Richard Bolling of Missouri, and other members of the Democratic Study Group
. Although for years they had largely been frustrated by the Conservative Coalition
in Congress, the liberal coalition suddenly came to power in 1963 and were ready with proposals that became central to the Great Society
Most were based in New York City or university campuses.
Prominent activists in the arena of ideas were literary critics such as Lionel Trilling
and Alfred Kazin
, economists such as Alvin Hansen
, John Kenneth Galbraith
, James Tobin
and Paul Samuelson
, as well as political scientists such as Robert A. Dahl
and Seymour Martin Lipset
, and sociologists such as David Riesman
and Daniel Patrick Moynihan
. Representative was the historian Henry Steele Commager
, who felt a duty to teach his fellow citizens how liberalism was the foundation of American values. He believed that an educated public that understands American history would support liberal programs, especially internationalism and the New Deal. Commager was representative of a whole generation of like-minded historians who were widely read by the general public, including Allan Nevins
, Daniel Boorstin, Richard Hofstadter
, and C. Vann Woodward
Along with Galbraith perhaps the most prominent of all was Arthur Schlesinger Jr. whose books on Andrew Jackson, on Roosevelt and the Kennedy brothers--and his many essays and his work with liberal organizations and in the White House itself under Kennedy--emphasized the ideological history of American liberalism, especially as made concrete by a long tradition of powerful liberal presidents.
Leaders
Important leaders included:- President Harry S. TrumanHarry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
(1884–1972) - Eleanor RooseveltEleanor RooseveltAnna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
(1884–1962), widow of Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war... - Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965), Democratic presidential nominee in 1952 and 1956
- President John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
(1917–1963), president 1961-63 - President Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973), president 1963-69
- Vice President Hubert HumphreyHubert HumphreyHubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
(1911–1978), Democratic presidential nominee in 1968 - Senator Robert F. KennedyRobert F. KennedyRobert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
(1925-1968), senator from New York - Alvin HansenAlvin HansenAlvin Harvey Hansen , often referred to as "the American Keynes," was a professor of economics at Harvard, a widely read author on current economic issues, and an influential advisor to the government who helped create the Council of Economic Advisors and the Social security system...
(1887–1975), Economist - Reinhold NiebuhrReinhold NiebuhrKarl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr was an American theologian and commentator on public affairs. Starting as a leftist minister in the 1920s indebted to theological liberalism, he shifted to the new Neo-Orthodox theology in the 1930s, explaining how the sin of pride created evil in the world...
, (1892–1971), Theologian - Walter ReutherWalter ReutherWalter Philip Reuther was an American labor union leader, who made the United Automobile Workers a major force not only in the auto industry but also in the Democratic Party in the mid 20th century...
(1907–1970), Labor leader - John Kenneth GalbraithJohn Kenneth GalbraithJohn Kenneth "Ken" Galbraith , OC was a Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism...
(1908–2006), Economist - Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (1917–2007), Historian
- George McGovernGeorge McGovernGeorge Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
(b. 1922), Democratic presidential nominee in 1972 - Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
(1929-1968), Civil rights leader - Ted KennedyTed KennedyEdward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
(1932-2009), Senator from Massachusetts, 1962-2009
Organizations
The effectiveness of the coalition depended on its strong grassroots support, energetic well-funded organizations, its cadre of supporters in Congress, and its high visibility in the media thanks to prominent celebrities and a supportive media. On labor side was the American Federation of LaborAmerican Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
(AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
(CIO), which merged into the AFL-CIO in 1955, the United Auto Workers
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers , is a labor union which represents workers in the United States and Puerto Rico, and formerly in Canada. Founded as part of the Congress of Industrial...
(UAW), union lobbyists, and the Committee on Political Education's (COPE), which organized turnout campaigns and publicity at elections. Walter Reuther
Walter Reuther
Walter Philip Reuther was an American labor union leader, who made the United Automobile Workers a major force not only in the auto industry but also in the Democratic Party in the mid 20th century...
of the UAW was the leader of liberalism in the labor movement, and his autoworkers generously funded the cause
The main liberal organizations, out of hundreds, included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP), the American Jewish Congress
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress describes itself as an association of Jewish Americans organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts....
(AJC), the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
(ACLU), the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights , formerly called The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, is an umbrella group of American civil rights interest groups.-Organizational history:...
(LCCR), the National Committee for an Effective Congress
National Committee for an Effective Congress
The National Committee for an Effective Congress is a political action committee founded by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1948. It is one of the America’s most politically active independent liberal groups, pooling contributions from across the country to help elect progressive candidates to Congress...
(NCEC), and the Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action is an American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA works for social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research and supporting progressive candidates.-History:...
(ADA). Key allies in Congress included Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
of Minnesota, Paul Douglas
Paul Douglas
Paul Howard Douglas was an liberal American politician and University of Chicago economist. A war hero, he was elected as a Democratic U.S. Senator from Illinois from in the 1948 landslide, serving until his defeat in 1966...
of Illinois, Henry Jackson
Henry Jackson
Henry Jackson may refer to:* Henry Jackson , English classicist at Cambridge University* Henry Jackson , Massachusetts soldier in the American Revolutionary War* Henry Jackson Henry Jackson may refer to:* Henry Jackson (classicist) (1839–1921), English classicist at Cambridge University* Henry...
of Washington, Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
of Minnesota, and Claude Pepper
Claude Pepper
Claude Denson Pepper was an American politician of the Democratic Party, and a spokesman for left-liberalism and the elderly. In foreign policy he shifted from pro-Soviet in the 1940s to anti-Communist in the 1950s...
of Florida in the Senate Leaders in the House included Representatives Frank Thompson
Frank Thompson
Frank Thompson, Jr. was a Democratic Party politician from New Jersey. Thompson represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1955 to 1980....
of New Jersey, Richard Bolling of Missouri, and other members of the Democratic Study Group
Democratic study group
The Democratic Study Group is a legislative service organization in the United States House of Representatives. It was founded in 1959 "as a liberal counterpoint to the influence of senior conservatives and southern Democrats, it now consists of nearly all Democratic members of the House. Its...
. Although for years they had largely been frustrated by the Conservative Coalition
Conservative coalition
In the United States, the conservative coalition was an unofficial Congressional coalition bringing together the conservative majority of the Republican Party and the conservative, mostly Southern, wing of the Democratic Party...
in Congress, the liberal coalition suddenly came to power in 1963 and were ready with proposals that became central to the Great Society
Great Society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States promoted by President Lyndon B. Johnson and fellow Democrats in Congress in the 1960s. Two main goals of the Great Society social reforms were the elimination of poverty and racial injustice...
Intellectuals
Intellectuals and writers were an important component of the coalition at this point. Many writers--especially historians -- became prominent spokesmen for liberalism and were frequently called upon for public lectures and for popular essays on political topics by such magazines as The New Republic, Saturday Review, The Atlantic Monthly, and Harpers.Most were based in New York City or university campuses.
Prominent activists in the arena of ideas were literary critics such as Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling was an American literary critic, author, and teacher. With wife Diana Trilling, he was a member of the New York Intellectuals and contributor to the Partisan Review. Although he did not establish a school of literary criticism, he is one of the leading U.S...
and Alfred Kazin
Alfred Kazin
Alfred Kazin was an American writer and literary critic, many of whose writings depicted the immigrant experience in early twentieth century America....
, economists such as Alvin Hansen
Alvin Hansen
Alvin Harvey Hansen , often referred to as "the American Keynes," was a professor of economics at Harvard, a widely read author on current economic issues, and an influential advisor to the government who helped create the Council of Economic Advisors and the Social security system...
, John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth "Ken" Galbraith , OC was a Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism...
, James Tobin
James Tobin
James Tobin was an American economist who, in his lifetime, served on the Council of Economic Advisors and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and taught at Harvard and Yale Universities. He developed the ideas of Keynesian economics, and advocated government intervention to...
and Paul Samuelson
Paul Samuelson
Paul Anthony Samuelson was an American economist, and the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. The Swedish Royal Academies stated, when awarding the prize, that he "has done more than any other contemporary economist to raise the level of scientific analysis in...
, as well as political scientists such as Robert A. Dahl
Robert A. Dahl
Robert Alan Dahl , is the Sterling Professor emeritus of political science at Yale University, where he earned his Ph.D. in political science in 1940. He is past president of the American Political Science Association...
and Seymour Martin Lipset
Seymour Martin Lipset
Seymour Martin Lipset was an American political sociologist, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and the Hazel Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. His major work was in the fields of political sociology, trade union organization, social stratification, public opinion, and...
, and sociologists such as David Riesman
David Riesman
David Riesman , was a sociologist, attorney, and educator....
and Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick "Pat" Moynihan was an American politician and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the United States Senate for New York in 1976, and was re-elected three times . He declined to run for re-election in 2000...
. Representative was the historian Henry Steele Commager
Henry Steele Commager
Henry Steele Commager was an American historian who helped define Modern liberalism in the United States for two generations through his forty books and 700 essays and reviews...
, who felt a duty to teach his fellow citizens how liberalism was the foundation of American values. He believed that an educated public that understands American history would support liberal programs, especially internationalism and the New Deal. Commager was representative of a whole generation of like-minded historians who were widely read by the general public, including Allan Nevins
Allan Nevins
Allan Nevins was an American historian and journalist, renowned for his extensive work on the history of the Civil War and his biographies of such figures as President Grover Cleveland, Hamilton Fish, Henry Ford, and John D. Rockefeller.-Life:Born in Camp Point, Illinois, Nevins was educated at...
, Daniel Boorstin, Richard Hofstadter
Richard Hofstadter
Richard Hofstadter was an American public intellectual of the 1950s, a historian and DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University...
, and C. Vann Woodward
C. Vann Woodward
Comer Vann Woodward was a preeminent American historian focusing primarily on the American South and race relations. He was considered, along with Richard Hofstadter and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., to be one of the most influential historians of the postwar era, 1940s-1970s, both by scholars and by...
Along with Galbraith perhaps the most prominent of all was Arthur Schlesinger Jr. whose books on Andrew Jackson, on Roosevelt and the Kennedy brothers--and his many essays and his work with liberal organizations and in the White House itself under Kennedy--emphasized the ideological history of American liberalism, especially as made concrete by a long tradition of powerful liberal presidents.
Further reading
- Brands, H.W. The Strange Death of American Liberalism (2003) excerpt and text search; brief survey of all of American history.
- Disalvo, Daniel. "The Politics of a Party Faction: The Liberal-Labor Alliance in the Democratic Party, 1948–1972," Journal of Policy History Volume 22#3 2010 pp 269-99
- Hamby, Alonzo. Liberalism and Its Challengers: From F.D.R. to Bush (1992), by leading historian excerpt and text search