biography
| name: |
Croly, Herbert David
|
pronunciation:
[krohlee]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1869–1930)
|
| biography:
| Editor and writer, born in New York City, New York, USA. He was the son of David Goodman Croly, a prominent Irish-born journalist, and Jane Cunningham Croly, also a journalist and an activist for equal rights for women. He interrupted his studies at Harvard (1886–99) to work as an editor in New York City and to study abroad. In 1900–6 he was editor of the Architectural Record, but left to write The Promise of American Life (1909). This and its sequel, Progressive Democracy (1914), were extremely influential in their day by calling upon thoughtful Americans to re-examine the true nature and goals of their society. His reputation led Willard Straight, a wealthy diplomat and financier, to found the New Republic (1914), expressly so Croly could become editor and further his ideas. Although aligned with Progressives, it endorsed President Woodrow Wilson's position on entering World War 1, then opposed Wilson's acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles. This cost the New Republic many readers, and in his final years, having lost influence in political circles, he took up religious and philosophical questions. |
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