Atlantic Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Age

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The title Atlantic Crossings refers to the cross-pollination of social thinking between the United States and Europe (primarily Britain) in the first half of the 20th century. Princeton history professor Daniel T. Rodgers's extensive narrative shows that while many Americans saw themselves as essentially isolationist, many ideas that influenced their daily lives, such as city planning and concepts of social security, were not homegrown. A network of government planners, academics, and concerned citizens communicated back and forth across the Atlantic; their correspondence was marked by controversy, and an aversion to "non-American" ideas persists in American social planning to this day (Rodgers notes the scuffles over health care reform in the early 1990s as one example). Rodgers has assembled a prodigious mountain of facts, and he's written a credible and comprehensive account of how people on both sides of the Atlantic contributed in sometimes surprising ways to the social reforms we consider utterly American. --Robert McNamara

Book Description

"The most belated of nations," Theodore Roosevelt called his country during the workmen's compensation fight in 1907. Earlier reformers, progressives of his day, and later New Dealers lamented the nation's resistance to models abroad for correctives to the backwardness of American social politics. Atlantic Crossings is the first major account of the vibrant international network that they constructed--so often obscured by notions of American exceptionalism--and of its profound impact on the United States from the 1870s through 1945.

On a narrative canvas that sweeps across Europe and the United States, Daniel Rodgers retells the story of the classic era of efforts to repair the damages of unbridled capitalism. He reveals the forgotten international roots of such innovations as city planning, rural cooperatives, modernist architecture for public housing, and social insurance, among other reforms. From small beginnings to reconstructions of the new great cities and rural life, and to the wide-ranging mechanics of social security for working people, Rodgers finds the interconnections, adaptations, exchanges, and even rivalries in the Atlantic region's social planning. He uncovers the immense diffusion of talent, ideas, and action that were breathtaking in their range and impact.

The scope of Atlantic Crossings is vast and peopled with the reformers, university men and women, new experts, bureaucrats, politicians, and gifted amateurs. This long durée of contemporary social policy encompassed fierce debate, new conceptions of the role of the state, an acceptance of the importance of expertise in making government policy, and a recognition of a shared destiny in a newly created world.

Customer Reviews:

Superior scholarship, but tedious at times.......2002-03-25

Daniel Rodgers' thesis in Atlantic Crossings is simple and direct: "the reconstruction of American social politics was of a part with movements of politics and ideas throughout the North Atlantic world that trade and capitalism had tied together." (3) He concludes that from the 1870s through World War II, America was not an internalist or an imperialist nation, but instead these years saw an "opening" for social reformers in the U.S. to import foreign models and ideals from other North Atlantic countries. Furthermore, these imported policies and reforms (mostly from Britain and Germany) were not adopted in America (if at all) unchanged upon reaching the Atlantic's western shores, but instead were adapted to the peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of American society and political structure. Finally, Rodgers argues, the seeds of the New Deal can be found in the activities and positions of the social reform activists of the last two decades of the 19th century and the first thirty years of the 20th century.
Rodgers convincingly supports his thesis by describing "a largely forgotten world of transnational borrowings and imitation, adaptation and transformation" (7) from the 1870s through the 1940s, a time during which Americans had an abundance of solutions to the myriad social problems of their day. This "borrowing" was a process that changed significantly over time. Initially, Americans were primarily recipients of reform ideas from abroad. Later, during the prosperity of the 1920s, a more even exchange of social solutions took place among North Atlantic countries, which eventually led to "a great gathering...of proposals and ideas" in the New Deal. Finally, by the end of World War II, the differing experiences of the nations of the North Atlantic world and the varying effects suffered by each from the conflict largely ended the former transnational exchange, and saw the Cold War rise of American exceptionalism.
Rodgers provides numerous convincing examples of the cross-national exchange process of ideas and reforms to illustrate his arguments. Workmen's compensation insurance in America, for example, was based upon a pre-World War I British model, a "ready made solution with a history of success behind it" (248) that made similar acts in the U.S. possible. Additionally, housing, health and streetcars were a major concern of American social reformers in large cities, who often borrowed ideas about municipally-guided urban and industrial projects from experiments and visions in Berlin and London. As Rodgers notes regarding the new "self-owned" city, "municipalization was the first important Atlantic-wide progressive project...[that] borrowed experience and transnational example." (159) European precedents gave American progressives "a set of working, practical examples." (144) "He describes, however, in chapters 5 and 6, the impossibility of wholesale American import of strong European municipality due to the unique and equally strong traditions in the U.S. in favor of property rights, a tradition buttressed and maintained by legal tradition and the courts. One need only look at excess condemnation, widely practiced in Paris and London, to see an example of reforms disallowed by the courts, which held that public interests of taste and beauty did not surmount the rights of property owners. Housing in America "was a private matter," (196) unlike the European examples progressives saw.
Although some reviewers have taken exception with Rodgers' claim that within the progressive movement's ideology one can see the footers of the New Deal, his argument is convincing. What New Dealers "did best," he asserts, "was to throw in to the breach, with verve and imagination, schemes set in motion years or decades before." (415) A large number of New Deal projects came out of the old Atlantic progressive connection, and in "gathering in so much of the progressive agenda, the New Deal gathered in large chunks of European experience as well." (416)
Perhaps the weakness in Atlantic Crossings is that which is left out, not in the arguments Rodgers articulately presents. First, it is surprising that Rodgers presents no detailed discussion regarding education reform, particularly when this issue was so important to the Germans at the time. Second, one would never know that there was an American South during this time period, a region where progressives were active even despite a lack of urban areas there. Nevertheless, Rodgers has done a masterful job of comparative history by emphasizing trans-national borrowing and cooperation.

The next definitive work on the Progressive Era........1998-12-31

This is the policy-side answer to Kloppenberg's UNCERTAIN VICTORY. While that book focussed on intellectual links between European (esp. German or French) thought and early American pragmatism, Rodgers seeks more practical applications, well into the 20th century. He is so well versed in the literature that scant references are made to secondary sources. It is rich in the literature of the time, particularly journals, magazines, and newspapers from several different countries. Interestingly, unlike Kloppenberg this book examines England and Scotland which provide springboards for American reforms. Rodgers' thesis is that the Europeans tried numerous policies which Americans learned about and then implemented, almost always later than their counterparts across the Atlantic--and sometimes with very limited success. The book is also noteworthy for some of the most practical applications of MODERNISM yet seen in contemporary scholarship. This is a hot topic, largely seen in discussions of art or literature. Here Rodgers takes all that knowledge, absorbs it, and then demonstrates it in action across the POLITICAL spectrum. Despite the enormous research behind it, Rodgers has written an enjoyable, readable work that is of considerable importance. After all, this is the author of the famous article, "An Obituary for the Progressive Movement," (1970) which claimed that there NEVER WAS such a movement. Here Rodgers answers his own claim, saying that the American reform impulse built upon a European foundation and produced policies which survive to the present. My only complaint is that this book is slanted TOWARDS Europe, with maybe 60% of the discussion dwelling across the Atlantic ... the format gets a little tedious, with most chapters beginning in Europe, then the Americans pick up on the policy (welfare, municipal gas/water etc) and then they try it themselves. This is nitpicking, though, for such a substantive, well-researched, lucid work that defines this generation's scholarship on the Progressive Era.

Atlantic Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Age.(Review) (book reviews): An article from: Polity

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Atlantic Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Age.(Review) (book reviews): An article from: Polity
David Brian Robertson
Manufacturer: Northeastern Political Science Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Polity, published by Northeastern Political Science Association on September 22, 1999. The length of the article is 3061 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Atlantic Crossings: Social Politics in a Progressive Age.(Review) (book reviews)
Author: David Brian Robertson
Publication: Polity (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1999
Publisher: Northeastern Political Science Association
Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Page: 145

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Mastering Change Management: A Practical Guide to Turning Obstacles into Opportunities (Management Skills Series)

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Manufacturer: Pfeiffer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Indispensible background in era of genetic testing.......1999-06-15

Readily accessible to literate non-scientists and scientists alike, Robert Pollack's is the only fully responsible presentation of the metaphor of DNA as information. Neither an ideologue nor a polemicist, Pollack deserves the chance to change the way we think about the human genome project and its hi-tech spin and spin-offs.

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Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KPU69U

Signs of Life: The Language and Meanings of DNA

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Signs of Life: The Language and Meanings of DNA
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Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NZS2VQ

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Signs of life; the language and meanings of DNA.
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Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
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Anthropocentrism and Its Discontents is the first-ever comprehensive examination of views of animals in the history of Western philosophy, from Homeric Greece to the twentieth century.

In recent decades, increased interest in this area has been accompanied by scholars' willingness to conceive of animal experience in terms of human mental capacities: consciousness, self-awareness, intention, deliberation, and in some instances, at least limited moral agency. This conception has been facilitated by a shift from behavioral to cognitive ethology (the science of animal behavior), and by attempts to affirm the essential similarities between the psychophysical makeup of human beings and animals.

Gary Steiner sketches the terms of the current debates about animals and relates these to their historical antecedents, focusing on both the dominant anthropocentric voices and those recurring voices that instead assert a fundamental kinship relation between human beings and animals. He concludes with a discussion of the problem of balancing the need to recognize a human indebtedness to animals and the natural world with the need to preserve a sense of the uniqueness and dignity of the human individual.

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Excellent Book.......2004-01-23

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Worth it's Price and the time you spend reading it.......2001-02-06

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This book is well illustrated and logically organized. You can read it front to back, or just use it as a reference tool for any specific part of Drag Racing you are interested in learning more about.

Even though this book is already a few years old in print, it still provides accurate fundamentals which have remained virtually unchanged in this sport for 25 years or more.

If you are looking for a technical manual on 4 link geometry, look elsewhere. If you want to further your basic knowledge, read this book. I wish that high school auto shops would include this book in their class as a study guide. The future of our sport, or any sport for that matter, depends upon new players. Many "first time" racers have shared their stories with me about their desire to participate in the sport of Drag Racing, but they were reluctant to approach any current racers they don't personally know for help and advice on getting started. This book answers many of the basic questions about bracket racing / drag racing as well as serving as a valuable guide for racers with experience in the sport.

If this book were used in Auto Shop classes, the number of racers would increase. Knowledge is power, and power supports confidence. Knowing the fundamentals about drag racing and helping any "rookie" avoid embarassment for trying this sport can be accomplished by reading this book

Just when we think we know it all about any topic, a book well written about the fundamentals of the topic teaches us some more. This is that book.

Very useful information for all who enjoy Bracket Racing.......1999-02-13

This book has numerous tips for every bracket racer out there! From building your race car to dialing it in. There are also many strategy tips for the beginner or seasoned veteren. This book has it all to help you from the gate to the finish line.

Book Description

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Details on the stages of the essay-writing process

Sample essays

In-depth advice for descriptive, narrative, persuassive, and personal essays

Bonus section on writing for school newspapers

Customer Reviews:

De gran ayuda.......2005-07-20

Yo vivo en la Ciudad de Mexico. Estoy intentando escribir para mi sitio, tanto en ingles como en espanol. Por eso compre este libro.
Me parece excelente. Los conceptos que presenta te sirven igual en ingles que en espanol. Me atreveria a decir que no hay un libro ni en ingles ni en espanol que pudiera ser mas util para empezar a escribir formalmente (weblog, narrativas, etc.).

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Manufacturer: Bull'sEye Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
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Reworking China's Proletariat. (book review): An article from: Journal of Contemporary Asia

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Reworking China's Proletariat. (book review): An article from: Journal of Contemporary Asia
Harry Williams
Manufacturer: Journal of Contemporary Asia Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Journal of Contemporary Asia, published by Journal of Contemporary Asia Publishers on May 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1115 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Reworking China's Proletariat. (book review)
Author: Harry Williams
Publication: Journal of Contemporary Asia (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 2002
Publisher: Journal of Contemporary Asia Publishers
Volume: 32 Issue: 2 Page: 276(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

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