This collection of thoughtful and timely essays offers refreshing and intelligent new perspectives on postwar American liberalism. Sophisticated yet accessible, Making Sense of American Liberalism challenges popular myths about liberalism in the United States. The volume presents the Democratic Party and liberal reform efforts such as civil rights, feminism, labor, and environmentalism as a more united, more radical force than has been depicted in scholarship and the media emphasizing the decline and disunity of the left. Distinguished contributors assess the problems liberals have confronted in the twentieth century, examine their strategies for change, and chart the successes and potential for future liberal reform. Each chapter tackles a different example of the challenges and achievements of liberal politics, from organized labor to the links between liberalism and social democracy in U.S. political life. An excellent compendium of recent political history and a timely resource for those seeking to assess the place of liberalism in contemporary political arenas, Making Sense of American Liberalism emphasizes the powerful liberal reform impulse in making modern American politics--something that few works have done convincingly in recent years--while remaining cognizant of the importance of the right in shaping policy and ideology.

Contributors are Anthony J. Badger, Jonathan Bell, Lizabeth Cohen, Susan Hartmann, Ella Howard, Bruce Miroff, Nelson Lichtenstein, Doug Rossinow, Timothy Stanley, and Timothy Thurber.