List of American liberals

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
This article is part of a series on
Modern liberalism
in the United States
Schools
Principles
History
Intellectuals
Politicians
Jurists
Activists
Parties

Active

Defunct

Think tanks
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Media

Journals

TV channels

Websites

Other

See also

American liberals are proponents of Modern liberalism in the United States. This ideology combines ideas of civil liberty and equality with support for social justice and a mixed economy. According to Ian Adams, all major American parties are "liberal and always have been. Essentially they espouse classical liberalism, that is a form of democratized Whig constitutionalism plus the free market. The point of difference comes with the influence of social liberalism".[1]

Economically, modern liberalism opposes cuts to the social safety net and supports a role for government in reducing inequality, providing education, ensuring access to healthcare, regulating economic activity and protecting the natural environment.[2] This form of liberalism took shape in the 20th century United States as the franchise and other civil rights were extended to a larger class of citizens. Major examples include Theodore Roosevelt's Square Deal and New Nationalism, Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom, Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, Harry S. Truman's Fair Deal, John F. Kennedy's New Frontier and Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society.

In the first half of the 20th century, both major American parties had a conservative and a liberal wing. The conservative Northern Republicans and Southern Democrats formed the conservative coalition which dominated the Congress in the pre-Civil Rights era. As the Democrats under President Johnson began to support civil rights, the formerly Solid South, meaning solidly Democratic, became solidly Republican, except in districts with a large number of African-American voters. Since the 1960s, the Democratic Party has been considered liberal and the Republican Party has been considered conservative. As a group, liberals are referred to as the left and conservatives as the right. Starting in the 21st century, there has also been a sharp division between liberals who tend to live in denser, more heterogeneous communities and conservatives who tend to live in less dense, more homogeneous communities.[3][4]

Politicians

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Intellectuals

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Jurists and the law

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Writers, activists and commentators

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Religious leaders

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Blogs

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Magazines and publications

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Think tanks

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Adams, Ian (2001). Political Ideology Today. Manchester University Press. p. 32. ISBN 0719060206. Ideologically, all US parties are liberal and always have been. Essentially they espouse classical liberalism, that is a form of democratized Whig constitutionalism plus the free market. The point of difference comes with the influence of social liberalism.
  2. ^ "The 2016 Democratic Platform". Democratic National Committee. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  3. ^ Graham, David A. (February 2, 2017). "Red State, Blue City". Theatlantic.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  4. ^ "Similarities and differences between urban, suburban and rural communities in America". Pewsocialtrends.org. May 22, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  5. ^ "Fiorello La Guardia: Ultimate American". Rough Diplomacy. 2 December 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  6. ^ "Henry Wallace, America's Forgotten Visionary". February 3, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  7. ^ Labaton, Stephen (January 28, 1996). "Ralph Yarborough Dies at 92; Cast Historic Civil Rights Vote". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  8. ^ Pearson, Richard (March 3, 1986). "Former Senator Jacob Javits Is Dead at 81". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  9. ^ "Remembering Adam Clayton Powell Jr". The New York Times. November 28, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  10. ^ Perlstein, Rick (May 26, 2011). "America's Forgotten Liberal". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  11. ^ Cuomo, Mario (March 11, 2001). "The Last Liberal". The New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  12. ^ "Bella Abzug". National Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  13. ^ Osnos, Peter (May 25, 2010). "New York Mayor John Lindsay. Remember Him?". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  14. ^ Michael Cohen (June 5, 2016). "RFK and the Dems who revere him: 48 years after Robert Kennedy's assassination, we should remember him in all his complexity". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  15. ^ "Ted Kennedy on the Issues". Ontheissues.org. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  16. ^ "Cuomo Vetoes Death Penalty Seventh Time". The New York Times. March 21, 1989. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  17. ^ Clines, Francis X. (January 18, 1996). "Barbara Jordan Dies at 59; Her Voice Stirred the Nation". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  18. ^ "John Lewis: U.S. Representative, Civil Rights Activist". Biography.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  19. ^ "Nancy Pelosi". Biography.com. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  20. ^ "Barney Frank". Biography.com. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  21. ^ "Barney Frank On the Issues". Ontheissues.org. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  22. ^ "Senator Bernie Sanders on Democratic Socialism in the United States – Bernie Sanders". Berniesanders.com. November 19, 2015. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  23. ^ Oliphant, J. Baxter (March 9, 2020) "Most Democrats see Bernie Sanders as liberal" Pew Research Center.
  24. ^ "The New York Times got it right when it said, 'Mr. Sanders, who is hugely popular with liberals, ... made blunt overtures to the party faithful by presenting himself as the heir to the politics and ideals of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Dr. Martin Luther King.'", p. 166, "Our Revolution: A Future to Believe in", Bernie Sanders, ISBN 978-1250132925
  25. ^ "Known for his liberal stance, he founded (1991) the Congressional Progressive Caucus. A reliable opponent of Pres. George W. Bush's administration and the Republican Party, he voted against the Iraq War and distinguished himself in particular for his opposition to tax cuts benefiting wealthy individuals and corporations and to cuts in spending for social welfare programs. He was reelected seven times, usually by wide margins. Encyclopædia Britannica online.
  26. ^ "20 Years of Change: Joe Biden on the Violence Against Women Act". Time. 10 September 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  27. ^ Dreier, Peter (26 October 2015). "Paul Wellstone's Ordinary Life and Extraordinary Legacy". The Huffington Post. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  28. ^ "Is Howard Dean too liberal?". NBC News. August 12, 2004. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  29. ^ "In Memoriam: Henry Steele Commager (1902–98)". American Historical Association. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  30. ^ Kirsch, Adam (October 26, 2011). "The Inner Clamor". The New Republic. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  31. ^ "The 7 Most Liberal Supreme Court Justices in American History". Thoughtco.
  32. ^ "Justice Brandeis and the Birth of Liberal Judicial Activism". Thepublicdiscourse.com. 28 January 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  33. ^ Rich, Spencer (January 20, 1980). "William O. Douglas Dies at 81". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  34. ^ "Thurgood Marshall's Unique Supreme Court Legacy". Constitution Daily. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  35. ^ "W.E.B. DuBois on the Value of Liberal Education". Keyreporter.org. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  36. ^ "William Monroe Trotter". Blackpast.org. 23 January 2007. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
  37. ^ "A. Philip Randolph". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  38. ^ "Walter Reuther". AFL-CIO. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  39. ^ "Fannie Lou Hamer: Civil Rights Activist". Mississippi History Now. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  40. ^ "Celebrating Our Presidents". National Organization for Women. Archived from the original on January 21, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  41. ^ "Harvey Milk". Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  42. ^ "Women: A Fighting First Lady". Time. Time Magazine. 3 March 1975. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  43. ^ Haslett, Tobi (December 11, 2017). "The Other Susan Sontag". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  44. ^ "Gloria Steinem". Biography.com. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  45. ^ "Patricia Ireland". Biography.yourdictionary.com. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  46. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (September 23, 2018) "How Michael Moore Lost His Audience", Variety. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  47. ^ "Rachel Maddow: American Political Commentator". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  48. ^ Schulz, Kathryn (April 4, 2017). "The Many Lives of Pauli Murray". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  49. ^ "Of course, there is one phase of liberalism that I hope to treasure always: its devotion to the search for truth, its insistence on an open and analytical mind, its refusal to abandon the best light of reason.", Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., p.35, "A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches", HarperOne, ISBN 978-0060646912
  50. ^ "Biographical Notes on Rabbi Lerner". Archived from the original on January 7, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  51. ^ "Black America doesn't lack leaders: Poll shows 24 percent say Sharpton speaks for them". The Grio. March 28, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
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