Victorian Culture and the Rise of American Liberalism

Abstract

Calls this book an important contribution to the study of political theory in America, especially for its recognition of the roots of liberalism in post-Civil War activities of key figures such as Thomas Wentworth Higginson, James Russell Lowell, George M. Curtis, and Charles Eliot Norton. Provides detailed summary of Butler’s discussion of each man’s background and contributions to the development of liberalism in America, as well as a synopsis of the impact of the American Civil War on intellectuals on both sides of the Atlantic. Faults Butler for not explaining the importance of Emerson in shaping the thoughts of the four individuals on whom she concentrates in her study.