Sonderdrucke aus der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg JÖRN LEONHARD Progressive Politics and the Dilemma of Reform German and American Liberalism in Comparison, 1880-1920 Originalbeitrag erschienen in: Maurizio Vaudagna (Hrsg.):The place of Europe in American history : twentieth-century perspectives. Torino: OTTO Ed., 2007, S. 115-132 7 nova americana in english edited by Maurizio Vaudagna ce of Europe in American History: Twentieth-Century Perspectives Tiziano Bonazzi, Darla Frezza, Claudio Zambianchi, Giuliana Muscio, Giuliana Gemelli, Antonella Cardellicchio, Jam Leonhard, Raffaella Baritono, Marco Mariano, Mario Del Pero, Jennifer Klein, Elisabetta Vezzosi, Maurizio Vaudagna, Manuel Plana, Alessandra Lorini, Simone Cinotto OTTBEDITORE THE PLACE OF EUROPE IN AMERICAN HISTORY: TWENTIETH- CENTURY PERSPECTIVES edited by M. Vaudagna OTTBEDITORE The Place of Europe in American History: Twentieth-Century Perspectives Edited by M. Vaudagna Collana Nova Americana in English Comitato scientifico: Marco Bellingeri, Marcell° Carmagnani, Maurizio Vaudagna Prima edizione gennaio 2007 ©2007, OTTO editore – Torino
[email protected] http://wvvw.otto.to.it ISBN 88-95285-02-6 ISBN 978-88-95285-02-3 E vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, con qualsiasi mezzo effettuato, compresa la fotocopia, anche ad use interno o didattico, non autorizzato. PROGRESSIVE POLITICS AND THE DILEMMA OF REFORM: GERMAN AND AMERICAN LIBERALISM IN COMPARISON, 1880-1920 JORN LEONHARD I. INTRODUCTION: LIBERALISM AS AN EXHAUSTED POLITICAL CONCEPT AFTER 1945 Speaking at a conference of German liberals in December 1948, which led to the foundation of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in West Germany, Theodor Heuss, later the president of the Federal Republic, asked his audience whether the label "liberal" could still be used to identify a political party that regarded itself as part of the tradi- tion of political liberalism.