David Goodman Croly (November 3, 1829 – April 29, 1889) was an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and educated at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. He was associated with the '' Evening Post'' and the ''

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

'' (1854–58), and then became an

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

and subsequently the

managing editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edito ...

of the ''

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

''. He married

Jane Cunningham Jane Cunningham (September 4, 1946) is an American politician from the state of Missouri. A Republican, Cunningham served as a member of the Missouri Senate, representing the 7th District from 2008 to early 2013. Due to Senate redistricting fol ...

, known as "Jennie June", in 1856. In 1863, during the Civil War, he co-authored the anonymous pamphlet ''

Miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...

'', which tried to discredit the

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

movement and the

Lincoln Administration The presidency of Abraham Lincoln began on March 4, 1861, when Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th president of the United States, and ended upon his assassination and death on April 15, 1865, days into his second term. Lincoln was th ...

by playing on racist fears common among whites. The anonymous author of the pamphlet claimed to be an Abolitionist in favour of promoting the intermarriage of whites and blacks, a taboo practice that at the time was seen as a threat to

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

. The pamphlet coined the term

miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...

for the intermixing of races. Memories of Jane Cunningham Croly - David Goodman Croly

From 1870 to 1873, Croly published a journal called ''Modern Thinker'' which served as a vehicle for the positivist and Spencerian positions of himself and a small circle of colleagues, including

John Humphrey Noyes John Humphrey Noyes (September 3, 1811 – April 13, 1886) was an American preacher, radical religious philosopher, and Utopian socialism, utopian socialist. He founded the Putney Community, Putney, Oneida Community, Oneida and Wallingford C ...

. In 1872, Croly predicted the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...

, along with the failures of Jay Cooke & Co. and the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by 38th United States Congress, Congress in 1864 and given ...

. From 1873 to 1878 he was editor of the ''

Daily Graphic ''The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper'' was the first American newspaper with daily illustrations. It was founded in New York City in 1873 by Canadian engravers George-Édouard Desbarats and William Leggo, and began publication ...

''. Croly's published works include ''Seymour and Blair: Their Lives and Services'' (1868), about the 19th century politicians

Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential elec ...

and

Montgomery Blair Montgomery Blair (May 10, 1813 – July 27, 1883) was an American politician and lawyer from Maryland. He served in the Lincoln administration cabinet as Postmaster-General from 1861 to 1864, during the Civil War. He was the son of Francis Pres ...

(which included an appendix containing a "History of

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

"); and a ''Primer of Positivism'' (1876). This refers to Comtean positivism as he was a founding figure in the

branch of the

Church of Humanity Church of Humanity was a positivist church in England influenced and inspired by Auguste Comte's Religion of Humanity in France. It also had a branch or variant in New York City, Brazil and other locations. Richard Congreve founded the firs ...

and referred to the "faith" as "the only true church." ''Glimpses of the future : suggestions as to the drift of things'' (1888) was an early instance of

futurology Futures studies, futures research, futurism or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will li ...

. David Goodman Croly was the father of the writer

Herbert Croly Herbert David Croly (January 23, 1869 – May 17, 1930) was an intellectual leader of the progressive movement as an editor, political philosopher and a co-founder of the magazine ''The New Republic'' in early twentieth-century America. His pol ...

, co-founder of ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...

'' magazine.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Croly, David Goodman 19th-century American historians 19th-century American male writers Journalists from New York City New York University alumni Comtism 1829 births 1889 deaths 19th-century American journalists American male journalists Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) American male non-fiction writers Historians from New York (state)