Civil Liberties in War Times by Max Lerner 1940

Max Lerner (December 20, 1902 – June 5, 1992) was a

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-born American journalist and educator known for his syndicated

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Background

Maxwell Alan Lerner was born on December 20, 1902, in

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, then in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, the son of Bessie (née Podel) and Benjamin Lerner. His

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

family emigrated to the

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in 1907, where his father sold milk door to door.Severo, Richard (June 6, 1992)
Max Lerner, Writer, 89, Is Dead; Humanist on Political Barricades
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Lerner earned a B.A. from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1923. He briefly studied law there before enrolling at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

, where he received an M.A. in 1925. He earned a Ph.D. from the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

–based Robert Brookings Graduate School of Economics and Government (a progenitor of the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

think tank that was academically affiliated with Washington University) in 1927.

Career

After receiving his doctorate, Lerner began work as an editor for the ''Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences'' (1927–1932), ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' (1936–1938), and '' PM'' (1943–1948). Following the sale of ''PM'', he continued as a contributor to its short-lived successor, the '' New York Star'', until its dissolution in 1949. His column for the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' debuted in 1949. It earned him a place on the

master list of Nixon political opponents The master list of Nixon's political opponents was a secret list compiled by US President Richard Nixon's Presidential Counselor Charles Colson. It was an expansion of the original Nixon's Enemies List of 20 key people considered opponents of ...

. During most of his career he was considered a liberal. In his later years, however, he was seen as something of a conservative since he expressed support for

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

and the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...

. He taught at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

, United States International University, the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, and

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

. Lerner also was a close friend of film star

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

during her marriage to Eddie Fisher.Schine, Cathleen (October 18, 1981)
Bad Luck and Violet Eyes.
''

Personal life and death

Lerner was a strong advocate of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

.Sanford Lakoff, "Preface", pp. ix-xxi, in Lakoff, ''Max Lerner : Pilgrim in the Promised Land''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. Lerner was a staunch opponent of discrimination against

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

but supported the wartime

Japanese American internment During World War II, the United States forcibly relocated and incarcerated about 120,000 people of Japanese descent in ten concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), mostly in the western interior of the country. Abou ...

and backed an

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

resolution on the issue to "subordinate civil liberties to wartime considerations and political loyalties." Irons, Peter.
Justice at War: The Story of the Japanese-American Internment Cases
', pg. 129 (1983) Lerner married Anita Marburg in 1928, and they divorced in 1940. He married Edna Albers in 1941. Lerner died on June 5, 1992. Lerner's granddaughter is actress

Betsy Russell Betsy Russell (born Elizabeth Russell; September 6, 1963) is an American actress who is best known for her roles in ''Private School'' (1983), '' Tomboy'' (1985), and as Jill Tuck, one of the primary characters of the ''Saw'' film series from ...

Works

Lerner's most influential book was ''America as a Civilization: Life and Thought in the United States Today'' (1957). His book ''The Unfinished Country'' is a collection of more than 200 of his daily columns, which were written for the ''New York Post'' over the span of more than a decade. The book contains one of his better-known quotes: "The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt." His 1990 book, ''Wrestling with the Angel'', was about his long struggle with illness.

Bibliography

; Books: * ''America as a Civilization: Life and Thought in the United States Today'' (1957) ** Volume 1: The Basic Frame ** Volume 2: Culture and Personality * ''Values in Education: Notes Toward a Values Philosophy'' (1976) * ''Ted and the Kennedy Legacy: A Study in Character and Destiny'' (1980) * ''Wrestling with the Angel: A Memoir of My Triumph Over Illness'' (1990) (memoir) ; Undated books: * ''The Unfinished Country: A Book of American Symbols'' (collection of essays and editorials) * ''Wounded Titans: American Presidents and the Perils of Power'' * ''It Is Later Than You Think: The Need for a Militant Democracy'' * ''Nine Scorpions in a Bottle: Great Judges and Cases of the Supreme Court'' * ''Ideas Are Weapons: The History and Uses of Ideas'' * ''Magisterial Imagination: Six Masters of the Human Science'' * ''Third World: Premises of U.S. Policy'' * ''Ideas for the Ice Age: Studies in a Revolutionary Era'' * ''Actions and Passions: Notes on the Multiple Revolutions of Our Time'' * "Education and a Radical Humanism: Notes Toward a Theory of the Educational Crisis" (with E.I.F. Williams) * ''Public Journal: Marginal Notes on Wartime America'' * ''Civil Liberties in War Times'' ; Edited works: * ''Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences'' (1927-1932) * ''The Nation'' (1936-1938) * '' PM'' (1943-1948) * ''Tocqueville and American Civilization'' * ''Thomas Jefferson: America's Philosopher-King'' * ''The Mind and Faith of Justice Holmes: His Speeches, Essays, Letters, and Judicial Opinions'' * ''Essential Works of John Stuart Mill'' * ''The Portable Veblen'' ; Forewords and introduction: * ''The Prince and The Discourses'' by

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was a Florentine diplomat, author, philosopher, and historian who lived during the Italian Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise '' The Prince'' (), writte ...

(New York:

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

, 1950) * ''Values of Veblen, a critical appraisal'' by Bernard Rosenberg (Washington:

Public Affairs Press Public Affairs Press ( – mid-1980s) was a book publisher in Washington, D.C., owned and often edited by Morris Bartel Schnapper (1912–1999). History According to notional successor Peter Osnos of the 1997-founded PublicAffairs: For f ...

, 1956) * ''

Americans for Democratic Action Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting p ...

: its role in national politics'' by Clifton Brock (Washington:

, 1962) * ''Political science and political knowledge'' by Philip H. Melanson (Washington:

, 1975) * ''Pioneer's Progress'' by Alvin Johnson (New York: The Viking Press. 1952) * ''

The Wealth of Nations ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', usually referred to by its shortened title ''The Wealth of Nations'', is a book by the Scottish people, Scottish economist and moral philosophy, moral philosopher Adam Smith; ...

'' by

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptised 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as the "father of economics"——— or ...

(New York:

, 1937)

References

External sources

* Max Lerner papers (MS 322). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Librar

* Romano, C. ''America the Philosophical'' (2012). *Richard Severo
Max Lerner, Writer, 89, Is Dead; Humanist on Political Barricades
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', June 6, 1992 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lerner, Max 1902 births 1992 deaths American male journalists American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American non-fiction writers Washington University in St. Louis alumni Sarah Lawrence College faculty Harvard University faculty Williams College faculty Brandeis University faculty Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Alliant International University faculty Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers