Knowra Modern liberalism in the United States Modern liberalism in the United States A U.S. political tradition that combines individual rights and civil liberties with government action to reduce economic inequality and protect social welfare.
Progressive Era : A period of U.S. reform, roughly from the 1890s to the 1920s, addressing problems associated with industrialization and urbanization. Its reform campaigns established precedents for federal regulation and social policy.
Civil liberties : Individual freedoms protected from government interference, especially those guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Their defense anchors the tradition's commitment to individual rights.
Social Security : A U.S. federal program providing retirement, survivors, and disability benefits, established by the Social Security Act of 1935. It established a durable federal guarantee against income loss in old age and disability.
American conservatism : A U.S. political tradition generally emphasizing limited government, social continuity, and free enterprise. It commonly disputes liberal support for expanded regulation and social spending.
Liberal consensus : The broad mid-twentieth-century U.S. agreement favoring regulated capitalism, social programs, and an active federal government. It describes the period when many liberal policies held cross-party support.
New Deal : A set of U.S. federal programs and reforms launched under Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. It made federal responsibility for economic security a defining liberal commitment.
Welfare state : A system in which government provides social protection and services to address risks such as poverty, illness, and unemployment. It describes the institutional means for protecting social welfare.
Medicare : A U.S. federal health insurance program primarily serving people aged 65 and older and some people with disabilities. Its creation made public health insurance a major liberal policy achievement.
Libertarianism : A political philosophy that gives priority to individual liberty and sharply limits coercive government power. It challenges liberal arguments for state intervention in the economy.
Southern strategy : A Republican electoral strategy that appealed to white Southern voters amid conflict over civil rights and federal authority. It helped reshape party coalitions as liberal civil-rights policies advanced.
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