I n t h e s u m m e r of 1919, Reinhold Niebuhr, still an obscure minister in Detroit, wrote a letter to the New Republic that foreshadowed much of the left's postwar reaction against liberalism. The Treaty of Versailles had shattered hopes "for a better world," Niebuhr said. But it was pointless to blame Woodrow Wilson, as many liberals were doing, for his willingness to compromise with the Allies' demand for a harsh and punitive settlement. Wilson's defeat revealed the "limitations of liberalism itself." Liberals were "afraid to tear down old houses and build new ones." They refused "to take a chance and accept a challenge." They approached the old order "with friendly mien," hoping to lead it "blindfold" into the future without alerting its defenders. Liberalism was dominated by the "gray spirit of compro

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