Today we are excited to release our excellent conversation with Professor Kristoffer Smemo, author of Making Republicans Liberal: Social Struggle and the Politics of Compromise. Professor Smemo is a historian of labor, politics, and popular culture in the United States at the University of California - Los Angeles. Both hosts of the show were incredibly lucky to have been taught by Professor Smemo at Washington University in St. Louis.

Making Republicans Liberal details how a unique brand of liberalism developed within the Republican Party in response to mass movements of the mid-twentieth century. The book describes the contradictions and tension within this ideology, which we detail during our conversation. Importantly, we conclude the episode with a discussion of the lessons we can take away from the history of liberal Republicans as we try to regain control of our democracy today.

Show Notes

Purchase a copy of Making Republicans Liberal: Social Struggle and the Politics of Compromise here.

Past episodes from The History Onion mentioned during the show:

* Roosevelt’s Purge

* The Republican Evolution

Credits

Theme music by our youngest brother Tate.

Cover art by Arthur Santoro.

Get full access to The History Onion at historyonion.substack.com/subscribe