Clarence Streit and Twentieth-Century American Internationalism

by Talbot C. Imlay

Overview

In this illuminating and comprehensive account, Talbot C. Imlay chronicles the life of Clarence Streit and his Atlantic federal union movement in the Unites States during and following the Second World War. The first book to detail Streit's life, work and significance, it reveals the importance of public political cultures in shaping US foreign relations. In 1939, Streit published Union Now which proposed a federation of the North Atlantic democracies modelled on the US Constitution. The buzz created led Streit to leave his position at The New York Times and devote himself to promoting the union. Over the next quarter of a century, Streit worked to promote a new public political culture, employing a variety of strategies to gain visibility and political legitimacy for his project and for federalist frameworks. In doing so, Streit helped shape wartime debates on the nature of the post-war international order and of transatlantic relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009298971
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/27/2025
Series:	Cambridge Studies in US Foreign Relations
Pages:	234
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Talbot C. Imlay is Professor of History at Université Laval in Québec, specializing in modern European and international history. He is the author of several books including The Practice of Socialist Internationalism: European Socialists and International Politics, 1914-1960, and, with Martin Horn, The Politics of Industrial Collaboration during World War II: Ford France, Vichy and Nazi Germany.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. The making of an Atlantic Federalist, 1914 to 1939; 2. Writing and selling Union Now, 1939-1941; 3. The wartime pursuit of Federal Union, 1940-1945; 4. Clarence Streit and Federal Union during the Cold War; 5. Clarence Streit, the Atlantic Union Committee, and postwar Atlanticism; Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

‘More than a biography of Clarence Streit, Imlay’s book tells a fascinating history of internationalist thought, politics, and possibilities. Revealing how foreign policy ideas take shape in the public sphere, it also recovers vibrant debates over the postwar international order and competing visions of an imagined transatlantic community.’ Julia F. Irwin, author of Making the World Safe: The American Red Cross and a Nation’s Humanitarian Awakening

‘This book provides an excellent assessment of the life of Clarence Streit. Talbot Imlay shows not only Streit’s political significance, which was particularly notable in the years surrounding World War II, but he uses Streit to examine broader debates regarding America’s place in the world in the mid-twentieth century.’ Andrew Johnstone, author of Against Immediate Evil: American Internationalists and the Four Freedoms on the Eve of World War II

‘A fascinating and impeccably researched portrait of Clarence Streit, which reveals that federal union was far more than an outlandish idea that captured the minds of many during democracy’s darkest hour. Shepherded by Streit, a gifted publicist, this idea took on a life of its own and fueled debates about international organization and an ‘Atlantic community’. Often blinkered when it came to democracy’s flaws, racism and empire, Streit nonetheless formulated an original and genuinely American contribution to international thought, a contribution that Imlay has recovered with admirable clarity and flair.’ Katharina Rietzler, co-editor of Women's International Thought: A New History

From the Publisher