SOURCE: “Laurence Gronlund: Contributions to American Socialism,” in The Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 15, 1962, pp. 618-24.

In the following essay, Maher describes the influence of the largely neglected thinker, Laurence Gronlund, on nineteenth-century American socialism.

Laurence Gronlund is responsible for three significant contributions to American socialism: first, a theoretical adaptation of German socialism to the American milieu; second, a substantial influence on Edward Bellamy; and, third, an effective criticism of the theories of Henry George. Although assessed as one of the most influential advocates of socialism in the late nineteenth century,¹ Gronlund is virtually unknown today. In order to indicate the reasons for his importance, this article sketches in broad outline Gronlund's three principal contributions to American socialism.

Gronlund, a post-Civil War Danish immigrant, was associated at one time or another with Icarianism, Bellamyite Nationalism, the Socialist Labor party, and the American Fabian Society. Teacher, lecturer, editor, and author...