SOURCE: Sutton, Walter. “The New Humanism.” In Modern American Criticism, pp. 26-50. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1963.

In the essay below, Sutton presents an overview of the main works, figures, and detractors of the New Humanists.

Many intellectuals sensitive to the confusion and disorder of the early twentieth century looked to the past for sustaining values. In the midst of the rebellion against “Puritanism,” they defended the principles of decorum and restraint against what seemed to them the excesses of modern scientific, literary, and social thought.

In criticism the staunchest defenders of an older order were the New Humanists, led by Irving Babbitt and Paul Elmer More. Establishing their position in the first decade of the century and gaining support from followers in the universities, the Humanists remained a power to be reckoned with for nearly a generation. From their ivied bastions they fired salvos against avant-garde and...