• Subscribe
  • Donate
  • Newsletters
  • Sign In
  • War in Iran
  • Election 2026
  • ICE
  • America and the World
  • In the Magazine

The American Prospect

  • About Us
  • Meet the Staff
  • Donate
  • Subscribe to Our Magazine
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Why We’re Removing Our Programmatic Ads
  • Careers
  • Frequently Asked Questions

The American Prospect

  • About Us
  • Meet the Staff
  • Donate
  • Subscribe to Our Magazine
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Why We’re Removing Our Programmatic Ads
  • Careers
  • Frequently Asked Questions
Skip to content
The American Prospect

The American Prospect

Ideas, Politics & Power

  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • Newsletters
  • Sign In
Donate Sign In
  • War in Iran
  • Election 2026
  • ICE
  • America and the World
  • In the Magazine
Home / Features / The National Purpose
Posted inFeatures

The National Purpose

by Alan Brinkley October 17, 2001

Share:

  • Share on Make us preferred on Google (Opens in new window) Make us preferred on Google
  • Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • More
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print

Related

Tagged: Article, Features

Alan Brinkley

Alan Brinkley is Allan Nevins Professor of History at Columbia University and the author of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and The Publisher: Henry Luce and His American Century. More by Alan Brinkley

Trending Now

New Documents Detail Nine-Figure, Silicon Valley–Funded Abundance MovementJune 12, 2026
Another Bait and Switch on VA CareJune 18, 2026
Why Cities Go SocialistJune 19, 2026
Nothing Is Safe From Private Equity RollupsJune 16, 2026
In New York’s ‘Commie Corridor,’ a Race Over How to Build PowerJune 17, 2026
  • About Us
  • RSS Feed
  • Why We’re Removing Our Programmatic Ads
  • Subscribe to Our Magazine
  • Manage A Recurring Donation
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Privacy Policy

Support the Prospect

DONATE
© 2026 The American Prospect, Inc. | All Rights Reserved Powered by Newspack Privacy Policy

Get the latest stories from the Prospect delivered right to your inbox for the in-depth analysis you need.

Get the latest stories from the Prospect delivered right to your inbox for the in-depth analysis you need.

Sign in or register

Or

Sign in by entering the code we sent to , or clicking the magic link in the email.

Forgot password
Continue Set a password (optional)

Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Verify your email

We'll send a verification code to %EMAIL%.

Gift this article