"Pestritto’s historical argument about the adoption by American leaders—most compellingly Woodrow Wilson—of certain themes from German philosophy has persuaded me on a point of historical debate. He has changed my mind about the role of these ideas in the development of American progressivism, which is to say American leftism. In his comprehensive overview of progressive ideas, Pestritto traces a view of the legislature, of the presidency, and, later, of the vast administrative system that emerged after World War II, each of which has roots in German thought."

It was only the wrong administration in a succession that ultimately imported social liberalism from Europe.