The late 1930s, he wrote, were “a time of innocence. . . . We were animated by a candid faith in the efficiency of reason and persuasion, in the operation of democratic processes and in the ultimate triumph of justice.” Like-minded men such as Oppenheimer, he wrote, believed that abroad the Spanish Republic would triumph over the winds of fascist Europe, and at home, the reforms of the New Deal were clearing the way for a new social compact based on racial and class equality. Many intellectuals had such hopes—but some also joined the Communist Party.
