Louis F. Post and the Single Tax Movement, 1872–98

Abstract . The career of Louis F. Post (1849–1928), upon his return to New York following a stint as a Carpetbagger in South Carolina, became, for a time, that of publicist. Post first attempted to break into regular Republican politics, then turned to Journalism on the staff of the New York Truth, and finally was converted to the Single Tax philosophy of Henry George in the early 1880s. Thereafter, Post became George's closest confidante and labored hard as a writer, lecturer, and political organizer to elect George and others to make the Single Tax a reality (1). The author's sources include Post's unpublished autobiography, the files of The Public, The Standard and the Cleveland Recorder, as well as material from the Henry George Collection in the New York Public Library.     

From the Narrow Single Tax to Broad Progressivism: The Intellectual Development of Louis F. Post, 1898-1913

Abstract . Following a brief biographical sketch of Louis F. post (1849-1928), this study focuses on the intellectual development of the man who became the de facto leader of the U.S. Single Tax Movement after the death of Henry George. During the period 1898–1913, Post served as editor of The Public, a Chicago weekly. In its analysis of Post's journalistic writings and of his books, The Ethics of Democracy (1905), Social Service (1909), and The Ethical Principles of Marriage and Divorce (1904), the study documents the broadening of Post's thought and suggests the influence which Progressivisim had on the single tax and vice versa. Single Taxers contributed greatly to the success of progressivism in America. In the process, however, many single taxers moderated their thinking to the point where the Single Tax Movement lost its separate identity. Post also participated in the 1909-1910 Reform movement in England.     

The Single Tax Movement and Progressivism, 1880-1920*

Abstract . Henry George's Single Tax movement and the Progressive movement in the United States were inter-related. After the publication of Progress and Poverty a political movement developed around George. It failed, partly because George was a poor politician although he had proved a master-publicist, partly because he aroused a formidable opposition. Nevertheless the single taxers did contribute to progressive reform a specific plan for manipulating the environment in a Social Darwinistic way. George's philosophy also rejected socialism in favor of a reformed and purified capitalism—perhaps the most important theme in 20th century reform thought in America. Moreover, the Single Tax movement contributed to the democratic reform movement such leaders as Tom L. Johnson, Brand Whitlock, Louis F. Post, Frederic C. Howe, George L. Record, Newton D. Baker and Franklin K. Lane.     

Louis Post as a Carpetbagger in South Carolina: Reconstruction as a Forerunner of the Progressive Movement

Abstract . Did the reforming zeal of the Carpetbaggers have much influence upon men who would later be involved in the Progressive movement? The experience of Louis F. Post, who served as a Carpet-bagging stenographer in South Carolina and who later became editor of the Chicago Public and Assistant Secretary of Labor in the Woodrow Wilson administrations, seems to indicate a continuity of interest not only in reform, but in racial equality. Post's unpublished autobiography, his article on his Carpetbagging experience which appeared in the Journal of Negro History and newspaper dispatches he wrote for the Hackettown Gazette in 1871 and 1872 provide the major pieces of evidence that the Carpetbaggers’ experience—often written off as job grabbing by political hacks eager to capitalize on the defeat of the South in the Civil War—was a wellspring of the Progressive movement in America.