Books

The Future of the Family

– Moynihan, Timothy M. Sneeding, and Lee Rainwater, The Future of the Family, Russell Sage Foundation, 2006.
From the publisher: High rates of divorce, single-parenthood, and nonmarital cohabitation are forcing Americans to reexamine their definition of family. This evolving social reality requires public policy to evolve as well. The Future of the Family brings… More

Secrecy: The American Experience

– Secrecy: The American Experience , New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.
From the publisher: Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, chairman of the bipartisan Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy, here presents an eloquent and fascinating account of the development of secrecy as a mode of regulation in American… More

Miles to Go: A Personal History of Social Policy

– Miles to Go: A Personal History of Social Policy, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996.
From the publisher: Has liberalism lost its way—or merely its voice? This book by one of the nation’s most insightful, articulate, and powerful Democrats at last breaks the silence that has greeted the Republican Party’s revolution of 1994. When voters… More

Pandaemonium: Ethnicity in International Politics

– Pandaemonium: Ethnicity in International Politics, New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
From the publisher: Ten years before the Soviet Union collapsed, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan stood almost alone in predicting its demise. As the intelligence community and cold war analysts churned out statistics demonstrating the enduring strength of the… More

On the Law of Nations

– On the Law of Nations, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990.
From the publisher: Foreign Policy. “In the annals of forgetfulness there is nothing quite to compare with the fading from the American mind of the idea of the law of nations.” Grenada. “We might have benefited from a weekend’s pause in which we could… More

Came the Revolution: Argument in the Reagan Era

– Came the Revolution: Argument in the Reagan Era, New York: Harcourt, 1988.
From Publishers Weekly: A quarter-century of failed presidencies signifies that the institution itself is in a period of protracted crisis, asserts Moynihan, outspoken senator from New York. He further contends that, since 1981, the crisis has been aggravated… More

Family and Nation: The Godkin Lectures

– Family and Nation: The Godkin Lectures, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987.
From Publishers Weekly: Moynihan first argued for a national family policy in 1965, and continues to press for it in these informed and persuasive lectures. Examining key factors shaping family-related matters in recent yearsGreat Society efforts, the… More

Loyalties

– Loyalties, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984.
From the New York Times Review by Richard Bernstein: The mind of Daniel Patrick Moynihan has ranged so nimbly over so many subjects that the senior Senator of New York may well be the foremost scholar-politician of the land. This slender volume, appearing… More

Counting Our Blessings: Reflections on the Future of America

– Counting Our Blessings: Reflections on the Future of America, New York: Little Brown, 1980.
From Amazon: Moynihan served in the cabinet or subcabinet of four consecutive Presidents, as Ambassador to India, Professor of Government at Harvard University and as U.S. Senator from New York. In this book he examines crucial issues facing the United States… More

A Dangerous Place

– Moynihan with Suzanne Weaver, A Dangerous Place, New York: Little Brown, 1978.
Excerpt: This volume, part journal and part commonplace book, seeks to describe certain ideas and events that contributed to the recent emergence of human rights as an issue of American foreign policy. It will, I hope, be of some historical interest, but my… More
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Commentary

[in chronological order]

American Burke by Greg Weiner

– Greg Weiner, American Burke: The Uncommon Liberalism of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, University Press of Kansas, 2015.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927-2003) may be best known as a statesman. He served in the administrations of presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford; was ambassador to India and the United Nations; and represented New York in the U.S. Senate for four terms.… More

The Professor and the President

– Stephen Hess, The Professor and the President: Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the Nixon White House, Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2014.
From the publisher: What happens when a conservative president makes a liberal professor from the Ivy League his top urban affairs adviser? The president is Richard Nixon, the professor is Harvard’s Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Of all the odd couples in… More

Freedom Is Not Enough by James Patterson

– James Patterson, Freedom Is Not Enough: The Moynihan Report and America’s Struggle over Black Family Life—from LBJ to Obama, New York: Basic Books, 2010.
From the publisher: On June 4, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson delivered what he and many others considered the greatest civil rights speech of his career. Proudly, Johnson hailed the new freedoms granted to African Americans due to the newly passed Civil… More

Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letters of an American Visionary

– Steven R. Weisman, Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letters of an American Visionary, New York: PublicAffairs, 2010.
From the publisher: When Daniel Patrick Moynihan died in 2003 the Economist described him as “a philosopher-politician-diplomat who two centuries earlier would not have been out of place among the Founding Fathers.” Though Moynihan never wrote an… More

Daniel Patrick Moynihan: The Intellectual in Public Life

– Robert A. Katzmann, ed. Daniel Patrick Moynihan: The Intellectual in Public Life, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004.
From the publisher: One of the most distinguished figures in twentieth-century American politics, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, was at the center of virtually every major political issue of his day, offering a distinct voice unique in its prescience,… More

Daniel Patrick Moynihan

– Michael Barone, “Daniel Patrick Moynihan,” Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2003.
Excerpt: America has never had anyone in public life with the blazing originality of mind of Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Such originality cannot be entirely explained: It is the product of an intellect and a character that are unique. Yet I think it owed… More

A Beautiful Mind by George F. Will

– George F. Will, “A Beautiful Mind,” The Washington Post, March 27, 2003
Excerpt: Many of America’s largest public careers have been those of presidents. Many, but by no means all. Chief Justice John Marshall was more consequential than all but two presidents — Washington and Lincoln. Among 20th-century public… More

The Gentleman From New York by Godfrey Hodgson

– Godfrey Hodgson, The Gentleman From New York: Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Biography, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000.
From the publisher: Coinciding with his departure from the United States Senate after twenty-four years of distinguished service, this major work is the first comprehensive account of the life and ideas of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a great political figure and… More

The Moynihan Report and the Politics of Controversy

– Lee Rainwater and William L. Yancey, The Moynihan Report and the Politics of Controversy, Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1967.
From the publisher: In March of 1965, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then Assistant Secretary of Labor, wrote a report on the condition of the American Negro entitled The Negro Family: The Case for national Action, otherwise known as the Moynihan Report. It gave… More

Essays

Ethnicity Now

– "Ethnicity Now," The Washington Post, September 16, 2001.

Building Wealth For Everyone

– "Building Wealth For Everyone," The New York Times, May 30, 2000.
Excerpt: Social insurance began in Europe, principally in Germany in the Bismarck era. In 1911, Winston Churchill carried unemployment insurance in the House of Commons, representing the Liberal government. The Tories opposite said the workers would spend the… More

Data and Dogma in Public Policy

– "Data and Dogma in Public Policy," Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1999.
Abstract: Statistics play an important role in the affairs of state. The development over the last 70 years of national economic and product accounts, the creation in 1946 of a Council of Economic Advisers, and advancements in the collection and analysis of… More

The culture of secrecy

– "The culture of secrecy," The Public Interest, Summer 1997.
Excerpt: IT is a half century since the foreign intelligence system of the United States was established by the National Security Act of 1947. It is 80 years since the Espionage Act of 1917 established the present legal regime dealing with subversive… More

Social Security As We Knew It

– "Social Security As We Knew It," The New York Times, January 5, 1997.
Excerpt: Tomorrow, one year late, the Advisory Council on Social Security is scheduled to report on the finances of our national retirement system. More to the point, there will likely be three reports, with the 13 members divided every which way, and no… More

The Professionalization of Reform II

– "The Professionalization of Reform II," The Public Interest, Fall 1995.
THIRTY years ago, in the first article of the first issue of The Public Interest, I published some observations on “The Professionalization of Reform,” which 30 years later can be read, selectively, without overmuch embarrassment. The essay began with a… More

The Devolution Revolution

– "The Devolution Revolution," The New York Times, August 6, 1995.
Excerpt: A considerable debate has commenced in the Senate, but it is not, as commonly portrayed, about welfare. The subject, rather, is the devolution — “causing to descend” — of social welfare programs from the Federal Government to… More

Free Trade with an Unfree Society: A Commitment and its Consequences

– "Free Trade with an Unfree Society: A Commitment and its Consequences," The National Interest, Summer 1995.
In late January fo this year I went to the Senate floor to speak of U.S. relations with Mexico, in the context of the new North American Free Trade Agreement. My theme was one I had touched upon repeatedly since NAFTA was first proposed during the… More
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Multimedia

Greg Weiner: Why Daniel Patrick Moynihan Matters

– "Greg Weiner: Why Daniel Patrick Moynihan Matters," Conversations with Bill Kristol, 30 Nov 2019.
Best known for his 24 years in the Senate, Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927 – 2003) was a major figure in the political history of the United States in the second half of the twentieth century. In this Conversation, political scientist Greg Weiner, author… More

The Life of Daniel Patrick Moynihan

– "The Life of Daniel Patrick Moynihan," Inside Media, 2010.
The late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan never wrote an autobiography, but a collection of his personal letters is now available in a new book by Steven R. Weissman who appears in this video.

Moynihan in the White House

– "Moynihan in the White House," Richard Nixon Foundation, 2010.
November 10, 2010: Panelists discuss the legacy of one of the most accomplished and admired statesmen of the past half-century, Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Participants included Christopher DeMuth, Staff Assistant to the President; Chester Finn, Staff Assistant… More

Social Security Reform

– "Social Security Reform," C-Span, 2001.
Mr. Moynihan and Mr. Parsons spoke to reporters about a meeting of the Social Security Commission to discuss Social Security reform. Following their remarks they answered questions from the reporters.

Life and Career of Daniel Patrick Moynihan

– "Life and Career of Daniel Patrick Moynihan," American Profiles, 1987.
Senator Daniel Moynihan of New York reminisced about his ten years in the U.S. Senate, and described his early life and his career in politics. This interview was part of the American Profile series in which statesman are interviewed and offer a biographical… More

Public Assistance

– "Public Assistance," C-Span, 1987.
Senator Daniel Moynihan spoke about public assistance and personal responsibility. He answered questions from the audience.