I wonder if the author deals with where Emerson, Thoreau, and Walt Whitman fit on the political spectrum? Was the authoress of The Battle Hymn of the Republic a "leftist?"
I hope he didn't label John Brown a lefty, though I suppose he probably did. If a time machine is ever invented, I suggest that John Brown and his band be snatched up from Harpers Ferry and dropped smack in the middle of modern day San Francisco. Then we'd see how "left wing" they were.