Arthur Vandenberg
The Man in the Middle of the American Century
9780226682037
9780226433486
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Arthur Vandenberg
The Man in the Middle of the American Century
The idea that a Senator—Republican or Democrat—would put the greater good of the country ahead of party seems nearly impossible to imagine in our current climate of gridlock and divisiveness. But this hasn’t always been the case. Arthur H. Vandenberg (1884–1951), Republican from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was the model of a consensus builder, and the coalitions he spearheaded continue to form the foundation of American foreign and domestic policy today. Edward R. Murrow called him “the central pivot of the entire era,” yet, despite his significance, Vandenberg has never received the full public attention he is due—until now. With this authoritative biography, Hendrik Meijer reveals how Vandenberg built and nurtured the bipartisan consensus that created the American Century.
Originally the editor and publisher of the Grand Rapids Herald, Vandenberg was appointed and later elected to the Senate in 1928, where he became an outspoken opponent of the New Deal and a leader among the isolationists who resisted FDR’s efforts to aid European allies at the onset of World War II. But Vandenberg soon recognized the need for unity at the dawn of a new world order; and as a Republican leader, he worked closely with Democratic administrations to build the strong bipartisan consensus that established the Marshall Plan, the United Nations, and NATO. Vandenberg, as Meijer reveals, was instrumental in organizing Congressional support for these monumental twentieth-century foreign policy decisions.
Vandenberg’s life and career offer powerful lessons for today, and Meijer has given us a story that suggests an antidote to our current democratic challenges. After reading this poignant biography, many will ask: Where is the Vandenberg of today?
Originally the editor and publisher of the Grand Rapids Herald, Vandenberg was appointed and later elected to the Senate in 1928, where he became an outspoken opponent of the New Deal and a leader among the isolationists who resisted FDR’s efforts to aid European allies at the onset of World War II. But Vandenberg soon recognized the need for unity at the dawn of a new world order; and as a Republican leader, he worked closely with Democratic administrations to build the strong bipartisan consensus that established the Marshall Plan, the United Nations, and NATO. Vandenberg, as Meijer reveals, was instrumental in organizing Congressional support for these monumental twentieth-century foreign policy decisions.
Vandenberg’s life and career offer powerful lessons for today, and Meijer has given us a story that suggests an antidote to our current democratic challenges. After reading this poignant biography, many will ask: Where is the Vandenberg of today?
448 pages | 20 halftones | 6 x 9 | © 2017
History: American History
Political Science: American Government and Politics, Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, and International Relations
Reviews
Table of Contents
Prologue
Part I. The Cause of Ruin
1. Class of 1900
2. The Shrewdness of Vandenberg
3. Home Fires
4. The Best of Babbitt
5. Destiny
6. Young Turk
7. Such a Perilous Hour
8. Insulation
9. It Can’t Happen Here
10. The New Ordeal
11. Crossroads
12. Repeal
13. Dark Horse
14. War
15. This Inexplicable Man
Part II. Postwar Artist
16. Hunting for the Middle Ground
17. Committee of Eight
18. Brothers under the Skin
19. The Speech
20. Dear Arthur
21. San Francisco
22. What Is Russia Up to Now?
23. Munich in Reverse
24. The Truman Doctrine
25. Calculated Risk
26. 500G
27. The Last Campaign
28. The Alliance
29. Things Fall Apart
30. The Upstairs Room
Epilogue: What Tomorrow Speaks
Acknowledgments
A Note on Sources
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Part I. The Cause of Ruin
1. Class of 1900
2. The Shrewdness of Vandenberg
3. Home Fires
4. The Best of Babbitt
5. Destiny
6. Young Turk
7. Such a Perilous Hour
8. Insulation
9. It Can’t Happen Here
10. The New Ordeal
11. Crossroads
12. Repeal
13. Dark Horse
14. War
15. This Inexplicable Man
Part II. Postwar Artist
16. Hunting for the Middle Ground
17. Committee of Eight
18. Brothers under the Skin
19. The Speech
20. Dear Arthur
21. San Francisco
22. What Is Russia Up to Now?
23. Munich in Reverse
24. The Truman Doctrine
25. Calculated Risk
26. 500G
27. The Last Campaign
28. The Alliance
29. Things Fall Apart
30. The Upstairs Room
Epilogue: What Tomorrow Speaks
Acknowledgments
A Note on Sources
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
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