Arthur Vandenberg : the man in the middle of the American century / Hendrik Meijer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Meijer, Hendrik G., 1952- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vandenberg, Arthur H. (Arthur Hendrick), 1884-1951.

Vandenberg, Arthur H.

Legislators--Michigan--Biography.

Legislators.

United States--Biography.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (461 pages)

Place of Publication:

Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2017.

Summary:

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?

Contents:

The cause of ruin

Class of 1900

The shrewdness of Vandenberg

Home fires

The best of Babbitt

Destiny

Young Turk

Such a perilous hour

Insulation

It can't happen here

The new ordeal

Crossroads

Repeal

Dark horse

War

This inexplicable man

Postwar artist

Hunting for the middle ground

Committee of eight

Brothers under the skin

The speech

Dear Arthur

San Francisco

What is Russia up to now?

Munich in reverse

The Truman Doctrine

Calculated risk

500g

The last campaign

The alliance

Things fall apart

The upstairs room

Epilogue: what tomorrow speaks.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-226-43351-X

OCLC:

1229161342