The U.S. Senate is so sharply polarized along partisan and
ideological lines today that it’s easy to believe it was always
this way. But in the turbulent 1960s, even as battles over civil
rights and the war in Vietnam dominated American politics,
bipartisanship often prevailed. One key reason: two remarkable
leaders who remain giants of the Senate—Republican leader Everett
Dirksen of Illinois and Democratic leader Mike Mansfield of
Montana, the longest-serving majority leader in Senate history, so
revered for his integrity, fairness, and modesty that the late
Washington Post reporter David Broder called him “the greatest
American I ever met.” The political and personal relationship of
these party leaders, extraordinary by today’s standards, is the
lens through which Marc C. Johnson examines the Senate in that
tumultuous time. Working together, with the Democrat often ceding
public leadership to his Republican counterpart, Mansfield and
Dirksen passed landmark civil rights and voting rights legislation,
created Medicare, and helped bring about a foundational nuclear
arms limitation treaty. The two leaders could not have been more
different in personality and style: Mansfield, a laconic,
soft-spoken, almost shy college history professor, and Dirksen, an
aspiring actor known for his flamboyance and sense of humor, dubbed
the “Wizard of Ooze” by reporters. Drawing on extensive Senate
archives, Johnson explores the congressional careers of these
iconic leaders, their intimate relationships with Presidents John
F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and their own close professional
friendship based on respect, candor, and mutual affection. A study
of politics but also an analysis of different approaches to
leadership, this is a portrait of a U.S. Senate that no longer
exists—one in which two leaders, while exercising partisan
political responsibilities, could still come together to pass
groundbreaking legislation—and a reminder of what is possible.
General
Imprint: |
University of Oklahoma Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
August 2023 |
Authors: |
Marc C Johnson
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152mm (L x W) |
Pages: |
296 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8061-9269-7 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-8061-9269-0 |
Barcode: |
9780806192697 |
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!