DOCSLIB.ORG

A View from Australia the Election: After Two Years in Israel

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A View from Australia the Election: After Two Years in Israel neither fairness nor detachment. It is thoroughly Despite the so-called Jewish vote, despite traditional misguided and a complete failure to appreciate Jewish identification with the Democratic Party, it what democracy is all about. If, however, a certain appears to me that America's relationship to Israel policy is good for the Jews (or for Israel) but harm- during the last 25 years has been governed exclusively ful to one's nation as a whole or to the world com- by national self-interest and not by political loyalty munity as a whole, then altruism is demanded. But or sentiment. The question of which Presidential it is extremely hard to see how such a contingency candidate is better for Israel, therefore, seems almost could ever arise. irrelevant. Roosevelt's passivity in the face of the tragedy of European Jewry, Truman's vacillation at The election: a view from australia the time of Israel's struggle for independence, Eisen- hower's vain promises about Sinai, and Nixon's John S. Levi strong support for Israel, each help to underscore this lesson. The centre of the Western world, financially, mil- itarily and materially, is America. Half the Jews of the world live in North America. Therefore, the first question Jews outside America ask themselves is: The election: after two years in israel Can American Jewry survive? If it can't, what hope is there for the rest of us? Michael A. Meyer Jewish history commands an Australian rabbi to care It is difficult for most of the Israelis I have spoken about the health of America. Professor Ellis Rivkin to in the last few months to understand why Amer- has taught my rabbinical generation to perceive that ican Jewry should not unanimously support Richard Jewish growth and achievement are only possible in Nixon. Certainly it seems to them that every Zionist a healthy, outward-looking host society. A deteri- should vote for the Republican president. orating economic and social fabric, laboring under stress, is not a tolerant one. An America that turns Bases for israel's position its back upon the rest of the world and uses its mas- They point out that in concrete terms the Nixon ad- sive material power to shield an inward-looking eco- ministration has done more for Israel than Johnson's nomic and military fortress, therefore, spells disaster ever did. It supplies the most sophisticated weaponry, in Jewish and in human terms. provides diplomatic support, and has not forced Is- rael to withdraw from an inch of conquered ter- An increasingly irrelevant choice ritory. Financially, it has extended both long-term As I write these words, memories, good and bad, of credits and outright aid, while never questioning the student years in American crowd in upon me. Mem- legitimacy of UJA tax deductions. If Governor ories of a lunatic medical service, the enormous gap Rockefeller's statement is to be given credence, Pres- between rich and poor, the violence, the guns, the ident Nixon has also been instrumental in insuring fear of socialism, the rudeness of the young toward a continuing immigration from the Soviet Union. their elders and the corresponding fear of getting The Israelis are convinced that this policy is not old. And beyond all this, the bewilderment of merely tactical, but part of a global strategy of main- finding that history has deprived America of two taining American strength vis-a-vis the Russians. clearly different political parties. The ideological They do not regard it merely as an effort to win the overlap between the Democrats and the Republicans, Jewish vote in the election, though they may, in added to the power of the Presidential executive, has fact, fear the outcome of a likely Nixon victory produced an electoral battle between two person- which will owe nothing to Jewish voters. alities rather than between two parties. McGovern, by contrast is at best an uncertainty. Time and time again, Israel must therefore find itself While it is true that his recent campaign statements preferring the known and proven friend to the un- have scarcely been less pro-Israel than those of his known candidate. This seems to be inevitable, under- rival, his past record on the subject has not always standable, and of little consequence to the organized been what the Israelis would have wished. Moreover, Jewish community of America. The choice belongs his plans to cut American defense spending and to America and the same economic and political avoid a strongly international stance arouse painful forces are going to work no matter who sits in the anxieties. Israelis are particularly concerned that the White House. Sixth Fleet might be reduced so that it would no 139 longer be able to counterbalance the Russian pres- becomes possible to evaluate the candidates on the ence in the Mediterranean. Recent support of other issues. And here, from a moral perspective, McGovern by Arabs in the United States seems to there can be little question of the result. It would, I justify their apprehensions. think, be sad indeed if American Jewry were to ex- clude from consideration the most basic moral issues It is little less difficult for the Israelis to comprehend of our society on account of an at best questionable why even a non-Zionist Jew should oppose Nixon. estimation of the specific Israeli and Jewish interest. Because the Israeli press has made much of black anti-semitism, they expect that Jews would naturally have nothing to do with a candidate like McGovern, Campus revival: some worries at duke whose campaign has emphasized the legitimacy of black demands. For a Jew to support McGovern Eric M. Meyers seems to them directly contradictory to his own Experimentation with new Jewish life styles on cam- Jewish self-interest. pus has been going on for some time now, the Questioning the israeli appraisal chavurah and other seminary offshoots perhaps This almost unanimous Israeli estimate raises two having inspired some of the present trends. At questions for the American Jewish voter. Chapel Hill (University of North Carolina) a Jewish communal group called the Bayit recently explained First, the question arises whether the Israeli ap- their community to the public in an editorial to The praisal might not be wrong. Most of us are familiar Daily Tar Heel: "What these individuals are saying is with Mr. Nixon for a somewhat longer period of that Judaism needs to be experienced at all levels. It time than the average Israeli. And some, who like involves the search for identity . man discovers myself remember him from the California days of meaning in life by finding himself as one with a his- the smear campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas tory that continues." The efforts of the Bayit also and recall the "Checkers" speech of 1952, cannot extended to a campus effort to introduce Jewish avoid the most serious apprehensions about placing Studies into the university curriculum and a pe- one's faith in a man of so little principle. It is tition won the endorsement of the UNC newspaper furthermore not inconceivable that Nixon's Middle editorial board. (How unfortunate that such a re- Eastern policy would change after the election and nascence of Jewish learning and scholarship coincides come to approximate more closely the Eisenhower with a period of unprecedented economic stringency policy of the 50's than the policy he has followed in in the university's history.) recent months. Certainly Mr. Nixon's alleged reli- ability as a "friend" of Israel is a frail reed upon In the absence of any real possibilities for serious which to lean. expansion of Jewish Studies on campus there was another major attempt to fill the vacuum. The phe- The second question which can be raised is nomenon of the Free Jewish University at Duke and whether, even if the President were the candidate Chapel Hill at least, must be seen in the larger con- more conducive to Israeli interests, this should be text of a search for Jewish identity. The initial en- the paramount consideration in determining the rollment figures are staggering: 357 places in non- political allegiance of American Jews. Judging by credit classes, representing some 200 individual recent statements of community .leaders, there is students, mostly from Duke. Some of the most strong feeling that it should indeed. Yet even if one popular courses reveal the nature of the curriculum: grants that Republican policy—as it presently exists— Hebrew I, 39 students; Beginning Yiddish, 29 serves Israel's interest more than McGovern's would, students; Jewish cooking, 37 students; Basic it does not follow that a Democratic victory would Judaism, 31 students; Israeli Embroidery, 27 place Israel in any grave jeopardy. On the contrary, students, etc. Whatever the ultimate success of such it is difficult for me to believe that a man of an enterprise might be, the very fact that so many McGovern's apparent moral stature would allow any students and non-students were willing to take the catastrophe to befall Israel. It is far easier to believe effort to enroll and begin such study is highly sig- that Mr. Nixon would abandon the Jewish state were nificant and indicative of the kind of void so many he given good pragmatic reasons for a change of present policy. students bring with them to their academic en- deavors. (To this may I also add the equally aston- If, therefore, one may contend that the Israeli ishing statistic that a Duke-sponsored dig to Israel issue is at least neutralized for the Jewish voter, it drew over 400 responses from across the country.) 140 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Pink Lady and Tricky Dick: Communism's Role in the 1950 Senatorial Election” Was Written for Dr
    The Pink Lady and Tricky Dick: Communism’s Role in the 1950 Senatorial Election Michael Bird The shock had set in and the damage had been done. “I failed to take his attacks seriously enough.” That tricky man had struck quite low. What happened to “no name-calling, no smears, no misrepresentations in this campaign?” Is this politics? alifornia Republican Congressman Richard Nixon needed a C stage to stand on if he were to take the next step in politics during the 1950s. World War II left behind a world that was opportune for this next step. In the early days after the war, most Americans hoped for a continuation of cooperation between Americans and Soviets. However, that would change as a handful of individuals took to fighting Communism as one of their political weapons. Author Richard M. Fried suggests Communism “was the focal point of the careers of Wisconsin Senator Joseph R. McCarthy; of Richard Nixon during his tenure as Congressman, Senator” and “of several of Nixon’s colleagues on the House Committee on Un-American Activities.”1 The careers of these men,, both successful and unsuccessful, had roots in anticommunism. Characteristic of previous campaigns were the accomplishments and failures of each candidate. What appeared during the 1950 senatorial campaign in California was a politics largely focused on whether a candidate could be called soft on Michael Bird, who earned his BA in history in spring 2014, is from Villa Grove, Illinois. “The Pink Lady and Tricky Dick: Communism's Role in the 1950 Senatorial Election” was written for Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Steelman Report, Part 2
    VOLUME XXI-No. 15 WASHINGTON, D. C. Reg. U.S. Pat. Off . * * * PRICE TROUBLE FOR BUSINESS: BASIS FOR DOWNTURN IN 1947 Dangers If Consumer Spending Falls Much Below Present levels Warnings of officials on cautioned that a further rapid price rise decline. These views are indorsed by de­ could "precipitate an early and severe ' partment stores, which are building re­ housing lag and declining price collapse." When the President noted serves against inventory losses due to price certainty of employment this warning, commodity prices had declines. More cautious buying by retailers reached an all-time high level. in furniture and other fields also is re­ An end to the rise in prices is coming Basic conditions that prompted this ported. into sight. Price declines ' are being pre­ warning indicate that nothing much can Other signs of a downturn are develop­ dicted officially for sometime in 1947. be done by the Government to reverse ing. The housing program is lagging, and Agreement is almost general that another these trends. September saw a drop in spending for con­ turn in the business cycle-this time a Consumer buyin g is running at a rate struction for the first time since January. downturn-is definitely ahead. of $126,000,000,000 a year-almost 70 per Forecasters in the Department of Agri­ Officials now are devoting more atten­ cent above 1941. It is unlikely that this culture look for a 20 per cent drop in tion to prospects of a downturn than to rate of spending can or will increase great­ farm-commodity prices sometime next current price movements.
    [Show full text]
  • Oval #783: September 19, 1972 [Complete Tape Subject Log]
    1 NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF Tape Subject Log (rev. Nov-03) Conversation No. 783-1 Date: September 19, 1972 Time: 10:07 am - 10:34 am Location: Oval Office The President met with Stefan Olszowski, Witold Trampczynski, William P. Rogers, Henry K. Sokalski, and Henry A. Kissinger. Members of the press and the White House photographer were present at the beginning of the meeting. Greetings -The President’s schedule -Congressional leaders [Photograph session] US relations with Poland -Olszowski’s meetings with Rogers -Greetings from Edward Gierek and Piotr Jaroszewicz -Letter to the President -The President’s trip to Poland, May 1972 -Trade and science relations -Peter G. Peterson, Dr. Edward E. David, Jr. -Economic relations -Debt repayment -Poland’s economy -Export-import [EX-IM] bank credits -Pre-World War II bonds settlement negotiations -Scientific and technological cooperation -Rogers -Outer space -Polish people -Europe -The President’s talks in Warsaw -Soviet Union -Detente -Polish foreign relations -Relations with West Germany -Bilateral, multilateral agreements -US Role 2 NIXON PRESIDENTIAL MATERIALS STAFF Tape Subject Log (rev. Nov-03) -Rogers -Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe [CSCE] -1972 US election -Well wishes from Polish leadership and people -The President’s trip to Warsaw, May 1972 -The President’s appreciation to Gierek and others -US foreign policy goals -Rogers, Kissinger -Polish-Americans -Poland’s history and people -The President’s Warsaw talks -Olszowski’s talks with Rogers -The President’s
    [Show full text]
  • Ruth Lybeck Papers, 1944-1950
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt9d5nd0bm No online items Finding Aid for the Ruth Lybeck Papers, 1944-1950 Processed by UCLA Library Special Collections staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé. UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Manuscripts Division Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library Box 951575 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/ © 2006 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Finding Aid for the Ruth Lybeck 901 1 Papers, 1944-1950 Descriptive Summary Title: Ruth Lybeck Papers Date (inclusive): 1944-1950 Collection number: 901 Creator: Lybeck, Ruth Extent: 4 boxes (2 linear ft.) Abstract: Collection consists of material related to the political campaigns of California congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas. Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections. Los Angeles, California 90095-1575 Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information. Restrictions on Access COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information. Restrictions on Use and Reproduction Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
    [Show full text]
  • Onto the National Stage
    Onto the National Stage congresswomen in an age of crises, 1935–1954 Thirty-six women entered Congress between 1935 and 1954, a tumultuous two decades that encompassed the Great Depression, World War II, and the start of the Cold War. Women participated in America’s survival, recovery, and ascent to world power in important and unprecedented ways; they became shapers of the welfare state, workers during wartime, and members of the military. During this time the nation’s capital took on increasing importance in the everyday lives of average Americans. The Great Depression and the specter of global war transformed the role of the federal government, making it a provider and protector. Like their male counterparts, women in Congress legislated to provide economic relief to their constituents, debated the merits of government intervention to cure the economy, argued about America’s role in world affairs, and grappled with challenges and opportunities during wartime. Distinct trends persisted from the pioneer generation of women in Congress. Second-generation women still made up only a small fraction of the total congres- sional membership. At their peak, 15 women served in the 83rd Congress Senators Joseph T. Robinson (far left) and Hattie W. Caraway of Arkansas at the June 1936 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at which President Franklin Roosevelt was nominated to a second term. Caraway was a supporter of the Roosevelt administration’s New Deal economic recovery programs, many of which benefited constituents in her agriculture-based state. image courtesy of the national archives and records administration (1953–1955)—about 2.8 percent.
    [Show full text]
  • Helengahaganpro01dougrich.Pdf
    . x /\ \X Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Women in Politics Oral History Project HELEN GAHAGAN DOUGLAS PROJECT Volume I THE POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS Interviews with: Tilford Dudley Byron Lindsley India Edwards Helen 0. Lustig Leo Goodman Alvin Meyers Kenneth Harding Frank Rogers Interviews Conducted by Eleanor Glaser, Fern Ingersoll, Gabrielle Morris, and Ingrid Scobie in 1976, 1977, 1978 Underwritten by grants from: National Endowment for the Humanities, Rockefeller Foundation, Members and Friends of the Los Angeles Democratic Women's Forum Copyright (c) 1981 by the Regents of the University of California This manuscript is made available for research purposes. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. i It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: To cite the volume: Helen Gahagan Douglas Project, Volume I, "The Political Campaigns," an oral history series conducted 1976-1978, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1981. To cite individual interview: India Edwards, "California Democrats: A View from Washing ton," an oral history conducted 1978 by in Gabrielle Morris , Helen Gahagan Douglas Oral History Project, Volume I, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1981. Copy No.
    [Show full text]
  • White House Special Files Box 48 Folder 5
    Richard Nixon Presidential Library White House Special Files Collection Folder List Box Number Folder Number Document Date Document Type Document Description 48 5 08/31/1960 Report Summary of opinions in the news. 8 pgs. 48 5 08/26/1960 Report Summary of opinions in the news. 11 pgs. Wednesday, June 06, 2007 Page 1 of 1 NIXON-LODGE CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS SUMMARY OF OPINIONS IN THE N.8W3 WEDNE3DAY, AUGUST 31, 1960 RN (1) Hospitalization Most of the morning papers carried a story on RN's progress on their front pages along with a picture. Headlines were as follows: Chicago Sun-Times - "Report ~~I~~~~V~~)fR~~~ f~I\';:HI~JJ1;r,{19~'·h~d~T.!ljY;i~~.l~l};,~~a~~:tJ~1C:~~:;~ld~~t~hNli~~EiIT?f,l[~i~(~jTEI)t~~~t Sees Vice-President In Hospital, Says 'He Looks Fine';" Chicago Tribune - "Nixon/s Knee Responds to T'r eatrnent," A number of the papers commented editorially. New York Daily News: "We wish the Vice President early and completeJ:ecovery; hope he'll he take things easy as long as the doctors want him to; and think; and his press secretary ... are wise in making public all the facts concerning Mr. Nixon's ailIl1ent.••. Since Nixon can't make speeches for a while, the newspapers can be a very convenient med­ ium for relaying his views to the public any time he feels like' calling in the reporters. II Phila. Inquirer: "As the Presidential campaign is just beginning to steam up this is a tough break for Mr. Nixon.••• It is encouraging to lElarn that the doctors••• a&., the ia,tvy•••ll Dat of aD ememe1y ••~lou.
    [Show full text]
  • Eleanor Roosevelt's Paper
    ;' Papers of • Anna Ele anor Roosevelt 1884 - 1964 Accession Numbers: MS. 63-1; MS 73-40 The papers of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt were donated by Mrs. Roosevelt and her children. The unpublished writings of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt are in the public domain. Quantity: 1095 l inear feet (approximately 2,190,000 pages) Restrictions: The papers contain material restricted in accordance with Executive Order 12958, and material which might constitute the invasion of privacy of living persons has been. closed. ~ " Related Material: Numerous collections in the Library including: President Frankl in D. Roosevelt's Official, Personal and .5ecrtary' s "~ les; Franklin D. Roosevelt: Papers pertaining to Family, Business ,arid Personal Affairs; Franklin D. Roosevelt: Papers as Vice­ Presidential Candidate, 1920; Frankli n D. Roosevelt: Papers as Governor of New York, 1929 -1932 ; Eleanor Roosevelt Oral. History project; Papers of Anna Roosevelt Halsted; Papers of Lorena Hickok; and Roosevelt Family Papers Donated by the Children Of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, jo\"" A. , i~H}"".! •. t't, jI (." \... I " \ / Early Family Papers. 1860-1910 and Undated. ./ Container 1 Contains letters, writings, and diaries of Eleanor Roosevelt's parents, Anna Rebecca Hall and Elliott Roosevelt, her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. V.G. Hall, Jr., cousin Susan Parish, aunt Edith "Pussie" Hall (Mrs. William Forbes Morgan). Correspondents include Anna "Bamie" or "Bye" Roosevelt Cowles and Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, sisters of Elliott Roosevelt; Ella Bulloch and Laura Delano, aunts of Elliott Roosevelt; Elizabeth "Tissie" Hall Mortimer, sister of Anna Hall Roosevelt; W.C.P. Rhodes, clergyman and friend of the Hall family; also, some loose flyleaves from Roosevelt family books.
    [Show full text]
  • Historians and the Many Lyndon Johnsons: a Review Essay Kent B
    University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Faculty Publications History, Department of 11-2009 Historians and the Many Lyndon Johnsons: A Review Essay Kent B. Germany University of South Carolina - Columbia, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/hist_facpub Part of the History Commons Publication Info Published in The Journal of Southern History, ed. John B. Boles, Volume 75, Issue 4, 2009, pages 1001-1028. Germany, K. B. (2009). Historians and the many Lyndon Johnsons: A review essay. The Journal of Southern History, 75(4), 1001-1028. Copyright 2009 by the Southern Historical Association. Reprinted by permission of the Editor. This Article is brought to you by the History, Department of at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Historians and the Many Lyndon Johnsons: A Review Essay By KENT B. GERMANY LBJ: Architect of American Ambition. By Randall B. Woods. (New York and other cities: Free Press, c. 2006. Pp. [xii], 1007. $35.00, ISBN 978-0-684- 83458-0.) J-iYNDON BAINES JOHNSON DIED ALONE IN HIS ROOM ON A MONDAY. He was sixty-four. He called for help, and then his bad heart finally quit. It was two days after Richard M. Nixon's second inauguration— what would have been the end of Johnson's second term had he run and won in 1968—and about a week before the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on Vietnam.' The man lowered into the caliche of the LBJ Ranch in the Texas hill country in late January 1973 would not be soon forgotten.
    [Show full text]
  • Nixon Biography.Pdf
    Biography of Richard Milhous Nixon Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum Childhood Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 9, 1913, on the lemon ranch of his parents, Francis Anthony Nixon (1878–1956) and Hannah Milhous Nixon (1885–1967), in a house his father built in Yorba Linda, California. Richard was the second of five brothers: Harold (1909–1933), Donald (1914–1987), Arthur (1918–1925), and Edward (1930–). His early life was marked by financial hardship and by the deaths of his brothers Harold and Arthur. In 1922, after the failure of the Nixons’ ranch (today the site of the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum), the family moved to be nearer Hannah’s relatives in Whittier, California. There, Frank Nixon opened a combination grocery store and gas station, in which the entire Nixon family worked in order to make ends meet. Student, Attorney, and Sailor Nixon enrolled at nearby Whittier College in September 1930. He was an active student there, pursuing his interests in student government, drama, and football while living at home and helping to run the family’s store. Nixon won a scholarship to attend Duke University’s law school in May 1934, where he was president of the Student Bar Association and a member of the law review. He graduated in June 1937. Nixon returned to Whittier and joined the law firm Wingert and Bewley. On January 16, 1938, he met Thelma Catherine Ryan, a schoolteacher universally known as “Pat,” at a rehearsal for a community play in which they were both acting. Smitten, Nixon pursued Ryan, and they were married on June 21, 1940, in the Presidential Suite of the Mission Inn in Riverside, California, and honeymooned in Mexico.
    [Show full text]
  • Ronald Reagan and the New Conservative Populism
    Ronald Reagan and The New Conservative Populism Terri Bimes University of California, Berkeley Department of Political Science and The Institute of Governmental Studies [email protected] Working Paper 2002-1 Paper prepared for delivery at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, August 29-September 1, 2002. Working Papers published by the Institute of Governmental Studies provide quick dissemination of draft reports and papers, preliminary analysis, and papers with a limited audience. The objective is to assist authors in refining their ideas by circulating results and to stimulate discussion about public policy. Working Papers are reproduced unedited directly from the author’s page. It has long been the conventional wisdom that Ronald Reagan was an unusually effective rhetorical leader. Dubbed the “Great Communicator,” Reagan has been praised by both journalists and academic observers for his popular leadership skills. Yet despite this general agreement about Reagan’s skills, there is less of a consensus on the nature and significance of his rhetorical leadership. To some, Reagan’s rhetoric was marked by consensual appeals that unified the nation as a whole. For instance, Robert Dallek depicts him as a “soft sell” spokesman; Bert Rockman notes how Reagan used “dulcet tones” to mask the sweeping changes in government he was proposing; and Thomas Cronin remarks how Reagan resembles a Mr. Rogers, a president who explains policy in a “neighborly way.”1 To others, Reagan represents a populist agitator. Michael Kazin, in his book, The Populist Persuasion, characterizes Reagan’s leadership as the culmination of the conservative capture of populism that began with Richard Nixon.
    [Show full text]
  • Onto the National Stage Congresswomen in an Age of Crises, 1935–1954
    Onto the National Stage congresswomen in an age of crises, 1935–1954 Thirty-six women entered Congress between 1935 and 1954, a tumultuous two decades that encompassed the Great Depression, World War II, and the start of the Cold War. Women participated in America’s survival, recovery, and ascent to world power in important and unprecedented ways; they became shapers of the welfare state, workers during wartime, and members of the military. During this time the nation’s capital took on increasing importance in the everyday lives of average Americans. The Great Depression and the specter of global war transformed the role of the federal government, making it a provider and protector. Like their male counterparts, women in Congress legislated to provide economic relief to their constituents, debated the merits of government intervention to cure the economy, argued about America’s role in world affairs, and grappled with challenges and opportunities during wartime. Distinct trends persisted from the pioneer generation of women in Congress. Second-generation women still made up only a small fraction of the total congressional membership. At their peak, 15 women served in the 83rd Congress (1953–1955)—about 2.8 percent. These numbers afforded women scant leverage to pursue a unified agenda, though few seemed inclined to champion what would later be called “women’s issues.” The widow-familial succession remained for women a primary route to political office. Subtle changes, however, slowly advanced women’s status on Capitol Hill. By and large, women elected to Congress between 1935 and 1954 had more experience as politicians or as party officials than did their predecessors.
    [Show full text]