13-12-2011, 06:15 AM
THE PROGRESSIVE PRESIDENTS: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, by John Mortron Blum,
Woodward Professor of History at Yale University, 1980, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The author lists and critically analyses the administrations of these four presidents of whom he says, "The conditions and accidents of their times
called the four men forth, though others like them would have done as well. In spite of their limitations, their positive achievements promoted
the general welfare, one stated purpose of the Constitution. In spite of the common ambiguities with which they lived, they provided a vibrant
direction that in the large raised the quality of national life." (page 209, paperback edition, 1982)
The author describes the historic, economic, and social influences on each, and how earlier administrations and policies affected later ones. His description of the
influences affecting Lyndon Johnson during his administration provide much reference material.
John Kennedy, although a progressive democrat, is not included because he died before he might have succeeded. Both Kennedy and Johnson worked to
bring progressive democratic goals to fruition, to benefit the nation's people. Both were indeed, as were the others, simply, human beings.
Adele Edisen
Woodward Professor of History at Yale University, 1980, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The author lists and critically analyses the administrations of these four presidents of whom he says, "The conditions and accidents of their times
called the four men forth, though others like them would have done as well. In spite of their limitations, their positive achievements promoted
the general welfare, one stated purpose of the Constitution. In spite of the common ambiguities with which they lived, they provided a vibrant
direction that in the large raised the quality of national life." (page 209, paperback edition, 1982)
The author describes the historic, economic, and social influences on each, and how earlier administrations and policies affected later ones. His description of the
influences affecting Lyndon Johnson during his administration provide much reference material.
John Kennedy, although a progressive democrat, is not included because he died before he might have succeeded. Both Kennedy and Johnson worked to
bring progressive democratic goals to fruition, to benefit the nation's people. Both were indeed, as were the others, simply, human beings.
Adele Edisen