The Secret Coalition: Ike, LBJ, and the Search for a Middle Way in the 1950s
Sep 2014 · Sold by Skyhorse
Ebook
256
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
About this ebook
The politics of the 1950s revolved around two primary leaders, one Republican and one Democrat—both moderate, and both willing to compromise to move the nation forward.
The Republican leader was President Dwight Eisenhower. His two administrations changed American politics. Ike’s desire to be president of all the people, to run his administration down the middle of the road, to be a “modern” Republican, set the stage for what the Republican Party would be for decades to come. His politics of moderation triggered a backlash from the party’s right wing that eventually grew into a conservative surge that reached fruition in the following decades.
Standing astride the opposition was the Democratic leader in the Senate, Lyndon Johnson. At age 44, Johnson was the youngest leader in Senate history. His willingness to join forces with Eisenhower in the president’s battles against isolationism and reaction in his own party, along with the willingness of both men to compromise rather than engage in a politics of search and destroy, turned the 1950s into an era of political moderation.
In The Secret Coalition, Gary A. Donaldson insightfully explores a period in U.S. history that many Americans regard as an “Era of Good Feeling”—when the two parties got along, and the nation achieved some sort of equilibrium and cooperation.
The Republican leader was President Dwight Eisenhower. His two administrations changed American politics. Ike’s desire to be president of all the people, to run his administration down the middle of the road, to be a “modern” Republican, set the stage for what the Republican Party would be for decades to come. His politics of moderation triggered a backlash from the party’s right wing that eventually grew into a conservative surge that reached fruition in the following decades.
Standing astride the opposition was the Democratic leader in the Senate, Lyndon Johnson. At age 44, Johnson was the youngest leader in Senate history. His willingness to join forces with Eisenhower in the president’s battles against isolationism and reaction in his own party, along with the willingness of both men to compromise rather than engage in a politics of search and destroy, turned the 1950s into an era of political moderation.
In The Secret Coalition, Gary A. Donaldson insightfully explores a period in U.S. history that many Americans regard as an “Era of Good Feeling”—when the two parties got along, and the nation achieved some sort of equilibrium and cooperation.
About the author
Gary A. Donaldson is the Keller Foundation Chair in American History at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. He is the author of numerous books on American political and diplomatic history.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
