Robert A. Taft: Ideas, Tradition, and Party in U.S. Foreign Policy(Biographies in American Foreign Policy)

Robert A. Taft, the son of president and chief justice William H. Taft, is one of twentieth-century America's most prominent conservative legislators. Elected into office ten months before the outbreak of the Second World War, Taft quickly established himself as a leader among the anti-interventionists, fervently supporting legislation intended to keep the nation from engaging in another international war. In the years following the war, Taft embraced balance-of-power theories that he had belittled in earlier years, and his political arguments fell increasingly within the framework of anti-communism. First and foremost a consummate politician, Taft viewed the Republican party as the nation's most effective political instrument of progress. Robert A. Taft: Ideas, Tradition, and Party in U.S. Foreign Policy furnishes both an intellectual and historical context for Taft's twentieth-century conservatism. In this long overdue analysis, Clarence E. Wunderlin, Jr. explores Taft's ideological ties to the hundred-year long sweep of Whig and Republican party theory and practice. Building upon these foundations, Wunderlin carefully examines the concept of American nationalism that formed an important component of Taft's political thinking. Robert A. Taft is an original, engaging study that will be of great value to political theorists and those interested in twentieth-century intellectual history and political philosophy.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Chapter 1: Education of a Senator Chapter 2: The Fight Against Intervention Chapter 3: Wartime Debates, Postwar Vision Chapter 4: Opponent of Postwar Liberalism Chapter 5: Cold Warrior Chapter 6: Mr. Republican Conclusion Bibliographical Essay

About the Author :
Clarence E. Wunderlin, Jr., is associate professor of history at Kent State University and director of the Papers of Robert A. Taft.

Review :
In 1957 the United States Senate named the late Republican Majority Leader Robert A. Taft as one of the five most outstanding members ever to serve in that body. Clarence Wunderlin has applied his unexcelled command of Taft's vast documentary record to produce an engaging biography amply confirming the continuing appropriateness of the Senate's mid-century judgment. In this biography, Wunderlin, who is editor/project director of The Papers of Robert A. Taft, traces the career of this prominent Republican conservative. His 'civic nationalism' ideals and anti-New Deal positions are clearly relevant today. Wunderlin's account offers a useful contribution to scholarly literature by tracing the intellectual roots of Taft's political thought back to the nineteenth century. Wunderlin presents a concise, balanced portrait of my grandfather's life, clarifying the strong connections between his coherent political philosophy and his many policy positions. I found the book both informative and enjoyable to read.