History Commons^™

The Battle Fdr Lost:The Failed Nomination Of Boss Ed Flynn As Minister To Australia, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

Shortly after Christmas in 1942, the U.S. minister to Australia, Nelson Trusler Johnson, decided the time was right for a break from his wartime duties. Johnson and his wife, Jane, agreed that a seaside vacation with their young children was in order. The Johnson family duly motored to Narooma, about 150 miles southeast of Canberra, for what they expected to be a three-week holiday during the peak of the Australian summer. They chose the spot for its beauty—and because the children would be able to swim without worrying about sharks.The Johnsons’ holiday was cut short on January 8, when wire …

Monuments Ought To Be Considered Case By Case, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

In a press conference last week President Donald Trump made this contribution to the escalating debate about monuments and memorials to American heroes who, by today’s reckoning, failed a moral test.

The statue debate is inherently emotional and when it comes to keeping certain statues up or pulling them down, it riles people up —including Donald Trump. However, it is important to separate President Trump’s intemperate and often factually inaccurate remarks at Tuesday’s press conference from the statue controversy as it is currently playing out. (excerpt)

Ike's Leadership Lessons For New President, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

Just days into his presidency in the winter of 1953, Dwight Eisenhower met with his advisers and discussed a challenge from within the majority Republican caucus. If mishandled, it could have endangered his program for a stronger America.

The issue, as he later related, was the demand of conservative Republican legislative leaders that Eisenhower "balance the budget immediately and cut taxes no matter what the result." [excerpt]

Commentary: Echoes Of '64 Campaign In Toomey-Mcginty Race, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

With Donald Trump's campaign for president aimed more at solidifying his base rather than reaching out to independents and undecided voters, Republican activists have shifted their focus to holding their Senate majority, which recent polls suggest lie on a knife's edge. The Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race ranks among the major prizes Democrats hope to capture enroute to the magic number 51. [excerpt]

Governing New Jersey: Reflections On The Publication Of A Revised And Expanded Edition Of 'The Governors Of New Jersey', Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

New Jersey’s chief executive enjoys more authority than any but a handful of governors in the United States. Historically speaking, however, New Jersey’s governors exercised less influence than met the eye. In the colonial period few proprietary or royal governors were able to make policy in the face of combative assemblies. The Revolutionary generation’s hostility to executive power contributed to a weak governor system that carried over into the 19th and 20th centuries, until the Constitution was thoroughly revised in 1947. Before that date a handful of governors, by dint of their ideas and personalities, affected the polity in meaningful …

Paving The Way To Scandal: History Repeats Itself, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

Presidential candidate Marco Rubio of Florida enjoyed an assist this week managing the fallout from New York Times stories about his personal finances by an unlikely ally: Comedy Central host Jon Stewart, who dismissed the information as an example of “gotcha” politics, unworthy of current discussion. “How is this front page news?” Stewart said, calling the Times reports “inconsequential gossip.” [excerpt]

Burnishing Buchanan's Brand On His Birthday, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

James Buchanan’s brand needs refreshing.

Outside his hometown, his name does not much register with Americans today. When it does, the reaction is usually negative. What a comedown from the high hopes associated with Old Buck’s election to the presidency in 1856. [excerpt]

Heroes Of Berlin Wall Struggle, William D. Bowman

History Faculty Publications

When the Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago, on Nov. 9, 1989, symbolically signaling the end of the Cold War, it was no surprise that many credited President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for bringing it down.

But the true heroes behind the fall of the Berlin Wall are those Eastern Europeans whose protests and political pressure started chipping away at the wall years before. East German citizens from a variety of political backgrounds and occupations risked their freedom in protests against communist policies and one-party rule in what they called the "peaceful revolution." [excerpt]

"He's My Man": Sherman Adams And New Hampshire's Role In The "Draft Eisenhower" Movement, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

On presidential primary day, March 11, 1952, wet snow fell steadily over much of New Hampshire, and campaign managers became anxious about getting out their vote. Governor Sherman Adams, manager of the "draft Eisenhower" campaign, had a lot riding on a primary that President Harry Truman had dismissed as little more than "eyewash." By all evidence, Americans wanted change in Washington. The New Hampshire primary results would surely influence the making of a president. Adams knew there was only one thing to do: stop worrying about the weather and start moving his people to the polls.

The New York-New Jersey Boundary Controversy: John Marshall And The Nullification Crisis, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

In 1832 a long-standing boundary dispute between New York and New Jersey complicated the work of Chief Justice John Marshall and President Andrew Jackson. Long reviled by southern states' rights advocates, including the president, Marshall in 1832 faced the prospect of having the Court's decisions ignored by the state of Georgia. Federal authority was further challenged in the fall of 1832, when South Carolina nullified the tariff of 1828, thereby provoking a constitutional crisis. On December 10, 1832, to the amazement of many observers, Jackson issued a proclamation rejecting nullification and secession, and threatening military action if South Carolina did …

"Men And Measures": The Creation Of The Second Party System In New Jersey, Michael J. Birkner, Herbert Ershkowitz

History Faculty Publications

During the Jacksonian Era, politicians frequently framed election contests as choices between "men and measures." On one side, the argument ran, were politicians who cared only for the spoils of office. On the other, one found those who cared about "real" issues that mattered to voters. Voters, in this context, had a simple choice to make. [excerpt]

Presidential Politics And The Press, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

As the Tet offensive wound down early in March 1968 with staggering losses dealt the North Vietnamese invaders, President Lyndon B. Johnson flicked on one of his White House television sets and heard CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite declare the Vietnam war to be "mired in stalemate." Johnson reportedly turned, visibly shaken, to an aide and said, "It's all over." By month's end, LBJ announced his decision not to seek reelection, in order, he said, to devote his energies to negotiating peace in Vietnam.

No single vignette more graphically symbolizes the power of the press-or at least that of its most …

The Defining Moment: The 1980 Nashua Debate, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

For George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, the debate in Nashua, New Hampshire marked a crossroads in their respective bids for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination. A month earlier, Bush had emerged from a seven-man field by upsetting Reagan in the Iowa caucuses. Reagan had run a relaxed and aloof campaign in Iowa. At the behest of Campaign Manager John Sears and most senor staff, Reagan had refused even to participate in a candidates' debate on grounds that debates were bad for party unity. Iowa voters responded by giving Bush a small plurality in their caucuses on January 21. …

The General, The Secretary And The President: An Episode In The Presidential Campaign Of 1828, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

The presidential campaign of 1828 has been widely and understandably characterized as the "dirtiest, coarsest, most vulgar" such contest in American History. Though president John Quincy Adams's strong commitment to active government as a means to national improvement in many spheres of life provided the basis for a serious if contentious exchange of views as he bid for reelection, most scholars agree that the campaign turned less on issues than on the Jacksonians' superior organization and propaganda. [excerpt]

Daniel Webster And The Crisis Of The Union, 1850, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

The weather that January evening, 132 years ago, complicated the old man's plans, but failed to keep him at home. It was January 21, 1850, and snow was falling heavily in the nation's capital. This was not a night for casual travel, but Henry Clay, seventy-two years of age and in faltering health, was not venturing from his rooms in Washington for light exercise or socializing. He was heading, alone, several blocks away to the home of Daniel Webster on Louisiana Avenue, and his mission had the most portentous overtones. Clay meant to enlist Webster - his ally, rival, and …

Journalism And Politics In Jacksonian New Jersey: The Career Of Stacy G. Potts, Michael J. Birkner

History Faculty Publications

The year was 1831, and the President of the Bank of the United States, Nicholas Biddle, was preparing for a difficult campaign to win the re-charter of his institution. Facing the hostility of Andrew Jackson, and the partisan newspapers that supported him, Biddle was determined to put his own views before the American public. [excerpt]