Henry M. Jackson: A Life in Politics

by Robert G. Kaufman

Overview

Henry M. Jackson ranks as one of the great legislators in American history. With a Congressional career spanning the tenure of nine Presidents, Jackson had an enormous impact on the most crucial foreign policy and defense issues of the Cold War era, as well as a marked impact on energy policy, civil rights, and other watershed issues in domestic politics.

Jackson first arrived in Washington, D.C., in January 1941 as the Democratic representative of the Second District of Washington State, at the age of 28 the youngest member of Congress. “Scoop” Jackson won reelection time and again by wide margins, moving to the Senate in 1953 and serving there until his death in 1983. He became a powerful voice in U.S. foreign policy and a leading influence in major domestic legislation, especially concerning natural resources, energy, and the environment, working effectively with Senator Warren Magnuson to bring considerable federal investment to Washington State.

A standard bearer for the New Deal-Fair Deal tradition of Roosevelt and Truman, Jackson advocated a strong role for the federal government in the economy, health care, and civil rights. He was a firm believer in public control of electric and nuclear power, and leveled stern criticism at the oil industry’s “obscene profits” during the energy crisis of the 1970s. He ran for the presidency twice, in 1972 and 1976, but was defeated for the nomination first by George McGovern and then by Jimmy Carter, marking the beginning of a split between dovish and hawkish liberal Democrats that would not be mended until the ascendance of Bill Clinton.

Jackson’s vision concerning America’s Cold War objectives owed much to Harry Truman’s approach to world affairs but, ironically, found its best manifestation in the actions taken by the Republican administration of Ronald Reagan. An early and strong supporter of Israel and of Soviet dissidents, he strongly opposed the Nixon/Kissinger policy of detente as well as many of Carter’s methods of dealing with the Soviet Union.

Robert Kaufman has immersed himself in the life and times of Jackson, poring over the more than 1,500 boxes of written materials and tapes that make up the Jackson Papers housed at the University of Washington, as well as the collections of every presidential library from Kennedy through Reagan. He interviewed many people who knew Jackson, both friends and rivals, and consulted other archival materials and published sources dealing with Jackson, relevant U.S. political history and commentary, arms negotiation documents, and congressional reports. He uses this wealth of material to present a thoughtful and encompassing picture of the ideas and policies that shaped America’s Cold War philosophy and actions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780295995397
Publisher:	University of Washington Press
Publication date:	09/01/2015
Series:	Emil and Kathleen Sick Book Series in Western History and Biography
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	558
Sales rank:	625,878
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Robert G. Kaufman is associate professor of political science at the University of Vermont. He is the author of Arms Control During the Pre-nuclear Era, In defense of the Bush Doctrine, and Dangerous Doctrine: How Obama’s Grand Strategy Has Weakened America.

Table of Contents

The Everett Years, 1912-1940

Member of the House, 1941-1953

The Cold War Becomes Colder

The Eisenhower Years, 1953-1961

Khrushchev’s Communism

Domestic Politics to 1961

Henry Jackson and the New Frontier

The TFX Controversy and the “Senator from Boeing”

The Great Liberal Crackup, 1964-1969

That Year: 1968

Jackson’s Ascent, the Party’s Descent, 1968-1972

Gearing Up for the 1972 Presidential Campaign

Perils of Detente, Part I: 1968-1976

Israel and the Cold War

The Ford Administration

Not in the Cards: The 1976 Presidential Campaign

The 1976 Democratic Primaries

Perils of Detente, Part II: 1977-1980

Human Rights, SALT, and Linkage

Anybody But Carter: The 1980 Presidential Election

Sunset, 1981-1983

The Jackson Legacy

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

Kaufman's cogent analyses of critical episodes and decisions in which Jackson had a part contribute usefully to knowledge of an era, particularly in energy policy, America's Cold War and international human rights roles, and the travails of liberalism and the Democratic Party.

-- "Choice"

From the Publisher

Political scientist Kaufman informs readers early in his biography of the late senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson (D- Wash., whose 31 years in the Senate ended with his death in 1983) that Jackson did not drink or smoke, and that there was no whiff of scandal about him. His life was politics, and "Jackson's career refutes the cynical but prevalent view that good character and politics are mutually exclusive." Believing that being conservative on foreign policy (his distrust of the Soviets made him skeptical of d tente and, coupled with his support of President Johnson's Vietnam policy, ultimately marginalized his influence in the Democratic Party) and a New Deal liberal on the domestic front were not mutually exclusive, but, rather, compatible political positions, Jackson was admired by many (Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Jeane Kirkpatrick) for his political courage (read: independent views). Even among his critics there were those, like Henry Kissinger, who praised him. Disappointingly, Kaufman fails to provide much psychological insight into why Jackson, badly miscalculating, chose to run in the 1972 and 1976 Democratic presidential primaries, despite the ascendancy of the party's left wing. Nevertheless, the span of Jackson's career was formidable and full of historical events and personages; true to his claim, Kaufman cogently argues that Jackson played a pivotal role during the 1970s, laying the basis for America's successful foreign and defense policies in the 1980s, but at times he overwhelms the reader with the details of policy and political machinations. No doubt denizens of both Washingtons, as well as those interested in the history of American foreign policy, will gravitate to this book. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The terms "Jackson Democrat" and "Rockefeller Republican" may not have meaning for many people today, but in the period after the Korean War, they identified important wings of the two major parties. This book details the life and career of Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington. Kaufman, a political scientist at the University of Vermont, argues that Jackson's policies during the 1970s (opposing communism and d tente while supporting a strong U.S. military and involvement in Vietnam) were critical for the success of American foreign and defense policies of the 1980s. As one can sense from the thesis, the author's evaluation of Jackson's foreign and defense policies is basically sympathetic. The author uses interviews with members of the Reagan administration, as well as other materials, to support his position. While Jackson is remembered for his "hawkish" position on Vietnam and how it split the Democratic Party, the book recalls his extensive legislative legacy in the energy, environmental, civil rights, and social policy areas. In the end, Jackson was a complex man, and his many facets come through clearly in this well-written and thoroughly researched study.--Thomas J. Baldino, Wilkes Univ., Wilkes-Barre, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

Library Journal

A biography of a key figure in shaping America's Cold War philosophy and actions, drawing on the Jackson papers at the University of Washington and the collections of every presidential library from Kennedy through Reagan, as well as interviews with contemporaries. Jackson entered the political arena in 1941 and served as a senator from 1953 until his death in 1983. He was a powerful voice in US foreign policy and an influence in major domestic legislation on natural resources and the environment. Includes b&w historical and personal photos. Kaufman teaches political science at the University of Vermont. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

A statue of Scoop Jackson now stands in a corner of the Russell Senate Office Building, but Robery G. Kaufman's Henry M. Jackson: A Life in Politics is a far more useful monument.
—Weekly Standard

Elliot Abrams

Kaufman’s cogent analyses of critical episodes and decisions in which Jackson had a part contribute usefully to knowledge of an era, particularly in energy policy, America’s Cold War and international human rights roles, and the travails of liberalism and the Democratic Party.

Choice