Stassen Again
A new investigation of the meteoric rise, lifetime of achievements, and unique persona of “boy wonder” and perennial candidate Harold E. Stassen.
 
In ten unsuccessful runs at the U.S. presidency, Harold E. Stassen became infamous as a perennial candidate. But his lifetime of achievements, now mostly forgotten, demonstrate his contributions to Minnesota’s political evolution, to international cooperation, and to world peace, as well as his importance to American history. It’s time to consider Stassen, again.
 
At the start of his career in the 1930s, extremism thrived in both state and national politics. Fear-mongering was an increasingly effective weapon in the battle for votes— and for international influence. Stassen’s leadership as the moderate “boy governor” of Minnesota, lauded by national media, revitalized the state’s Republican Party and helped pave the way for the national party’s return to power. In the middle of his third term as governor, this principled man enlisted in the navy, served in the Pacific, directed the liberation of Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, and helped write the charter for the United Nations. After the war, he served in Eisenhower’s cabinet, showing his energy and his ambition. Stassen argued successfully throughout his career for moderation, tolerance, and common sense— “the middle way”— at a time when America, and the world, was in woefully short supply of each.

Steve Werle is the author of An American Gothic: The Life & Times & Legacy of William Gates LeDuc.
1120834604
Stassen Again
A new investigation of the meteoric rise, lifetime of achievements, and unique persona of “boy wonder” and perennial candidate Harold E. Stassen.
 
In ten unsuccessful runs at the U.S. presidency, Harold E. Stassen became infamous as a perennial candidate. But his lifetime of achievements, now mostly forgotten, demonstrate his contributions to Minnesota’s political evolution, to international cooperation, and to world peace, as well as his importance to American history. It’s time to consider Stassen, again.
 
At the start of his career in the 1930s, extremism thrived in both state and national politics. Fear-mongering was an increasingly effective weapon in the battle for votes— and for international influence. Stassen’s leadership as the moderate “boy governor” of Minnesota, lauded by national media, revitalized the state’s Republican Party and helped pave the way for the national party’s return to power. In the middle of his third term as governor, this principled man enlisted in the navy, served in the Pacific, directed the liberation of Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, and helped write the charter for the United Nations. After the war, he served in Eisenhower’s cabinet, showing his energy and his ambition. Stassen argued successfully throughout his career for moderation, tolerance, and common sense— “the middle way”— at a time when America, and the world, was in woefully short supply of each.

Steve Werle is the author of An American Gothic: The Life & Times & Legacy of William Gates LeDuc.
18.95 In Stock
Stassen Again

Stassen Again

by Steve Werle
Stassen Again

Stassen Again

by Steve Werle

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Overview

A new investigation of the meteoric rise, lifetime of achievements, and unique persona of “boy wonder” and perennial candidate Harold E. Stassen.
 
In ten unsuccessful runs at the U.S. presidency, Harold E. Stassen became infamous as a perennial candidate. But his lifetime of achievements, now mostly forgotten, demonstrate his contributions to Minnesota’s political evolution, to international cooperation, and to world peace, as well as his importance to American history. It’s time to consider Stassen, again.
 
At the start of his career in the 1930s, extremism thrived in both state and national politics. Fear-mongering was an increasingly effective weapon in the battle for votes— and for international influence. Stassen’s leadership as the moderate “boy governor” of Minnesota, lauded by national media, revitalized the state’s Republican Party and helped pave the way for the national party’s return to power. In the middle of his third term as governor, this principled man enlisted in the navy, served in the Pacific, directed the liberation of Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, and helped write the charter for the United Nations. After the war, he served in Eisenhower’s cabinet, showing his energy and his ambition. Stassen argued successfully throughout his career for moderation, tolerance, and common sense— “the middle way”— at a time when America, and the world, was in woefully short supply of each.

Steve Werle is the author of An American Gothic: The Life & Times & Legacy of William Gates LeDuc.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780873519625
Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press
Publication date: 03/15/2015
Edition description: 1
Pages: 248
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Steve Werle is the author of An American Gothic: The Life & Times & Legacy of William Gates LeDuc.

Table of Contents

Prologue: When You Meet Him Take a Good Look 3

1 Tyrants, Exploiters, and Legalized Frauds 11

2 An Ordered Society 45

3 Freedom for Himself and Others 65

4 Struggle 81

5 Free Man 101

6 The United States of the Earth 123

7 A Rare Bird 143

8 Try to Figure Him Out 175

Epilogue: More of Him Than We Have Now 209

Acknowledgments 213

Notes 215

Index 229

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