Uniting America
How FDR and Henry Stimson Brought Democrats and Republicans Together to Win World War II
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The untold story of the most crucial bipartisan alliance in United States history.
As Adolf Hitler’s Nazi armies threatened Europe, Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt urged a divided America to mobilize to defend democracy and freedom. Many Republicans accused FDR of leading the nation needlessly into war and demanded that America remain neutral. On June 20, 1940, FDR shocked the country by announcing that two prominent Republicans would take posts in his cabinet. Henry Stimson, former President Herbert Hoover’s secretary of state, became secretary of war, and Frank Knox, the Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1936, became secretary of the navy.
Roosevelt intended the appointments to build national unity. But building a coalition across party lines was a risky move that could have backfired politically. It also placed a bipartisan relationship at the center of America’s confrontation with global fascism. FDR’s Republican allies went on to play critical roles in leading the war effort, and many bills passed Congress during the war years with strong backing from both parties. Following Roosevelt’s death, Stimson continued to champion bipartisanship under President Truman in the closing chapter of the war. This alliance stands as a historic example of united leadership in a nation scarred by political division.
Uniting America is the first book to paint a full portrait of this extraordinary collaboration, tracing it back to its origins in 1933. Author Peter Shinkle reveals the true extent of bipartisanship during the war, including previously undisclosed information about Stimson’s work with 1940 Republican presidential nominee Wendell Willkie and other Republicans who supported FDR. This fascinating and deeply researched book is a must-read for anyone who believes America must once again unite to defend democracy at home and abroad.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Democratic president Franklin Roosevelt and Republican secretary of war Henry Stimson formed the "most important bipartisan political alliance in American history," according to this meticulous study. Journalist Shinkle (Ike's Mystery Man) contends that Stimson, a "sharp-tongued, free-thinking Republican" who had previously served in the cabinets of Republican presidents William Howard Taft and Herbert Hoover and was critical of FDR's New Deal policies, made a successful partner for Roosevelt as he sought his third term in 1940 not in spite of their political differences, but because of them. Stimson helped garner bipartisan support for such controversial measures as the 1941 Lend-Lease Act and served as an effective back channel to FDR's Republican foes. At a time when many Americans were reluctant to enter WWII, Stimson's aggressive stance on confronting fascism in Europe and Asia allowed "FDR to remain close to the center of the national debate," according to Shinkle, who acknowledges that for all their foreign policy successes, the two failed to effectively contend with racial matters, including the wave of anti-Black violence that swept the country in 1943 in response to desegregation efforts. Stuffed with detail yet fluidly written, this is an expert study of wartime politics and the value of bipartisanship.
