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   Book Info

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World of Hope, a World of Fear: Henry A. Wallace, Reinhold Niebuhr and American Liberalism  
Author: Mark L. Kleinman
ISBN: 0814208444
Format: Handover
Publish Date: June, 2005
 
     
     
   Book Review

Book Description
Mark Kleinman juxtaposes the intellectual and professional lives of two key figures in postWorld War II American history, Henry Wallace and Reinhold Niebuhr, to explore a fatal division in American liberal thinking about domestic politics and international relations during and after the war. This division over whether it was desirable to cooperate with the Soviet Union has had a profound impact on contemporary American domestic politics and foreign policy. Wallace, FDRs secretary of agriculture and later vice president, advocated a foreign policy philosophy that did not rule out a cooperative relationship with the Soviet Union. Niebuhr, however, an internationally respected Protestant theologian, and political commentator, was a classic cold war liberal who categorically rejected the possibility of cooperation with any communists either at home or abroad. Niebuhr shared Wallaces liberal domestic philosophy, but in the postwar years their different positions on ! foreign policy matters hardened into opposition. The first part of the book explores the sourcespersonal, political, culturalof Wallaces and Niebuhrs conflicting positions. The second part carries the story from 1942, when this split in the liberal community was minor, to 1948, when Wallace ran for president on the Progressive Party ticket. His overwhelming defeat not only ended Wallaces political career but also underscored the defeat of popular front positions. Kleinman argues that cold war liberalism subsequently dominated American foreign policy to the extent that debate was impossible. Liberals who supported Wallaces position felt they could not engage in any kind of public debate for fear of being labeled a fools or communist dupes. It was not until the Vietnam War that Americans challenged and helped to change their countrys relentless anticommunist position.

About the Author
Mark L. Kleinman was an associate professor of history at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh. He is now living and working in Sacramento, California.




World of Hope, a World of Fear: Henry A. Wallace, Reinhold Niebuhr and American Liberalism

SYNOPSIS

Historian Kleinman juxtaposes the intellectual and professional lives of two the key figures in US history after World War II to explore a fatal division in American liberal thinking about domestic politics and international relations during and after the war. Wallace, who started in agriculture and served as vice president, did not rule out a cooperative relationship with the Soviet Union; Niebuhr, an internationally respected protestant theologian and political commentator, categorically rejected dealing with any communists at home or abroad. He argues that Wallace's defeat in the 1942 campaign for president perpetuated the climate of fear that only melted during the Vietnam War. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

     



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