The Politics of Hope/The Bitter Heritage: American Liberalism in the 1960s

by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Sean Wilentz (Foreword)

The Politics of Hope and The Bitter Heritage brings together two important books that bracket the tempestuous politics of 1960s America. In The Politics of Hope, which historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., published in 1963 while serving as a special assistant to President Kennedy, Schlesinger defines the liberalism that characterized the Kennedy administration and the optimistic early Sixties. In lively and incisive essays, most of them written between 1956 and 1960, on topics such as the basic differences underlying liberal and conservative politics, the writing of history, and the experience of Communist countries, Schlesinger emphasizes the liberal thinker's responsibility to abide by goals rather than dogma, to learn from history, and to look to the future.

Four years later, following Kennedy's assassination and the escalation of America's involvement in Vietnam, Schlesinger's tone changes. In The Bitter Heritage, a brief but penetrating appraisal of the "war that nobody wanted," he recounts America's entry into Vietnam, the history of the war, and its policy implications. The Bitter Heritage concludes with an eloquent and sobering assessment of the war's threat to American democracy and a reflection on the lessons or legacies of the Vietman conflict.

With a new foreword by Sean Wilentz, the James Madison Library edition of The Politics of Hope and The Bitter Heritage situates liberalism in the convulsive 1960s—and illuminates the challenges that still face liberalism today.

Genres: Politics, History

584 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr., born Arthur Bancroft Schlesinger, was a Pulitzer Prize recipient and American historian and social critic whose work explored the liberalism of American political leaders including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. He served as special assistant and "court historian" to President Kennedy from 1961 to 1963. He wrote a detailed account of the Kennedy Administration, from the transition period to the president's state funeral, titled A Thousand Days. In 1968, he actively supported the presidential campaign of Senator Robert F. Kennedy until Kennedy's assassination in the Ambassador Hotel on June 5, 1968, and wrote the biography Robert Kennedy and His Times several years later.

He popularized the term "imperial presidency" during the Nixon administration by writing the book The Imperial Presidency.

His father was also a well-known historian.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually two books put together in one nice collection. The first, The Politics of Hope, is a series of essays Mr. Schlesinger Jr. wrote from the 1950s to 1963. The topics focus on liberalism, it's differences with conservatism, and even the writing of history. It is in these pages where you can see the optimism of the early 1960s and the liberalism.

The second half of the book, The Bitter Heritage, is written during the war in Vietnam and the tone changes to one of bitterness and defeat.

I really liked this book. I am a huge fan of Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. and I think he is a great historian and writer. This collection is especially interesting because the reader can plainly see the differences between the early and late 1960s.

It does get a little slow in sections, mainly a few of the last essays in the Politics of Hope section. However, this is an interesting book over all and if you are interested in this time period, or just a fan of Mr. Schlesinger, Jr. I definitely recommend this.