Crusading Liberal

by Biles, Roger

• ISBN13: 9780875803043
• ISBN10: 0875803040
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-09-01
• Publisher: Northern Illinois Univ Pr

Summary

A lifelong crusader for society's powerless, Senator Paul Douglas championed reform and helped to bring civil rights issues to the forefront of mid-twentieth-century American politics. During his eighteen years in the U.S. Senate, his advocacy of liberal causes brought him national recognition. In the eyes of many, Douglas embodied the very ideals of the "Great Society." A man of conscience and a stubborn defender of his core principles, Douglas was nonetheless a patient legislator, and his fight to ensure equal rights for African Americans lasted more than a decade. His fierce independence won public respect but often strained relationships with key party leaders, including Harry Truman, Adlai Stevenson, and Lyndon Johnson. Covering the full span of Douglas's life-from his youth and early work at Hull House in Chicago to his leadership in the Senate- Crusading Liberalilluminates the life and times of the man Martin Luther King Jr. called "the greatest of all senators." This highly readable biography illustrates the struggle to provide equal opportunity and protection under law to all Americans.

Author Biography

Roger Biles is author of five other books on twentieth-century America. He is Professor of History at East Carolina University

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Professor and Social Activist	p. 3
Into the Political Arena	p. 30
Precocious Freshman Senator	p. 54
Politics in the Age of McCarthy	p. 89
The Civil Rights Movement in the Senate	p. 109
Undaunted Crusader for Civil Rights	p. 128
Senator with Ideas	p. 152
On Behalf of the Great Society	p. 170
After the Senate	p. 200
Liberal Crusades	p. 212
Notes	p. 217
Bibliographical Essay	p. 249
Index	p. 253
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