Arsenal of DemocracyIt has long been a truism that prior to George W. Bush, politics stopped at the water's edge - that is, that partisanship had no place in national security. In Arsenal of Democracy, historian Julian E. Zelizer shows this to be demonstrably false: partisan fighting has always shaped American foreign policy and the issue of national security has always been part of our domestic conflicts. Based on original archival findings, Arsenal of Democracy offers new insights into nearly every major national security issue since the beginning of the cold war: from FDR's masterful management of World War II to the partisanship that scarred John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, from Ronald Reagan's fight against Communism to George W. Bush's controversial War on Terror. A definitive account of the complex interaction between domestic politics and foreign affairs over the last six decades, Arsenal of Democracy is essential reading for anyone interested in the politics of national security. |
Contents
FOUR QUESTIONS | 1 |
UNEASY WARRIORS | 15 |
HOW THE DEMOCRATS WON WORLD WAR II | 68 |
BUILDING THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE | 105 |
MAKING CHINA RIGHT | 142 |
HIGH NOON AT MIDCENTURY | 169 |
MAKE MISSILES NOT BUDGETS | 212 |
THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS REVISITED | 259 |
RUNNING SCARED INTO VIETNAM | 312 |
ENDING THE DRAFT | 355 |
NO ROOM FOR A REPUBLICAN CENTER | 414 |
THE LOST DEMOCRATIC OPPORTUNITY | 477 |
RAMBO MEETS THE DEER HUNTER | 523 |
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Acheson administration administration’s advisors agreed allies American anticommunism antiwar arms army Asia attacks believed bipartisan bombing budget called campaign Carter China coalition Cold War Committee communism communist Congress congressional conservative crisis criticized Cuba Cuban Dean Acheson defeat defense détente domestic economic Eisenhower electoral ending the draft Europe FDR’s fears fight force Ford foreign policy Goldwater hawkish human rights internationalist isolationism issue Johnson Kennedy Kennedy’s Kissinger Korea leaders legislation liberal internationalism Lyndon Johnson MacArthur major McCarthy ment military missile negotiations neoconservatives Nixon nuclear October officials opponents peace percent political polls president presidential programs proposed Reagan Republican Right response result Richard Nixon Roosevelt SALT II Secretary Senate South Vietnam southern Democrats Soviet Union speech strategy Taft threat tion told treaty troops Truman United Vandenberg Vietnam Vietnamese vote voters wanted warned weapons White House Wilson World War II wrote