Kennedy Versus Lodge: The 1952 Massachusetts Senate Race [Anglais] [Relié]

In this excellent book, Whalen (American history, Boston Univ.) tells the compelling story of one of the more interesting and important elections in modern U.S. history. John F. Kennedy's 1952 victory over Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. marked only the third time in Massachusetts history that a Democrat won a Senate seat. It also marked the beginning of Democratic dominance of the state. The book is rich in details about the candidates, the issues at play in the race, and the many factors that contributed to the Kennedy upset. The author's analyses of the roles played by Joseph McCarthy, Eisenhower, labor unions, and women voters are incisive. Whalen also makes clear the importance of the new medium of television in the campaign and JFK's natural ease with it compared with Lodge's discomfort. In some respects, this is a tale of politics of a bygone era, when two people of great talent and strong character could square off in an election without resorting to petty name-calling and emerge with their dignity and integrity intact. Perhaps this should be required reading for today's candidates. Recommended for public and academic libraries.DThomas J. Baldino, Wilkes Univ., Wilkes Barre, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

If John Kennedy hadn't beaten incumbent senator Henry Cabot Lodge (Massachusetts) in 1952, Adlai Stevenson might well have run for president a third time in 1960. The '52 race was notable not just because it pitted Boston's Brahmins against its rising Irish aristocracy but also because Kennedy defeated Lodge, despite Eisenhower's landslide presidential victory. Boston University historian Whalen analyzes the candidates, their campaign organizations, the intraparty squabbles they encountered, and the way each man approached the electorate. (Even in '52, for example, Kennedy paid attention to the new medium of television, and courted women voters.) An involving study. Mary Carroll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

In November 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower won the presidential election by a landslide vote. In Massachusetts, however, a relatively unknown and inexperienced Congressman John F. Kennedy narrowly defeated incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., to become only the third Democrat in the Commonwealth's history elected to the United States Senate. The victory signaled the dawn of a new political era and proved to be an equally decisive moment in determining the future careers of both candidates.

In Kennedy versus Lodge, Thomas J. Whalen provides a penetrating analysis of this pivotal campaign and tells the fascinating story of a political duel between two families that spanned nearly half a century. Bringing together a wealth of material, he shows how Kennedy beat Lodge through a combination of fortuitous circumstances and deft use of pioneering electioneering tactics. Whalen details how the candidates' different backgrounds influenced their attitudes toward public service and electoral politics, examines the structure and effectiveness of their campaign organizations, and discusses the intra-party squabbles that each man had to deal with. In addition, he considers how Kennedy's triumph marked the shift from Republican to Democratic dominance in post-war Massachusetts.

The author assesses strategies employed by Kennedy that would come into play eight years later in his presidential campaign against Richard M. Nixon, giving special attention to the ways in which he exploited the new medium of television and courted the women's vote. Whalen reveals how Lodge was crippled by conservative Robert Taft Republicans who withheld their support as revenge for his leadership role in Eisenhower's bid for the presidential nomination, and he discusses the sensitive issue for both candidates of Senator Joseph McCarthy's proposed involvement in the campaign.

Kennedy versus Lodge offers a well-researched and objective perspective on both a key Senate race and a political rivalry that forever changed the landscape of electoral politics in America.

Thomas J. Whalen received his Ph.D. in American history from Boston College. He teaches twentieth-century American history at Boston University and has written for several publications, including the Boston Globe. He lives on Boston's North Shore. Robert Dallek teaches at Boston University. He is the author of Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1908-1960; Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1961-1973; and Ronald Reagan: The Politics of Symbolism. He lives in Washington, D.C.