Interview with Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., August 11, 1997

Project: Wilson W. Wyatt, Sr. Oral History Project

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Interview Summary

Arthur Schlesinger Jr., historian and liberal intellectual, discusses the history of the Democratic Party in the decades following the Roosevelt administration. Schlesinger discusses the New Deal in the 1940s, noting several liberal groups involved in a controversy over relations with communists: the Union for Democratic Action (UDA) and its successors Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) and the Progressive Citizens of America (PCA). Schlesinger discusses the presidential campaign of Harry Truman and his running mate Alben Barkley in 1944. Continuing the discussion of Americans for Democratic Action, he explains that the organization was targeted by Joe McCarthy in the early 1950s despite its opposition to communism. Schlesinger discusses Adlai Stevenson's presidential campaigns against Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, mentioning his speechwriters (including himself) and discussing Wilson Wyatt's role in the campaigns and the reasons for Wyatt's return to Kentucky in 1956. Schlesinger discusses the later history of Americans for Democratic Action, noting possible reasons for Adlai Stevenson and Wilson Wyatt having distanced themselves from the organization. Schlesinger concludes the interview by discussing the need for activist government in the United States.

Interview Accession

1997oh048_www014

Interviewee Name

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

Interviewer Name

Anne Marshall

Interview Date

1997-08-11

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.

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Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.

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Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr. Interview by Anne Marshall. 11 Aug. 1997. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Schlesinger, A., Jr. (1997, August 11). Interview by A. Marshall. Wilson W. Wyatt, Sr. Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.

Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr., interview by Anne Marshall. August 11, 1997, Wilson W. Wyatt, Sr. Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.





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Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7msb3wwr02