In the Shadow of FDR

William E. Leuchtenburg is William Rand Kenan Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Among his many books is Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–1940, for which he was awarded the Bancroft Prize and the Francis Parkman Prize of the Society of American Historians. Leuchtenburg selected the majority of the quotations for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C., at the request of its architect, Lawrence Halprin.

In the Shadow of FDR shrewdly sets forth the special cruelty of the dilemma Roosevelt's successors have all faced: 'If he did not walk in FDR's footsteps, he ran a risk of having it said that he was not a Roosevelt but a Hoover. Yet to the extent that he did copy FDR, he lost any chance of marking out his own claim to recognition.'.(New York Times Book Review) A stimulating and original survey of the political impact of Franklin D. Roosevelt's image on his successors in the White House. Truman was resentful, Eisenhower suffered (in liberal eyes) by invidious comparison, Kennedy was ambivalent, Johnson celebratory, Nixon strangely admiring, Carter shallow in his use of FDR symbolism, and Reagan the first to turn his back on the New Deal.(Foreign Affairs) William E. Leuchtenburg's close examination of FDR's presidential legatees has enabled him to demonstrate Roosevelt's enormous beyond-the-grave influence. In the Shadow of FDR is a fine, perceptive work that constitutes a valuable coda for New Deal studies. Several pertinent insights help to contribute to discussions of the role of personalities in politics. This book is a refreshing contribution to studies of the presidency.(American Historical Review)

• Preface1. Harry Truman2. First Republican Interlude: Dwight D. Eisenhower3. John F. Kennedy4. Lyndon B. Johnson5. Second Republican Interlude: Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford6. Jimmy Carter7. Ronald Reagan8. Waiting for Franklin D.9. Twilight10. Franklin Delano ObamaEpilogueSourcesNotesIndex